Jon Snow- A Song of Ice and Fire analysis

A Game of Thrones

‘The old Kings of winter are down there, sitting on their thrones with stone wolves at their feet and iron swords across their laps, but it’s not them I’m afraid of. I scream that I’m not a Stark, that this isn’t my place, but it’s no good, I have to go anyway. It gets darker and darker, until I want to scream’.

I don’t want to touch on the early books too much because Jon’s character is so well known – I’m sooo close to the end of this series now, with Tyrion and Sansa to go- and his character arc post wildlings is the interesting part. From the beginning, Jon is kind, listens and gets involved in what he thinks is right. He does, however, have the impulsive privileged nature that comes of growing up Stark and it is only through the different characters he meets that he becomes aware of this. The early books are really his journey into a kind of adulthood. Jon frequently references his lack of place and love, yet he struggles with the separation from his family. He chastises himself whenever he thinks of himself as a Stark but struggles to place himself anywhere. He resents and regrets joining the watch:

 ‘All the places that Jon would never see. The world was down that road… and he was here.’

We see Jon’s struggle between his highborn entitlement and developing understanding that he has had it comparatively easy, for example, these quotes which are just a page apart:

‘Jon’s rage was such that he would have smashed it all in an instant, and the world be damned.’ ‘Jon let out a deep sigh. ‘You have the right of it. I was acting the boy.’

Jon’s friendship with Sam helps him greatly and it is Sam’s clear mind and tranquil nature that often calm Jon’s quick temper. Ghost is also a soothing influence on Jon, and we see their connection growing with Jon’s sense of identity: ‘And suddenly Ghost was back, stalking softly between two weirwoods. White fur and red eyes, Jon realised, disquieted. Like the trees…’

Aemon is another much needed peaceful presence and his words often provide the push that force Jon to step outside his own self-indulgence and anger at the world. I love this link between Jon and one of his last Targ relatives, and the epiphany type moments Aemon gives Jon. He is the past and he is also a projection of the decisions and unrest Jon will come to face: ‘for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty.’ ‘Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.’ It is Aemon who truly makes Jon realise that he is not and will not be the only one to suffer, and that in making decisions based on love or duty, he is amongst everyone who has lived. This is the human condition.

 By the end of GOT Jon has gained insight and let go of some of his pride, but he is still struggling with future and place. Upon being given Mormonts sword: ‘He knew he should be honoured, and he was, and yet…’ ‘He in not my father. I will not forget him, no matter how many swords they give me.’

‘My place is here…where is yours, boy?’ ‘I have no place, Jon wanted to say, I’m a bastard, I have no rights, no name, no mother, and now not even a father.’ The words would not come. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘When the dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits on the Iron Throne?’

I think Jon’s storyline is priming us for his role in destroying the white walkers, rather than an ending with him as King. This would be too obvious a choice for GRRM’s style. Jon has the desire and ability to protect and fight for people, qualities of a King, but he represents more a messenger or prophetic figure.

A Clash of Kings

GOT was about shaping Jon up for life and giving him some harsh messages, and as ACOK begins, we see that he has chosen duty and internalised life in the brotherhood: ‘And if it did trouble me, what might I do bastard as I am?’ ‘What will you do?’, Mormont asked. ‘Bastard as you are?’ ‘Be troubled. And keep my vows.’

Jon is no different to the rest of the Stark children in turning to the memory of their father in times of uncertainty. Jon begins to deal with some significant challenges and moral dilemmas as he goes undercover with the wildlings. When told to kill Ygritte: ‘He could give her a quick clean death, at least. He was his father’s son. Wasn’t he? Wasn’t he?’

Whilst he won’t admit it, even to himself, Jon resonates with the wildlings and feels more at home here than he ever did at the wall. Wildlings represent true freedom and highlight harshly the limitations of life in Westeros: titles and prejudice, class, and the rules that discard the lowborn whilst binding the highborn to a life pre-determined. Through Mance’s story, we are given easter eggs towards Jons future, and I do believe that Jon will likely end his story back at the wall or beyond rather than Winterfell and royalty:

‘He loved the wild better than the Wall. It was in his blood. He was wildling born, taken as a child when some raiders were put to the sword.’ ‘He never learned how to obey.’ ‘No more than me’, said Jon quietly.’

It is beyond the wall that Jon first wargs, and Bran communicates with him:

 ‘The weirwood had his brother’s face. Had his brother always had three eyes? Not always, came the silent shout. Not before the crow… Death, he knew. He was smelling death. Don’t be afraid, I like it in the dark. No one can see you, but you can see them. But first you have to open your eyes. See? Like this. And the tree reached down and touched him’.  

This interaction is actually insanely early on in the books in terms of future plot and the true fantasy elements kicking in, and it’s why I love GRRM wizard man so truly. Everything is so crafted, so carefully set up. Jon himself is one of the more simplistic or ‘human’ characters in my opinion, but he is rooted in so much of the myth, magic, prophecies to come. In this regard, Jon represents many religious messengers or ‘chosen one’ figures. To reference the show for a moment, I think it did such a bad job of ending with Jon beyond the wall, as it felt so ill placed. In the books, however, there is already enough evidence that with the wildlings, should he let himself, Jon could genuinely feel the freest and most content.

A Storm of Swords

Wildling life & Ygritte:

‘The wilding blood is the blood of the First Men, the same blood that flows in the veins of the starks. As to a crown, do you see one?’ ‘I left the next morning… for a place where a kiss was not a crime, and a man could wear any cloak he chose’ (Mance).

‘He came across a dozen men pelting one another with snow. Playing, Jon thought in astonishment, grown men playing like children, throwing snowballs the way Bran and Arya once did, and Robb and me before them’. (ADWD)

Mance’s life signifies some of Jon’s deep desires, an alternative life and self where he could genuinely let himself be free. Perhaps the greatest change of lifestyle for Jon is the realisation that bastard is not a concept or a sin here, particularly as he is growing fond of Ygritte:

 ‘You are a free man now, and Ygritte is a free woman. What dishonour if you lay together?’ ‘I might get her with child.’ ‘Aye, I’d hope so. A strong son or a lively girl kissed by fire, and where’s the harm in that?’

Jon grows to love Ygritte and it really shakes his morals and beliefs. ‘It was easy to lose your way beyond the wall. Jon did not know that he could tell honor from shame anymore, or right from wrong. Father forgive me’.

GRRM’s decision to go beyond the wall let’s us see so delightfully how Westeros class and moral conduct can come with shame and fear- linked often to religion as it is in our own world. Jon’s shame is less about what he believes at this point and is more the indoctrination and uncertainty of going against everything he has always been taught. Jon thinks like a highborn lord despite being shunned and poorly treated by those of his class his whole life. He is stuck between worlds. In Ygritte he is experiencing a woman who completely rejects such codes and any armour of propriety: ‘We look up at the same stars and see such different things.’

Jon is learning that there is an alternative way of thinking, a different way of living, and he is learning about his history from a completely new perspective:

‘You’re the ones who steal. You took the whole world, and built the Wall t’keep the free folk out.’ ‘Did we?’ Sometimes Jon forgot how wild she was, and then she would remind him.’ ‘The gods made the earth for all men t’share. Only when the kings come with their crowns and steel swords, they claimed it was all theirs.’

I don’t believe Jon could hear and really listen to all this- coming from someone he has fallen in love with-without it impacting his core. This perspective will make him a great leader and bring him a desire to affect change.

‘I was a man of the Night’s watch.’ Was, he heard himself say. What was he now? He did not want to look at that.’

As his feelings for Ygritte deepen, he dreams of showing her Winterfell. ‘The dream was sweet…but Winterfell would never be his to show’. This feels prophetic, and I wonder if it’s setting up to foreshadow a future with Dany or Val. I also enjoy how Jon is beginning to parallel Sam in his relationship with Gilly, but also how Rhaegar probably felt with Lyanna, another ‘starcrossed lover’. Regardless, at this point, Jon has so much self-doubt and loathing due to his belief that he’s a traitor, that he’s losing himself. ‘He had no sense of the direwolf, not even in his dreams. It made him feel as if part of himself had been cut off. He did not want to die alone.’

