What is the Appeal of the Black Ajah?

Ariadne Davion

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Lets get to the nitty gritty question, which has been nagging at me recently. Evil, in and of itself (to me) feels selfish. Being Black holds a lot of (book and non-book) appeal that I have to question whether it's value lies in the ability to lie, the desire to keep secrets, or to genuinely cause harm for personal gain?

I thought about posting this in General, but I realize this discussion could fall into spoilers so I put it in here.
 

Nebka Galyn

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I feel the Black Ajah in the books was just the evil of "man" showing. I personally do feel that Evil is selfish as you said. But for me in life the Black Ajah would symbolize freedom from the "rules" of the tower. Not so much harming for personal gain... keeping secrets yeah, and I don't think I'm evil but I'm not necessarily good either...
 

Aduiavas Ida

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I think Sheriam shows a lot of why the Black Ajah can be appealing to some. It gives more perks, more ability to manipulate and play politics. Sheriam once thought about how she had never wanted the end of times to come in HER time, that she had just joined up for the extra maneuverability possibilities :look:

I think a lot of the Blacks think that...
Then again, we have the thirteen Blacks that fled from the Tower in the second book, the group with Liandrin. They were certainly in it for the power, the evil and want to harm other. (Especially Temaile :look:)
 

Fern Al'Thorn

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It is a kind of dilemma in that, I think that the appeal of it to most; was the aspect of power. Those that are egocentric will want every advantage that they can get over others, including pain and death. as the books point out, evil is what man does by choice. They all made the choice to forsake the vows that held them to the light and limited the use of the power. I think Verin was maybe the only one that really swayed my thought that all those that choice the DO were just plain a**hats. She wanted to study them...and the only way to do that is to become them.
 

Aduiavas Ida

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Oh yes, I think the main feature that they all possess is egoism. The lust for power, and the will to do anything to get ahead. You see it in nearly all the "Bad guy" POV, they are all selfish and self-centered, with a general loathing of other people :look:
 

Ealandrelle Melyma

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To me, being a Darkfriend (whether Aes Sedai or not) is largely to do with power and self-preservation. They feel that serving the Dark One (and/or the Forsaken) presents them with the best options for survival (possibly immortality) and power over others. The "evil" things they have to do are part and parcel of being a Darkfriend. Some may get pleasure out of harming others as part of their role, others may do it simply because they have that strong sense of self-preservation and it's a "them or me" situation.
 
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There are a ton of reasons people turn to evil. And keep in mind that there are different levels of evil from Horrid to slightly etc.
Usually people turn to evil because of feeling inadequate or angry or fearful or some other Character defect. Its not always a lust for power.
Sometimes its exciting to feel like you know things others don't and pretend to be good when you know the truth.
Other times you are angry and hate things whether its specific or just society in general and you wish to strike back and unravel it?
Also there is feeling vulnerable and powerless so you wish to find a way to gain power not for sheer lust of it but so you never have to feel powerless again?
SOOO many reasons to join the dark side! its all very personal and probably can be very complex on a case by case basis!
 
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It is interesting how everyone is able to touch on different aspects of the draw to the Black Ajah. I think that in itself points towards to the wide variations of peoples' personalities and psychologies. The members of the Black and their motivations vary just about as much as the members of the other Ajahs and the Ajahs themselves. Common themes for the Black are: lust for power, desire for immortality, scholarly potentials, research opportunities, hatred, desire for vengeance on the world or those that wronged the person. Even some of the members of the other Ajahs have their own varying levels of questionable behavior, they just haven't sworn to the Shadow but still behave questionably, nonetheless. It is clearly a values-based system that starts with choosing to go to the Tower, then choosing your goals, then your Ajah. A lot changes from Novice to Aes Sedai, and continues to change long afterwards. It is more rare in my mind to read about an Aes Sedai who came to the Tower as a Novice and knew exactly what Ajah to join and why and stuck with that mission or goal for their entire life...

So, in summary, I would say that to understand why a person would want to join the Black, you have to truly understand the individual that made that choice. There is no one-size-fits-all solution here and there is a plethora of examples as to why many individuals made their choice. I myself would probably choose the Blue Ajah, because that is my personality. I may not fit the Ajah perfectly, but it appeals to my mission-oriented frame of mind. Other aspects would make me fit in other Ajahs, I imagine.
 

Devonna Harren

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There are a ton of reasons people turn to evil. And keep in mind that there are different levels of evil from Horrid to slightly etc.
My immediate reaction to levels of evil is Verin (Black Ajah although for good reasons, doesn't mean she wasn't forced to do bad things) and Padan Fain.
 
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Lets get to the nitty gritty question, which has been nagging at me recently. Evil, in and of itself (to me) feels selfish. Being Black holds a lot of (book and non-book) appeal that I have to question whether it's value lies in the ability to lie, the desire to keep secrets, or to genuinely cause harm for personal gain?

I thought about posting this in General, but I realize this discussion could fall into spoilers so I put it in here.

Ok... This is a hard question to answer, and an easy one. Easy because anyone who has ever faced temptation knows why people are attracted to the Black Ajah. The same reasons people become corrupt cops, or commit insurance fraud, or countless other evils that at the time seem acceptable. No one is evil in their own mind. Or, at least most of the worst of humanity isn't. People start out often doing evil from ignorance, then grow in to apathy and finally graduate to self gratification but the evil done is still the same. The victims are still harmed the same way. It is easy enough for me to imagine how "recruiting" for the Black goes.
A prospective sister is "sounded out" by either an existing sister of the Black or an Accepted already known to be a Darkfriend. Preferably this is done while she is still a Novice and young enough to be excited about it. At first it is just games, a little rule breaking, reading some forbidden texts in the library, things like that, then slowly, they convince her that what everyone believes about the Dark One is wrong, perhaps they have one of the kinder and more personable sisters help with this "education". They tell her how smart she is to have worked this out. Then, after a time, and enough of this "training", they invite her to become a Friend. Perhaps even before she attains the shawl.
If she is strong enough in the power to be sure she will attain the shawl, they hold a "Special Ceremony" for her, where a circle of 13, all wearing masks, assist her in "confirming her promises".

You can see how this would go. According to canon the Black has been in the tower since the beginning, started by Ishy, and as they truly DID have at least some knowledge long thought lost by the other Aes Sedai, such as the full functionality of The Oath Rod, it would be easy enough for them to hide in plain sight and attract the interest of any girl who didn't quite fit in or get along with others in the Tower.
 

Cahalan Sothron

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Sheriam once thought about how she had never wanted the end of times to come in HER time, that she had just joined up for the extra maneuverability possibilities :look:

I think the overwhelming temptation to turn dark is encapsulated by what you see here, Adui. It wasn't just that it could be power, or revenge, or whatever the other reasons might me. It was that they never believed there would be an accounting in this world for their actions. We saw that with some of the low level Darkfriends in the story (it's been awhile, so I don't remember who off the top of my head) where they kind of did it as a lark or on a dare. Then one day a myrddraal shows up making demands of them they're unable to refuse. It's the ability for many to be self-deluded into thinking there are little to no consequences for such an oath.
 
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