Wheel of Time Spoilers
There is something to the Seanchan occupqtuonof Ebou Dar /Altara that leans into colonialization. The way colonizers and ocupiers co-opt institutions of power, the slow creep of changing customs, and the bringing of people and materials to settle in the region. I wonder if this was intentional by the author or accidental
Wheel of Time Spoilers
Honestly the Seanchan really are the villains I love to hate with their institutional slavery, the collars, and heirarchy of abuse but I do wonder on intentions from the authir
Wheel of Time Spoilers
Unlike the White Cloaks who are cartoonishly evil and fun to see get walloped
Or the Forsaken who are, to a man, nutter butters and too full of themselves
The Seanchan really do read as realistic villains
Wheel of Time Spoilers
Reading this series for the first time all completed naturally gives me a different experience from those readers who read the books as they came out
Still the politics of the book are very centered in the 1990s (or at least the gender and sexual politics)
Wheel of Time Spoilers
I think if it was written now the dynamic between tylin and mat would be seen as readers in a very different light then readers at the time for instance
Wheel of Time Spoilers
All this to say I am not sure if Robert Jordan and his wife meant the seanchan to reflect colonialism and colonizer mindsets or if they intended anglo readers of the books seeing the european stand in nations of the westlands getting occupied by the seanchan (who are presented as an antagonistic and alien culture) to connect those dots.
Wheel of Time Spoilers
At the same time its also clear the Seanchan are fixing serious problems. The nations the seanchan occupy easily were destabilized weakened states that that were riven with centuries of internal civil wars and conflicts. Arad Doman had no government. Tarabon was in utter chaos with literal famines. Amadicia was essentially ruled by white cloaks. Altara was essentially city states with its osstensible capitol of Ebou Dar barely stable.
Wheel of Time Spoilers
The Seanchan restored order, ended famines and stabilized the local economies. Even before the forsaken showed up to cause chaos and before the aiel war none of these places were jn great shape.
And there is certainly a comment about how colonizers take advantage of local instability... but if thats the intention...
Wheel of Time Spoilers
Thats where it raises questions for me on intent because the seanchan might be enslaving any magic user they can find in handmaid's tale style camps and enforced labor camps, among other things... but theyre also delivering food, health care, and stability for destabilized regions. Which does raise questions for me on intent