Structuralism and Deconstruction

[olso4644]

Does anyone else see the WOT as a huge comment on structuralism and deconstruction?

[Cybertrolloc]

No, I see it more as Prosodic Metonymy.

 

Could you offer a bit more detail on what you mean and which aspects of the story lead you to that before I tell you you're wrong? :)

[Majsju]

Does anyone else see the WOT as a huge comment on structuralism and deconstruction?

 

Not even close.

[SylvanFox]

What? Are you sure you haven't mixed up your terms?

[olso4644]

Positive. I mean, think about it. They live in a world where they believe--and even have pretty strong evidence to back this up--that there are internal inherent differences between the two genders (with saidin and saidar and any sort of equality is destroyed by the taint on saidin). Living in that world, people would be so much more rooted in a belief that binary oppositions didn't exist, and therefore the two sexes do not trust one another and do not believe how similar they can be.

 

 

 

And deconstruction--circular time represents circular thought and the deterioration of that thought. And If Randland were to represent a sign, all the mirror worlds and parallel universes would represent that sign deconstructed as something different.

 

Some days I understand deconstruction better then on others, but honestly deconstruction is such a slippery theoretical approach to begin with. I don't even think Derrida understood it in the end. Oh, and now looking at Rand now, after he has all the history of his past lives, is like him looking at a hall of mirrors back and forth.

 

I began thinking this way after looking at the circularity of as circular thought, which is a huge component of deconstruction. Maybe I'll try to explain this better tomorrow if it still isn't clear.

[bsmnt23]

Positive. I mean, think about it. They live in a world where they believe--and even have pretty strong evidence to back this up--that there are internal inherent differences between the two genders (with saidin and saidar and any sort of equality is destroyed by the taint on saidin). Living in that world, people would be so much more rooted in a belief that binary oppositions didn't exist, and therefore the two sexes do not trust one another and do not believe how similar they can be.

 

 

 

Not sure if you're trying to start yet another sexism debate here, but I'd like to point out the diference here between your use of the word "equal" and how you are using it to mean "the same". In the WoT, the sexes are equal, but they are not the same. Equals and opposite, if you will; the immagery is hammered into you from nearly the first page. Men and women DO think diferently, this is a matter of biology and psychology, but one does not think any less than the other...unless there is a shoe sale or free beer available (exceptions can be made on both sides). The dichotemy is an important theme in WoT and I find the humor of the series is in how well that diference between the sexes is writen.

[olso4644]

I agree and I am actually arguing the opposite, that Robert Jordan takes a look at the sexes, saying what if on top of actually being equal if they had all this really good evidence that they were in fact nothing alike because of the taint on the male half of saidin and because men were the source of the breaking.