When I first started reading Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, I hadn’t yet begun the self-discovery journey that would eventually lead me to learning that I am autistic. My essays in Reading the Wheel of Time have often reflected aspects of my identity, especially the fact that I am a queer trans person, but it wasn’t until recently that I began to understand another way in which my personal perspective was interacting with the story. Now that Egwene has been raised to Amyrlin and Nynaeve and Elayne to full sisters, their struggles to contend with the complicated (and somewhat contradictory) nature of Aes Sedai socio-political structure has reminded me of a simple, but rather glaring fact.
The Aes Sedai hierarchy makes no sense.
Now, I’m not talking about the current thematic exploration in The Path of Daggers, where the logic and efficacy of the Aes Sedai strength-based hierarchy is being called into narrative question as they encounter other groups of female channelers (the Wise Ones, the Kin, and the Sea Folk) who have different methods of determining seniority and leadership. The series is doing some very interesting things in this direction, and I’m excited to see how this theme develops. What baffles me is not that the Aes Sedai have a strength-based hierarchy but how the Aes Sedai themselves are disgusted by the very system that they use to govern the White Tower.
The expectations for new sisters are explained most clearly in New Spring, when Siuan and Moiraine are raised to the shawl and given a short lecture on the subject from Eadyth, Head of the Blue Ajah. We learn in this section (Chapter 12) that novices and Accepted are taught not to judge each other by age, life experience, or strength in saidar. However, once they are made Sisters, they are required to learn how to measure another sister’s strength at a glance. If the other sister is of greater strength, the less strong sister must defer to her. The greater the difference in strength the greater the deference that must be shown, and this measuring must become second nature as quickly as possible. Eadyth even warns them that a misstep in this area is the most common reason for a new sister to be given penance—and that this (often quite harsh) penance is assigned by the offended sister.
It isn’t mentioned by Eadyth in that conversation, but we also know that there are other, secondary factors that can come into play in this measuring contest. If the two sisters in question are of basically the same strength, the one who spent less time as a student is given precedence. Age and experience also seem to grant a certain measure of authority. Although this is judged by the number of years spent as an Aes Sedai, not the number of years lived, there is obviously going to be somewhat of a correlation between the two, so the age of a fellow sister will inevitably be a subject on an Aes Sedai’s mind, despite the taboo.
Now, teaching novices and Accepted not to measure each other by age or social class makes sense. Part of becoming an Aes Sedai means leaving behind the hierarchies of the rest of the world—it doesn’t matter what nation or social rank a woman comes from, once she is a student of the Tower, it is her ability as a future Aes Sedai that matters. By making a rule against comparing strength, the Aes Sedai are also discouraging possible competition between students, which is probably very necessary since learning to channel too quickly can be extremely dangerous. Rivalries based on advancing quickly would encourage students to take dangerous risks, something which many women are already eager to do because of the addictive nature of the True Source.
But full-fledged Aes Sedai base their entire hierarchy around strength-based assessments—with the only exception being women who are put in charge of certain things by the Hall or the Amyrlin Seat, such as a Gray leading a diplomatic embassy. There is very little accommodation made for new sisters making this abrupt switch in thinking, either, and we do see in New Spring that Moiraine and Siuan sometimes struggle to figure out the details of how they must behave. A few sisters offer helpful hints by taking the lead in interactions, but we know from Eadyth’s comments that harsh punishments are more common than accommodation or aid.
When I was young, I often found it very difficult to understand the rules and social norms that everyone around me seemed to take for granted. It was as though everyone had been given a handbook that explained the rules of society; how to speak, how to act, which behaviors and tones of voice and body language were acceptable and which were not. (Not to mention those which were acceptable in certain circumstances and not others.) Everyone seemed to know what was expected of them by those around them, except for me. Somehow, I had never received my rule book.
No one talked about the rules, either. Just as a newly raised Aes Sedai gets one perfunctory explanation and then is left to sink or swim, I sometimes felt like I only found out about a rule after I broke one and got in trouble, or hurt someone’s feelings, or was made fun of by my peers (or, to be fair, sometimes by adults). Life was a bit like navigating a minefield, and if I stepped wrong and it blew up in my face, I often didn’t even learn why the thing was wrong, only that it was.
I was reminded of that feeling when Siuan tried to ask Eadyth a question.
