Welcome back to my re-read, recap, and reaction to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. This post will only have spoilers through the current chapter.
You can find my previous chapter recaps HERE.
Chapter 39: Encounters in Samara
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes rom wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Nynaeve al'Meara
Nynaeve and Uno enter Samara on their way to visit the Prophet, Masema. Ragan joins them as they near the back entrance to Masema's residence. Ragan and Uno disarm before going inside. Nynaeve has to wait while Masema meets with a noblewoman. The noblewoman eventually strips off all her jewelry and leaves it as a donation to the Prophet. Masema sounds quite fanatical with a hint of madness in his eyes and voice. When Masema is informed that Nynaeve knew the Lord Dragon when he was young, he fervently wishes her to speak to the crowds. She states that she must head downriver so she can meet the Lord Dragon in Tear. She asks to be informed if a boat becomes available and Masema agrees. He also tells Uno and Ragan to keep her safe until a boat can be found.
As they head back through town, Nynaeve asks who the woman was that gave Masema all of her jewelry. Uno tells her it was Alliandre, the current Queen of Ghealdan. Alliandre is the fourth ruler since Masema came to Ghealdan and the first to accommodate the Prophet. Uno says they are being followed by a Whitecloak. Nynaeve wishes to see his face so they turn a corner and she recognizes Galad.
REACTION:
Samara in the real world is a city in Russia. I was thinking through why Jordan might have picked that name (he might have also been thinking of Samaria in the Levant) when it occurred to me that he was probably thinking about the Russian Revolution with respect to the Dragonsworn, so he wanted some real world / fictional world overlap. Maybe Samara was less on the nose for making that connection than Moscow or St. Petersburg.
From a writing standpoint, that's a relatively clever thing to do. You can get your readers to think of a fictional place in a certain way if you name it something that has a real world connotation.
The current status in the fictional city is one where the peasants rule through fear of mob violence and their ideology which whips it up. Even the royals grovel. Masema is presented as zealous, to the point of visible madness, but he also weaponizes the zeal of those beneath him by inflicting violence on those who do not share his beliefs It's just a coincidence *wink wink* that this always solidifies his hold on power. Power here matters more than the usual trappings of power.
If you don't want a real world counter-part, you could also compare The Prophet of the Dragon to the High Sparrow from Game of Thrones. In both cases, the acquisition of power is pretty successfully masked by the apparently altruistic ideology. Maybe the ideology is sincere, but once the power is accumulated and someone less sincere seizes it, you are left with the problem of what happens next. Nynaeve seems instinctively to see the danger of someone like Masema.
It's interesting that this chapter brings up blasphemy. Nynaeve thinks Masema committed it by implying that Rand is the *source* of the Light. In a sense though, perhaps she doesn't realize it, Rand is the Christ figure of this story. It'll be worth keeping an eye on that little thread. If Rand is more directly connected to the Creator than other souls, what does that tell us about this world's Creator?
Anyway... Nynaeve gives Masema a piece of her mind, almost putting herself into a situation where she will have to channel to escape his presence, but when he learns she's from the Two Rivers, he acts like he has been visited by Mother Mary. Note though... he immediately starts telling her what to do. His instinct is power and control. What does altruistic zealotry look like when it is not accompanied by love or humility? Masema is an answer. Pathological altruism is a real thing.
"You would be surprised at what his followers accept from him without a whimper."
One thing I think Nynaeve estimates after they part is how much people will tolerate to avoid confrontation. Atop that, it's actually far more difficult to justify confrontation with a tyrant who wears the appearance of holiness. Masema actually forces total strangers to get married. However, he does this is the name of virtue so people don't complain.
They find Galad just at the end of the chapter. This whole city is a powder keg and Nynaeve is giving off sparks. Whitecloaks vs. Masema vs. Shienarans vs. Moggy and friends. We're getting ready for Tanchico 2.0.
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