Defending Dovewing [RANT]

I don't get all the Dovewing hate. I personally don't see her as mary-sue, nor do I see her as a "Hollyleaf replacement" or a "bad sister". She gets too much hate because of this, and I think she needs more love.

While I find Dovewing's personality rather bland, I feel like people judge her too harshly.


She is a mary-sue!

Uhh... no she isn't. Not even close. In fact, she's probably one of the most flawed characters in the books. Just because she has two guys padding after her and she has powers doesn't mean she's a cat's princess.

Dovewing crosses territories

Dovewing still cared about Sedgewhisker, despite not being together on the journey anymore. She let her feelings get the best of herself and she felt she had to go into WindClan at night and see her friend if she was okay after the attack with the dog:

Dovepaw felt her ears flatten. Wasn't she pleased they had come? "I-I was worried," she stammered. "I heard a dog chasing you." She didn't dare say more in case she gave away her secret, but it seemed she had said too much already. A growl rumbled in Sedgewhisker's throat.

"Have you been spying on us?" the WindClan warrior snapped.

Ivypaw swung her head to stare at Dovepaw, her eyes flashing with alarm and confusion. "You didn't mention a dog!"

Sedgewhisker leaned closer. "How did you know about it?"


Dovepaw flinched away. "I-I heard it while I was training."


Ivypaw blinked. "When? You didn't say!"


Sedgewhisker was watching them through slitted eyes.


Dovepaw felt a stab of disappointment. "I was worried you were hurt, that's all," she muttered.


Sedgewhisker bristled. "We can take care of ourselves, you know. We don't need a ThunderClan apprentice to watch out for us!" - Fading Echoes, pages 63-64


Also, let's not forget that she crosses ShadowClan territory to meet up with Tigerheart in secret. She's breaking the warrior code by doing this. Just by doing this could have caused a battle between ThunderClan and WindClan, because we all know how much Onestar hates ThunderClan. Dovepaw made a huge mistake by doing this. She shouldn't have done it, but I can understand why. She cared too much, and she was punished for it.


Dovewing often blames herself

When something terrible happens, Dovewing blames herself that it's always "my fault" when something bad happens, even when it isn't.

For example, when the tree fell, Dovewing blamed herself because she believed that she could have prevented it:


Dovepaw longed for a good night's sleep. She had been plagued by terrible dreams. If only she'd given more warning, then Longtail might have been saved and Briarlight would be scampering around her littermates right now. - Fading Echoes, pages 176-177



Dovewing meets Tigerheart in secret


This is one of her best flaws, and I don't understand why people see her "perfect" when she's meeting Tigerheart in secret. It's against the warrior code to have a mate from a different Clan, and the Clan must always come first. Because of her relationship with Tigerheart, it caused many problems:

Ivypool was captured

Dovewing told Tigerheart about the catmint

Dovewing was constantly tired due to her meetings with Tigerheart, causing her to fall behind from her training

Because of her love for Tigerheart, she refused to believe that he trained in the Dark Forest


She told Tigerheart about the catmint


Yet another one of her best flaws. She believed that Tigerheart wouldn't do anything with what he knew about the catmint, but he took advantage of her, and ThunderClan was forced to give up the herbs in order to save Ivypool. It's not entirely Dovewing's fault, before you blame her; it was everyone's fault. Ivypool shouldn't have gotten into Dovewing's business with Tigerheart, Tigerheart shouldn't have used Dovewing, and Dovewing shouldn't have been meeting in secret with him. It wasn't just one cat's fault, but everyone's. Dovewing shouldn't be hated entirely for her mistake. And anyway, how did Tigerheart expect Blackstar to keep Ivypool in his Clan until ThunderClan gave up the catmint? Tigerheart isn't Jayfeather, so he didn't know that Blackstar would keep her until ThunderClan had to give in.


