People love, love to bring up one-off moments of Yennefer at her worst. Yennefer who is mean, cold, haughty, angry, hurt, jealous, stand-offish.
It’s both funny and sad to me that people forget the rest. Yennefer, who ruins her expensive camlet dress without even realising it to save a woman having a miscarriage on the steps of Kaer Trolde. Yennefer, who gives the nervous young clerk Fabio Sachs the Younger such unexpected high praise that he blushes to the roots of his chestnut hair. Yennefer, who saves Giancardi’s family. Yennefer, who buys back Geralts swords without his knowledge - who has her own banker keep track of where he is looking for work, to make sure the region has a decent “Witcher fund”, even when they’re not together.
Yennefer, who on Skellige, earns the favour of Freyja, the patron goddess of motherhood; receives her grace, her diamond, her Brisingamen, because she is willing to endure more than the limits of human suffering for Ciri.
Yennefer has so many flaws: she’s a deeply broken, traumatised woman who’s prideful and knows how to play the ice queen. But if you don’t realise that Yennefer is also full of love for people around her, hidden kindness and compassion…you might want to read those stories again.
