Great post, Madness.
Yea, I don't think it complicated it anymore than what your post says is what complicated it in the first place. That's it, I would hope all of us have a "moral compass" and live according to that. Its what makes understanding what Bakker is doing on Earwa very, very hard to most of us. Being born a woman make you a lesser soul, pigs are holy, snakes are not. So just by being born a woman on Earwa you are already less of a soul no matter how nice you are or how well you live your life. That's something that's real hard to wrap your head around, I know it was for me. But, what I think he is trying to do, and again I am probably the least capable person of answering this question, is show us the cruelty of a world were it does exist. That's how cruel Earwa is.
Now, notice, even though Mimara is a lesser soul by virtue of just being a woman, she is also the only person we've seen so far that is HOLY. Its all very freaking confusing to me. And, the stuff I quoted on Koringhus somewhere where he learns what is holy and pure, could be a picture book of Mimara's life. Though, remember, she was cruel to Esme, very cruel. So, I'm not claiming to know what's what and how it all works. Morality is objective on Earwa and we are learning what is holy.