Dovewing snaps at Bumblestripe

Okay, Dovewing gets a lot of hate for this, but I'm going to defend her. This is definitely a flaw because she hurt his feelings, but she did feel guilty for it and apologized to him. However, you need to understand that Bumblestripe was rather very clingy with her, and I don't think he was the right mate for her. Yes, they had a cute moment together, but I don't believe Dovewing ever loved him, and only used him to move on from Tigerheart. Bumblestripe never really respected her space and always wanted her company, but when Dovewing learned that she was part of the prophecy, she never had the time to herself, and now that she has a mate, even her own mate wouldn't give her time to herself. She is finally free from the prophecy, but Bumblestripe doesn't seem to respect her space enough. I love Bumblestripe, but I don't think he understands her.

---

Okay, so I believe I've listed enough flaws to help people understand that Dovewing is definitely not a mary-sue, so let's get that out of the way. Now let's work on why I don't believe she deserve all the hate she gets.


"She's whiny!


It was only for that one book! And let me remind you that Dovewing was only a kitten when she learned about the prophecy. Think about it: She just became an apprentice, and she learned that she was born to save the Clans. No wonder she feels like she's responsible for the entire Clan. Lionblaze and Jayfeather didn't tell her "You can do whatever you want because you're special". She was only told that she needed to save the Clans. She was forced to grow up fast at such a young age, and when she whined about losing her powers, that was the time when she began to accept that she's part of the Three. She understood how important the prophecy was and how much it means to the Clans. What did you expect her reaction to be when she'd lost them? Sunshine & rainbows?


"She broke up with Bumblestripe!"


Dovewing... never loved Bumblestripe, and there were plenty of signs that she didn't. Plenty.

Just because she had one night with Bumblestripe, doesn't mean that she loved him. She was only happy because for once in her life she didn't have to worry about the prophecy, and she got her powers back:


"Fine," Dovewing replied, struggling to get her breath. Even though she felt battered from her fall, happiness was surging through her like a stream in a flood. I haven't lost my senses. Everything's okay! - The Forgotten Warrior, page 105


There were also plenty of signs that Dovewing still loved Tigerheart. She was comparing Tigerheart to Bumblestripe, had a night meeting with Tigerheart in secret in The Last Hope, and in Bramblestar's Storm, while she was mates with Bumblestripe, she fought beside Tigerheart during the battle with the badgers. In Dovewing's Silence, she was worried that something bad would happen with Tigerheart.

All of these signs showed that she still loved Tigerheart. I'm not writing these because it would take too long, and I still have plenty of things to type from the books, too.

Dovewing only became mates because she was pressured by the Clan, anyway. Everyone assumed that she either liked Bumblestripe or said she should become his mate. And when she snapped at him other cats would put the guilt-trip on her and force her to apologize. It was wrong, but Rosepetal put pressure on her just by doing that.


Ivypool's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, that's terrific!" she exclaimed. "He's really nice. Are you two going to be mates?"

"That's the last thing on my mind!" Dovewing twitched her tail irritably. "It was just a walk. It was fun, but no big deal."

Her sister gave her a poke in the side. "The two of you would have the cutest kits together!" - The Forgotten Warrior, page 110


When Dovewing didn't want to be with Bumblestripe, Cinderheart put the guilt-trip on her just because she said no:

"That wasn't very kind," Cinderheart murmured. "Don't go trampling on Bumblestripe's heart. He really likes you." - The Forgotten Warrior, page 102


There's also plenty of other signs, but I can't find them right now, but I think those two should be enough to show you that everyone, even her own sister, pressured her to believe that she should become Bumblestripe's mate.

I feel like Bumblestripe was too clingy with her. Dovewing shouldn't have snapped at him because he wanted her company, but Bumblestripe was also too clingy with her. Both were at fault.



"She ignores her sister!"

No, she doesn't. In fact, it's the other way around. Dovewing was only trying to do the right thing because she cares too much. But because of Ivypool's jealousy, she refused to listen and continued to train in the Dark Forest, which is basically a gang full of murderers.

Dovewing didn't ask for these powers, and she didn't ask to become popular in her Clan. It's not her fault that she seems "special". And before you compare my feelings with Ivypool's (that really gets on my nerves..) I do know how it feels to be left out, and I have been jealous before. But would I attack them because of it? No. I kept my feelings hidden, because I didn't want to cause drama. But Ivypool didn't, and that's why they were constantly fighting. Ivypool should not have been jealous over something that wasn't even Dovewing's fault.

