Nynaeve is too unbelievable a charater

[redisgreat]

I cannot imagine that Nynaeve is what she appears. No one can drift through life as she does. Unless she has experienced it, it cannot be true. What a crock. I do not care for her in the least. I am at book four and hope that she dies in a fire.

[mb]

Unless she has experienced it, it cannot be true.

What is 'it'?

 

[Muad Cheade]

Unless she has experienced it, it cannot be true.

What is 'it'?

 

Yes. Pray tell.

[redisgreat]

When Domon Bayle says he had one of the seven pieces that held the Dark Lord imprisioned she "did not beilieve it". What an arrogant fool she is.

 

[mb]

'it' is her disbelief about Domon's statement?

 

[Durinax]

well that is a pretty unbelievable claim, imagine some guy came up to you and said one of 7 ancient texts, you wouldnt believe it would you?

[Kadere]

You know the same can be said for every character in the entire series right? One of RJ's big points is that people are arrogant and only believe what their perception of reality can allow. I mean Rand can't trust Moiraine because he believes all Aes Sedai are manipulators. Mat can't trust Rand because he channels the One Power. Perrin can't believe the people of the Two Rivers want him to be their leader. Egwene can't believe she's not capable of going into T'A'R by herself. Elayne can't believe her mom would allow a man to run her country.

 

I mean everyone in the series is stuck in their own view point. They all have their personal biases. It's what makes them seem human, and so much fun to read.

[Myyrth]

Though I feel sometimes that personal bias becomes so smothering that it prevents the characters from growing.  I agree that it's done with a purpose, but I think it's almost too present at times.

[Leatherleaf]

Though I feel sometimes that personal bias becomes so smothering that it prevents the characters from growing.  I agree that it's done with a purpose, but I think it's almost too present at times.

 

True, their personal biases are heavy, but for many characters, there seems to be an event - or series of events - that changes them. One instance would be Egwene, and although her main character traits (such as whole-heartedly following the latest 'fad' of her life, i.e., training with Nynaeve, then training with Moiraine and White Tower, etc.) remain throughout the series, I think she finally advances as a character in strength of will, courage, and intelligence after training with the Aiel. In fact, before training with the Aiel, Egwene seemed to rebel against what she previously had put her heart into, such as Wisdom Training, while after Training with the Aiel, she seemed to have more respect for any training she received.

 

Although many characters are frustrating because they can't get by their biases, other times it is downright funny. I love Nynaeve as a character, because early on she is so ignorant. My first time reading through the series, by book 4 I could have wished for the deaths of Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene, however, after finishing all the written books, and rereading them multiple times, I've learned to love Nynaeve and Egwene. However, Elayne can die in a fire... lol ;D

[Durinax]

what I found is that all the girl are unbelievable retarded in the the beginning, then they all start to develop more and more (except egwene) and then they all become pretty awesome (except egwene who can die in a tower fire)

[Feral]

When Domon Bayle says he had one of the seven pieces that held the Dark Lord imprisioned she "did not beilieve it". What an arrogant fool she is.

 

 

Most of us are like that about something at some point in our lives. And to my mind she's actually got one of the most realistic personalities in the book.

[OptimusPrime]

I cannot imagine that Nynaeve is what she appears. No one can drift through life as she does. Unless she has experienced it, it cannot be true. What a crock. I do not care for her in the least. I am at book four and hope that she dies in a fire.

 

Nynaeves character development is fantastic. If you dont change your mind at some point I think there is something wrong with you. Nynaeve is one of my favorite characters and the books strengthen that every time I read of her late in the series.

 

I find it funny that this thing with Domon brought this up. Especially when she can be slagging Mat off and then instantly turn to defending him when someone else says something bad about him. She is ace

[Stanley the Bugman]

I really didn't like Nynaeve in the beginning, but she grew on me after a while. Just some of things that she says and does can be absolutely hilarious. I really find it hard not to like a lot of the characters, especially the ones who have been in the series since the beginning. Mainly I think because you see them grow, and it's almost like you've been through everything they have and you can understand why they think and act the way they do.

[Isgrimner]

I agree, Naynaeve does grow on you.  I didn't much care for her early on either, but somewhere along the way she ended up becoming my favorite female character.  Nynaeve, like many of the characters are dismissive of the unknown, but I think later on, Nynaeve is willing to accept change more than some, ie. Egwene. Especially regarding Rand.  Still, I enjoy when Mat takes Nynaeve down a peg or two.