A key moment is when Jon tries to convince himself that he can kill the old wilding man, but cannot, and flees instead. He sees Bran’s wolf at this moment; Bran is relatively linked to Jon. ‘I am going home, he told himself. But if that was true, why did he feel so hollow?’ Jon’s death and warging are also hinted at from quite early on, for example, when he’s told of Bran’s murder: ‘I saw a direwolf, a grey direwolf…grey…it knew me. If Bran was dead, could some part of him live on in his wolf?’ He also dreams of Brans wolf in the crypts, after Ygrittes death. I wonder if this is the hint that Bran will be the one to tell Jon of his parentage? Via dream, via a messenger?

Leadership & Stannis

 Ygritte’s death and Jon’s experiences until this point mark the loss of any remaining arrogance and youth. He is changed from this point. ‘There are older men, Jon wanted to say, better men. I am still as green as summer grass. I’m wounded, and I stand accused of desertion.’

Jon also has some little easter egg/future hint moments wrapped us as funny throwaway thoughts. I particularly enjoyed this one, when he is attempting to fight the wildlings: ‘It was a futile thought. He might as well wish fo another thousand men, and maybe a dragon or three.’

It is lovely to see that when Jon is given responsibility of the wall, of the battles, that he respects the seriousness of this, the responsibility and does not feel certain that he should have it. He has been humbled and yet his words and actions show him to be a ready leader. He gives rousing speeches and can genuinely rally the men of the watch.

The arrival of Stannis and his offer cause Jon to doubt his identity even further. 

‘I loved Robb, loved all of them… I never wanted any harm to come to any of them, but it did. And now there’s only me. All he had to do was say the word, and he would be Jon Stark, and nevermore a Snow… All he had to do was… forsake his bows again.’

It is because he is a true Stark (to a fault) that- possibly to his detriment- he won’t lose his honour for his name. This is the most difficult decision Jon has made and is very telling of what has been and has become of his character. He experiences every emotion, every possibility, goes against his deepest desires and instincts. I think again, he is likely to end up beyond the wall, because every time he imagines lord of Winterfell it comes with guilt, shame put on him by Cat, grief for his brothers. It is tainted. I think by the time he finds out Lyanna is his mother, we will have had the great war, and he will be so different that a lordship or Kingship won’t be possible anymore. We do, however, get to see in this chapter, what Jon wants. What he would have chosen and has buried: a desire for love.

‘A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the wall. I could name him Robb.’ ‘I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me.’

 He nearly falters, and it is Ghost- who usually acts as Jons compass and guide- who makes his decision. Ghost returns upon this moment and Jon again reflects on his resemblance to a weirwood.

‘He belongs to the old gods, this one… five that were grey and black and brown, for the five Stark, and one white, as white as snow. He had his answer then’.

A Dance With Dragons

This book shows Jon grieving, isolated and warging frequently. Jon still senses Summer nearby, and these references to Bran are frequent enough that I do think they’ll have some sort of significant future interaction, especially since Sam knows where Bran is going. Jon is struggling with his responsibility and faces great consequence. He feels very isolated by his choices and difficult, often seemingly cold, decisions he has made, and is feeling the lack of warmth:

‘It was company he craved, not food. A cup of wine with Maester Aemon, some quiet words with Sam’.

Jon is also beginning to really understand his power and the impact it could’ve had had he been recognised by Stannis:

‘He could not help but wonder if the girl’s answer might have been different if the letter had been sealed with a direwolf instead of a crowned stag, and signed by Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. It is too late for such misgivings. You made your choice.’

I think this realisation will be important post resurrection. He also has Ned’s assurance and way of speaking to those higher than him when he believes he is right, for instance, trying to convince Stannis to pardon Mance ‘Your grace is mistaken.’ You know nothing, Jon Snow, Ygritte used to say, but he had learned. You do not become King-Beyond-the-Wall because your father was’. Again, this is probably another wee significant quote for life post white walker’s- Jon will help to create the new world but will not feature in it as a Kingly figure. He doubts the whole concept of royalty and succession at this point, understanding and respecting freedom: ’You can give them land and mercy, but the free folk choose their own Kings, and it was Mance they chose, not you.’

Jon does have a tendency to be chosen when he doubts himself, and he is someone who is admired and respected, once people truly understand him. It may be that he almost replaces Mance to act as  some kind of chosen wildling leader/king.

White Walkers & future:

Battles had been fought at Winterfell before, but never one without a Stark on one side or the other.’

‘We have seen the face of our real foe, a dead white face with bright blue eyes. The free folk have seen that face as well. Stannis is not wrong in this. We must make common cause with the wildlings.’

In sacrificing his proposed lordship, Jon focuses on the white walker cause, and really begins to take on the saviour/messenger arc. However, Jon’s decision to ally with the wildlings is not an entirely positive one, and he’s paralleling Dany now in trying to save and feed them all without resources because he is a good person.

We start to get hints that he will die following his isolation, power, and unpopular decisions, particularly from Melisandre and the fading distinctions Jon feels between his human and warging self. Melisandre further confuses Jon in predicting Arya’s danger. Jon does not fully believe in prophecy, but this is enough to get under his skin, and as he grows lonelier, he strives evermore to reconnect with the family he has left. He appreciates Stannis’ promise to rematch Arya if he finds her, but Stannis leaving for the cause of Winterfell when Jon is left is such a desolate situation is deeply hard for him to handle. This is heightened further by Alys Karstark:

‘The girl smiled in a way that reminded Jon so much of his little sister that it almost broke his heart.’‘

Jon realises that in his depression and desperation his decisions are becoming compromised or at least unlike him. He must rely Mance and Melisandre to save Arya when he doesn’t trust them. He does, however, trust Val, giving her the huge responsibility of treating with Tormund to support the cause against the whites, understanding that the alternative is thousands of wildling whites- and also hoping to save some of the wilding lives he has grown to respect.

Jon has made the decision to save the wildings from Hardhome, accepting that this decision will be unpopular, will risk himself and his men, may risk death. And yet, the letter from Ramsey is the final straw in Jon’s restraint and he makes a decision very unlike any he would have previously:

‘The Night’s Watch will make for Hardhome. I ride to Winterfell alone, unless…’ Jon paused. ‘…is there any man here who will stand with me?’ The roar was all he could have hoped for. I have my swords, though Jon Snow, and we are coming for you, Bastard.’

This plan is Jon’s last before the betrayal and his death. A resurrection is absolutely coming and GRRM is setting up the reader to believe he will head towards Westeros and the Iron Throne in later books, but I’m excited to see how life beyond the wall becomes endgame, and how events with Jon’s parentage, Dany and the white walkers come to pass.

Feminism & Val

 ‘By right Winterfell should go to my sister Sansa.’

 Jon recognises this after making his choice to remain at the wall, and his time with both Ygritte and Val has shifted his perspective on a ‘women’s place’. Just as he doubts the line of succession, Jon is also beginning to doubt the fixed place of men and women in such a patriarchal world. He is hardly feminist champion at this point but recognises the power women have: ‘The women are the strong ones’. He has always had this in him, with his strong love and bond for Arya, but he needed Ygritte and the push from highborn customs to set him up for whatever will come to pass with Val or Dany. It is also a nice little bit of growth, considering Lyanna was known to be so free thinking. Jon wants Val and marrying her is amongst his regrets after rejecting Stannis. He deems her to be ‘Lonely and lovely and lethal’ and feels connected to her in their loneliness and lack of place.

I think the traditional life of marriage, children and lordship is not for Jon, but we may get a subversion of this trope in the form of a wildling relationship. I think Jon is too disconnected from any Targaryen side to want to take ‘his place’ as ruler, and I think if anything, Jon’s role will be to essentially end the Targ line of succession before moving on to his new life.