“Do we have to obey them?” Siuan asked, finally giving in and standing, and Eadyth sighed heavily.
“I thought I was quite clear, Siuan. The higher she stands above you, the greater your deference. I truly dislike talking about this, so please don’t make me repeat myself.”
But it is not clear at all. If the power difference is very great one might assume that obedience would be necessary, but deference and obedience are not necessarily the same thing. And even if obedience is necessary to a sister much stronger than oneself, where exactly is the line? At what point does the necessity for a little deference become a medium amount, or a lot of deference? When does the need to listen respectfully to a sister’s opinion cross over into a need to follow her orders?
As I grew up, I learned the rules of my world through trial and error, becoming first a teacher’s pet and then a people-pleaser in an attempt to make as few mistakes as possible. It was only recently, as an adult in my 30s, that I learned that my experience is very common for autistic people. I’m not the first to use the “secret handbook” metaphor, and I’m certainly not the first to put on a mask and pretend that I know what’s going on when I have absolutely no idea. Much like the mask of unflappable serenity Aes Sedai wear.
“Masking” is a term used to describe when autistic people repress or disguise their autistic traits in an effort to fit in and appear “normal.” Not being able to show emotion takes a toll on all human beings, and we see how it takes a toll on the Aes Sedai—for example, Verin believes Alanna may have made the rash and dangerous decision to bond Rand in part because she isn’t taking time to feel her emotions and process Owein’s death. Neurodivergent people who repress the natural ways they express their emotions experience poor emotional regulation, depression and anxiety, and may be increasingly prone to outbursts that they can’t control.
I can’t help but think of my experiences masking whenever an Aes Sedai, struggling to maintain their serenity, fidgets with her skirts or her horses’ reins. I’ve spent my life finding small ways to fidget without being noticed when all I really want to do is move and make sounds. And Siuan’s question, with the dismissive way Eadyth reacted to it, reminded me of ways I’ve sometimes been treated like I already had all the information when I didn’t. A new sister in the White Tower would have to feel out the hierarchical balance by trial and error, and the consequences of a mistake would not be small. We see Moiraine adopt the strategy of erring on the side of too much deference, which is a wise choice, but it is also one that might have had her giving others too much power over her. Siuan, meanwhile, finds herself always on the edge of trouble because she can’t hold her tongue quite as well as she needs to. And these are two of the White Tower’s smartest, most resolute women. Someone with less self-confidence would probably not do nearly as well.
But then, I suppose that’s kind of what the White Tower wants. They know how to weed out all but the strongest women, both in the Power and in mental and physical fortitude, but they do not always know how to build that strength up. The Wise Ones, in contrast, seem to have a more holistic approach, as we see with Sorilea’s attempts to train Kiruna, for example. The Kin also seem to offer more support to women in their ranks, though I haven’t learned that much about them yet, as of the middle of The Path of Daggers.
I suppose all this just shows why Perrin is one of my favorite characters in the story. I appreciate how he thinks, slow and methodically, and I relate to the ways in which that makes people think that he’s stupid when he is decidedly not. I appreciate his instinct towards honesty, and I enjoy how much that honesty befuddles people whose minds are always caught up in patterns of trickery and deception. I found myself thinking about him when Egwene was giving her speech to the Hall about declaring war on Elaida.
Egwene wanted to put passion into her voice, to let it burst out, but Siuan had advised utter coolness, and finally she had agreed. They needed to see a woman in control of herself, not a girl being ridden by her heart. The words came from her heart, though.
It is possible to speak calmly and with emotion, and the heart is not always a worse judge than the head. We have seen Perrin deliver passionate speeches about the hard necessity of making the definitive choice to stand and fight, and he has become a leader through doing so. His ta’veren nature may be a part of that, sure, but it is also him. Who he is matters.
Who Egwene is also matters. But the Aes Sedai hierarchy, and the face that Aes Sedai put towards the world, are based on the idea that there is only one extremely narrow “right” way to be an Aes Sedai. That there must be a sameness in the way sisters behave and comport themselves, even towards each other. But rather than create unity, it creates separation. Rather than engendering cooperation, it creates a situation where women’s voices are diminished because of an accident of their birth—how much of saidar they can channel. The right woman for the job might not be the strongest, and unless someone in charge, like an Ajah head or the Amyrlin Seat, elevates her, that woman’s contribution will be lost.
