It's too easy to think about Berelain as about a really psychologically and culturally unburdened person, who openly expresses her sexual desires, and who's behavior could be explained as her being just an woman. IMnsHO that would be a serious mistake. Here I will try to argue that she is as burdened as Tenobia of Saldea in her sexual behavior to the rules of her cultural traditions and the ideal models of behavior.

Berelain's behavior is everything but not open and impulsive. She is using her charms too much for subtle politics. She is controlling herself too good in every case, even when she had to be influenced by her emotions. She is caring too much about her reputation of a vamp, with all these cases when she lies the wide population that she is sleeping with Perrin, and with all the gossips about her (that she apparently encourages, and maybe even creates herself), i.e. she is taking care about her reputation of a sex symbol. In her technique of seduction there is seen too much routine and such care about details without too much connection to the character and the reactions of the men (Rand and Perrin) she is using her charms on, that I cannot think about it anything else, but that she learned it from an old, proven by the years and in many cases, and developed by many women to the extent of an art school of seduction. Berelain is also fitting too much in the common temperament of the Mayenne nation at all, she seems to be typical Mayener, even high-standard Mayener. And referring to her way to think about love, she too often is speaking about "we in Mayene...". All that makes me to conclude, that there is well elaborated Mayene tradition of the kind of behavior Berelain shows, that they ressemble the ideal woman and the ideal leader for the Mayene community, that Berelain learned it well, and that she is considering playing by this rules her duty. Yes, duty.

Berelain's main purpose to use her flirting skills is the politics. There is another well-known school of seduction, that uses charms primarily for advantage in negotiations, and that in a way that the man with whom the flirt is done remains very satisfied without any sexual act. So why Berelain doesn't use the art of the Domani traders? Would this art be not a better feature? Would the Domani approach be much more effective to Rand and Perrin? Why Mayeners act not like the Domani? The answer is simple: local specifics. While Domani have as neighbouring nations Saldea, Andor and Tarabon, the neighbour of Mayene is Tear. And Tear is the main and almost the only factor for Mayene foreign policy. Mayene's policy is dealing with Tear first and everything else second. Leane said about her art, that it must not be used on men who tend to see promises where there are no such, and who would rudely want from the woman what they think to be promised. In Borderlands, Andor etc., there are not so many such men. But in Tear... the average Tairen lord will act exactly as Leane said the objects of Domani techniques must not act. Tear is very improper for the Domani approach. Mayeners would need another technique.

Mayeners use methods ... open enough for to attract the imagination of the not so subtle Tairen lords, and showing much initiative. Tairen lords prefer for their sexual adventures girls from low classes, who are actually in the posiiton of victims, they prefer to have the initiative. When the woman has the initiative, the Tairen lord just cannot be master of the situation in his style and he will rather hesitate. The combination of feeding too much his imagination and dictating the flow of events could make the tairen lord to feel like on the gambling table, where tairen lords can allow themselves to be silly and generous. The tairen lord has to think about as about little passionate adventure (like gambling or horse races) of high class, and tairen lords think about that as a expensive pleasure, where it is normal to give more. In case that the tairen lord sees just a woman he would most likely act rudely, and in case he will see politics and trade, he will act as in the Great Game, both features are not good for Mayene. But Tairen expensive pleasures - that's a tairen stereotype, where a tairen lord can be catched in. In other details the art of seduction would be like the domani one. The goal would be to make the man allow himself a little bit silly actions, to break a little bit his bonds and interests for the little sweet adventure. And to give him not the chance to feel satisfied. The woman is to be both attractive and unreachable, allways to promise more than could be achieved right now. Actually the best result would have the woman who is subconsciously expected to remain unreachable. If there are some legends and poetry about great unhappy, but interesting and passionate Love to a unreachable femme fatale, the victims will have also the stereotype to excuse his silly behavior (to make it socially admittable). Here comes the need of having a reputation of femme fatale. Surely the Mayene took care for existence of good poetry about femmes fatales popular in Tairen, to maintain the reputation of the Mayenne women as sex symbols, and to have living and impressive femmes fatales in any moment with the reputation of ones who broke already many hearths. A Mayene beauty will care to maintain such reputation. As Berelain half-automatically does when it's needed and when not.