‘Ghost emerged from between two trees, with Val beside him. They look as though they belong together… It had been a long while since Jon Snow had seen a sight so lovely.’ ‘All that true enough, but the wildling woman was so much more. She had proved that by finding Tormund where seasoned rangers of the watch had failed. She may not be a princess, but she would make a worthy wife for any lord.’

I love Jon and Val, the parallels and subversion of old princess in tower traits. I love reading about love, desire, tension, hints of what may be or could become, star-crossed lovers. I can’t tell if this is setting up to show that Jon is nearly ready to meet someone knew, i.e., Dany, or if Jon and Val will be end game if he returns beyond the wall. However, this is one of the main reasons I’ve loved doing this read by POV. I never picked up at all on first read- albeit 10 years ago- how much Jon’s future is linked to beyond the wall. I think it’s easy to get excited by Jon/Rhaegar/Lyanna/Dany and almost hope that he becomes King at first. But GRRM is showing us that if anything, ruling is a dangerous burden. He is setting up for a new kind of world and I’m excited to see where that will lead our characters.

Bran & Eddard Stark – A Song Of Ice and Fire analysis

‘He flew into my bedchamber and told me to come with him, so I did. We went down to the crypts. Father was there, and we talked. He was sad… It was something to do about Jon, I think.’

Bran and Ned POV’S are far less frequent than most characters and act more so as passages to the past, important future events and prophecy, particularly to highlight Jon’s importance. Bran’s character is used as a pawn & prophet from the onset, with no perceivable future as Bran the person, but so a link to the future of the world and to Jons arc. Even if Bran is not always a delight to read- he did put me into a four month break from ASOIAF analysis haha- I love the significance and weight you feel behind his chapters. Being Scottish, I feel especially connected to, and interested in, the old Gods, traditions and links to Celtic and Scottish mythology. I feel that GRRM has written Bran and this world as a beautiful connection to lore and traditions, and an ode to his love of mythology:

‘In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.’

Bran

‘He loved Jon with all his heart then. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done’.

In the few chapters that we get to see showing us what Bran could have been, he is perceptive, family oriented and every bit as idealistic as Sansa. However, from the moment he is in a coma, darkness begins to surround him:

‘There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armoured like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armour made of stone, but when he opened his eyes there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.’

We are quickly led to the conclusion that Bran is linked to the white walkers, and his purpose of staying alive is- according to the three eyed raven- to act as prophet and play a part in their downfall. Norse mythology is one I am less familiar with than some, but I love the parallels of the three eyes Raven and Odin:

‘It had three eyes, and the third eye was full of a terrible knowledge. Its beak stabbed at him fiercely, and Bran felt a sudden blinding pain in the middle of his forehead between his eyes’.

Bran feels fiercely connected to the Godswood after his fall and is the first to understand the significance of the wolves. He predicts and foreshadows the dangers his family will endure:

‘Bran felt cold inside. ‘She lost her wolf’… ‘Your lord brother will get no help from them, not where he’s going. The old God’s have no power in the south.’

Identity post Ned’s death:

‘Your own folk. In fear. Some will hate you if they know what you are. Some will even try to kill you.’ Old Nan told stories of beastlings and shapeshifters sometimes. In the stories they were always evil. ‘I’m not like that’, Bran said. ‘I’m not.’

The path after Ned’s death into following Jojen’s prophecy beyond the wall sees Bran link ever more closely to Summer and begin to lose bits of humanity as he grieves his father, home and past self. This is evident when he begins more frequently to warg into Hodor, and try to justify it to himself:

‘The gentle giant would whimper when he felt him, and thrash his shaggy head from side to side, but not as violently as he had the first time… He knows it’s me, the boy liked to tell himself.’

Bran also eats the dead of the night’s watch whilst warged into Summer and is learning to nearly- if not completely- turn off his humanity and subconscious during such acts. I must add here, Bran is a literal child who has lost his father, suffered great trauma, is facing literal starvation and is on the arduous road to see a prophetic raven who will make him some immortal tree being, so I will cut him a little bit of slack. There is some philosophy regrading free will and predetermination is his chapters, again paralleling prophets and ‘chosen ones’ in legends. Bran appears to have been born into this fate, and he certainly has no element of choice in any of this prophecy, rather is a pawn to a cause.

‘What was he now? I am too old for such fancies, he told himself. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. That was as good as being a knight. Almost as good, anyway’.

Bran’s story is here paralleling the world Arya is pretending at, working in contrast to show us how he will truly lose himself and embody prophecy, whilst Arya has too strong a spirit, humanity, identity. She almost embodies survival, identify and free will. Meera is also used to reflect the humanity that Bran he holds on to and indicate what he will lose:

‘Earth and water, soil and stone, they were here before us and will still remain when we are gone.’ ‘So will you’, said Meera. The thought made Bran sad. What if I don’t want to remain when you are gone?’  

Upon meeting the three-eyed crow, we are given a very Odin like description and the most famous Bran quote:

‘I saw your birth, and that of your Lord father before you. I saw your first step, heard your first word, was part of your first dream… And now you are come to meet me at last, Brandon Stark, though the hour is late.’

‘You will never walk again, Bran’, the pale lips promised. ‘But you will fly.’

Right, I’m not going to go too far into this hahaha, but in my teen years I was led down the path of Jojen paste forums and I still believe it genuinely could be true. Especially since it is after eating this suspicious paste that Bran is given power enough to see true visions and past. Upon seeing young Ned, Bran seemingly breaks through time and visions:

‘He is gone boy. Do not seek to call him back from death… ‘But’, said Bran, ‘he heard me’.

I can feel the depth and importance in Bran’s chapters, particularly in later books, and reading read in a row as Bran’s POV has really gotten me excited for Bran to have such a significant and interesting part in the future of these books.

Ned

‘For a moment Eddard Stark was filled with a terrible sense of foreboding. This was his place, here in the North… He could feel the eyes of the dead. They were all listening, he knew. And Winter was coming.’

Ned is almost prophetic and psychic as his children in the story, holding at the very least an excellent intuition. It is this intuition, however, than Ned will often ignore and that which foreshadows his death. From the beginning, he acknowledges, yet ignores the symbol of the direwolves births, carrying on his duty with foreboding and distress. Ned’s actions are always led and bound by duty and honour rather than religion and foresight. It is, of course, this sense of duty and honour that hurt Ned. His lack of subtlety in dealing with the likes of Cersei and Littlefinger, combined with his knowledge and place of power, ultimately cause a lot of Westeros’ downfalls by playing a part in the beginning of the War:

‘He had no patience with this game they played, the duelling of words.’

Ned & Robert, Jon.

Ned’s relationship with, and complicated love for Robert adds another layer to this outcome. His bond with Robert brotherly in its strength, but strained by their vastly different moral codes. Of the Targaryen children being murdered by Tywin: ‘Ned had named that murder; Robert called it war… It had taken another death to reconcile them.’

Robert’s love of Lyanna is one of the main reasons Ned fails to cut ties with Robert: ‘Ned loved him for that, for remembering her still after all these years.’

It’s been analysed in such depth and with such amazing research so many times before, so I won’t go into it here, but the frequent hints and references to Rhaeger+Lyanna=Jon, particularly ‘promise me’, blood and blue roses are so well written throughout Ned’s chapters, and so apparent on my reread. In risking his title- and honestly life- to oppose Robert’s wish to have Daenerys and her unborn child killed, Ned is characteristically following his moral code. However, I also enjoyed seeing the layer of Ned knowing that Daenerys is a tie to Rhaegar, and therefore to both Lyanna and Jon. Prior to this, Ned has already become incredibly saddened by the changes in Robert:

‘When I know the truth, I must go to Robert.’ And pray that he is the man I think he is, and not the man I fear he has become.’

Robert’s willingness in this act towards Dany forces Ned to confront his doubts and acknowledge that should he find out, it is highly likely that Robert would attempt to have Jon killed. 

Ned and his children

I hadn’t remembered or realised in my first read how beautiful Ned’s relationship with his daughters is. I loved these chapters. One such that I had forgotten was a touching scene where Ned takes them to the Godswood to stay the night and pray for Bran:

‘Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling in the grass under Neds cloak. All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone’.