In our own Age we have our own very hierarchical determinations of who is worthy, and what kind of person can be “useful” and “successful.” I live in the US, where successful production under capitalism is the primary way we measure people’s worth. And as an autistic person who also has ADHD, I find I do not often fit those requirements. I would not do well in the White Tower, and I don’t often feel like I do well here, at least in the ways that others might judge me. But I also know that I have a lot to give, in the world and in my relationships, if only I can be allowed to do it in the way that is right for me. This, I believe, is something that Egwene is starting to think about as well. She is aware of how many resources the Aes Sedai have rejected due to their strict rules and cultural prejudices, and her attempts to open the novice book to a wider range of women and to tie those other channelers who are not Aes Sedai to the Tower, reflect that. I’m looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish in this area, and hopeful that at least a few of the Aes Sedai’s weird contradictions can be left behind in the process.
Sylas K Barrett is endlessly fascinated by interpersonal dynamics, despite being rather bad at them. This is one of the wonderful things about exploring people and society the through fiction.
Hey all, hope you enjoy the post! I will be on vacation next week so Reading the Wheel of Time will resume on August 22nd!
Vacation! Huzzah!
Is there confirmation that the Aes Sedai’s screwy hierarchy stuff is due to the Black Ajah manipulation? I have the impression that’s the fan consensus.
@2
I’ve always thought the strength-based ranking was more of a holdover from the Breaking/Trolloc Wars/Founding of the White Tower when strength in the Power truly meant the difference in survival or death. In those warlike/survival situations, having a quick and dirty way to immediately determine rank would be helpful. But like most things about the Aes Sedai, they’ve lost the context over time and now do things for no reason other than that’s the way they do things. Critical self-analysis is not an Aes Sedai trait.
@3, I agree and would add that it was also a way to not have actual “duels” to determine strength. In the American Old West, at least in fiction, there is always a young man who wants to prove he is faster than some older gunfighter. This system of quickly determining who is stronger is a way to alleviate that without actually having to put it to the test. I would note that many of the places that didn’t have this type of formal determination descended into chaos (Land of MadMen) or near chaos (Seanchan pre Conquest).
Its totally irrational and completely realistic. Hierarchies become entrenched and its massively hard to change them. The only thing that isn’t quite realistic is the factionalization – it should be based around stronger channelers more than Ajahs.
But there are all sorts of foolish hierarchies in real life. And the AS know its dumb – its just entrenched.
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
Well, that sounds sensible enough. Very self-enforcing.
Aes Sedai hierarchies make a ton of sense if you consider the historical context and what it effectively means. Others have pointed out that a lot of the traditions and norms that make very little sense in the present day, were a lot more rational in times of conflict like the Breaking or the various apocalyptic wars which engulf Randland every 1,000 years or so. This only becomes more relevant when you consider that Aes Sedai live for centuries – that’s a lot of time to engrain these codes of conduct, a lot of new generations of sisters. It’s well within reason that some of the initial Aes Sedai leaders during the Breaking or the Trolloc Wards lived for hundreds of years at the top of the heap – of course they’ll be interested in maintaining their positions of relative power and privilege, and have it take hold in a way it’s not possible for normal people to understand.
But to my other point, these are people whose job it is to do magic. Obviously they break down into certain specialties, and we do see that Brown sisters give deference to Yellows when it comes to healing, or White sisters to Grays when it comes to negotiations and mediation. So in that sense, the “deference” rules have a lot of holes, and not just “appointed by an authority figure”. Beyond this, though, being stronger in the Power allows you to do more things. Being stronger means being more competent as a general magical practitioner. Hold a stronger shield, throw a bigger fireball, use the Power for longer periods of time without rest… why shouldn’t those be qualifications for leadership in an organization whose whole purpose is to wield magic?
Sure, it is very easy to look at the Wise Ones and think “their system of relative authority makes more sense,” but the Wise Ones aren’t magic wielders. They’re advisors to their tribes, and to a certain extent pan-Aiel authority figures who can act as honest brokers in inter-tribal conflict. Many Wise Ones don’t have access to the Power at all! It’s just not a relevant comparison, because the roles the Wise Ones are asked to inhabit and the society in which they operate are fundamentally dissimilar.
