#this is a very interesting meta
The Seanchan are an objectively terrible culture. I don’t think anyone, including the people who like certain Seanchan characters, disagrees with that. (If you do, scram! You’re not welcome here.)
That said, a lot hinges on the time period in which Robert Jordan began writing. The Seanchan serve multiple narrative purposes and are tailored to fulfill them.
First, the Seanchan culture. All cultures in the Wheel of Time are meant to look both alien and familiar. History not only repeats, it remixes, and the Seanchan combine elements of multiple powerful cultures. Some of them are signals, like the Deep South accents. Some are mostly there to make them look more alien (to RJ’s anticipated audience). I understand that some people consider this combinatorial approach gross and appropriationist. All I can say is that at the time, we were seeing just the opposite: humans are just humans and no cultural element is intrinsic to anyone’s being; that was what it meant, back then, to be a good multicultural person.
Second, the first role the Seanchan play in the story is to be a *colonial power*. RJ is clearly suggesting: “Hey, European descendants, this is what it looks like when a ‘superior culture’ descends on your homeland.” We have already identified with the protagonists; now we get to see them (and by extension, ourselves) in the role of the colonized. This sort of cultural turnabout is now seen, at best, as overdone, and often as deeply misguided and insulting. Whatever you think of it, remember that at the time it was a smoking hot take. The Seanchan are only mildly technologically ahead of our protagonists, but there are certain extremely key developments that make them hard to beat: the a'dam, the tight organization, and the frikkin’ *Air Force*. RJ takes the classical European conception of a medieval/early Renaissance army, and then he puts it up against artillery and an air force. Barring almost literal divine intervention, the side we identify with gets smoked. This could be construed as a sort of war porn; I am convinced it is not. It is RJ saying “Imagine yourselves as the Powhatan people.”
But why, then, are the Seanchan so necessary to the fight against the Dark One? Why aren’t they simply malignant evil and maybe on his side? Well, again, history is remixed, not merely repeated. Third: the Seanchan are also playing the role of Soviet Russia. This is the early '90s. The USSR is the Evil Empire (Now in Collapse), but RJ knows his history. The USSR were our genuine allies, when the enemy was Nazi Germany. That did not make them “good guys”, per se. If the war had been only Germany vs. Russia, the victor would scarcely have mattered; the result would be a monstrous dictatorship ruling all Europe. And yet if Russia had not been in it at all, the remaining Allies would have been far harder pressed. I don’t know enough history to say “The Axis might have won.” But literarily: the Axis might have won. That was the nightmare AU scenario that ruled alternate-history sci-fi. I know a lot of you younger folks are socialists and some of you are tankies. Set that aside for a moment and understand: to much of three generations, Soviet Communism was every bit as monstrous as the Seanchan. And *we had to rely on them anyway*, or lose to an enemy even worse. That’s the situation RJ has set up for his protagonists.
So why have Mat fall for the Empress? Well, for the narrative of triumph. Today we look back on a lot of mistakes and wonder (or are sure we know) where it all went wrong. But RJ started just in time for the USSR to collapse. We thought it was the end of history and liberal democracy was victorious over all. It was time to put aside old hatreds and rivalries, and by doing so we would win the remaining, crumbling antagonists over to our side. During the war, you punch Nazis (and Commies, too, when it’s their turn), but when the war is over and their defeat is plain, you bury the hatchet precisely so history doesn’t repeat. That was how most of us thought at the time. If only it had worked out that way.
The connection between Seanchan and WWII Soviet Union in relation to the US is interesting! I also think your point about the US cultural notes (and even world location) is important. I’m not sure whether this is fully what RJ intended, but what he created by placing the Seanchan on the destroyed American continents, and by using a US accent and imperialist/colonialist culture, is a reflection of the US’ actual role in our world. The US is a juggernaut of military power that far outspends literally every other nation in the world to have the largest and most advanced military. It then uses this military might to intervene in and invade other countries (modern imperialism/colonialism).
As a military man who saw that in action in Vietnam, RJ would have been exposed to both the horrors of war and the propaganda that it was a necessary evil to “liberate” other countries. It’s fascinating to see that propaganda play out in the series as fact - it’s unclear whether RJ intentionally aligned himself with this war propaganda, or if he was subconsciously influenced by it. But the time in which his active military service took place was interesting in that both pro-US-involvement propaganda and anti-war sentiments were extremely loud. He would have been indoctrinated into the former, but from what he’s discussed of his traumatic experiences in the military, he definitely reflected on the latter afterward.
All this to say that I think the parallels between Seanchan and the United States are strong and fascinating.