Ned’s chapters were cloaked in stress, sadness and ultimately death, but his memory and imprint on his children is has a melancholic happiness to it, preserving him in the reaming books. Ned himself didn’t realise how much power his relationship and love with his children would have in helping to give them strength through their horrific ordeals after their passing.

I enjoy Ned’s frequent comparisons of Arya to Lyanna, but I loved this quote paralleling and foreshadowing Lyanna to Sansa, and her future power against the Lannister’s:

‘You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert,’ Ned told him. ‘You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath’.

I have a very soft spot for Sansa, and don’t subscribe to the view that she essentially had Ned killed. Ned’s family were the most important thing to him, and whilst he doubted going against his honour, he ultimately chose family above himself in all things. Ned’s last act matched all of his acts, as it was for the love of his family, and done to save Sansa.

Arya Stark- A Song Of Ice and Fire analysis

A Game of Thrones

‘Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. ‘The wolf blood’, my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave.’

One of the sad and poignant parts of reading these books by POV is that I consistently return to the Starks pre-horror and get to see their innocence and peace. Arya has, however, always struggled with her self-esteem and place, believing herself to be an outsider: ‘When Arya had been little, she had been afraid that meant that she had been a bastard too. It had been Jon she had gone to in her fear, and Jon who had reassured her.’

She wants to please her mother and be regarded as positively as Sansa is, and she is jealous and resentful of Sansa. ‘It wasn’t fair. Sansa had everything. Sansa was two years older; maybe by the time Arya had been born, there had been nothing left… Worse, she was beautiful.’ As do all the female characters, Arya struggles with her worth as she believes she is ugly. ‘Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You remind me of her sometimes. You ever look like her.’ ‘Lyanna was beautiful,’ said Arya startled. Everybody said so. It was not a thing that was ever said of Arya. ‘She was,’ Eddard Stark agreed, ‘beautiful and wilful, and dead before her time.’ I enjoy parallels between Arya and Lyanna and will continue to look out for them. I enjoy Arya’s feminism, as unlike characters like Cersei, she is not unhappy to be a woman. Instead, she wants more options for women and more respect for those who don’t conform to boundaries. Arya has a beautiful heart and perceives everything around her. She is kind and thoughtful, yet internalises a great deal of guilt and shame, and holds on to hatred. GRRM highlights these characteristics early on to show us her innate nature and add some depth to Arya’s decisions in later books. She is almost primed for the survival instincts and hatred she holds onto, with such intense anger and impulsivity at such a young age. When Arya is 9, she kills a boy, and this is something she can’t come back from, so she accepts it as part of her identity.

‘Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths. So if you must hate, Arya, hate those who would truly do us harm… Sansa is your sister. You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you… and I need both of you, Gods help me.’

Ned’s POV is used to set up and foreshadow a lot of events to come, for example, his comparison of Arya to Lyanna link to impulsivity and early death. I believe, however, Arya will be the one to subvert the foreshadowing and death trope. I think GRRM loves her too much, and with such survival instincts and unwillingness to give up, she will live to the end. It is her Stark nature (excuse the pun) that gives Arya some insecurity, but I love her relationship with Ned and Jon.

‘She found herself wishing that Jon was here with her now. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone.’

Arya is impulsive, but she also internalised Ned’s advice and warnings, and I believe this will guide her through her journey and back towards her family, as will her love of Jon.  

A Clash of Kings

‘For a moment Arya stood uncertain, not knowing which way to go. Death was all around her.’

A Clash of Kings is really about Arya’s loss of her father and subsequently herself as her survival instincts have driven her to act in ways, she never believed she would. It is also the lead up to the arc which links death to her identity. We get to see how Arya perceives herself through her inner thoughts about Nymeria, for example, her shock and potential regret at becoming someone who has killed. ‘She probably wouldn’t even know me now, Arya thought. Or if she did, she’d hate me’. It is ironically her bravery and goodness that links Arya’s fate so closely to the world of the faceless ones, saving Jaqen from the fire: ‘Going back into that barn was the hardest thing she ever did.’

I know that there is much debate over who Arya decided to have killed by Jaqen and a great deal of frustration that she didn’t take out any key players. I think, however, it’s important to remember that she is genuinely a child and filled with rage. Also, she had a man killed on the basis of being an extreme misogynist so I cannot oppose her choice really. She is also doing what she can to survive now, in a perilous situation. This storyline also gives the reader insight into her growth. Arya chastises herself for her lack of reasoning:  ‘Suddenly she knew that she had made a terrible mistake. I’m so stupid, she thought… These men were the ones who mattered, the ones she ought to have killed… Lord Tywin, why didn’t I say Lord Tywin.’ From this point, she is more careful and strategic. Arya’s decision to essentially ransom Jaqen ultimately saves her life and lets her escape- she is incredibly smart and fearless.

Family:

‘Every night Arya would say their names. Back in Winterfell, Arya had prayed with her mother in the sept and her father in the Godswood, but there were no Gods on the road to Harrenhal, and her names were the only prayer she cared to remember.’ Arya ensures that she holds on to her rage, almost more so than comes naturally to her, to cope with her extensive grief and fear. It is a survival instinct. Her relationship with faith is very interesting, as she clearly has a belief and respect for religion, especially the old god’s and yet it is towards the gods that she questions the injustice she’s experienced:

‘The light of the moon painted the weirwood silvery white as she made her way towards it, but the firepointed red leaves turned black by night. Arya stared at the face carved into its trunk. It was a terrible face, its mouth twisted, it’s eyes flaring and full of hate. Is that was a god looked like? Could God’s be hurt, the same as people? I should pray, she thought suddenly.’

She is angry with the gods for not saving her father, and yet fears them. She takes Jaqen’s scolding for mocking the gods very seriously and he becomes almost a Godlike figure for Arya: ‘Maybe the gods had sent him in answer to her prayers’.

‘She yearned to see ger mother again, and Robb and Bran and Rickon but it was Jon Snow she thought of most.’ Arya continues to think of Jon so frequently and loves him alongside the feeling of belonging, particularly exacerbated by her low worry that she is losing herself, or becoming someone Cat won’t like. Her desire for her family is something that gives Arya a little bit of balance and calms some of the fire in her heart.

‘If Winterfell is truly gone, is this my home now? Am I still Arya, or only Nan the serving girl, forever and forever and forever?’

We come back to the Gods for Arya’s lion king/hamlet epiphany moment, a moment of reflection, where Arya lets herself grieve a little more and think about Ned. ‘Tell me what to do, you gods, she prayed.’ ‘Then so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father’s voice. ‘When the snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.’ ‘But there is no pack’, she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. ‘You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.’ Reading by POV really hits me emotionally in a way that ASOIAF didn’t quite previously. I feel genuine goosebumps and sadness for the Starks at these moments, and I love connections to Ned and the North.

Gendry:

We are also introduced to Gendry, and whilst I’m going to need a colossal time-lapse for a relationship to feel anything less than creepy, I love that they are friends, and that their future dynamic could somewhat fulfil- and subvert- Robert and Ned’s desire to join their houses. There’s much more to say about Gendry in the next book, but for now, he is used to highlight Arya’s ability to read people, for example, her understanding that Gendry is more than he claims to be, and her acceptance that they are on a somewhat similar journey. This, and the space her gives her, really allows them to bond.

A Storm of Swords

Family:

‘Telling Harwin would be almost like telling her father and there were some things that she could not bear having her father know.’ ‘And her lady mother, what would she say? Would she still want her back, after all the things she’d done?’

