Sexism and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series

It’s women’s intuition, I guess. But in real life, women are just as human and just as jealous as men, and I can’t see that type of arrangement working very well. To me, the idea of multiple spouses and true love going together is more fanciful than possible. Yes, it might work in a few cases... but it would be just as likely to work with one woman and two or three men.

Why was Birgitte ta’veren (she has the ability to affect the tapestry of fate), while Nynaeve, Elayne, Egwene, Min, and Aviendha are not? The only explanation I can think of is a plot device by the author to heighten the importance of the male characters (Mat, Perrin, and Rand) in contrast to the women. Birgitte was once a legendary archer, and so the spotlight was once on her, but now she has been torn out of the Wheel… and is no longer ta’veren, I assume. Although Birgitte and the other female characters may help save the world, and complete more heroic acts than Mat and Perrin put together, they are not ta’veren. Otherwise they might seem equally important to Mat or Perrin.

Finally, let’s acknowledge the fact that women seem to get stripped naked quite often in the Wheel of Time. Again, there is an imbalance. How often have we seen men naked in Randland?

The larger picture:

As his fans know, Robert Jordan is one of the few authors of any gender in any fictional genre who has the skill and motivation to give us major female characters. He’s not afraid to devote long segments of the story to the adventures of heroines, and he gives them enough personality to keep them interesting. It’s not all about naked scenes for teenage boys to drool over. And in all fairness, there was that segment in A Crown of Swords where Mat was raped by Queen Tylin and then forced to be her sex pet.

Jordan has some very peculiar views about male and female relationships. Some of his ideas seem far removed from reality, and some are almost offensive... but I find most of his opinions to be humorous and interesting. Part of the inherent fun of reading is to catch that glimpse into the secret mind of the author. I can forgive him for a few sentences which may be construed as sexist.

http://www.bluestarfolly.com/abby/