Long story made short, the Aes Sedai hierarchies actually make a ton of sense, both in terms of how they originated and why they persisted. As Sylas points out, there are so many exceptions to how this hierarchy functions that it barely exists at all, anyway. Sisters with particular authority lead unchallenged. Sisters with particular competencies are deferred to when the situation calls for it. What more is someone going to ask for? Might makes right may not be the optimal way to sort out a hierarchy, but it’s probably the most natural, and if it’s being tempered by the understanding that people that the community installs in positions of authority are owed deference, or people with certain skills are owed deference in certain situations, then… I’m not sure where the problem is. Is it unfortunate for the sister who can barely channel and doesn’t have the strength or experience to have a specific competency? Sure. But there is no innate reason why anyone should listen to her in the first place, either.
MODS: In a couple instances, “Edayth” should be “Eadyth,” and one time “Sorelia” should be “Sorilea.”
Sylas, thank you for being open and discussing your real-life issues with autism/neurodivergence and the comparisons you’ve drawn with how book characters can feel out of place with systems they don’t understand. There’s still stigma in many quarters against talking about these topics openly and I applaud you for that.
@andrwrm
“But there is no innate reason why anyone should listen to her in the first place, either.”
Suppose she’s the smartest person in the room. But no one knows because they have no reason to let her speak.
@7 Also, the instinct to defer is strong enough that it complicates formally recognized authority. Several times sisters acknowledge that they might be nominally in charge but still struggle to not just defer to a stronger sister regardless. Which explains why some Aes Sedai are so insistent on treating the supergirls as Accepted. They’d be owed a great deal of deference if they were full sisters.
Sylas, your WOT essays are always enticing and incredibly thoughtful reads. Thank you so so much for sharing about your journey. You’re truly special and I’m so grateful to have run into your posts. Looking forward to the next one!
CJ
@@@@@ 9 – well, how does she know she’s the smartest person in the room? What does “smartest” even mean? How is this any different than any other hierarchy ever invented by humans? We never operate with full information about who is “smartest” or “best”. Over time, those sisters with talents and predilections will show they possess those qualities in excess of their sisters, and be listened to more and more. Why do we not defer to a new hire at a company more than the person who has been there for years? Should we expect the person in the mail room for 30 years to have more knowledge of sales than a person with 3 years of experience in a sales department? If we take your argument to its logical conclusion, then we should never weight opinions, because it’s always possible we make a mistake. That’s an awful way to run anything, from a society on down. The White Tower doesn’t get it perfectly right, but the hierarchies make sense, and nothing is ever going to be perfect. For what it’s worth, “deference” does not mean “silence” in all places and at all times. It means that the lowest on the totem pole serves the tea, for example, not that she cannot express an opinion.
@@@@@ 10 – this only holds up a little. We see people like Merana struggle with imposing her authority, but that is complicated by the fact that there is an actual, formal breakdown in authority. Why should Verin defer to Merana, for example? Verin isn’t a Salidar Aes Sedai, she has no reason to respect Egwene or the Rebel Hall’s authority. This issue only arises in a meaningful manner because of the Tower split. The places we see it function as it was supposedly “meant” to is in situations like Cadsuane’s little group, where the person at the top is setting an agenda, more or less, and the person at the bottom is in a slightly subservient (e.g. serving tea, not being forbidden from discussion). It’s not like Cadsuane is compelling anyone to do anything, except through her own force of reputation and achievement, which is very close to how the Wise Ones operate.
And the Aes Sedai insist on treating the Supergirls as Accepted because by all traditions of the Tower, they are Accepted. They’ve had almost no formal training in the Tower, they’re come extremely close if not outright across the line of breaking a bunch of Tower laws and taboos, and they’ve never been tested or held the Oath Rod. In other words, they aren’t Aes Sedai! It’s like asking why a paralegal isn’t considered a fully fledged lawyer, even if they have lots of knowledge and experience. There are certain hard and fast rules to be “accredited” as an Aes Sedai (which Elayne and Nynaeve certainly aren’t, Egwene skirts it by being Amyrlin and thus having formal authority), and beyond that, certain reasonable standards that Accepted are expected to meet, which none of the Supergirls do. It’s not a conspiracy to keep them in a subservient position as Accepted, it’s a perfectly rational argument, given the traditions and laws of the Tower. In the midst of Armageddon that may be foolish or too conservative, but that doesn’t make it factually or ethically wrong.
