Why is Elayne Trakand not leading?

[Taimandred]

Elayne was born to rule. She has been taught to lead from the cradle. But whenever she is with Egwene or Nynaeve she suddenly becomes the village girl and allows the others to take lead while sticks her nose in the air.

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

I think this has something to with the way Jordan sees women, definitely how they are portrayed in the book. IIRC Jordan said he grew up in a household with strong women, I don't quite remember the exact wording. 

 

But most of the female characters are, to use a negative term, bossy. In contrast to the men who nearly universally follow the rules, accept each other's authority, selflessly work for the greater good; if you stick two female characters together they start to argue about who is in charge. Three and you have a fight. A lot more and you have the cluster**** that is the White Tower. 

 

The exception to this Elayne, who has been trained in diplomacy. I cannot help but feel - probably completely incorrectly - that a lot of the female interactions are based on Jordan's own experiences of, say, his relatives cooking Thanksgiving dinner and as such he sees Elayne as above this kind of kitchen politics. Of course it could just be she has been specifically trained on how to get along with groups that are disagreeing, but I cannot help picture a scene in a Southern kitchen when the issue of who's stuffing recipe is going to be used and it looks like things are about to turn nasty. 

 

That is my take anyway. 

[Taimandred]

I hear you. Still feels weird for her to just let others lead, diplomacy or not. Even when on the throne, her decision making is suspect (especially where Daved Hanlon is concerned). 

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

Yes, she is a bit headstrong. Though that explained by Min's viewing that her children would be born which is a bit lacking as she could have given birth minus a few limbs or in captivity and she is also very reckless with other people's lives as well. But I suppose she is allowed her faults as much as anyone. 

 

Also I think she is aware that she does not outrank the other Accepted, and that she has zero chance of getting Nynaeve or Egwene to anything she tells them anyway. 

Edited April 30 by HeavyHalfMoonBlade

[Andra]

On 4/21/2024 at 12:22 AM, Taimandred said:

Elayne was born to rule. She has been taught to lead from the cradle. But whenever she is with Egwene or Nynaeve she suddenly becomes the village girl and allows the others to take lead while sticks her nose in the air.

It's not just that she has been taught to lead.  She has been taught to recognize who has the right to lead in any particular situation.

That means that before she left Caemlyn, she knew to follow her mother, or Gareth Bryne, or Elaida, depending on the circumstances.  When she got to Tar Valon, she knew to follow the Amyrlin, or any other full Aes Sedai.  On the road with Egwene and Nynaeve, she could lead or follow as the need arose, but (mostly) always with diplomacy.

 

Elayne almost instinctively understood the chain of command, and that chaos was the result if it was ignored.