Arya is still wracked with guilt and uncertainty, particularly when she believes she will be reunited with Robb and Cat and has to align her actions with her highborn upbringing. I don’t think she will feel peace or absolution until a reunion with a family member, however taken by the path of death she may be by then. We begin to see hints that her future and Catelyn’s- Stoneheart- will link when Arya meets the brotherhood: ‘Could you bring back a man without a head?’ Arya asked. ‘Just the once, not six times. Could you?’ ‘I do not have the power to give you back your father, no more than Thoros does, but I can at least see that you are returned safely to your mother’s arms.’ Beric instead brings Catelyn back to life when the time comes, and we leave the books so far with the knowledge that they are working to fulfil Cat’s oath to reunite with her daughters. Catelyn, as changed as is will, I believe, be the one to truly restore Arya to her name and bring her back to herself, providing a subverted version of belonging and safety. Through Catelyn, she will also see the extent to which this war has changed everyone, and hopefully lessen her own guilt. She will, of course, also be permanently changed by this encounter. Arya is currently on the vengeance versus mercy journey, that I think will end with her and Stoneheart’s reunion. I believe she will kill Stoneheart for mercy, brining a strange sense of peace for both mother and daughter. Sansa could never play this role and live to be the same person, but Arya has been so touched by darkness and sorcery that she can.

After reaching the setting of the red wedding and learning of Robb’s death, Arya really tries to hold on to faith that her mother is alive. She begins to warg regularly at this point, although lacks the control or purpose that Bran has. In warging, however, Nymeria finds Cat’s body and pulls it out the water. ‘This thing about your mother… (The Hound). ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Arya said in a dull voice. ‘I know she’s dead. I know she’s dead. I saw her in a dream.’ The Hound looked at her at long time, then nodded. No more was said of it.’

Arya’s isolation and loss of purpose is solidified when she learns that Sansa has married Tyrion:  ‘If Sansa was gone too, there were no more Starks but her.’

The Hound:

The hound is a representation of Arya’s morality, and their interactions show how much she wants to hold on to hate and how against her true nature this goes. ‘His arm, Arya thought, and his face. But he was the Hound. He deserved to burn in fiery hell.’

‘One night I’ll kill him in his sleep, she told herself, but she never day. One day I’ll ride away on Craven, and he won’t be able to catch me, she thought, but she never did that either. Where would she go?’

 I definitely wouldn’t go as far as to say they become friends, but they can gain something from each other, safety and passage in her case, and I think they have grown used to companionship. They are both lost and trying to decide what their lives should look like when they believe little is left. In her more positive moments, Arya longs to see Jon and reach the wall, but understands that this is unrealistic. Arya learns the price of a life driven by hatred through the hound and I think she has internalised this awareness more than she currently realises. It is when the hound is hurt and asks for death that Arya attends to his wounds and  realises that she has left him out of her death prayers. Ultimately, she won’t kill him:

 ‘Mycah.’ Arya stepped away from him. ‘You don’t deserve the gift of mercy.’

She is absolutely right about Mycah and the horrifying acts that the hound has committed, but I think a lot of her complex feelings are also hidden in her decision to leave him. She doesn’t want to kill him. She is outgrowing childhood and has had to commit acts that haunt her to survive. Arya has grown to have more sympathy or understanding regarding the harrowing nature of war can empathise with darker figures. We see this in a Feast for Crows when Arya reflects on her death list, feeling a hint of doubt and remorse for the first time. She also considers the strength in mercy: ‘I should have given him the gift of mercy and put a knife into his heart.’

Also, there are a fair few easter eggs and links to Arya wanting to kill the mountain, but I don’t know how much of a place she’ll have in this, other than being involved in the kind of Cersei downfall a bit. I think ultimately, the hound has the better claim and maybe Arya will realise that.  

Gendry:

I think GRRM loves Arya and wants us to know she’ll be some version of okay. Before she leaves him, we see her and Gendry play flight, directly after which we hear the a song about the marriage of a lord and lady love. Arya will never marry or become a lady, but I think GRRM is letting us know that this is not the final goodbye, and we’ll get to see some subverted version of this highborn relationship:

‘And how she smiled and how she laughed, then maiden of the tree. She spun away and said to him, no featherbed for me. I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves, and bind my hair with grass, But you can be my forest love, and me your forest lass.’

I do think though, one of the reasons GRRM is stressing with the next books is that he planned a time jump and now highly regrets how young he made the Stark children in GOT. I don’t know how he’s going to navigate his way around this now. Also, I can’t remember what happens to Gendry in the very end of the show, but in the books I think he might have more of an active role to play in Arya’s life and adventures, more of a partner. We see her allude to wanting this in her inner thoughts:

‘She could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the white fawn in the songs. But that was just stupid, like something Sansa might dream… They were never my pack, not even Hot Pie and Gendry. I was stupid to think so, just a stupid little girl, and no wolf at all.’

It really hurts Arya when Gendry and hot pie leave, as she internalises it as another blow to her own self-esteem. It hurts to read such a likeable character feel so, but it also  nicely parallels Sansa’s disillusion. Arya begins to think of Sansa more frequently and fondly, and  they are becoming more similar with experience. I think they will meet again, and whilst they are unlikely to be close due to everything that they’ve experienced, they will now have a deep bond based on respect and understanding.

A Feast For Crows & A Dance With Dragons

‘Winterfell, she might have said. I smell snow and smoke and pine needles. I smell the stables. I smell Hodor laughing, and Jon and Robb battling in the yard, and Sansa singing about some stupid lady fair. I smell the crypts where the stone kings sit. I smell hot bread baking. I smell the Godswood. I smell my wolf. I smell her fur, almost as if she were still beside me. ‘I don’t smell anything,” she said.”

We only get little snippets of Arya in these books, and they are letting us know that she’s still Arya. She keeps needle buried and rename herself Cat. She recalls Winterfell and her family frequently. Crucially, Arya is now warging into Nymeria every time she sleeps. She is, however, also gaining power and learning crucial skills. It is difficult to tell if the faceless are gaining trust, but when we leave her she has been given a new face and is now learning to become an assassin. Arya feels like she lacks choices and identity- ‘He had it all backwards, Arya, the lone wolf, still lived, but the wolves of the pack had been taken, and slain and skinned.’- but her sense of self is one of the strongest in the books, particularly for being so young. She will not lose it and we will see a version of her back in Westeros soon.

Cersei & Jaime Lannister part 2 (A Feast for Crowns & A Dance With Dragons)

Cersei

Tywin & misogyny

‘He has been a great man. I shall be greater, though. A thousand years from now, when the maesters write about this time, you shall be remembered only as Queen Cersei’s sire.’

We meet Cersei after the death of Tywin, which has catapulted her into a key point of perceived freedom, which rather than bringing peace, really works to bring forward her PTSD and narcissistic delusion of power and grandeur. Cersei does not love or grieve her father, who has controlled and manipulated her for his own gain. She does, however- as do her brothers- compare herself to his legacy, and value pleasing him or living up to his memory:

‘No, that cannot be. That is not the way a lion dies. The Queen felt strangely calm. Now there is a hole in the world where father stood, and holes need filling.’

‘There will be no more talk of forcing me to wed again. Casterly rock was hers now, and all the power of House Lannister. No one would ever disregard her again.’

Cersei experiences a great deal of internalised misogyny, based on her upbringing as a pawn for Tywin whilst watching him revere Jaime (at least, treat him with as much respect as Tywin was capable of). This has led to her frequently rejecting femininity, viewing strength and success as masculine: ‘Cersei did not weep, no more than her father would have. I am the only true son he ever had.’

Cersei has experienced admiration and praise for the traditional value of this time- being beautiful:

‘Men had been looking at her that way since her breasts began to bud. Because I was so beautiful, they said, but Jaime was beautiful as well, and they never looked at him that way. She was startled by how differently men treated her when they thought she was Jaime. Even Lord Tywin himself.’

She has been taught to be beautiful, to be graceful, to be a lady, and yet has been used as a pawn for these qualities. She has been a ghost in relation to her interactions with men and has internalised this as being her problem for being female, rather than the fault of a misogynist world. Cersei will often distance herself from gender, referring to herself as the ‘real man’ in her family, and often belittling women or being sexist. Cersei’s attitudes and actions parallel Tywin’s, as she starts to think and the feel similarly to he who has hurt and shaped her. It’s difficult to get into Cersei’s psyche a lot of the time, but I believe this is her main reason for choosing to be with Jaime. He saw more of her than anyone else and truly loved her, helping Cersei to feel better about herself. Their relationship also allowed Cersei to defy her fate and lack of a choice as a woman; she chose who would have her children and who to love.  

