What's up with the hate on Nynaeve?

[CrescentoTWNR]

I finished book five a day ago and went to see what other people were thinking about it online, and I've seen a lot of people voice their dislike of Nynaeve in this book. I don't know if I'm missing something because I really enjoyed Nynaeve's arc in the Fires of Heaven, and even at her worst I can't really see her as "bratty" or anything like people describe her to be.

[Starla Yilmaz]

People hate Nyneave? Let me at those wool brained lummoxes.

[Sabio]

Because early on she is simply a bully, throwing tantrums, talking down to others, and using threats to get her way.  Later she is much more likeable as she grows, but early in the series she is simply someone who tries to bully her way through things.

Edited yesterday at 07:09 AM by Sabio

[CrescentoTWNR]

Just now, Sabio said:

Because early on she is simply a bully, throwing tantrums, talking down to others, and using threats to get her way.  Later she is much more likeable as she grows, but early in the series she is simply someone who tries to bully her way through things.

I'll admit she has a problem with coming to terms with the fact that the rest of the cast from the Two Rivers are their own people and she can't drag them all back home like she set out to do. But a lot of her anger seems to stem from the fact that her and the lives of those she cares about were all irreversibly wrapped up in the world's problems, and she can't even lay the blame at Moiraine's feet like she thought to at first because she knows that they are what they are no matter what.

I think she's actually a really good parallel to Rand, considering how much they both dig their heels at their respective duties. Even in book five, you have Nynaeve subjugating a Forsaken and keeping it on the down low much like Rand did with Asmodean.

[Sabio]

Early in Two Rivers she shows no respect to the village council and I think and even hits Cein Blue with a stick.  She was the show me respect as Wisdom but never felt she had to show others.  I ended up liking her but early on she was a bully.

[Jaysee]

Let me preface this by saying I haven't made it through all the books yet. I don't hate her, but the braid tugging got out of control in The Dragon Reborn. By the time you get to the end of the book she has gripped, pulled, tugged, or yanked on that thing nearly thirty times. It bothered me so much, I made a drinking game out of it!

Edited 21 hours ago by Jaysee

[Figs and Mice]

Yes in the early books Nynaeve is a bit hard to love because of the way her dogged belief that she is always right leads her to rather riding roughshod over the opinions or wishes of others : but even there it is clear enough that she always acts for what she sees as the benefit of all...  Could argue that she is the least self-centred of all the main characters , and the one on whom you could always rely for support in adversity. The stubbornness and resistance to seeing others' points of view is always going to rub people up the wrong way though.

 

She develops - albeit in fits and starts - over the later books and by the end became just about my favourite female character . Possibly because of some shared characteristics with my wife 😉