Race and Attitude

[Skagens]

The Thalmor are the more fanatical of the two imo. They are convinced they are superior to men in every way. That my friend, is brainwashing. I think Stormcloaks reserve most of their hatred for the Thalmor and any sympathizers, but tend to be grudgingly tolerant of other elves and people who aren't Nords. Remember that it is trait of High Elves in general to be highly intelligent, well educated and tend to act haughty and impatient, while Nords seem to be much more physical. uneducated and share a general distrust for all of the Elf races. This makes them natural enemies by my thinking.

 

I wouldn't say the nords are "uneducated" but I do agree the high elven society is more "advanced" than the nords. However, the nords are more stubborn and are more proud of their history and beliefs. The reason the Thalmor are worse is because they follow an ideology where elves are superior to man. They seek to conquer all of Tamriel and subjugate the races of man and establish an empire in which elves rule supreme. The Stormcloaks want none of this, all they want is their beliefs and history back but also Skyrim to be ruled by nords. It's nord land, and nords ought to rule it.

 

There is one more piece of evidence floating out there in the game world to make me question Ulfric's true purpose. The Aldmeri did not eliminate Ulfric when they had a chance for a reason. He is listed as a possible asset.

 

This is where most people are divided and where a lot of people see this as proof that Ulfric is just a puppet. I don't think it's quite that simple. I think the reason they didn't eliminate him immediately is because they realized he would be more of more use to them alive. They knew he was the Jarl of Windhelm and I believe they anticipated he would make some sort of rebellion to make Skyrim unstable, so they let him go. The Thalmor themselves state they don't want the Empire nor the Stormcloaks to win the war. They would much prefer the war to drag on as long as possible so as to weaken Skyrim as much as possible. Either way, it's up to everyones opinion at this point.