@12 You can’t prove you’re the smartest person in the room if you have to defer to everyone else. The idea that Aes Sedai will eventually listen to their inferiors is not borne out by experience with hierarchies. Even someone as forceful and experiences as Siuan finds herself having trouble once she regains her ability to channel and she stands so much lower than she used to.
It makes even less sense for the Browns, Whites, and Grays since strength in the Power has nothing to do with scholarship, logic, or diplomacy. Yet a Gray with 100 years experience would be expected to defer to a woman just raised to the shawl if the new sister is stronger in the Power.
@noblehunter
Perfect example! The Aes Sedai were exposed for years to the level of skill and competence exhibited by Siuan Sanche. Yet since her recovery from stilling, they treat her like a child, simply because she is so much weaker in the One Power. Did she lose mental acuity along with strength? Absolutely not, but you would think she did from how she is treated.
Isn’t there a show “house of cards” where a group of people that have high power and influence play these political games… I took the discussions in the book as reflections of things that really happen.
Or consider the book “the girl with seven names” she talks about the manufactured culture she grew up in carefully and silently putting people into a ridged social helierarchy.
I want to add that the unspoken rules of hierarchy also benefit the Aes Sedai precisely by remaining unspoken. Strength in the power is only apparent to those who channel saidar. Part of Aes Sedai social power is the inscrutability of their ways to outsiders and the appearance of unanimity – the importance they place on disguising the presence of internal dissent also contributes to why the very idea of “rebel Aes Sedai” is so exceptionally scandalous.
I truly appreciate Sylas’ consideration of unspoken rules in relation to autism/neurodivergence. There’s a strength in seeing the given rules of hierarchy as constructed, even arbitrary or functionally obsolete, rather than natural or necessary. Egwene’s multicultural experience with alternative forms of social organization besides the urban standard, first as an Emond’s Fielder and then as an apprentice Wise One, helps her see this. Not that the alternatives are superior, but that such rules could – and perhaps should – be different. I deeply admire Egwene’s willingness to speak of what others would prefer remain unspoken.
@13 – Honestly, I always felt like RJ flubbed it on the Ajahs. What does math/logic and scholarship have to do with the One Power? Diplomacy seems pretty useful for the White Tower to assert its power, but again, it has nothing to do with the OP. Not sure why the hierarchy would even apply to these Ajahs.
Also, and just because I like to complain about this, the other Ajahs should have been better thought out. Green Ajah, the “Battle Ajah,” does nothing, when they could have easily done something like take rotations in the Borderland armies, helping to fight Shadowspawn. The Yellow Ajah should have had members spread out in the world, offering healing and increasing the reputation of the Aes Sedai. The Red Ajah should have been more like One Power cops (and there really should have been a lot more renegade wilders/former Aes Sedai, and not just men).
@17 I think the purposes of each Ajah are not flubbed so much as underdeveloped. Aes Sedai habitually leave their purposes unspoken, individually and as Ajahs. There’s a lot of room left for a reader’s imagination to play in, so I’ll indulge in some speculation.
For instance, I always imagined that the Greens did support the Borderlands against incursions from the Blight, only at this point in time the blightborder has been unusually quiet, so they focus on training new Warders. But why speak of such details? The Green already knows, and it’s nobody else’s business. Likewise with the worldly activities of the Yellow (and there is some indication that Aes Sedai healing is a source of positive regard for the White Tower in places where it is generally unpopular).
The Reds train to fight other channelers, but no Aes Sedai would go out of her way to complain about “all these wilders” because the White Tower prefers to suppress talk of their existence, while simultaneously fear-mongering over male channelers. I imagine the Red as responsible for bringing in upstart Wilders or likely renegades to be “broken” by the Tower, if not stilled, but always quietly, without the fanfare they like giving to gentling.
The activities of the Brown relate to the One Power in seeking to preserve the future of the world by empowering its (sane) channelers with knowledge of that world – not knowledge for all, but in the service of all by way of fortifying generations of women who channel the Power. Not to mention research on Talents and ter’angreal and other more direct applications of the Power – purposes that were probably more important in past centuries when the Tower needed more high-risk/high-reward projects.