Her siblings.

How Cersei and Jaime dealt with Tywin’s death really put distance between them and highlighted their differences. I believe that it signalled freedom- and guilt- for Jaime but brought up some of Cersei’s unconscious guilt for being in an incestual relationship. This is paired with Cersei’s extreme stress regarding the prophecy, and her fear that Tywin and Jaime can no longer protect her from Tyrion. Jaime’s chapters frequently reference Cersei- he is obsessed- but her obsession is Tyrion and the fate she believes will unfold:

‘He is in the walls. He killed father as he killed mother, as he killed Joff.’

I want to come back to this belief that Tyrion ‘killed’ his mother and the impact of this on his psyche when I get to his chapters. For now, I’ll focus on Jaime, and Cersei’s belief that she is the smart one, the thinker, whilst he is more impulsive. We see stark examples evidencing the opposite- Cersei had an affair with her cousin, she shouts at and acts out her council, makes rash decisions. This is heightened by her drinking and paranoia: ‘Their father had been as relentless and implacable as a glacier, where Cersei was all wildfire, especially when thwarted.’ (Jaime).

Cersei also frequently underestimates her rivals, despite her mistrust of everyone. She will disregard or refuse to hear council regarding the North or Daenerys. Instead, she believes or convinces herself that she has won- she, not Tommen- and is loved and admired as Queen. This makes the blows to self-esteem more crushing when she experiences misogyny or is reminded of the value Tywin placed on her, one instance being Kevan asking her to remove herself from court:

‘I am the regent’, she reminded him. ‘You were, Tywin did not intend that you continue that role.’ ‘You are not your father. And Tywin always regarded Jaime as his rightful heir.’

Relationship with Robert and Cersei’s ruling

‘Cersei did not mean to give it up until Tommen came of age. I waited, so can he. I waited half my life. She had played the dutiful daughter, the blushing bride, the pliant wife. She had suffered Robert’s drunken groping, Jaime’s jealousy, Renly’s mockery, Varys with his titters, Stannis endlessly grinding his teeth.’

Cersei is, as all good characters, extremely layered and morally grey. I absolutely do not dispute that she has layers of evil, and I find her extremely unlikable. Her chapters make difficult reading as we are really engulfed in the mind of a narcissist (in my opinion), and the constant paranoia, isolation, pride and grandiosity that it brings.

Cersei has experienced the loss of her mother, a bullying father, the prophecy, and loss of her child, so I feel that it’s interesting that Cersei as a character is so hated amongst readers whilst Jaime is often a favourite. It’s completely understandable that he is more likeable due to his redemption arc, however, I feel that GRRM wrote in a way to make us less sympathetic towards Cersei despite her having similar experiences to Jaime with her own trauma added on. I feel that this was written as a commentary on feminism, and the ways that readers can be more accepting of a man’s actions. It also reflects how Cersei has always been treated as lesser than Jaime as a result of her gender, which has undoubtedly contributed to her actions and beliefs.

Cersei also dealt with the forced marriage to Robert in which she was humiliated, ignored, and assaulted. He was an abusive alcoholic, hurting her at night then denying it or gaslighting Cersei during the day. Her marriage to Robert signified the end of her dreams and idealism. Please see below prophecy paragraph for Sansa parallels!

‘The wrong man came back from the trident. She would close her eyes and pretend her was Rhaegar.’

These experiences have shaped Cersei into someone who cannot trust, and who has never felt safe. As she has with Tywin, Cersei is beginning to mirror Robert and some of his characteristics that she herself hated. She is becoming reliant on alcohol, which leads to her impulsive actions- PTSD, fear and alcoholism are a great combination. We also start to see Cersei noticing little signs of ageing and effects of drinking. These contribute to her fear of the prophecy coming, and her desperation to cling on to her beauty, or as she has been taught, her ‘value’. Btw, I know about the pregnancy theories, but I don’t believe them, the prophecy states 3 children. If she is pregnant, I think there will be a miscarriage that won’t be overly relevant to current plots, but will maybe contribute to Jaime’s jealousy and her demise?

‘There is no one I can rely upon, not even Jaime, she realised grimly. I will need to sweep them all away and surround the king with mine own people.’

As a ruler, Cersei is paranoid and begins to isolate herself. Her and Jaime’s dynamic becomes increasingly toxic, and he no longer enables her. In classic narcissistic form, it scares Cersei that she can no longer rely on Jaime to serve her narrative, and so she convinces herself that she will be happy when she starts again with people who will:

‘I was wondering. Are you drunk or merely stupid?’ (Jaime). ‘She would not suffer it, especially from Jaime. I need to rid myself of him, and soon’.

Cersei is unravelling, becoming more delusional. I genuinely feel sorry for her, because I believe her thoughts and actions and down to her upbringing and personality disorder combined with a lack of love and support. Get some CBT pls. She is in over her head, and without Jaime as her comfort she is heading down the reckless path to narcissistic collapse. Her interactions with Qyburn show us how far she has gone, sacrificing women to his dungeons and finding others to blame to justify her actions and rid her guilt, a ‘woman’s guilt’:

‘Cersei felt ill. Part of her wanted to close her eyes, to turn away, to make it stop. But she was the Queen and this was treason. Lord Tywin would not have turned away.’ The blame of course falls to Margaery as it tends to with Cersei: ‘Her scheming forced this on me. She has soiled me with her treachery.’

The pinnacle of her reckless decisions leading in part to her downfall is in reinstating the power of the faith:

‘Cersei could not help but smile. Even her lord father could have done no better. At a stroke, she had rid King’s landing of the plague of the sparrows, secured Tommen’s blessing and lessened the crown’s debt by close to a million dragons.’

Her children

‘My son is safe, Cersei told herself. Yet every time she looked at Tommen, she saw Joffrey clawing at hit throat… I cannot let them see me cry. A woman may weep, but not a Queen.’

Cersei genuinely loves her children, however, in her case, love does not save or redeem her, rather it contributes to her impulsive actions and ruin. She has experienced great PTSD following Joffrey’s murder and believes that her Tommen and Marcella will be killed. Cersei has begun to raise Tommen in the way in which she was likely taught by Tywin, shouting at him or having him hit for being ‘weak’ or crying. Her feelings towards Joffrey were complex, as we see her reflecting on his nature and almost admitting to herself her failings. She does, however, fiercely love him:

‘It is beautiful, she thought, as beautiful as Joffrey when they laid him in my arms. No man had ever felt as good as she had felt when he took her nipple in his mouth to nurse.’

The threatened loss of Cersei’s children is deeply poignant and sad, as Cersei believed that motherhood was her chance to be happy, to experience unconditional love and have something of her own, breaking the toxic dynamics of her own family. However, as is often the case with narcissistic personalities, she holds on to them in a way that is controlling, and in doing so drives them away. They were almost doomed from the start due to their parentage and Cersei’s toxic marriage to Robert. Her children were partly brought into the world out of spite. One example of Cersei’s control is her obsession with Margaery and keeping her from influencing Tommen. She spends majority of the book mercilessly plotting Margaery’s demise with the chosen huntsman of her story, Osney, asking him to have an affair with Margaery. One of the hardest parts of Cersei’s story to read is her when Osney coerces Cersei into sleeping with him:

‘All I do, I do for Tommen… Robert had hands like that, she thought.’

Cersei is at the peak of her isolation during this chapter and is desperate to be rid of Margaery. She feels that she has no choice but to agree to Osney’s will, using her beauty to her advantage as she has been taught to do all her life. We see Cersei’s desperation as she is once again abused, and really see her PTSD from the trauma she experienced with Robert. Cersei has genuinely convinced herself that this action, and every action related to Margaery is for Tommen’s own good. We see her resolution:

 ‘The younger Queen whose coming she’d foretold was finished. No golden shrouds, no valonqar, I am free of your croaking malice at last.’  

