After the interviews, I went to a panel entitled “Moiraine, ‘nuff said.” It was an hour with the talented Jakob Ro, whose fan-site affiliation eludes me, but the man can run a mean discussion group. And poor Maria Simons was on the panel, with everyone eyeballing her, hoping for hints, and she sat there with a poker face made of stone. I am going to derail my re-cap here, somewhat, to talk a little more in depth about this panel.
Various ideas, theories, hopes, and what-have-you were thrown out about Moiraine, but there was one thing that caused some hot debate, and that was the accusation that Moiraine’s character has been cheapened by her being turned into a “ Damsel in Distress .” This honestly irritates me, but there was a fairly strong backing to it. Why does it irritate me? Because she is not either of those things: a damsel or in distress. She is a woman, yes, but damsel implies an airhead whose only job is to be a love interest or MacGuffin . Also, while she is being held by the ‘Finn, there is no proof that she is in distress, per se. She orchestrated her own best chance at getting out via the letter to Thom and her foresight from the Rhuidean rings, and she went there willingly to save Rand. Phaw, I say. Phaw.
Jake Ro is from TarValon.net (Marrow Rahien).
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