The Well of Ascension: Does Democracy Work?

Mr. Sanderson, do you hate democracy?

Hey guys, it’s Jim Wilbourne, author of The Continua Chronicles.

Just a warning: This is a critical analysis video and has spoilers for the second Mistborn novel, The Well of Ascension. So if you haven’t read the novel and you don’t want it spoiled for you, add this video to your watch later list and circle back when you’re done.

But if you’ve read the novel, and you want to chat about it on a deeper level, you’re in the right place.

Era 1 of Mistborn is a trilogy with The Well of Ascension as its second installment. In The Final Empire, we’re introduced to the world of Scandrial, its Allomantic magic system, and its oppressive empire. After Vin and Kelsier’s crew topple the Lord Ruler’s hold over the people, Elend Venture fills the power vacuum.

But instead of following the tradition of the status quo, Elend takes a different approach to leadership. He establishes a council—a representative democracy—to share governing authority. The Assembly consists of eight nobles, eight Skaa workers, and eight merchants.

This is where, in my opinion, the story gets truly interesting because Sanderson took the opportunity to lean into political intrigue in this novel instead of it being simply an action-adventure tale. 

And yes, I can already see some of you in the back falling asleep. This wasn’t what you started this series hoping for. I get it. Not everyone likes a story with these types of plot lines. 

But bear with me a moment. Perhaps I can make it a bit more fun for you.

Instead of simply making this novel about political maneuvering—and don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of that here—the author develops an interesting question: Does democracy work? Like really work?

At the risk of stepping out of my lane for a moment, you may have noticed that sometimes a democratic system doesn’t produce the results we hope for. 

It sometimes feels like no one is happy and often nothing of true substance is addressed because a healthy compromise can’t be reached.

Lines are drawn in the sand, and a stalemate is reached… or worse.

But let’s examine what happens in The Well of Ascension when this experiment is attempted. 

Elend Venture is the king of Luthadel but has a democratic council of nobles. He wants to resolve matters with diplomatic solutions and believes total control is part of the corruption he’s trying to fix in their world, so he has placed limits on his own power.

From the start, the novel pits democracy against authoritarianism. Vin functions as a dissenting voice. She tells Elend that he shouldn’t have to ask for permission. Meanwhile, Tindwyl attempts to help Elend present himself as more of a leader and fit the expectations of a king. She also pushes him to take a more authoritarian approach.

It’s fun to see this argument play out in the novel. On one hand, Elend wants a more just society for all. On the other hand, there are those who believe that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. You can’t rely on the good nature of those in power to share the spoils of success.

Who’s right?

Throughout the story, Elend tries to reason with his father, Straff Venture, when he brings an army to Luthadel to take control away from Elend. Elend tries to help ease food shortages while the armies outside Luthadel limit resources, but the merchant class refuses, forcing Elend to distribute his own resources—though they fall short—to the skaa.

And while Elend is trying to convince his father to team up with him against Cett—a noble who wants to take the throne for himself—the Assembly has a vote of no confidence for Elend because he has refused to be the “strong leader” of the previous status quo.

When Cett is nominated to the throne after bribing the merchants to support him, he courts Elend to gain his support. In that meeting, Cett tells Elend that he won’t allow the Assembly to continue after he takes rule because that’s the very reason why Elend lost the throne in the first place.

Elend has put everything on the line. He deeply believes that democracy is better for his world after the rampant oppression of the Lord Ruler. And by giving more power to the people, he believed that his version of governance would be self-evident to all.

He even allows himself to be deposed when now is the time, more than ever, to take full control of his society so that it doesn’t make slaves of its people.

But it’s not over yet. With one final vote to go to decide who will take the thone, there is still time for democracy to work. And Elend holds on to that.

When a vote for the new King is split between Penrod, Elend, and Cett, the two councilmen who voted for Cett ask if they can change their vote. Elend says that they can, hoping that they’ve seen their error in reverting back to authoritarianism. They change their vote to Penrod, losing Elend the throne for good.

As Elend prepares to leave the city for his and Vin’s safety, Tindwyl tells him that he shouldn’t abandon his people and that if he does, he’ll be remembered as a coward. But he leaves anyway, feeling completely defeated.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for democracy.

It’s not until Vin returns to Luthadel and forces Penrod and Cett to bend the knee to Elend, that this whole thing ends with Elend as emperor.

Elend’s experiment with democracy is a failure, and it ends with the restoration of the status quo, of Elend having unchecked power. The story ultimately concludes with a good man in charge, but with a system that may—according to Elend—lead to ruin in the future.

So what does the author want us to take away from this? Is this an argument for the folly of a democratic society?

Perhaps.

But I think, instead, it’s an exploration of the difficulty of being a good man while also being an effective leader. 

And Tindwyl says as much after Elend loses the throne.

“But,” Tindwyl said, “that moment isn’t what cost you the throne, Elend Venture. That moment was a small thing, far too simple to credit with your large-scale failure. You lost the throne because you wouldn’t command your armies to secure the city, because you insisted on giving the Assembly too much freedom, and because you don’t employ assassins or other forms of pressure. In short, Elend Venture, you lost the throne because you are a good man.”

When a progressive change of the status quo is attempted, certain members of a society face a crisis. It’s like changing the rules of an established game where there are winners and losers. 

The winners are very unlikely to change the rules because it’s the system in which they’re secure and invested. The losers are often more likely to want to change the rules, but even they may not want change, even when the change is ultimately in their favor.

We saw this play out in The Well of Ascension when Elend loses his throne. While most of the skaa sided with Elend, The Nobels and Merchants sided with the two contenders who wouldn’t tip that balance of power.

And when Elend asks Tindwyl how great men have handled this situation in the past, Tindwyl tells Elend that they wouldn’t have found themselves in this situation because they wouldn’t have lost their titles in the first place.

Giving up power is rather rare in our world as well as in the fictional worlds we visit. George Washington, Juan Carlos I, and—to an extent—Gorbachev are some of the notable examples. But truly good leaders are rare, and those who find themselves in power are often too “good” to be effective.

In the novel, it’s not until Vin takes matters into her own hands that Elend can lead—something Elend was unwilling to do.

But what do you think? What do you think The Well of Ascension has to say about democracy and corruption? Do you think it’s possible for a man to do what’s right and also be a good king?

Let me know in the comments. I’d love to know what you think and discuss it further with you.

If you’d like to support me and this channel outside of liking, subscribing, and hitting the notification bell, you can buy my book. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson’s books, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy mine as well.

And until next time, err on the side of awesome.