Nynaeve afraid of the One Power

[Kelitor]

I was just re-reading the Wheel of Time, and I know this is somewhat older (The Shadow Rising) I still thought it was interesting. A bit of a confession Nynaeve makes when Moghedien puts her under compulsion.

 

"Nynaeve still had that tight hold on her braids, but her face went from a pleased, girlish smile at praise to shamed lip-trembling. 'I am sorry I blocked myself,' she almost whimpered. 'I'm afraid of it... all that power... the One Power... how can I--?'"

 

Just note the all important part. There's no way Nynaeve would ever admit to actually being scared of the One Power unless she was under a compulsion (like now).

 

 

I don't think I'd ever noticed it before, there's really no point to this topic, I just thought it was an interesting character insight that Nynaeve is on some unconscious level afraid of her own abilities.

[Shard]

She doesn't seem afraid anymore at least, Fear could have been one of her reasons for blocking. Considering she got over this block is a good sign of character growth.

[42Bonzo88]

    I think you hit it right on the head. Nynaeve doesn't like being afraid (or admitting it anyway). She will go to great lengths to avoid anything she is afraid of. Look at how she gets the ship to Salidar, just so she can avoid Luca's show, which were two things she was afraid of. 1. Getting knives thrown at her. 2. Wearing such an imodest dress.

 

    Nynaeve reacts the same whenever she's afraid. She gets angry. So, I believe that she is afraid of the power, and finding out from Moirainne that she can channel didn't help that at all. So, her block would naturally be what she does when she becomes afraid. Personally, I think her block was fear more than anger.

[Kelitor]

I think its just utterly fascinating how you can find new things every time you re-read a book. I've read the Wheel of Time and never noticed this before. I've never thought Nynaeve might be afraid of Saidar. So its really interesting to finally notice this!

 

It really does significantly alter one's perception of Nynaeve.

 

I never thought about the subconscious reasons for blocks, that it might be linked to fear of the Power. But this makes it pretty obvious that once Nynaeve became aware of her potential, she subconsciously makes it impossible to channel unless it is absolutely necessary, as in she is angry which equals extreme stress/danger.

[Kaznen]

I think novice training is about getting over their fears of the OP.  Nyneave fell through the crackes because no one guessed that her block was caused by her fear, they just thought it was because she was a wilder.

[mb]

The kind of Compulsion Moghedien used I think causes the victims to agree with what she (Moghedien) says.

I am not sure if Nynaeve was actually afraid of the One Power at that point of time.

 

[Kaznen]

Seemed to me she used it to make them tell her the unvarished truth, even it was a truth they may have been denying to themselves.

[Kelitor]

I agree with Raznen. If the compulsion Moghedien used simply made people want to please her and agree with her, they would have tried telling her that they had sa'angreal hidden their rooms when she asked