Masterful usages of this art against tairens in the past would make this kind of woman very admirable in Mayene itself. It would become something like national standard for high class. It would be symbol both for style and for social prestige and ruler's skills. I.e. it would influence the unwritten rules of social prestige in Mayene. A ruler who wants to be respected in Mayenne would need to act accordingly. Not necessary being a sex symbol of course, but at least showing similar style of public behavior.

First, the initiative, that manifests courage, endurance, "open" approach, despising the formal constraints, pressing the opponent so, that the opponent would not have the initiative, and doing it in serene splendid manner. When we look about all Mayeners, men and women, we see that they all try to act in that style and are usually impressed very much by actions of other people in that style. Actually it can be seen how Mayeners tend to defer when somebody is acting in this style, and they defer with pleasure and enthusiasm.

First the examples with Berelain. Her loyalty to Rand ... yes she is clever woman and a good politician, and more honest then most contemporary nobles, and that could explain her loyalty to Rand as seeing her advantage in supporting the strong side of the Dragon Reborn, in that she would be like Dobraine or Bashere. Also she has what to thank Rand for. That apparently was among her motives. But loyalty happens to her after the scene in Rand's sleeping room with the Bubble of Evil, when she lost her initiative because of too much fear. Rand manifested more courage and initiative than her, he won the game of who would overact the other (even if an unpleasant accident helped). Is there a Mayene cultural stereotype, that when two people have a play of who would show more initiative and style, the one who loses has to defer? That's my suggestion.

Berelain and Rhuarc - much better example. We know little about what happened between them, but it is completely clear that it was Berelain who begun it, and that it was Rhuarc who determined what is to happen and exactly how. After that Berelain shows some loyalty to Rhuarc. And Aiels have respect to Berelain. Aiels have respect only to those who can hold their word, and to do allways what must be done. So Berelain prove that, apparently primarily in how she fulfilled her promises to Rhuarc. Here we have unsuccessful attempt of seduction that ends with non-sexual loyalty.

Berelain and Perrin: there are some times when Perrin senses how Berelain is feeling respect and even admiration to him. All that are cases of very resolute gestures, that show no shyness at all against her attempts and put her in her place in a open manner with no respect to formalities and to how it would be considered by the public opinion. Little Perrin's victories in the game of initiative.

Another Mayene non-Berelain examples: 1. Havien Nurell and his men at Dumai Wells. He attacked with 300 men 10000 Aiels because AS said so. AS are respected in Mayene and the young Mayene commander wanted glory, but such fatalistic resolution is ... a bit unusual. Nurel never complained, he even thought the AS did as they had to do. Even Borderlanders wouldn't act so (they will obey, but they will have opinion about the brusk decision of AS). But as we know Kiruna and Bera (who were the real decision-makers in these case), they would act in the situation exactly in the way to impress the Mayeners. Exactly in the style - open, brave, without concern what the wise people will say...

2. Perrin improvised inspection in the Mayenne camp. Perrin acted not very diplomatically correctly. Actually he made what happened without any intention. But it looked as if open brusk act, without concern what the others will think. The Mayenners liked Perrin in that moment. He fitted in their stereotype of the glorious leader.

An example of another powerful Mayene woman, who is acting in that style is Rubinde, a Sitter for the Green Ajah in the Tower Hall, Elaida's supporter (we know in what style Elaida behaves against the Hall). We see her in two meetings of Elaida with Sitters. She shows enthusiasm in doing Elaida's task, controlled arrogance, she is attacking another Sitter just in the Mayene style, but it is visible that she is not driven by emotions...

