It feels like this is simply how Robert Jordan views women. ALL THE TIME!

I’m trying to decide if I can finish the series. I’m in The Fires of Heaven right now, and I can’t stand how every single character is being paired off with someone (obviously of the opposite gender) and how all the women are portrayed as being constantly angry, while the men are portrayed as being forever perplexed by the mystery of women. Not only does it feel extremely dated; it feels like Robert Jordan is airing out his deeply upsetting relationship to women. When Elaine is flirting with Thom… WTH, Bob? She knows he was her mom’s boyfriend. It’s not necessary to insert this, or even interesting. It makes Elaine less complex (and she’s already a paper thin character, so far) than when we met her 5 books back. If I could get a single chapter where romantic interest isn’t emphasized, I think I could find the motivation. The overall epic of the thing is compelling, but the gender essentialism and “wool headed” pining over the any given character’s romantic aspirations is vomit inducing. I just want this to be well-written, as well as compelling, but the obsession with who likes whom and do they like each other back is the most middle school level nonsense. I’m ranting, because today I literally screamed when a paragraph seemed to be furthering the plot, and then somebody commented about how mad they were at someone they’re crushing on. Does it get better?

I really wanted to like Faile, and maybe the character is written better later, but I just can't with her. She is so enormously awful. Selfish and mean about every single thing. And Perrin is the one that got strapped with her? She's horrible to him, bullying and even abusive in nearly every interaction. I'll grant that Perrin is obnoxiously "protective" of her to the point that he steals her personal agency trying to keep her out of any danger. That's also gross. However, they are easily the most toxic "good" relationship I've read in ages, and it's nearly enough to quit reading to avoid this narrative.