#lanfear
Ishamael: You might be the most high maintenance bitch out there.
Lanfear: Might be? Who’s more? Who are they?
Lanfear: Do you like, have a thing for Lews Therin or what?
Ishamael: I don’t.
Ishamael: Why, did he say something about me?
okay leaked spoiler for presumably WoT season2 below- don’t look if you don’t want leaks OR book spoilers
WoT Meta: Lanfear, Mania, and the myth of Endymion
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to Lanfear and her symbolic relationship to the moon and lunar mythology in general. Jordan was really good at weaving in mythological references, both subtle and overt, and Lanfear isn’t really an exception. Were initially introduced to her under the alias ‘Selene’, which naturally brings up the idea of the Greek Moon goddess, and raises her most famous myth: that of Endymion.
The story goes that every night the moon goddess Selene, when crossing the heavens, would see a slumbering shepherd (Endymion) and be entranced by his beauty. Aware however that it was the fate of all mortals to die, she held her distance, and loved from afar until finally she could bear it no longer, and went to Zeus. When asked what she wanted however, Selene stated that she wanted to be able to gaze at Endymion forever, and so Zeus placed Endymion into an eternal slumber from which he would never wake, but nor would he would age. Selene satisfied, took Endymion as her own, and bore fifty children by him.
It’s not a reach to point out the parallels between this myth and Lanfear’s own love for Rand but the interesting thing about this is that, is how it touches on the Greek concepts of love, in particular the distinction between Eros (romantic love born from physical attraction that becomes spiritual attraction) and it’s is twisted twin, Mania (a love which prioritizes ownership of the subject, and control, over their well being). Now the Greeks had a LOT of concepts of love (Agape the unconditional love of humanity, Philia platonic love between friends, Storge love of family, etc) and they’re was a lot of nuance in the way they talked about Eros and Mania specifically, because the Greeks understood how thin the line between the two could be, as illustrated by this myth: when Selene chooses to treat Endymion as an object rather then a person, her love becomes one of Mania, rather then one of Eros.
This neatly parallels the situation with Lanfear, who despite her constant claims of how deeply she loves Rand/Lews Therin Telamon, cares much more about controlling and owning him, then she does about his happiness or well being. Like with Selene and Endymion she wants to be with him, but not because of who he is as a person. Her regard for him is all for factor outside of his control (i.e who he was in a past life) and so centers her will and her possession of him above all else.
This contrasts very sharply with Rand’s other relationships, where both he and his partners want what is best for the other, and a great deal of the conflict is born on them disagreeing on what is best. This is most obvious with Min, where Rand recognizes that being around him is dangerous and because he loves her and wants her out of danger tries to send her away, while Min who knows that the best thing for Rand is to have people who can care for and support him at his side, wants to remain. The same shows up in his relationships with Elayne and Avihenda, though a bit more subtly: that same core conflict of wanting the best for the person you love, even at cost to yourself, demonstrates that their love is inherently unselfish and prioritizes the good of the other over what is best for them personally.
It’s 1991 and they’re going to prom together
Lanfear: Do you like, have a thing for Lews Therin or what?
Ishamael: I don’t.
Ishamael: Why, did he say something about me?
WoT Meta: Lanfear, Mania, and the myth of Endymion
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to Lanfear and her symbolic relationship to the moon and lunar mythology in general. Jordan was really good at weaving in mythological references, both subtle and overt, and Lanfear isn’t really an exception. Were initially introduced to her under the alias ‘Selene’, which naturally brings up the idea of the Greek Moon goddess, and raises her most famous myth: that of Endymion.
The story goes that every night the moon goddess Selene, when crossing the heavens, would see a slumbering shepherd (Endymion) and be entranced by his beauty. Aware however that it was the fate of all mortals to die, she held her distance, and loved from afar until finally she could bear it no longer, and went to Zeus. When asked what she wanted however, Selene stated that she wanted to be able to gaze at Endymion forever, and so Zeus placed Endymion into an eternal slumber from which he would never wake, but nor would he would age. Selene satisfied, took Endymion as her own, and bore fifty children by him.
It’s not a reach to point out the parallels between this myth and Lanfear’s own love for Rand but the interesting thing about this is that, is how it touches on the Greek concepts of love, in particular the distinction between Eros (romantic love born from physical attraction that becomes spiritual attraction) and it’s is twisted twin, Mania (a love which prioritizes ownership of the subject, and control, over their well being). Now the Greeks had a LOT of concepts of love (Agape the unconditional love of humanity, Philia platonic love between friends, Storge love of family, etc) and they’re was a lot of nuance in the way they talked about Eros and Mania specifically, because the Greeks understood how thin the line between the two could be, as illustrated by this myth: when Selene chooses to treat Endymion as an object rather then a person, her love becomes one of Mania, rather then one of Eros.
This neatly parallels the situation with Lanfear, who despite her constant claims of how deeply she loves Rand/Lews Therin Telamon, cares much more about controlling and owning him, then she does about his happiness or well being. Like with Selene and Endymion she wants to be with him, but not because of who he is as a person. Her regard for him is all for factor outside of his control (i.e who he was in a past life) and so centers her will and her possession of him above all else.
This contrasts very sharply with Rand’s other relationships, where both he and his partners want what is best for the other, and a great deal of the conflict is born on them disagreeing on what is best. This is most obvious with Min, where Rand recognizes that being around him is dangerous and because he loves her and wants her out of danger tries to send her away, while Min who knows that the best thing for Rand is to have people who can care for and support him at his side, wants to remain. The same shows up in his relationships with Elayne and Avihenda, though a bit more subtly: that same core conflict of wanting the best for the person you love, even at cost to yourself, demonstrates that their love is inherently unselfish and prioritizes the good of the other over what is best for them personally.
okay leaked spoiler for presumably WoT season2 below- don’t look if you don’t want leaks OR book spoilers
more spoilers-
gaydal-cain: #ooooh #I like this take #could see her probing him before joining up #seeing what makes him tick #what sets his trauma off #to gauge his similarity to her LTT #before coming in as Selene to interact more directly
This is exactly what I’m hoping for! We didn’t get to delve into Rand’s issues much in s1 because they needed to introduce everyone and set up the world, but his mental state really needs to be established for s2 and on if major plot points are going to land. And who better to poke and prod the deepest recesses of his brain than the lovely Lanfear? Getting a feel for this new version of LTT before reintroducing herself would be very in character, after all.
okay leaked spoiler for presumably WoT season2 below- don’t look if you don’t want leaks OR book spoilers
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So this still leaked,
and it’s definitely Natasha O’Keeffe-
Which means she’s probably not Elaida, as most had assumed. I think the general consensus from this shot is likely Lanfear and I think that’s right (though i’ve seen other theories). I certainly can’t imagine why Elaida would be decked out with black eyes and a bloody neck, and there’s no way they brought this actress in to play a small role.
The heavy blue filter implies a dream sequence or something- which makes sense for Lanfear. Maybe she’ll take over Ishy’s role of sending Rand visions this season? There’s also the possibility of a LTT flashback, which could help establish their relationship prior to her showing up in the current timeline..
But given the bloody neck and dark eyes, and the similarity of the posing to Dana’s death, I’m betting she’ll be playing on Rand’s trauma around watching people die around him- specifically women. I’ve been worried to see how they’ll deal with that on screen, but having Lanfear haunting his dreams to prey on that insecurity seems an excellent way to go!