Until now this theory above was dedicated to the general cultural background of the Mayene style of behavior, so the particular questions about the details and the perspectives of Berelain's relation to Perrin (and to Faile) remained somewhat outside of the focus. But that doesn't meant they are unrelated to the topic. Just the opposite, this theoretical backgrund gives good means to analyse Berelain's relations to Perrin in the past, presence and the future. What Berelain is finding in Perrin, how exactly serious are her feelings towards him, what exactly is Faile's role in her eyes, what are the conditions for her to get loved in Perrin and what the conditions to consider it just as a game: all these questions depend of Berelain's cultural background.

What makes Perrin interesting to Berelain? Not his shoulders. She likes his shoulders etc., but it would change nothing sufficient in her behavior, she could control that thing, because her role of a femme fatale is that she must be the one to control such things. She's supposed to be the one to cause lust, not one to suffer from it; she is supposed to make men do silly things because of lust, not to do silly things because of lust herself. If she wanted just sex, she would have it still in Mayenne in any scale she wanted, but she had until now only two men in her bed and the both were only politics but not pleasure. I'm even not absolutely sure that she really likes his shoulders or this is only her way to maintain her vamp reputation. Whatever, she could like anything in him, but definitely not his physical appearance nor the eventual pleasure in the bed would be decisive for her actions, it would be in the best case a pleasant extra.

Much more prospective are the political aspects of Perrin's posiiton for Berelain. Perrin is one of the closest friends to the new ruler of Tear, and if Rand cannot be emotionally bound to her, and so she cannot be sure that he will not change suddenly his feelings regarding her country, so she may try to bind one of Rand's friends and so to retain an indirrect link to Rand's attention. She finds Mat unappropriate (because he is "too much like her", i.e. he is expected to try to be the active one in the seduction game and not the proper object of seduction), so Perrin is left.

When Berelain met Perrin for first time, it was exactly after her failing three times in her attempts to play her game. First time was when she suddenly agreed to submit the treatise with Tear just before Rand getting the Stone (but unlike the second two cases here she succeeded in the emotional struggle and failed in the political one, she made High Lord Torean emotionally dependent of her, but that helped not much) after that she attempted to play her game with Rhuarc, then, when it failed - with Rand: three "defeats" in a line (not to mention the case when Lanfear compelled her to bring a message to Moiraine, this errand-girl's task). So she was in the position to need fixing up her selfimage. Yes, she kept her charms over Torean and the political results with Rhuarc and Rand were successful, so for her outer reputation there was nothing dangerous, psychologically she rather needed a "success" now for to retain her trust in her own charms.

She was not very much interested in having Perrin for the first time in Tear though. Compared with the efforts she made to have Rand, her first glance on Perrin was rather a loose sidestep. However in that first meeting there is already something that can make Berelain's relation to Perrin more personal. Perrin attempts to behave cold, and as a result of these attemts he is behaving somewhat brusk, and somewhat shy in the same time. What this kind of behavior means for a Mayene woman? From one side Perrin is acting like a man under the charms of the mayener, from the other side he is acting like a strong man taking an initiative. Half-victim of flirt-art, half a potential winner. The first makes her feel partially controlling the situation, the second makes her become intrigued. Even if Perrin is not so uncommon kind of man, this is something uncommon for the Mayene tradition of love-art, that was developed to deal with Tairen kind of male behavior. So it's to be expected that the Mayene tradition would not recognize the Two Rivers manner of behavior and would act unappropriate to it.