When Cersei is made to atone, it is Tommen who brings her the strength ‘Tommen is waiting for me. My little king. I can do this. I must.’ Cersei continues to justify her actions, and it is for Tommen that she does so:

‘Forgive me. High Holiness, but I would open my legs for every man in King’s Landing if that was what I had to do to keep my children safe.’

Prophecy & fairytales, Sansa parallels.

‘Queen you shall be. Until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.’ ‘Will the King and I have children?’ ‘Six-and-ten for him, and three for you. Gold shall be the crowns and gold their shrouds. And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.’

GRRM can’t always resist a fairytale trope, and Cersei is the evil queen of snow white if ever I’ve seen one. I also think there are mythology parallels e.g. Circe, Hera, but I already wrote about them in another post. In this version of the story, Tyrion is the dwarf Cersei wants to have killed, and Margaery plays the role of Snow White (at least Cersei believes she does).

‘The man who brought her the dwarf’s head would be raised to lordship, she had proclaimed, no matter how mean and low his birth or station.’

From the beginning of Cersei’s POV, she is obsessed with Margaery, and we see her thoughts and doubts slipping in even before we are given the prophecy. Cersei resents Margaery’s youth, beauty, closeness to her son, position as the Queen, charismatic personality and relationship with Loras: ‘they were more alike that she and Jaime. That annoyed her too.’ It absolutely does not help Cersei’s ego to hear comments such as this around court: ‘To both our Queens!’ he chirruped. ‘To the young queen and the old’.  

Cersei believes that Margaery is the foretold princess, and this leads her to underestimating others. She is obsessed with eradicating Margaery. I believe that the prophecy actually accounts for a number of youthful, beautiful ‘rivals’; Margaery, Daenerys, Brienne, Arya even. I do, however, believe that Sansa is the true rival. Sansa has had direct encounters with and influence on Cersei, Joffrey and Tyrion, and we see her future arc with Jaime and Brienne. Sansa shows us who Cersei could have been and wanted to be, and I truly believe they were written in this way because Sansa is going to be the one to fulfil the prophecy, having a significant part in the North’s uprising. At this moment, however, Cersei does not perceive the North to be a threat, and the rage she feels for Sansa is purely personal:

‘Your lady has forgotten the Lady Sansa’, said Pycelle. ‘I most certainly have not forgotten that little she-wolf.’ She refused to say the girl’s name. ‘I fed her, dressed her, tried to make her a little less ignorant about the world, and how did she repay my kindness?… ‘She is not dead… but before I am done with her, I promise you, she will be singing to the Stranger, begging for his kiss.’

We get to see through Cersei’s memories that she was once childlike, Sansa like, full of hope. She sincerely wanted to marry Rhaegar and become a traditional, loved Queen:

‘Had any man ever been so beautiful? He was more than a man though. His blood was the blood of old Valyria, the blood of dragons and gods. She had drawn a picture of herself flying behind Rhaegar on a dragon, her arms wrapped tight about her chest.’

 She lies to Jaime about this, hides this from him. This is more evidence that her love for Jaime is at least partly about self-esteem and safety and is transactional. She is not as loyal to him as he is her. Cersei is also obsessed with the Targaryen legacy. I do find some of the Lannister’s as secret Targ children theories interesting, but think I’ve gone too far reviewing the whole books to dive into that particularly wormhole. Instead, I think Cersei’s interests in the Targaryen’s it just used to show their influence on her upbringing, particularly her god complex. When thinking about Rhaegar, we read passages of Cersei’s POV that could have easily been Sansa’s:

‘Cersei had almost been drowned in the depths of his sad, purple eyes. I will mend his hurt when we are wed. The prince is going to be my husband, she had thought giddy with excitement, and when the old king dies I’ll be the Queen.’

She is given the advice ‘You must be especially beautiful’. Cersei literally had the ‘I can fix him’ complex. She did all that was asked of her and was beautiful, and yet their betrothal wasn’t to be. She became disillusioned and was instead forced into marrying Robert: ‘She had never forgiven Robert for killing him.’ Cersei blamed Lyanna for this, and I think this links us again to the North and the prophecy, foreshadowing Sansa’s part in it- and possibly Arya’s!

I do think the valonqar will be subverted, and I love all the theories. I’m either in favour for the Jaime or Arya one. There are so many amazing posts about the theories already out there, so I’ll just leave it with one example of the foreshadowing that Cersei and Jaime are both going to die, likely together:

‘We will leave this world together, as we once came into it.’

I think wildfire links to Cersei’s death, at least in being the cause for Cersei losing her children and Jaime fully breaking away. Cersei often references wildfire, with frequent foreshadowing of her burning the Great Sept (should it happen). In all instances, Jaime is shown to see a different side of Cersei or find her more difficult to ‘tame’: ‘Wildfire is treacherous.’ When she burns the tower of the hand, we see true mania in Cersei: ‘All of them are burning now, she told herself, savouring the thought. They are dead and burning, every one, with all their plots and schemes and betrayals. It is my day now. It is my castle and my kingdom.’ This may be Cersei’s ideal, but it seems to me that she is going to be lonely in this kingdom, having successfully isolated everyone who has tried to help her.

Cersei’s atonement:

‘Words cannot hurt me. I am beautiful, the most beautiful woman in all Westeros, Jaime says so, Jaime would never lie to me. Even Robert, Robert never loved me, but he saw that I was beautiful, he wanted me.’

Cersei experiences what I believe to be narcissistic collapse when she is made to take part in the walk of ‘atonement’. Her misogynistic beliefs and equation of beauty with self-worth come into question. Cersei’s self-projected majesty, power and respect are stripped from her during this walk, and she begins to acknowledge that she is not liked or respected by the people she is meant to serve. Cersei tries to cling to the idea of her beauty to cope, however, it is heart-breaking to see her breakdown as she believes this final layer of worth has now been taken too:

‘She did not feel beautiful though. She felt old, used, filthy, ugly. There were stretch marks on her belly from the children she had borne… I should not have done this. I was their queen, but now they’ve seen, they’ve seen, they’ve seen. I should never have let them see. Gowned and crowned she was a queen. Naked, bloody, limping, she was only a woman, not so very different from their wives, more like their mothers than their pretty maiden daughters.’

I also loved the inclusion of Cersei’s version of an epiphany. As her mask shifts and her truer, more vulnerable self is revealed, Cersei allows a little empathy for others and begins to consciously think about the impact of some of her actions. It’s such an enlightening moment and fulfilling as a reader having come along this journey with her:

‘It came to her that stood in this very spot before, on the day Lord Eddard Stark lost his head. That as not supposed to happen. Joff was supposed to spare his life… I would have made Sansa a good marriage. A Lannister marriage… If Joff had only done as he was told Winterfell would never have gone to war, and Father would have dealt with Robert’s brothers.’ And of Ned’s death: ‘and after that there was no turning back’.  ‘She saw Ned Stark, and beside him little Sansa with her auburn hair and a shaggy dog that might have been her wolf.’

If not fully an admission of guilt, Cersei at least puts herself in other’s shoes for a short time, and begins to sympathise, particularly for Sansa. This is the most in synch with Jaime’s development that she has been. Unfortunately, I think in Cersei’s case, such thoughts are circumstantial and lack permanence. We already see her brain plotting as she meets the mountain and we as readers reach the end of the books so far with the understanding that she will not let any epiphany get in the way of her self-destructive nature.

Jaime

‘No, that she could not believe, would not believe. Jaime would be here once he knew of her plight. Come at once, she had written. Help me. Save me. I need you now more as I have never needed you before. I love you. I love you. I love you. Come at once.’

