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ducated in War

by Jeff: 1998-09-23 | Not yet rated

Before Winter's Heart - Archive Only: Is Mat a hero reborn?

Well if I may step away from the text, I think that it is important to remeber that Robert Jordan was educated at the Citadel, a military school. Mat( as well as the other Two Rivers people) is said to have the "old blood of Manetheren" running strong in them, yet he is the only one to spontaneously speak it. This is before the Dagger of Shadar Logoth and before the Fox incident. He asked to have the holes in his memory filled. Well, whenever he spoke in the old tongue previously he could never remember that he did so, or remember what he said. The foxes have filled his memory with the reason why he speaks the old tongue. This may have brought back some other residual memories. Since much of it revolves around Manetheren, and if the old blood is stiil present, perhaps the foxes have tapped into Jung's Collective unconscious, where an individual may possess the celluluar memory of his genetic ancestry. Also if Robert Jordan studied at a military school he would have been familiar with military history, which evolves and changes with every battle and every age. If Mat had his memory filled with the military experiences of countless warriors it would explain why he has such a store of knowledge to tap into. Battle is tactics, strategy, and the understanding of tendencies. Just like the difference between a rookie pitcher and a veteran is experience and knowledge of the batters, the difference between a buck private and a 4 star general is experience in warfare. Mat, thanks to Robert Jordan's familiarity with military history, has been given the experiences of countless soldiers. And therefore can understand the minutae of battle. Whether he likes it or not he leads the soldiers around him. It is hard to lead people well. And these are all soldiers, hard men. If he can win the respect of hardened men in battle that is not small talent. He creates armies and esprit de corps. A powerful thing for a Dragon to have at his disposal. If Gareth Bryne is one of the legendary captain of his age, what then is Mat? How many more people will he win over? Remember the Seanchan respect the old ways, and battle prowess. Mat has both, and he speaks the old tongue. He also has knowledge of the cultures of ancient ages, i.e. his incident with the sea folk. Also another asset. Each of the ta'veren has been spun out of the Wheel with particular tendencies, Rand to be the Dragon, Perrin to be a wolfbrother, and Mat to be a general. Since much of war is about luck, timing, and risk it suits Mat's personality. Sorry...This was longer then I planned, hope it made sense. Hard to wite at 5 in the AM after the bars!
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Comments

1

Tamyrlin: 1998-09-23

I'm impressed that you could write this at 5am after the bars...Rj does have a wealth of knowledge which makes his books so entertaining. Do Mat's memories go back during Hawkwings time? If so, then I can see those shining through to his benefit as they did when he spoke to the Athan Miere lady, that would be interesting.