Male & Female readers

[Pixiedragon]

Hmm... to be honest, I think both genders in WoT can be very irrational and over the top.

But to me it seems the women are doing so more often.

I think that I drift more towards liking the male characters because most of the females seem to be quite "girlish", even Nynaeve and Aviendha like pretty dresses.

I'm a girl by the way, but one that used to climb trees when she was younger. :)

[Ahaz Flagg]

Guess I would be in the middle, many of the males and females are very illogical to me.  None are more illogical to me than Perrin.

 

And Trankard, I would like to point out that Lan had nothing to do with Nynaeves block  being removed, it could be said that The Spider broke it.  It was Lan who pointed it out, but I remember that scene well, Nynaeve was under the boat, and did something she had never done before, she surrendered. 

[ChronoCrosS]

I would agree very much with this. I always liked Rand and Mat more than any other character (don't like Perrin too much) and whenever another character is fighting with them I side with the characters that I like. Since Rand and Mat usually fight with females (namely Nyneave/Egwene/Cadsuane), it creates dislike for those characters in me. I have to admit that Cadsuane is my least favorite character (Sorry Cads lol) since she is always trying to make Rand do what she wants. But yes, in general I would think that males would like the male characters and females would like female characters. Since the two genders are usually opposed in decisions in the books, it creates a feeling of dislike for the opposite gender.

[D24g0n]

I am a male, and I usually agree more with the male character's decisions/conclusions than with the females.

[ChronoCrosS]

I actually like Min though, she is my third favorite, after Rand and Mat. :)

[el Nynaeve]

To answer nosscire's request, I'm one of the odd ones out. I tend to find myself coming down on the side of the males more than the females. Nynaeve is one of the few females I truly identify with because she does learn to admit that's she's afraid and it helps to understand her behaviour better. She's grown and that's why I like her. Avienda I'm ok with too, but the rest just get on my nerves. As for the males, I identify with Mat most, yeah he's a scamp but he's got his heart in the right place and tries to do the right thing. I used to like Rand, but then he just got way too serious.

 

And Spirit, I would dearly love to tell your professor how .... misguided he is. I read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi that I would consider serious literature, like 1984, Brave New World and Farenheit 451. Anyone who belittles a genre just because they don't think it's serious enough has got some issues to work out and shouldn't be teaching.

[Jethro]

Im a guy, but I must admit I am very reluctant to judge people/characters going off their gender. That being said I would be honest and say I do usually side with the mens' reasoning.

 

BUT. Notice the capitals. While more of my favorite characters are male, I like my favorite female characters every bit as much as my male favorites. My favorite male characters are Rand, Taim, Demandred, and Moridin, to name but a few. Mat is very interesting but not quite up there for me, and Perrin has potential that he doesnt live up to.

 

My favorite female characters are Moiraine, Cadsuane, Nynaeve, and Aviendha. Probably in that order as well. Moiraine for just being her, Cadsuane pretty much the same, Nynaeve because she develops more than the other female characters, and Aviendha because of her Ji'e'toh extremeties.

[Dbob]

Well, keep in mind that the female characters are after all, a male interpretation of a female. As such I’m not sure there is a point to asking women if they agree more with a man written by a man, or a woman written by a man. It could just as easily be argued that the reason the male characters are more sympathetic is solely because the author was male(I actually think that R.J. had some great fondness for a particular idea he had about women - which is why we see her pop up over and over again.) Plus I really have an issue with the slow slide from well crafted females to almost universal caricature. By the time Cads shows up, I’m pretty much just wondering why the books need yet another pushy, obnoxious, harridan who mistakes bullying for strength.

 

It’s possible for me to really like some of the women, Berelain for example, she has her flaws, but she also behaves like an adult, unlike Elayne, who is one of my least favorite characters and the woman who probably makes the most boneheaded and quite frankly pointless moves of them all. Moiraine I also like, the primary wise one, Amys I think - hmmmm; that’s probably my list of females who aren’t obnoxious. On the other side, the top of the heap, Faile – crazy, scary, stalker chick; Elayne the hapless and her mother(though we can make allowances for Morgase at least) – Cads the battle axe who wants to beat you into manners etc.

 

When you come down to it, what irritates me most is the apparent adherence to a gender trait paradigm that exists back here in the real world, that is pretty anachronistic to begin with, and I don’t think helps the narrative out at all. It doesn’t help either that Rand’s whole “women can’t be harmed – the poor dears” is incredibly misogynistic, not to mention self absorbed.

 

[Mr Ares]

It could just as easily be argued that the reason the male characters are more sympathetic is solely because the author was male

It could, but not everyone agrees that the male characters are more sympathetic. Such would depend on your interpretation of each character.

Plus I really have an issue with the slow slide from well crafted females to almost universal caricature. By the time Cads shows up, I’m pretty much just wondering why the books need yet another pushy, obnoxious, harridan who mistakes bullying for strength.

Far from the best supported interpretation of her character. Some might take issue with your interpretaions of the women in general.

Faile – crazy, scary, stalker chick;

Really?

[nosscire]

I jump back into this topic to say thanks to everyone who replied.

 

Based on the answers I have recieved here, I've decided to put my money on other research. While it at first glance do look overly positive with many people agreeing with my thesis, those are all male that believe that males are more rational in the books.

 

The few women that have replied have also said that they consider males to be the more rational.

 

Now, this isn't any definite proof in any way. Several of the women that have replied have said that they tend to agree with men more overall. The fact that this is an internet based forum - a spot generally dominated by males (as is the case on these very boards), might also mean that the women also generally identify themselfs more with men.

 

For me it's the end of this however. While I still believe there might be some truth in this idea, i'm not willing to bet my whole education on it.

In most cases a report like this can end in "... but I was wrong." In my case i'm already going pretty far out of my subject that if I turned out to be wrong the examinator would ask me why the hell I did it in the first place..

It's basicly worthless unless i'm right.

 

Again, thanks everyone who replied!