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he Tripod

by Pagemaster: 1998-08-14 | Not yet rated

Before Winter's Heart - Archive Only: What good is Perrin anyway?

A while ago, I mentioned "some kind of mythology" pertaining to the tripod of Rand, Mat and Perrin. I tracked down thearticle, and below is a direct quote:

"I've done some thinking on the roles of the characters in Tarmon Gai'don, especially the tripod: Rand, Perrin, Mat. I've been very insatisfied with seeing Mat and Perrin as simple supporters of Rand, for the following reasons:

-If Rand needed extra strength, why not make him stronger "ta'veren"? That it would unravel the Pattern does not hold, since we already have three ta'veren in close proximity already. -Why two "supporters", and not one or three? -If there are two supporters, why are all three critical? Main evidence for this is the comment "Cut one leg of the tripod and all fall down" made by the myrdraal to Perrin [TDR, Nightmares Walking]. One answer is to fit them in with certain roles and tasks. For this purpose, I used the classic Hindu Destroyer-Builder-Preserver pattern, with Rand as the Destroyer, Perrin as the Builder, and Mat as the Preserver.
There are numerous refences to Rand breaking the world, to shatter all ties, etc. He is the most powerful channeler and the strongest ta'veren, which fits into the in with the common mythological belief that the Desroyer was the strongest God.
Perrin is very much a man who wants to live in peace andprosperity. He has a hammer, a symbol of building as one of his attributes. He also more or less single-heartedly started the process of making the Two Rivers a nation instead of a backwater region.
Mat is a general, and a fighting man. His foxhead amulet is both a symbol of and a means for protection (my own addition--the Old Tongue).

Tarmon Gai'don is not, IMO, going to be one big battle, but a series of events, with the final confrontation with the Dark Oneas a part of it. Besides this, there will probably be a major Trolloc/Dreadlord invasion that must be countered. Minor battles and strikes with Darkfriends, Black Ajah can and will possibly happen as well. Rand's role in this is simple: Beat the DO. Period. Leading armies, ruling nations or beating Forsaken is, crassly speaking, totally irrelevant. He, and possibly a few others, will make the DO confrontation.
All of Rand's actions and tasks ought to be meant to strengthen him for this.
Mat's role is to win the Second Trolloc Wars. He is the only one with the experience and knowledge to do this, as he must use conventional forces together with the Ash'aman, Aes Sedai, etc. to counter the Dreadlord threat and make up for possibly larger TRolloc forces. In the process of saving humanity being overrun by Trollocs, he will gain Rand time to organise and launch the DO strike. (Pretty ironic, isn't it. Mat leading the largest force of chanelers gathered since the Breaking).
Perrin's role in this model I see very much as a post-battle one, rebuilding the world. He will also be critical in keeping Rand safe and sound until Rand must face the Dark One, as implied by Min's viewing is LoC [LoC, Beyond the Gate] of Rand and Perrin. He is also unique in being the only one with reasonably good relations with every character, something which will make him instrumental in rebuilding the trust between Egwene and Rand, thus bringing the uniting of tiwards Tarmon Gai'don much closer.
This has good (IMO) implications:

First it fits in with the tripod thing the myrdraal talked with Perrin on in TDR. Without Perrin, Rand will be turned/ become mad/join Lanfear or something equally bad before the DO confrontation. Without Mat, Rand will not have his back free, and will not gain the time needed for a direct strike at the DO. Without Rand, the DO will become omnipotent. There is no difference in importants between them, but Rand's is the most difficult and the most faced with dangers, so he is the most powerful.

(Pay attention) The biggest weak link is Perrin's role, as it is rather passive until after the DO confrontation, and lacks a natural connection to his wolfbrotherhood. The Hammer/Axe conflict/ duelism is also very downplayed in this analysis, though it can be seen as the balance between the Rule of the Sword, and the Rule of the Law. But that would still not recognise its importance for Perrins character."

Because Perrin's role is not independant, but linked to others (protecting _Rand_, connecting the _world_) he appears dull. Maybe his wolfbrotherhood is an attempt to make him interesting...?
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Comments

1

Tamyrlin: 1998-08-14

Quite an article, good read. I like the analysis of Perrin's character. Don't ask me why but I believe that Perrin will be the only leg of that Tripod standing when the Last Battle is done and the Bore is sealed. One characteristic that I would add to Perrin's role would be that of 'peacemaker'.