I imagine that the White are culturally regressive, posturing with the detached attitude of Aes Sedai from the pre-bore Age of Legends, trying (and failing) to resist the sort of childish degradation noted by the Forsaken. They are the smallest Ajah for a reason – the others tend to consider them frivolous and self-congratulatory rather than wise, but the White appeals to those who want to feel intellectually superior in debate. Whites also seem politically predictable, so disbanding them probably wouldn’t be prudent Hall politics, even if they’re practically useless.
Lastly, internal Ajah hierarchies are as different from the overall White Tower hierarchy as they are from each other’s. The Brown even have a single Ajah head! So, in a big way, the strength rule actually doesn’t apply so much within the Ajahs. Every time an Ajah head gives a member some specific responsibility, that undoes any other consideration within the Ajah.
I definitely wasn’t expecting an exploration of autism/neurodivergence but it fits so well here. I can really relate to a lot of it though – I’ve got two kids on the spectrum and also (despite no formal diagnosis) feel like I can relate in a lot of ways to those experiences. So, it’s a really interesting take on how hierarchies you are thrust into can just seem completely nonsensical if you are not the type who can easily just adapt/go with the flow. One of my kids is definitely the type to basically call out bullshit which I think is also relevant when thrown into an ossified hierarchy that is just trundling along on its own steam and may no longer be logical for the situation. And there are a lot of scenarios where the ‘strongest’ Aes Sedai is not necessarily the ‘best’ Aes Sedai, or the most obvious choice for a leader.
All that said, I think andrew does bring up some good counterpoints about why this hierarchy may have in fact made sense at one point and where there may still be some applications to that. Our culture, I think, is a bit more inherently mistrustful of hierarchy/authority, in part as we’ve seen how much it can be abused. That said, I do find some good aspects to a (healthy) hierarchy and a strong sense of identity. To a point – the hierarchy is a tool, not the end in and of itself (although to some people the power certainly is the end), and so should always be re-evaluated to make sure it still makes sense and is putting the right people in charge, in the right situations.
I think the Aes Sedai make more sense when you consider them a military organisation. This group was founded directly in the aftermath of the War of the Shadow in the knowledgfe that they would have to fight that battle again.
The test for Accepted is about commitment to the order, which is important.
The test for full sister is about being able to channel under pressure, essentially a direct test of combat ability.
In that context deferring to strength makes sense as strength in the power has been shown to be proportional to ability in combat.
The Ajahs each take responsibility for various endeavours that will help them grow in strength in the long term, but the Amyrlin whose powers are clearly meant for a war time leader can rapidly mobilise them to take down the shadow. Which we saw Egwene do successfully at the end of the book once she shook of the machinations of the shadow.
Now unfortunately this is also impaired by the lack of trust shown to them by the rest of the world meaning they have to resort to manipulations to ensure they can maintain power over the Westlands which is essential to mobilising them in combat. When we see them this has weakened them greatly as is the fact that we encopunter them in peqacetime, but when you think about the stories of the Trolloc wars or how effective they were at the last battle you start to see some of the wisdom in the structure. Even if it makes less sense in peacetime allowing such strictures to loosen only makes them harder to enforce in an emergency, which is why the military take discipline as seriously in peacetime as it does in wartime.
Its why the Wise ones have such issues with the Aes Sedai. The wise ones are meant to be advisers to sept and clan chiefs and see the Aes Sedai as similar when actually the Aes Sedai are actually Algai’d Siswai who are also forced to act as Wise Ones by circumstance and often do a bad job.
Very well presented. You made me seriously think about my mindset and actions in life from the perspective of the books I’m reading. I relate sincerely. Thank you for this article.
Frankly, Aes Sedai are all about contradiction, as a commentary of those in power. They have distinctive faces, but try to hide. They wish to be trusted, but have learned to bend their paths into fanciful shapes. So convinced of their own righteousness as an organization that they refuse any could follow the Dark One, despite they themselves say how dark friends are of every boarder and rank. Egwene points it out later how they take on the role of guiding the world while distancing themselves from it with no families and no friends not Aes Sedai (if even then). And just as you pointed out, they flaunt their supposed wisdom and keen minds and ability to manipulate, while they bend to raw power.
