Pel's cultural issues are at the heart of her behaviour. She's been raised in a society which allows no weakness, and she was sufficiently good at being a Pigeonwarrior that she got to be one of seven chosen to represent her race in the Transworlds Challenge.

The Transworlds Challenge events shattered her life. They made her effectively a widow, a blasphemer, a traitor, and an outcast. That some of these things are results of her society's inflexible standards only emphasises how much her culture has shaped her.

Even her actions after becoming a zhongha-ka have been driven by her culture, albeit now her rebellion against it.

That's why I wanted to rub Pel's nose in a big heap of Thonnagar and see how she'd handle it.