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How many Point of View characters?
How many Point of View characters?Written by Steven Cooper: <sacooper@ozemail.com.au>
Conversion to HTML and some additions by Karl-Johan Norén: <kjnoren@hem3.passagen.se>
Ole Anders Bae has written The Wheel of Time Point of View Compendium [40k], with considerably more detail than this listing. It's that much larger as well, though, and not updated for TPoD.
As at the end of Book 8, the total number of point-of-view characters used in The Wheel of Time now stands at... ninety-six. Amazing as it seems, in the course of the series, we've seen out through the eyes of 96 different people (well, 95 pairs of eyes and one of whatever Shaidar Haran uses to see) -- plus the odd passage from the omniscient third-person narrator, as well.
The old version of the PoV list is still available for those who wants to make comparisons.
Of course, quite a few of these characters are strictly bit-players. I've divided them into major and minor characters, where a minor character is defined as having POV(s) in only one book (even though they may appear in other books). This is a bit unfair to those characters who only get their first POV in the latest book (we can expect to hear more from Toveine, or Davram Bashere, or even Aran'gar, in future books), but for now they stay listed as minor characters.
---New Characters---- Seen Total
Minor Major Total Before POVs
EOW 1 4 5 0 5
TGH 3 6 9 4 13
TDR 0 4 4 5 9
TSR 12 4 16 12 28
FOH 8 2 10 11 21
LOC 21 9 30 15 45
COS 5 4 9 20 29
POD 13 0 13 18 31
-------------------------------------
63 33 96
(What about New Spring? See the notes after the list below.)
It's noticeable that the first four books had very few POVs from minor characters (most of the ones in TSR are from Rand's Aiel ancestors in the Rhuidean vision). From FOH onwards, the side-trips and minor characters grow much more numerous. This is no doubt due to the fact that in the first four books we see the story almost entirely through the eyes of Our Heroes as they grow up and find their places in the world. In the books since then, they have become important enough (especially Rand) that they are affecting the lives of a lot of people, and we need to see how others react to them.
The table shows, I think, one of the major reasons why LOC seemed so sprawling or unfocussed. When was the last time you read a book written from forty-five different points of view (two-thirds of which had not been used in the series before)? RJ definitely made an effort in the last two books to gather the plot threads together and clamp down on the ever-expanding cast of characters -- although there was some backsliding with the half-dozen or so Seanchan walk-on characters in POD.
So, here is the complete list of POV characters so far. Any additions or corrections will be gratefully received. I'm not sure I've caught all the early appearances of some of the characters who only get a POV later in the series (shown with a "-" in the table).
Where a character appears in a non-real-world role (e.g. LTT's voice in Rand's head, Aginor in Nynaeve's Accepted test, or Rand's ancestor visions in Rhuidean) the symbol is enclosed in parentheses.
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
1. Lews Therin Telamon +# (-) (-) (-) (-) (-)
2. Rand al'Thor * * * * * * * *
3. Perrin Aybara * * * * * * *
4. Nynaeve al'Meara * * * * * * * -
5. Moiraine Damodred * * - * *?
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
6. Jaichim Carridin [Bors] * * * - * -#
7. Geofram Bornhald - +#
8. Liandrin * - * * -
9. Padan Fain [Ordeith] - * - * * * -
10. Egwene al'Vere - * * * * * * *
11. Bayle Domon - + -
12. Min Farshaw - * - * * * * *
13. Thom Merrilin - * - * - - -
14. Jaret Byar - + - -
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
15. Pedron Niall * - - * *#
16. Siuan Sanche - * * * * - -
17. Matrim Cauthon - - * * *# * *
18. Verin Mathwin - * - - * - *
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
19. Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan - - - * * * *
20. Dain Bornhald - - +
21. Suroth - + - -
22. Elayne Trakand - - - * * * * *
23. Zarine Bashere [Faile] - * * - *
24. Sahra Covenry +#
25. [Rand as] Mandein (+)
26. [Rand as] Rhodric (+)
27. [Rand as] Jeordam (+)
28. [Rand as] Lewin (+)
29. [Rand as] Adan (+)
30. [Rand as] Jonai (+)
31. [Rand as] Coumin (+)
32. [Rand as] Charn (+)
33. Egeanin - +
34. [Seanchan spy] * *
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
35. Rahvin [Lord Gaebril] - +#
36. Gareth Bryne - + - - -
37. Alteima - + -
38. Morgase Trakand [Maighdin] - - * * * *
39. Therin Lugay +
40. Ronde Macura +
41. Avi Shendar +
42. Moghedien [Gyldin, Marigan] - * * * -
43. Hadnan Kadere - +#
44. Asmodean [Jasin Natael] - +#
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
45. Demandred +
46. Gawyn Trakand - - - - - * *
47. Katerine Alruddin + -
48. Sevanna - * * *
49. Mesaana + - -
50. Aginor -> Osan'gar -# (-) +
51. Sammael - + -?
52. Graendal - * * *
53. Semirhage +
54. Sheriam Bayanar - - - - * - *
55. Sulin - + - -
56. Aviendha - - -# * * *
57. Nesune Bihara + - -
58. Sarene Nemdahl + - -
59. Delana Mosalaine - + -
60. Eamon Valda - - * *
61. Rhadam Asunawa - + -
62. Romanda Cassin + - -
63. Lelaine Akashi + - -
64. Merana Ambrey * * -
65. Dyelin Taravin + -
66. Luan +
67. Ellorien Traemane +
68. Vilnar Barada +
69. Demira Eriff +
70. Bain - + - -
71. Sorilea - - + - -
72. Myrelle - - + -
73. Galina Casban * * *
74. Falion Bhoda * * -
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
75. Alviarin Freidhen - - - * *
76. Joline Maza +
77. [old man] +
78. Cadsuane Melaidhrin * *
79. Ishamael -> Moridin [Watcher] - - -# * *
80. Reanne Corly + -
81. Seaine Herimon * *
82. Maeric - +#
83. Shaidar Haran - + -
EOW TGH TDR TSR FOH LOC COS POD
======================================
84. Ethenielle +
85. [_gholam_] - +
86. Chulein +
87. Balthamel -> Aran'gar [Halima] -# - - +
88. Assid Bakuun +?
89. Furyk Karede +?
90. Kennar Miraj +#
91. Bertome +
92. Varek +?
93. Davram Bashere - - - +
94. Abaldar Yulan +
95. Toveine Gazal +
96. Daved Hanlon - +
To be complete, I should mention New Spring. There are only two POV characters here; one is Moiraine (number 5 in the list), and the other is Lan, who finally has a POV after appearing in every book in the series without getting one. Oh, and Cadsuane should get a "-" for appearing in it, too. I haven't included these in the table above because: (a) I think NS stands completely apart from the main series, being set 20 years earlier; and (b) it upsets the organisation of the table, dammit.
Of course, the cast of TWOT is so huge that there are still plenty of characters who could be given POVs -- I'd like to see inside the head of the present-day Lan, or Lanfear (now that she's back), or Birgitte, or Tam al'Thor. With the new characters that are bound to be introduced, the next book will certainly take the list over the one-hundred mark, and the final count by the time the series is done is anyone's guess.
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Karl-Johan Norén,
kjnoren@hem3.passagen.se