[TheBeerPatriot]

I didn't necessarily care for Nynaeve in EotW, but starting with Great Hunt she has definitely grown on me.  She is a fully fleshed-out character, and well written.  She shines in books 4,5,7,9, 11 and 12.  Alright, so every damn book in the series she shines, IMO ;)

[Durinax]

she definately sucks in books 2 & 3 and in whatever bookthey find the bowl in

[dholm]

Nynaeve is a great character.

[rubbernilly]

I know the original poster said he was only on book 4, so I think things will change.

 

So, trying to give no spoilers... how can you not like a character who does the things she does in the chapters:

 

With the Choeden Kal

The Golden Crane (awesome chapter)

...and the scene with Logain, for which I'm too lazy to look up the chapter. You know what I'm talking about.

[bronnt]

Nynaeve is close to my favorite, if not truly my favorite, character.  She's one of the most developed characters in the entire series, and the aspects about her that are annoying are also what give her such depth.  I really like that she's sometimes annoying.  It's such a down-to-earth quality for a character in a fantasy series.  She's a great example of the vast male/female dynamic that's a crucial theme over the series.

 

She's full of her own contradictions, too, it makes me feel closer to her.  There are times when we all lack self-awareness; we come to realize that we don't understand our own feelings.  And despite her general lack of awareness, she remains incredibly authentic.  She somehow remains constant throughout her character development, so the Nynaeve you see in later books is not a jarring split from the character in EotW (like Rand, for example, or Egwene).

 

While RJ's true strength was in world-building, his characterizations of Nynaeve are some of the best you'll find in the fantasy community.

[ranjitb]

Nynaeve is the only female character in the entire series who even comes close to being a real person, and not some irritating cardboard cutout.

 

She has depth and actually acts like a real person would in most situations - even though her physical ticks (sniffing, skirt-smoothing and braid-tugging) are somewhat overplayed in the text.

She goes from being the figure of absolute authority in the circle of her world (and yet, with realistically fleshed out self-doubts about having come to the position too young, or desires to be just another girl - repressed just beneath the surface), to learning how to deal with being a lowly accepted AS, and child in the eyes of many of the more experienced female characters we encounter later in the books, to finally finding her place in the grander scheme of things.

 

The only irritating factor would be her great love-at-first-sight romance with Lan, but since that seems to be par for the course in these novels (seriously, other than Mat and Tuon which two characters even spent a day together before deciding they were meant for each other for evs and evs).

 

Moiraine has the potential for depth as well - we shall see how her grand comeback is - but so far she has been little more than a verbatim reproduction of Gandalf.

[Durinax]

Nynaeve is the only female character in the entire series who even comes close to being a real person, and not some irritating cardboard cutout.

 

She has depth and actually acts like a real person would in most situations - even though her physical ticks (sniffing, skirt-smoothing and braid-tugging) are somewhat overplayed in the text.

She goes from being the figure of absolute authority in the circle of her world (and yet, with realistically fleshed out self-doubts about having come to the position too young, or desires to be just another girl - repressed just beneath the surface), to learning how to deal with being a lowly accepted AS, and child in the eyes of many of the more experienced female characters we encounter later in the books, to finally finding her place in the grander scheme of things.

 

The only irritating factor would be her great love-at-first-sight romance with Lan, but since that seems to be par for the course in these novels (seriously, other than Mat and Tuon which two characters even spent a day together before deciding they were meant for each other for evs and evs).

 

Moiraine has the potential for depth as well - we shall see how her grand comeback is - but so far she has been little more than a verbatim reproduction of Gandalf.

rand an min, rand and avi where both together for longer than a day

[Skeeve the Great]

rand an min, rand and avi where both together for longer than a day

 

Plus, Nynaeve and Lan spent almost whole EotW travelling together.

[Durinax]

not to mention Egwene and Gawyn

[Agitel]

not to mention Egwene and Gawyn

 

There's a lot of behind the scenes interaction going on between characters. Jordan doesn't seem to delve into the mundane stuff. While I doubt their getting to know each other was anything like it is today, I'm sure there was more going on than we were shown involving Gawyn and Galad while she was at the White Tower. After all, Egwene was best friends with their sister, I'm sure they saw each other around.

[Kadere]

Perrin and Faile are together much longer than a day before falling in love.