The Eye of the World

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of time. But it was a beginning.”

This is the opening paragraph of the novel’s main part and is repeated at the beginning of each subsequent novel. This passage reveals the philosophical underpinning of The Wheel of Time’s world, a fusion of Christian, Ancient Greek, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies. Additionally, this excerpt opens up the possibility that the events described in the series could be happening on Earth eons in the past or future. Hence, the many semi-recognizable “real” cultures and myths dispersed throughout the series, such as the Green Man, the Travelling People, and Taoist symbology. Some of the characters’ names can also be connected to myths and systems of belief, such as Judaism and Arthurian legend.

“Most of the men rolled their shoulders and said, ‘Well, we’ll survive, the Light willing’. Some grinned and added, ‘And if the Light doesn’t will, we’ll still survive’.

That was the way of most Two Rivers people. People who had to watch the hail beat their crops or the wolves take their lambs, and start over, no matter how many years it happened, did not give up easily. Most of those who did were long since gone.”

This passage reveals the defining characteristic of the Two Rivers culture—perseverance. Faced with hardships, the people do their best and keep working. This provides insight into the five young people’s personalities. Each one of them is stubborn in their own way. This is a positive characteristic; they face many hardships throughout their journey and someone less determined might give up.

“‘Nynaeve was right,’ Egwene announced to the sky when the two youths fell silent. ‘None of you is ready to be off leading strings. People do ride horses, you know. That doesn’t make them monsters out of a gleeman’s tale’. Rand nodded to himself; it was just as he had thought. She rounded on him. ‘And you’ve been spreading these tales. Sometimes you have no sense, Rand al’Thor. The winter has been frightening enough without you going about scaring the children.’”

This is taken from the first exchange between Rand and Egwene at the beginning of the book. It sets the tone of their interactions, highlighting the larger theme of tension between men and women.