So, an aspect of Perrin's behavior makes Berelain to feel that her art could work on Perrin, other aspect of his behavior will make her to become fascinated by him. Berelain is not an inventor of a femme-fatale technology, she is a product of a tradition, and this tradition forms her concept about "love" matters. This tradition would determine not only the model according to them every man has to fall in love into the ideal Mayene beauty, but also the model of falling in love in general, i.e. also the model of how a Mayene woman could fall in love to somebody. Berelain's life is dedicated to a style of behavior exploiting some ideals of crazy passionate unanswered love, so Berelain's subconscious understanding about Love with capital 'L' would be determined by the same Pattern. Berelain's art of seduction exploits the attractiveness of this model of "Love", so wouldn't she herself feel it as some kind of ideal? Also the Mayene art of seduction practically requires from seductor to remain a bit unreachable, and that puts the Mayene beauty in the unpleasant position of being actually sexually and emotionally unsatisfied. There is to be expected from a Mayenne femme fatale to find in herself in some moment the wish to feel love, and here comes the issue, that the ideas of the Mayene beauty about Love are the passion she has to cause in her victims. Briefly: if a Mayenne beauty wants to feel love, she would more likely find it in the form of the crazy fatal passion (if unanswered so better fitting in the model) to an unreachable seductor.

Perrin when confused and wanting to defend himself, is acting in a visibly open, resolute, brusk way, taking the initiative, acting (seemingly) without scrupples and without care what the others will think about... No matter what Perrin actually is feeling when acting so, here it is important, what would it look like in Berelain's eyes. And that is kind of behavior that would rather impress Berelain. The fact that Perrin tends to not allow her close to him only fits in the unaccessibility component of the Mayenne Love model, i.e. Berelain would find it even more attractive. Subconsciously she would even prefer to feel like unhappily loved in a man she cannot have (it's part of the model of the victim of Love in this model).

That feelings would not stop her from making Perrin a victim of her "Love" if she only could (compare the leash that the hawk wants to put on Perrin in Min's viewing). Berelain would not stop her main game, and the love for Mayene mind is a sort of duell, who will overact whom. But her being impressed means that she will be ready to become a Love's victim if only the circumstances turn so.

In Tear it is yet too early for all these processes to reach their full scale, Berelain has too little number of approaches to Perrin. But the processes could begin to turn in the direction.

Now comes the problem with Faile's interference, and how it influenced Berelain's decisions concerning Perrin. I've never seen in Berelain any personal strong feelings towards Faile comparable to Faile's envy. Berelain does a great heap of things that make Faile very angry, but she shows no emotions about it. Perrin can smell her real emotions but he finds in her no special anger towards Faile. Especially visible is Berelain's lack of hate to Faile after Faile's kidnapping. In all the cases Berelain does something against Faile, she does it in some calm way... My explanation is that for Berelain Faile is not a rival but a "rival". I mean, Faile fits as a role in the prescribed by Berelain's tradition model, thus making the whole situation more fitting into Berelain's cultural stereotypes. And Berelain's actions and reactions related to Faile are IMHO completely explanable from the Mayene cultural stereotypes.

The first time Berelain is forced to take attention to Faile is in Tear when Faile attacks her and wants a duell. Here Berelain is doing something important - her "Ogier" oath to have Perrin, and after this scene she has a motive to hate Faile (Faile seeing her running away). How the situation would be seen through Berelain's Mayene eyes? An unknown huntress of the Horn (i.e. a person much below her rank and unworthy to speak so with her) suprisingly comes in most insolent manner and most unceremoniously challenges her regarding love matters. For mayene culture such offhand action is not only a sign of bad manners, but a valid social challenge. A Mayene of Berelain's rank and reputation cannot show herself less courageous and less open in sexual matters then a random farmgirl. And as a result Berelain decides to overtrump Faile in the game Faile begun. Berelain's "Ogier oath" in this case when she had no special reasons to have any attention about Faile, and when she was rather slightly surprised than annoyed by Faile's attack, this Berelain's reaction seems too overworked for the situation. Berelain was until now not in the position of a princess thinking that everything is allowed: the Tairens would not let a Mayene First with such an attitude long time to enjoy her arrogance. But the exaggeration of Berelain is explanable as a move in the game of initiative. Faile acted too much ofhand against Berelain and Berelain had to shut Faile's mouth (successfully in some degree) by even more offhand deed. Berelain was moved by her cultural stereotypes to exaggeration.

