I'm writing an essay on Joren for The Lioness's Den, but as I examine his motives and struggle to analyze his character in canon and fanon the best I can, I've taken issue with one thing that really irks and confounds me. Why did Joren never challenge Keladry himself? Kel notes that Joren often hung around with the knights who challenged her during the Progress. More often than not, she beat them.
So why didn't Joren challenge her himself?
Most people I've asked have either assumed that:
A.) Squires can't challenge, they may only be challenged. But how does that make any sense? One can always defend one's honor, and Keladry challenged the first knight she jousted with over the scuffle with Lerant.
B.) He knew his limits, and he knew that Keladry would best him.
Again, that doesn't seem to coincide with what we know about him and his sense of pride. While Joren may not be her equal with the lance, he surely is with other weapons. After all, Kel comments in FT herself that Joren was the best at unarmed and armed combat, but that "he was heavy-handed with his horse."
Is he a coward? I think he is in a way, but not of that sort. He's a coward in that he cannot accept change or defy convention. Yet, not the sort who would be afraid to challenge someone he sees as his inferior.
#29795, "RE: Joren Oddity" In response to Reply # 0
If he challenges her, he admits she is entitled to equal treatment as a warrior and as a noble. He tells the world "I accept her on her terms." That he would never, ever do--and that rigidity is why SPOILER SPACE
he dies in the Chamber. He's so rigid in his beliefs that he can't bend, and the Chamber breaks him.
Tammy
“No person is your friend who demands your silence.” Alice Walker
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