105 pages • 3-hour read
Wind and Truth
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Self-Acceptance and Forgiveness as Cornerstones of Mental Health
In Wind and Truth, Sanderson asserts that self-acceptance and forgiveness are fundamental pillars for achieving and maintaining mental health. Shallan’s character arc is the most explicit exploration of the importance of self-acceptance, and her struggle with this idea becomes overt with the appearance of the symbolic figures that embody her alter egos: Veil, Radiant, and Formless. In the previous novels in the series, Shallan created these alter egos as versions of herself who were capable of doing the things that she needed to do; both strong fighters, Veil and Radiant are strong when Shallan feels weak and brave when she feels afraid. Formless, on the other hand, is a more negative manifestation: an embodiment of the pain and harsh memories that Shallan longs to avoid. The author uses these alter egos as a device to enact Shallan’s internal conflict; the alter egos interact as characters in their own right, even adding to the dialogue. As Shallan interacts with her disparate parts, this dynamic highlights her progress toward self-acceptance. By conversing with Veil and Radiant and overcoming Formless, Shallan learns to accept the fact that all parts of her have value and that her past actions do not have to define her future choices. Shallan’s journey therefore illustrates the complexity and the importance of self-acceptance.
The novel also asserts that forgiveness is a partner to self-acceptance, and that one cannot come without the other. Thus, Shallan learns to forgive herself in much the same way that she learns to accept herself: in gradual conversation with her alter egos. However, he does not find full healing until she forgives others in her life as well. For example, the visions in the Spiritual Realm enable Shallan to forgive her mother because she finally sees the reasons behind her mother’s actions and is able to speak with her mother again. Shallan therefore comes to understand that her mother, the Herald Chana, was experiencing trauma herself and came to deeply regret her actions. Upon this realization, Shallan extends forgiveness to her mother, saying, “What you did was terrible. You will need to be watched, helped, and prevented from hurting others. But I am safe now, so I can forgive you” (957). Shallan’s acceptance of her own past actions, her forgiveness of those who have hurt her, and her realization of her own safety and well-being are all vital aspects of her own personal path toward healing.
The Importance of Personal Accountability and Choice
Wind and Truth focuses deeply on the power of personal choice. As Renarin says to Rlain, “Nothing is fated […] There is only possibility and chance, maybe with nudges from outside forces. What comes in the future is our choice” (613). Each of the novel’s main subplots revolves around the characters making difficult choices and standing by those choices despite outside contention. In the case of Renarin, he and Rlain make two powerful decisions: to pursue their cross-species romantic relationship and to destroy the prison of their perceived enemy, Ba-Ado-Mishram. However, Renarin is not the only one to voice a challenge and exercise the power of choice in the novel. Kaladin debates the concept with both Szeth and Nale, as in this conversation:
‘I’ll make my own choices,’ Kaladin said. ‘Based on what I see and experience.’
‘Your perspective is flawed.’
‘No more so than anyone else’s. No more so than the people who made these laws, Nale. That’s what I keep saying.’
‘No,’ Nale said, ‘I keep telling you these laws go back to something greater’ (891).
At the heart of this conversation lies the question of who to trust. Kaladin argues that individuals should trust their instincts and discretion based on what they know, while Nale argues that individuals are fallible and that institutions such as governments or religions should safeguard the ultimate forms of guidance and accountability. Ultimately, the novel rewards Kaladin’s perspective. When the narrative reveals that Nale’s rejection of personal accountability and willingness to let someone else make the choice for him has led him to commit many horrible deeds, his entire philosophical position is undermined. Kaladin, on the other hand, “strode out to meet his destiny, feeling like he was in control for the first time in years. Deciding to take the next step, rather than being thrust into it by momentum or crisis…that sense of volition felt great” (37). Personal autonomy and the power of choice are celebrated in the figures of Rlain, Renarin, Kaladin and others.
The Illusion of Absolute Right and Wrong
Unlike many fantasy novels that pit the characters against an undiluted source of evil, the Stormlight Archive series encompasses an intricate, many-faceted universe populated with sympathetic, humanized characters who stand on multiple sides of the interwoven conflicts. Within Wind and Truth, the concept of “right” is deeply complex; the god of Honor is shown to be flawed and overly simplistic in its thinking, and the characters who believe in absolute answers to ethical questions are stymied in many ways as the novel unfolds.