And Berelain's shamefull retreat by Rhuarc's order was IMO not so fatal for her feelings as Faile could think. Rhuarc attempted to make her feel shame and IMO Berelain understood that very well. Faile noticed that even running away Berelain still swayed her hips as if seducing some man. I guess Berelain made that intentionally for to include in her retreat an element of not being shocked by the situation, i.e. to save her Mayenne-standard reputation. I.e. Berelain mastered to remain offhand in this difficult situation and her retreat from Faile was not so shamefull. Later Berelain's lies that she slept with Perrin and other her actions that made Faile mad are also explanable of Berelain just taking care about her reputation.

The "Ogier oath" - did it mean something important for Berelain? The respect of the Aiels towards Berelain is an indication that Berelain takes her oaths seriously. But more likely in that moment this exaggerated "oath" was as seriously thought as any of Siuan's expressions of what she will do to Gareth Brinn - she like Siuan takes her words serious but the exaggeratoins are still exaggerations and have not to be understood too litteraly. However this "Ogier oath" enforced the motives for Berelain to play her game with Perrin.

When she found Perrin in Cairhien happily married to the cousine of the Saldean queen, this situation fitted even more in the Berelain's stereotypical model. When the Mayenne school of seduction was designed, it was designed to work of important Tairen High Lords who most likely were married to important, high-blooded and dangerous in the Great Game High Ladies. I.e. the presence of an wife of Faile's behavior was rather a part of the Mayenne stereotype. If her cultural models were not turned on before, they had to be turned on in that moment. Perrin in that time avoided her with lot of shyness, and that made him only a proper bait for Berelain's instincts.

In the scene when Perrin became the head of the rescue troop for Rand, he unwittingly acts in the manner to impress Berelain, i.e. in seemingly offhand, unceremonious, courageous and resolute manner. She was really impressed by the way Perrin made her to stop speaking - Perrin smelt that... So among his behavior as a bait there were scenes of his behavior as a winner in Berelain's game. The same is visible also in the later developement of the story during the Ghealdan quest... until Elyas appears with his advice.

Elyas advice changes Perrins art of behavior regarding Faile, but it has effect also on his beavior towards Berelain. Perrin stopped taking Berelains tricks seriously and begun to show a reaction like against kidish silliness. I.e. he stopped to express any bait-behavior, any victim-of-a-femme-fatale traits. But Perrin as result of Elyas' advice became much more offhand in his behavior, i.e. he only acted more like the winner in the Mayenne game. Berelain at the time was too much in in the adventure with Perrin. So she begun to accept the another role in the Mayenne game, that of the passionate one. Especially after Faile's kidnapping, when Perrin became much more brusk, for Berelain he became a very very attractive Perrin.

She is still playing her game. But more often and more often she is expressing rather admiration about him. In CoT in the scene when Perrin finds the footprints of the Darkhounds, she acts as if he himself is ready to play the Mayenne game from the active side - she offers him to simulate flirting with her for political reasons and acts as if it's his idea, she praises Perrin's "discrecy", and she smells sincere in all this stuff. She stops to press him in the previous manner, and only for short moments she shows what a good seduction-master she is, when his behavior presses her too much. Also she seems to become more and more politically loyal to him.

This is yet far from the state in which the loving person has to be according to Mayene stereotypes. But it's in that direction. IMO the "man in white" from Min's viewing because of whom Berelain will fall heels over head, is Perrin. If Perrin would continue with his current course of behavior, Berrelain will lose her control over her emotions after some time, and will fall into crazy silly unanswered love. Exactly like "Love" is to be according to Mayene stereotypes.

For Perrin it would be even better if he remains unreachable for Berelain: that would only force her feelings of love to him. And that will enforce also her loyalty to him. As loyal subordinate Berelain would be very useful for Perrin. As real lover not. Her stereotypes about "true love" are too much complicated with love's doom for it to be happy love. Exactly with her best intentions (and she is a good person after all) in love she would cause more problems then Faile (also I'm affraid that she would be not so good in the bed as her reputation ;) ). However as loyal helper she will do very good work...