Dovewing never purposely left her sister. Dovewing wanted Ivypool to be with her. But she was taken away when Lionblaze and Jayfeather or Firestar needed her:


  "Come with me," Ivypaw beckoned her with her tail before scooting toward the thorns.

 

  "Why?" Dovepaw sounded puzzled as she hurried after her. "What's going on?"

 

  Wait till she hears how a StarClan cat taught me how to hunt!

 

  Ivypaw was bubbling with excitement. She slid through the tunnel and waited in the clearing outside, pummeling the muddy earth impatiently till Dovepaw caught up.

 

  "What is it?" Dovepaw's eyes were wide.

 

  Ivypaw glanced around, making sure no cat was listening. "A StarClan cat came to see me," she breathed.

 

  "When?" Dovepaw blinked away raindrops.

 

  "In my dream!" Ivypaw explained. "He was teaching me how to hunt!"

 

  Dovepaw leaned closer. "Tell me more."

 

  Suddenly Ivypaw felt self-conscious. Did Dovepaw believe her or was she humoring her? Perhaps it had just been an ordinary dream. "This cat..." She fumbled for words. "He taught me some new hunting moves..."

 

  Dovepaw was staring at her. "Who was it?"

 

  "It was..."

 

  The undergrowth shivered. "What are you doing out here?" Brightheart burst from a clump of ferns, panting. She was clearly racing for shelter of the hollow. "You'll catch your death!" She circled them, pressing them toward the thorn tunnel. "Inside, both of you! What would Whitewing say? Or Jayfeather? We don't want to start leaf-bare with a medicine den full of sneezing apprentices!"

 

  Sparkling with frustration, Ivypaw allowed herself to be herded into camp. Praying the apprentices' den would be empty, she headed straight for it, beckoning to Dovepaw. her sister kept close as they slipped into the dry den and shook rain from their fur.

 

  Ivypaw turned and started to explain about Hawkfrost. "He was a warrior..."

 

  "Dovepaw!" Lionblaze was calling through the den wall.

 

  Ivypaw unsheathed her claws. Can't he wait?

 

 

  "Sorry." Dovepaw looked apologetic as she backed outside. Ivypaw ripped a pawful of bracken from her nest and flung it down. Dovepaw was always racing off to talk to warriors without her. Didn't she care about her? And since when did the least experienced cats run the Clan? Couldn't Lionblaze manage a few moments without his precious apprentice?

 

  Fading Echoes, pages 133-134



Dovewing wanted to tell Ivypool about the prophecy, because she knew it was driving them apart:


  "Please can I tell Ivypaw about the prophecy?"

 

  Jayfeather sighed and went back to his sweeping. "No."

 

  "But it's making it really hard to stay friends with her."

 

  "How?"

 

  "She thinks I'm getting special treatment."

 

 

  "She's jealous?"

 

  "No!" Dovepaw suddenly felt defensive of her sister. Then she sighed. "Well, yes, sort of. I guess."

 

  "Lionblaze and I never told any cat," Jayfeather pointed out.

 

 

  "But you had each other!"

 

  Fading Echoes, page 188



And lastly, Dovewing tried to tell her sister that training in the Dark Forest is bad. She was worried that her sister would get killed and she didn't want Ivypool in danger. But Ivypool didn't listen:


"Jayfeather followed you in your dreams." Dovepaw saw Ivypaw swallow.

 

  "I-I..."

 

  "So it's true?" Dovepaw's heart pounded.

 

  Ivypaw's blue eyes hardened. "So waht if I did? It's the only way I'm going to learn how to be a great warrior. Everyone's trying so hard to make you the best warrior in ThunderClan; they hardly bother with me. I'm just Dovepaw's dumb sister-"

 

  Dovepaw couldn't bear to listen. "How can you be so stupid? The Dark Forest cats are evil!"

 

  "How would you know?" Ivypaw spat back. "You've never even met one!"

