Perrin, I do not understand you!

[Caelan Arendor]

I have a profound affection for wolfes and wolfdogs (and of course to their more tame cousins the german shepherd dogs!). I admire their pack cohesion, though governed by a strict hierarchy, yet even the weakest member - the "omega" so to speak - is granted a chance to survive. Though he does not receive the choicest portion of the hunted game, he never departs entirely empty-handed. Now, in the tale, we learn that Perrin possesses the astonishing and wondrous gift of communing with wolves, even counting them as his allies. How is it that throughout the epic, Perrin resists, with every fiber of his being, accepting this ability in a favorable light? Perrin's attitude has always remaied inscrutable to me. 

 

If it were not for these circumstances I have described here, Perrin would be, for me, the second most likable person in the entire story (after Matt of course! 🥰)

I would appreciate yours thoughts my friends...

[Jaysee]

Haven't gotten through the whole series yet -- still slogging my way through The Shadow Rising -- but it seems like Perrin has partially accepted his condition, but has some concerns. First and most obvious is that wolves are often regarded with fear, and he's worried about being judged by association. Second, in The Dragon Reborn, Perrin traveled through a village where another wolf-man lived, only this guy's wolf nature had taken over so completely that there wasn't anything human left in his mind. So I think Perrin is afraid of becoming similarly afflicted if he embraces his inner-wolf too readily.

 

The thing that drives me nuts about Perrin so far is that he's constantly being treated as though he isn't a grown man, and he permits it. Most recently in my read-through, he's sneaking around the Stone of Tear silently praying that he won't run into Moiraine, as though he's worried she'll punish him if she finds out he's going to Two Rivers. And all I can think is, why the heck is he acting like he's five years old? And a short while later, Moiraine speaks of Rand "letting" Perrin leave. I hope Perrin eventually straightens his spine and becomes his own man.

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

There is also Perrin's guilt and horror at him killing the whitecloaks. He fears the violence that beckons, mirroring his struggle with being bigger and stronger than everyone else in Emond's Field and the ease with which he could accidently hurt people. Perrin is willing to make sacrifices to keep others safe from himself. (A theme we also see in his reasoning to travel to the Two Rivers). 

 

An aside, but wolf packs are not hierarchical, they are based on family ties to the breeding pair. They are large cooperative families. The thing about alpha wolves comes from studying unrelated wolves in captivity forced to share living space. The dude that coined the phrase in the seventies has literally spent the rest of his life trying to undo the impact of his mistake research (assuming that wolves in the wild act as those in captivity do) and he has had little effect on popular culture and the concept of the alpha wolf. 

Edited Tuesday at 06:52 PM by HeavyHalfMoonBlade

[Tenobia si bashere kazadi]

Also he sees that Wolfbrother in Ghealdan and hes afraid of losing himself like that becoming an actuall wolf in a man's body.

[slynese]

Perrin is afraid to become like the wolfbrother he sees in Ghealdan, becoming a total wolf instead of man, and that may explain his resistance.