I’ve seen some logical explanations here, and to me, though they are all logical, they sound like what someone tells themselves to justify their actions. It may be true, but not The Truth. One thing that holds true with nearly ever single Sister is their hyper focus to the point of excluding all else. They are all so self absorbed and preoccupied by what they each think is important. The reds with finding and potentially battling men, the greens with standing out (they call themselves the battle ajah but never seem to hone their skill in battle unlike the Reds), the whites with pure logic, the greys with laws, the browns with knowledge (gathering and leaving for others), yellows healing, and blues with events and factions. Throughout the story they show how each is so wrapped up in their thoughts, goals, and priorities that they are seldom able to work with those of other ajahs even before the split along party lines. Every time they do they either need to be pressed into it grudgingly by need, or completely over awed by someone else’s presence (Egwene, Rand, Cadsuane, Suian). And this goes beyond differences between ajahs, but individuals in their own groups (regardless of ajah you can find sisters bickering amongst each other about their handling of their perceived purpose). So in order to save time and quickly move on to what they feel is most important, they go by something that can be measured quickly. We all examine the most who are out equals/rivals, and are vaguely aware of those that we are separated from. This leads to those with genuine minds to be silenced by lack of ability. See how most thought that Suian and Leane were non threats because of no/reduced ability. See the white in Cadsuane’s group that is so weak that regardless of her years as Aes Sedai, she is over shadowed by all except her patron.
The only reason their system has not failed completely is because those of strength are groomed early both as students and full sisters for leadership, even if they aren’t aware of it, leaving those that fail those expectations as outliers and usually assigned to out of the way posts or positions. This leads to arrogance. Even throughout the series, it shows the thoughts of women that feel like all not of the Tower should listen and heed to them. Not for their years, learning, or experience , but because of the organization they represent and the Power they wield. And whenever someone stands firm and doesn’t bend to their authority and possession of Power, they abuse one or both, be it to use connections to thwart the efforts of nobles/rulers, Warders to commit violence (never shown but implied), or in the case of even the most accomplished of them, using the One Power to intimidate or “discipline” the other party. Such as Aes Sedai using Mirror of Mists to try to intimidate Rand, other kidnapping and beating Rand with the Power, using Air to hit or lift. They are commiting violence with the power but convince themselves that it’s not a use as a weapon so it’s fine, but elsewhere are unable to use it to fire a warning shot because they called it “attacking the ground.”
Wheel of Time is all about flaws. Every character has them, and the mightier they are (physical or political), the more obvious those flaws are made to the reader. But The Tower itself is contradiction and self directed ignorance.
@17 I mean, that’s the entire point, though. The Greens aren’t battling anything – they’re swanning around having sex parties with a bunch of warders. The Yellows aren’t healing anyone except maybe people in Tar Valon. The “logic” ajah can’t even figure out one of their own is a lying servant of evil.
The organization is so completely ossified that they’ve forgotten basically everything but ridiculous hierarchical rules and coasting on what they used to be (warriors, negotiators, etc), rather than actually doing. Because we’re at the end of an Age and things are decaying. The Dragon is coming to break all ties and hierarchies.
It’s really only as the series gets going (and the Last Battle approaches, and a bunch of wild Accepted start challenging the system) that ossification starts breaking down, and we see the members really stepping up and doing what their Ajah claims to be about.
I should point out that Sitters are not always the most powerful in the Ajah, and they still wield authority. So it is possible for the clever and useful to rise, it’s just not the instantaneous recognition of the power hierarchy.
Great post.
@Ellisande Great comment. You articulated and clarified for me my completely fleeting and reductive spare thoughts while reading these books that the Aes Sedai often reminded me of the Jedi: “Ossified” as you put it and so far up their own butts and high on the smell of their own .. uh, well, anyway, they’re such navel gazers (and lack any kind of accountability, either personally or from the world they profess to serve) for ANY of their actions and behaviors, that they’ve completely lost sight of who they are.
I appreciate your nuanced consideration of the Aes Sedai hierarchy. When I first read the series, especially New Spring, I especially assumed the linear growth of new sisters’ power meant they could continue studying without suffering from their egos, and eventually grow into independence. That assumption ignored that Moraine and Suian were considered exceptional, and the assumption that they would be very high in the power is shown throughout the series.
Strength In the power never made sense, but because not everything they do *has* to make sense, I kind of just kept allowing myself to gloss over the implications.
What a wonderful, thoughtful article. Thank you for this.