 

  Dovepaw stared at her. "Of course they're evil. Why else would they be in the Dark Forest? Do you think StarClan sent Tigerstar there because he was good?"

 

  "Have you ever met Tigerstar?"

 

 

  "No! But I've heard nursery tales about him. So have you! He tried to destroy Firestar; he set BloodClan on him-"

 

  "He's different now!" Ivypaw thrust her muzzle in Dovepaw's face. "His time in the Dark Forest has taught him the importance of loyalty." Was that a challenge in her mew?

 

 

  Dovepaw didn't flinch. "You're wrong," she hissed. "He wants to destroy Firestar as much as he ever did. The only thing that matters to Tigersar is power."

 

  Ivypaw curled her lip. "You haven't spoken to him. I have! He told me everything. How he only became ShadowClan's leader after Bluestar forced him out of ThunderClan. How he's always stayed loyal to his birthClan. Despite everything they've done to him!"

 

  "Everything they've done to him?" Dovepaw couldn't believe her ears.

 

  "Who won the battle yesterday?"

 

  "What's the battle got to do with it?"

 

 

  "It was Tigerstar's idea! He's the one who told me to persuade Firestar to fight ShadowClan. He warned me that ShadowClan was planning to steal our territory. And because of Tigerstar, we stole their territory instead. What's that, if it's not loyalty?"

 

  "But Tigerstar is a part of the Dark Forest! You can't trust him! Don't you see that the battle caused nothing but trouble?" Dovepaw spat. "Winning a worthless piece of land cost Firestar a life and killed Russetfur!"

 

  Ivypaw narrowed her eyes. "Tigerstar's still loyal to ThunderClan. You're just jealous.  You're just jealous that it's me he's visiting and not you! You're scared that I might become a better warrior than you! That I might be the special one, and that Firestar might start taking notice of me instead of you!"

 

  "Don't be a mouse-brain! You're my sister." But Dovepaw found herself yowling at empty air. Ivypaw had turned and bounded into the bracken. Suddenly alone in the frozen forest, Dovepaw started shivering.

 

  Her sister was training in the Dark Forest! How could StarClan have let this happen?

 

  Night Whisperers, pages 45-46


Ivypool always starts the arguments, not Dovewing! Why? Because she's jealous of something that isn't even Dovewing's fault. Yeah, yeah, she doesn't know about the prophecy, but she didn't think about how Dovewing felt when she was giving her sister a hard time, did she? Dovewing tried to stop the arguments, but Ivypool kept emotionally abusing her. She even went as far as trying to force her to listen that Tigerheart is training in the Dark Forest, and Dovewing clearly didn't want to hear it. Not to mention it wasn't any of Ivypool's business to get into their relationship in the first place:


Ivypaw bristled. "So?" She lifted her muzzle. "They've got ointment on."

 

  "I wasn't criticizing," Dovepaw mewed quickly. "I'm just worried about you." She dropped her catch in front of Ivypaw. "Here, have a bite." She didn't want to argue with her sister.

 

  Ivypaw shook her head. "That would be against the warrior code," she pointed out.

 

  "Just take a small bite," Dovepaw urged. "You look starving. I'll say it got damaged in the hunt."

 

  Ivypaw narrowed her eyes. "No, thank you," she growled. "I'm not the one who likes breaking the warrior code."

 

  "What?" Dovepaw stared at her in surprise.

 

  "I'm not the one who disappears at night to meet a ShadowClan warrior."

 

  Dovepaw's heart seemed to drop in her chest like a stone. Ivypaw knows about Tigerheart! "How did you find out?"

 

  "Did you think I wouldn't smell him on you?" Ivypaw's tail lashed. "Not very loyal, is it? Spending every night with a tom from another Clan?"

 

  Dovepaw stiffened. "At least we're not putting anyone in danger."

 

  "What do you mean by that?"

 

  "Each time you go to the Dark Forest, you betray your Clanmates."

 

  "That's not true!" Ivypaw hissed. "I'm learning to be a great warrior so I can help my Clan!"

 

  "Yeah, right!" Dovepaw snapped scornfully. "Just like Tigerstar. He was a great warrior!"

 

  "He was!"

