The same argument could be made for the Seachan and the damane. As long as a damane does its duty, it should not be punished.

The difference is that Egwene could have left the WT at any time to return to the rebels. She choose to stay, so she choose to submit to their rules or be punished for it.

She was beaten so badly that she required healing multiple times a day so that she would be able to walk. Maybe not torture, but it was hardly easy. Later, when Egwene was placed in a cell too small to stretch out and beaten multiple times a day was definitely torture, though.

 

And they were trying to force Egwene to bend, which isn't much different from trying to break her. They wanted to do it in a way that wasn't really considered torture, but she definitely pressed the limits of what was allowed there. And then she called Elaida a crazy bitch (paraphrasing) and in the true, subtle fashion that would make any Aes Sedai proud they tried to torture her until she was more complacent.

It's nowhere close to torture. Egwene was intentionally breaking the rules, knowing full well the consequences for doing so. Silviana never gave her more punishment than what Egwene had essentially asked for.

I just don't know what she did to you people to deserve such unfair treatment =(

IMO, it's not what she did or did not do. I think that the reason people jump to point out Egwene's flaws is because the books don't. I think nobody sees the need to point out Rand or Mat or Nynaeve's flaws because the books do that so well already. For the life of me, I can't remember any character in the books thinking poorly of Egwene since the middle of the series, certainly (and she has changed since the beginning, so early critizisms are less important), and maybe even earlier.

Regardless, the books make it clear that no one can break a circle of 13. So, Egwene could have held Rand captive if she wanted to.

I, on the other hand, just assumed that Egwene was subconsciously recognizing that the pattern would not allow that, not that she actually thought that Rand could break through shielding by 26 sisters. I mean, if she tried to give the order, who knows what would have happened? Perhaps a chunk of poorly repaired ceiling would break and hit her in the head, knocking her out. Perhaps all 26 sisters would spontaneously decide to swear fealty to the Dragon (or maybe just the two leading the circles).

On the other hand, Egwene did give Mat a heartfelt thanks when he bowed to her before they left to hunt the bowl. So when it came to recognizing a good deed on-the-spot from a man, or from mat specifically, Egwene is the winner.

Any kind of moral victory there is kind of mitigated by the fact that Egwene, at that time, is using him and planning to use his army (and doing it not by manipulating Mat's negative qualities, but by manipulating his integrity).

Well if you want an explanation, here's one:

 

Rand is the HERO. We get mostly his PoV's at first, then we get mostly his PoV's in every situation he is. We see almost everything from his PoV for a few books. From the PoV of a guy who is going mad.

 

Lots of people never really manage to see the series from any other PoV, not really. They get stuck there.

 

Now Egwene dares think bad things about their hero. How COULD SHE?

 

Conclusion: Egwene = BAD. So let's start finding the reasons why.

Please stop. You're just making your side look bad.

As far as accents not specified by RJ, I seem to think French accents for people from Tarabon.

Quick question: I think I remember the shaft of Mat's ashandrei getting charred by fire in ToM. Was this an error, or has the spear's shaft ever been described as common wood before this?

Yeah, I'd say Elayne's mistake wasn't refusing the help of foreign armies, but gallivanting off when she knew that Andor was without a Queen.

 

Gallivanting off to save the world by fixing the weather? She put the overall good above her political aspirations and for that should be lauded.

I disagree. Elayne was the only Daughter-heir of Andor, and thus, the only one who could 'rightfully' claim the throne of Andor. I don't believe there was anything she did in Ebou Dar that couldn't have been done by another Aes Sedai(or two).

Yeah, I'd say Elayne's mistake wasn't refusing the help of foreign armies, but gallivanting off when she knew that Andor was without a Queen.