Perrin has a habit of entering the wolf dream too strongly.
Is it because of the intensity with which he takes actions? Perrin seems to
operate in only two ways: wait, and act with full commitment. He is fervent in his desires. This time, he
was weak when he woke, though the healing he received may also have played a
role. Does Elyas never enter the wolf dream?
Rumours about Perrin and Berelain begin circulating through
the camp. Aram’s later behaviour will stem from him seeking out other people
than Perrin to dedicate himself to. He hears the rumours that Perrin has been cheating
with Berelain, and seeing that he is fallible, tries to find someone else who
won’t let him down.
Berelain offers Perrin a truce, which he interprets as yet
another veiled attempt to put him in a compromising position. He even dismisses
what his nose tells him, even though it has been infallible in the past. He has
already made up his mind about Berelain and no amount of smelling honest will
change his mind! Rather than describe Berelain further, we learn how Perrin
perceives her through a metaphorical description of her furniture:
One of her camp chairs
squeaked faintly as she shifted. He had been here often, with Faile, to discuss
plans. The tent was big enough to house a family, and Berelain’s elaborate
furnishings would not have looked out of place in a palace, all intricate
carving and gilt, though everything, tables and chairs and the bed itself, was
held together with pegs. They could be disassembled for storage on a cart, but
the pegs did not make for true sturdiness.
But, to reinforce the reader’s discomfort with Berelain, a couple
of other verbs and adjectives are used in nearby paragraphs when Perrin meets
her followers. Two pairs of followers who are interchangeable with each other,
both physically and in behaviour. Is Berelain interchangeable for Faile? Or is
it Perrin who is interchangeable with Berelain’s other conquests?
Rosene and Nana
tittered behind cupped hands.
Wearily he tramped
around the hill.
Once again, Perrin
resists the idea that Masema is to be killed, despite that he has been secretly
meeting with the Seanchan. Perrin might never have thought of a truce with the
Seanchan if not for the fact they were apparently willing to meet with Masema.
Perrin’s commitment to non-violent solutions is hastily
tossed aside to save Faile. As important as it is to him, it is insignificant
when weighed against his desire to see Faile free. He is quite willing to have
his men and those they fight pay the price to save her, but he will still do
what he can to minimize that cost.
The scouts return with clues that are convincing to Perrin and
the reader. They are convincing in part because of who is reporting. The scouts
have all been named as the most competent people in the camp. Sulin and Gaul’s
abilities have been seen first-hand, and the fact that Perrin compares Jondyn
Barran to them gives him the same credibility. Warders benefit from association
with the other warders we’ve seen, so even if we know nothing about these particular
Warders, their rank guarantees their competence. Each clue they bring back is
quickly and simply explained, and unsurprisingly they get every detail right.
Since the reader already knows what happened, all this section needed to do is
explain how Perrin has come to know the same things. Had Faile’s disappearance
been mysterious, Perrin’s scouts may have been pressed for alternative
explanations, and the author would have had to explain what Perrin believed and
why. It might have been a slightly longer passage, but with the risk that
Perrin gets wrong information.
Masema’s erratic behaviour is portrayed differently than
Rand’s oncoming madness. First, he and his followers do something reckless by
confrontationally marching out of the woods in a long line, stopping only when
physically blocked by Perrin’s men despite their drawn bows. Masema’s physical
description is blunt, comparing him to a rabid mountain cat, naming him zealot.
He is unaware of snow falling on his scalp, something that would bother normal
folk. His actions are unplanned; they are sudden, intense, and surprising. His
face doesn’t change or contort like those of his followers, and gives no
outward sign of his mood. To hammer home the point, after promising
considerable delays to Perrin by refusing to Travel using the One Power, Masema
suddenly makes an exception to his rule. Whether this is an expression of his
madness, the pull of a ta’veren, or
an underhanded plot to kill Perrin is as unknown as Masema’s behaviour.
Elayne is touring Caemlyn, trying to be seen as the symbol
of Andor that people will rally around. Andor has an informal democratic
monarchy, where both the people and the nobility must agree on a ruler before
they can take the throne, however good their claim is.
Elayne has been taking reckless chances of her own, a
necessary part of touching the hearts of the citizens of the city, and has
nearly been kidnapped once as a result. Elayne is trying to assert her
independence, refusing bodyguards, lacking protection when she walks the street
at night. The threat to her is more pronounced knowing Faile has also been
kidnapped.
The narrator’s internal dialogue often reveals a progression
of thought, moving from outrage to denial to grudging admission: “You
talk about my language? At least I
know what fits where, and what doesn’t.” Elayne colored, and her neck stiffened.
She did know! Most of the time. Often enough, at least. This short
evolution of thought allows the reader to learn the character’s original
perception, their relationship with their critic, and how they react to
uncomfortable ideas. Elayne accepts the truth of the criticism much more
quickly and easily than Mat or Nynaeve do.
Writing Lessons:
With metaphor, the
description of any object, character or event can apply to any other object,
character or event, either subtly or bluntly.
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