 

  "He became ShadowClan's leader. He tried to kill Firestar!" How could Ivypaw be so dumb?

 

  Ivypaw glared at her, eyes cold as ice. "Aren't you going to ask how I recognized his smell?"

 

  Dovepaw blinked, confused. "What?"

 

  "Don't you think it's odd how easily I recognized Tigerheart's scent?"

 

  Dovepaw froze, her blood draining into her paws. She remembered the look Ivypaw and Tigerheart had shared in battle.

 

  "H-How did you know?" Dovepaw cringed beneath her pelt. She didn't want to hear the answer. She didn't want to hear that Tigerheart had been seeing Ivypaw, too. That he'd lied to her. That she wasn't the only ThunderClan cat that occupied his thoughts.

 

  "I meet him almost every night," Ivypaw crowed.

 

  "You can't; he's with me!"

 

  "Not all night."

 

  Dovepaw backed away. "Don't say that! He likes me, not you. Have you been following him? Find your own mate! Leave him alone!"

 

  Ivypaw padded closer. "Oh, I don't like him in that way. "I'm not a soppy dove like you.I'm a warrior, and so is Tigerheart."

 

  Dovepaw wished she were deaf, wished she could see Ivypaw's mouth moving without hearing the words.

 

  "Tigerheart doesn't spend every night cooing in your ears," Ivypaw taunted. "He's one of the best warriors in the Dark Forest. That's where his loyalty lies. Not with you!"

 

  "That's not true! You're just jealous!" Dovepaw shrieked at her sister. She couldn't believe in these lies. "You're jealous that I'm a better warrior than you. I always have and I always will be, and you can't stand it. And now you're jealous that Tigerheart loves me and not you! You want to destroy everything I've got because you're jealous. That's all!"

 

  Ivypaw's eyes gleamed. "Really? Why not ask Tigerheart?"

 

  "Shut up!" Dovepaw scrambled up the bank. "If you tell anyone that I'm seeing Tigerheart, then I'll tell the whole Clan you've been training in the Dark Forest with Tigerstar, and then you'll have no friends. Everyone will hate you just as much as I do!" She pelted through the trees.

 

  Night Whisperers, pages 179-181


Also, can I mention something? From what I've talked to with people about Dovewing, she seems to get a lot of hate because she said she's "better than Ivypool"... well, isn't Ivypool training in the Dark Forest because she wants to become better than Dovewing? That never made any sense to me...:


Ivypaw narrowed her eyes. "Tigerstar's still loyal to ThunderClan. You're just jealous.  You're just jealous that it's me he's visiting and not you! You're scared that I might become a better warrior than you! That I might be the special one, and that Firestar might start taking notice of me instead of you!" - Night Whisperers, 45-46


Cinderheart leaned forward. "Have you been quarreling with your sister again?" Her whiskers brushed Ivypaw's cheek. "You shouldn't be jealous of her, you know. You're just as good at hunting and fighting as she is."

Of course I am! I've been trained by the best! - Night Whisperers, pages 72-73



If you're going to hate on Dovewing for saying that she's better than Ivypool, then you may as well hate on Ivypool, because she's no better. And anyway, you hate her for saying "I hate you?" Dovewing was already pressured enough by her own sister when they were quarreling about Tigerheart training in the Dark Forest. She stressed her sister out and Dovewing didn't want to hear it, but Ivypool wouldn't leave her alone.


I can understand why people see Dovewing as "immature". She definitely is, which is another one of her flaws. Notice how I did that? Yeah, she ain't perfect.


I just feel like Dovewing's isn't appreciated enough. Sure, Ivypool spies, but she didn't do anything. She didn't say anything or report anything. Dovewing didn't use her powers for the prophecy? The prophecy never said they had to use their powers during the battle. Anyway, she did use them for good purposes: She saved lives, and I'm not just talking about the beavers.


I feel like Dovewing is one of the most misunderstood characters throughout the entire books, and she gets too much hate. She's definitely not my favorite, but I think she needs a little more fans, but if she doesn't, then people should try to understand her point of view. She just cares too much, and it just ends up becoming a mistake.