My daughter is autistic with ADHD and ODD, yet never had it occurred to me to compare Aes Sedai and their complex internal squabbling to being autistic. I don’t think I’ll think of them the same way, and look forward to applying that perspective on my next read-through.
As far as the nonsensical ranking system: my assumption was that the author was trying to reinforce what I view to be one of the major themes of the series: that if women were in charge of the world they would bungle it as badly as the men have. The women using a seemingly “masculine” means of deciding rank (strength over competence) was his way of showing that women are still people, so would end up creating unfair/inefficient/sexist government like our own real world governments run by men. I’m not sure if that was actually the authors intent, but it was what I’d come up with as a teen reading the series for the first time, and it’s stuck with me through the years.
Thank you. As a person on the autism spectrum, I totally get your comparison. Your talk about not getting the rule book hit me hard in the gut. What a great piece!
I’m very glad you landed in my feed one day. I love your analysis and take on the books. Your inclusion of autism and neurodivergent in this one hit home and I thank you.
I feel the Aei Sedai strength rating system for overall interaction is a disadvantage in many instances. There already exists ‘strengh’ inherent in positions of authority. We see, or at least I see, time and time again a sister use her strength in the power as a bully pulpit to achieve her goal(s), ambitions and agendas.
I see the use of strength system precluding teamwork in solving many problems and preventing much needed communication of information and the best way to achieve a solution. A perfect example is Androl Genhald. He was abused and written off as insignificant because of his lack of strength in the OP. But wow, look what he accomplished once seen for his value outside of his strength!
Just a note to say that if you want to respond specifically to a previous thread, like last week’s entry, it’s better (and much less confusing) to do it on the original chapter discussion/conversation (which is still open). This is a separate topic, and a different discussion–thanks.
@@@@@ Lisa – Androl is a good example of someone falling through the cracks, but it’s also not applicable to the question of the Aes Sedai. The amount of time and the explicit purpose for which the Asha’man are trained precludes the kind of careful sifting for talents and Talents that most Aes Sedai are subjected to. Armageddon will do that to a training system!
But more to the point, finding individual examples of how a given hierarchy operates in a sub-optimal fashion is not an indictment of that hierarchy! No human system is perfect, and we can’t expect it to be. Most of the people complaining about how the Aes Sedai operate seem to be taking an overly deterministic view of how the strength system works – we have no evidence that a sister raised to the Shawl yesterday should expect deference from a weaker sister who is 100 years older. We see time and again that the hierarchy is multifaceted and complex, not just a metaphysical arm wrestling contest. And even within that, it feels like commenters don’t understand what “deference” means. It doesn’t mean a sister is silenced, or is expected to be slavishly obedient. It’s just a way of weighting opinions, which is perfectly normal. Sure, it might mean that important thoughts or solutions get discounted because the person proposing them is weaker in the Power, but any system ever devised is going to have that problem, because opinions aren’t facts and are subject to validation by others, which brings in all the foibles of humanity into the equation. Even a system of perfect equality would be worse, because then bad opinions can be overweighted.
I mean, it’s easy to say that “if Sister A is more intelligent than Sister B, Sister A shouldn’t have to defer to Sister B’s opinion”… but that kind of counter-argument only works if you can say, with certainty, that Sister A is smarter. Which is basically impossible in a real life situation. And if it is possible to say, then we see that the weaker Sister is the one deferred to, which is how it should work.
I’m late to comment on this, but one thing I did want to bring up in regards to this part is the wider cultural and historical climate. Aes Sedai have to walk a fine line when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world. Because of the power they wield, they are a threat and many people think of them that way and they bend over backwards in so many ways to mitigate that threat so that they may continue to exist and pursue their causes.
I imagine this calm, cool exterior where no emotions are revealed is very purposeful. Even in our world, women’s emotions are so often used against them to explain why they can’t be trusted be with power. An emotional aes sedai with the power to blow stuff up is going to be perceived as a threat no matter how many oaths she took.
On top of that, there is the issue of madness. Aes Sedai are allowed to wield their power because they are not subject to the taint. But if they started acting in any way that could be perceived as irrational, it would be all too easy for people to start wondering if they were really safe from the taint or not and for those with an anti-Aes Sedai agenda to use it against them.
There is one thing. Aes Sedai hierarchy largely based on Freemasonry one. And RJ knew it well, for he was a Freemason himself.