Most notably, Szeth grapples with the question of right and wrong throughout his life; this struggle becomes one of the defining conflicts of his character arc. Szeth is highly motivated to do what is right and craves a clear-cut understanding of what the word “right” means. However, he receives many differing answers when he asks trusted figures in his life for guidance, and he suffers no small amount of heartache when he realizes that the world holds different interpretations of ethical behavior—even among people who adhere to the same religion and come from the same culture. In the end, Szeth learns to trust to his own heart and make his own decisions because there is no such thing as absolute right or wrong. In this way, the novel’s thematic exploration of The Illusion of Absolute Right and Wrong is closely linked to The Importance of Personal Accountability and Choice.
The author uses the concept of the shards of Adonalsium to further develop a case for the illusory nature of absolute right and wrong. In the lore of Sanderson’s cosmere, Adonalsium was a well-rounded deity who was killed and shattered into 16 pieces, which became shards of intent, each of which is wholly dedicated to one motivation. Cultivation, Honor, and Odium are the shards featured in Wind and Truth. Other shards include Devotion and Ambition. For much of the Stormlight Archive series, Honor is celebrated as a force for good among the people of Roshar. However, one of the twists and revelations in this novel occurs with Dalinar’s realization that Honor is not an absolute good in and of itself. The shard is not able to view ethical situations with nuance or take context into account. As the narrative states, “Honor, in the power’s eyes, was about oaths. But there was a darker side to it. […] How much anger in the world had been caused by a belief in ‘honor’?” (1268). Dalinar ultimately realizes that pure “honor” is just as dangerous as pure anger or pure passion. This realization guides his decision to break the oaths he had made to Odium by refusing to fight in the contest against Gavinor; he also decides to break the oath he made to Honor so that the entity will be able to mature over time. In the end, the novel concludes with the hope that even the shard of Honor will come to understand that absolute right and wrong are an illusion.
The Lasting Effects of Trauma
Wind and Truth is dedicated to exploring the lasting effects of trauma, this pattern is evident in the sheer number of characters who must contend with the impacts of unresolved pain. For example, Szeth grapples with the trauma of being forced to kill against his will, and more broadly with the trauma of being denied personal autonomy during the years he spent in servitude to the Oathstone. Likewise, Shallan was traumatized by events in her early life, including being attacked by her mother, whom she was forced to kill in self-defense. Adolin is scarred by the memory of accidentally abandoning his fellow soldiers and friends in a besieged Kholinar. He is also deeply hurt by the knowledge that his father killed his mother. Dalinar and Kaladin carry their own forms of trauma, as do the deadeye spren and the Heralds. As the novel unfolds, each individual or group must find a way to come to terms with past issues and sources of pain in order to forge a fresh path forward into the future.
The author’s interest in the effects of trauma extends beyond merely creating characters who are marked by hard experiences. Instead, the characters explicitly contend with their traumas, illustrating the many ways in which past trauma can impact the present and the future. Shallan considers the individual and myriad responses to trauma when she considers her spren, Testament, whose “lines and pattern[s]” were crooked, like broken twigs” and who “responded differently to being a deadeye,” unlike “Maya [who] had always seemed strong of body” (29). When Shallan observes that “[s]pren broke in different ways […] [j]ust like people (29), it is clear that although years have passed since Testament’s initial hurt, the spren still bears physical reminders of trauma.
Through Shallan’s observations, Sanderson underscores one of the thematic messages of the novel: that trauma has profound, lasting impacts that people deal with in different ways. Adolin experiences survivor’s guilt and makes a promise to do better the next time, while Szeth feels self-recrimination and makes a vow to stop committing senseless violence. Yet again, Kaladin chooses to become Roshar’s “first therapist” (51). As these variant reactions demonstrates, the ripple effects of such soul-deep wounds are unique to each individual. However, the novel ultimately asserts an optimistic belief in the power for individuals to recover from these lasting effects. This dynamic is evidenced in the scene when Shallan is reflecting upon Testament’s appearance, for it is Pattern who observes that even though Shallan hurt Testament, “In the end [she] recovered, did better” (29). This sentiment suggests that there is always a path toward recovery following trauma, however imperfect or difficult it might be.
Unlock every key theme and why it matters
Get in-depth breakdowns of the book’s main ideas and how they connect and evolve.
- Explore how themes develop throughout the text
- Connect themes to characters, events, and symbols
- Support essays and discussions with thematic evidence