I’m not going to go too much into Jaime here as part one focused on him, but I do want to reflect a wee bit on his journey and possible conclusion with Cersei. He asks Cersei to relieve him of his duty, and his time with Brienne has clearly influenced him to want to make something of himself and get a bit of distance from his family. He finds his thoughts often landing on Brienne in some of the spaces Cersei used to fill: ‘Unbidden, his thoughts went to Brienne of Tarth. Stupid, stubborn, ugly wench. He wondered where she was. Father, give her strength.’ He still has a long way to go, as his misogynistic Freudian slips show, but he is trying and is secretly proud of his efforts: ‘It felt good. This was justice. Make a habit of it, Lannister, and one day men might call you Goldenhand after all. Goldenhand the just.’ Jaime is making fun of himself here but is beginning to picture his new life and his place in the world. He’s lost most of his arrogance and front, and is making space for a simpler, more honest life: ‘If truth be told, he liked this life. He felt more comfortable amongst soldiers in the field than he ever had at court. And his men seemed comfortable with him as well’. I liked Jaime’s interactions with Pia. They were subtle and not deeply significant to the plot, but I do think Pia helps to give Jaime some perspective, and I enjoy the subversion of the white knight saving the maiden trope: ‘Jaime thought back on the head he’s given to Pia. He could almost hear his little brother chuckle. Whatever became of giving women flowers?’ Pia parallels Jaime in ways. She has experiences loss through this war- the loss of her beauty, lifestyle and reputation. She has, however, decided to carry on and make what she can of her life. Through Pia, Jaime gets to see normality (at least normality of this world) and interact with people who live without Lannister scale agenda. He is learning not to be so absolute, that he can carry on and carve his own path.

I mentioned in the previous post that Sansa is significant to his future and redemption, but he is also beginning to consider Tommen more and play around with the idea of himself as a father figure: ‘My place is with my king. With my son. Would Tommen want to know that?.. He would need to find some way to winkle Tommen from her clutches before the boy became another Joffrey.’ Tommen is, however, still tied to Cersei in Jaime’s mind and his complicated feelings regarding her: ‘Once it yielded, he would be free to return to King’s landing. To the king, he told himself, but another part of him whispered, to Cersei’. We get to read some interesting contrasts between the pair in this book, which I enjoyed, for example: ‘She wants something of me… For a moment he dared to hope that all she wanted was the comfort of his arms’ whilst Cersei in her cell reflects: ‘Cersei dreamed a long, sweet dream where Jaime was her husband, and their son was still alive.’ Jaime understands more of Cersei’s nature now and resents her for it, but when Cersei is stripped of her power and distractions, we see that she does genuinely love him. I also enjoyed the contrast between: ‘’He was a warrior, and that was all he would ever be.’ and ‘She hated feeling weak. Oh, for a sword and the skill to wield it. She had a warrior’s heart, but the gods in their blind malice had given her the feeble body of a woman.’

Jaime and Cersei both compare one another to the Stranger in this book, perhaps the most significant link to the valonqar theory and their role in it. ‘I thought that I was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maid, but all the time she was the Stranger, hiding her true face from my gaze.’ They are both in need of resolution and their lives are too deeply embedded to truly part, but we are yet to see how their story arcs will play out. They are definitely two incredibly interesting characters to read.

Jaime & Cersei Lannister, Brienne of Tarth A Song Of Ice and Fire analysis (Part 1- A Storm of Swords)

Jaime, pre loss of hand (misogynist)

‘Jaime’s blood was singing. This is what he was meant for; he never felt so alive as when he was fighting, with death balanced on every stroke.’

We are introduced to Jaime, the funny, charming charismatic twit. The misogynist, the epitome of toxic masculinity who has never felt the need for self-development because he is a Lannister, he is rich, beautiful, strong, brave; he feels immortal. From the outset, there is foreshadowing that Jaime is likely to die, however, in earlier chapters, he does not fear death because it genuinely hasn’t occurred to him as a possibility: ‘’The best we can hope for is to die with swords in our hands.’ He was perfectly sincere. Jaime Lannister had never been afraid of death.’ This shifts, however, after Jaime is captured and he gains some home truths: ‘He does not fear me, Jaime realised, with a chill’. ‘Jaime was not ready to die yet, and certainly not for the likes of Brienne of Tarth’. I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, that GRRM Martin loves to break his characters down, shift their reality, and let them build themselves back with what’s left. Jaime is one of the most prominent examples of this, and it creates such a rewarding, rich, interesting reading experience. I cannot deny the power of a redemption arc.

‘Jaime had decided that he would return Sansa, and the younger girl as well if she could be found.’ It was not like to win him back his lost honour, but the notion of keeping faith when they all expected betrayal amused him more than he could say.’

Honour is a huge theme in Jaime’s arc- honestly, who isn’t honour obsessed in this world- and Jaime is fuelled by pure hatred for being misunderstood. He has such a guard up, that even his inner monologue is jokey and sarcastic, a lack of self-esteem juxtaposed with him literally being in love with himself. I say that, but it’s less so low self-esteem, and more anger that nobody else believes he’s as amazing as he deems himself to be. Jaime hides what he truly wants from everyone, including himself, and it’s because he thinks it’s lost to him- a chance for honour, respect, thanks or at least understanding.

Jaime, post loss of hand and family dynamics

‘The hand that made me Kingslayer. The goat had robbed him of his glory and his shame, both at once. Leaving what? Who am I now?’

This is a family in need of a therapy session. Honestly, a Freudian dream. We have a classic case of abusive, toxic father with ideals that the children can never live up to yet will die trying to despite hating the man. This combined with the loss of the mother who was the only one who could calm this man and provide a loving, nurturing upbringing. Some deep attachment issues and a co-dependent family system. Throw into that, some fantasy, fictional incest and a prophecy proclaiming one child to be murdered by the hands of a sibling, and we have a charming, loving dynamic.

Jaime clearly loves Tyrion and had a lot of admiration for him and the ways in which he uses his intelligence and resources. This is particularly important to Jaime post hand incident, as he is learning who he is and how to navigate the world without the only skills he believed himself to hold:

‘Tyrion could think of something clever now, but all that occurs to me is to go at them with a sword.’

Jaime has no independence from his family and all of his experiences *side eye* have been with his family or in service to them. His relationship with Tyrion- before the death of Joffrey- is probably the least toxic and complex one he has, despite the horror of the Tysha incident (I’ll wait for Tyrion’s POV for that). Her relationship with Tywin is another matter altogether. He is driven to almost despair trying to please him and live up to his needs, whilst simultaneously defying him. Tywin’s treatment of Tyrion is horrifying, and Jaime has to fill in the gaps as the ‘perfect son’. He is the lesser of two disappointments in Tywin’s eyes, until the loss of Jaime’s hand and the accompanying stress and identity crisis leads him to break any bridges they had:

‘And now you have a cripple for a son as well as a dwarf, my lord. How you will hate that.’

Jaime finally stands up to Tywin, refusing to marry, refusing to return to Casterly Rock. ‘You are not my son.’ Lord Tywin turned his face away.’  This last interaction before Tywin’s death is essential for Jaimes’ development, yet greatly impacts his self-worth: ‘I am a stranger in my own House. His son was dead, his father had disowned him, and his sister… she had not allowed him to be alone with her once’. Jaime internalises this dismissal and shows imposter syndrome in his role as lord commander:  ‘How could the Kingslayer belong in such exalted company?’ ‘They feared the man I was; the man I am, they’d pity’.

It’s the absolute bear minimum that should be expected, but Jaime has grown reflective, and finally considers past acts: ‘I’m not ashamed of loving you, only of the things I’ve done to hide it. That boy at Wintefell…’ This is the first time that he has really taken responsibility for his own actions, rather than dismissing them as necessary for Cersei. I also greatly enjoyed Margaery and Loras giving Jaime and Cersei a simultaneous identity crisis, a mirror image of what they used to be, and a reminder of their aging and losses. We are yet to gain Cersei’s POV, but the Tyrells serve to show is Jaime’s self-awareness: ‘This is too absurd. Tyrion would mock me unmercifully if he could hear me now, comparing c***s with this green boy’. ‘He’s me, Jaime realised suddenly. I am speaking to myself as I was, all cocksure arrogance and empty chivalry. This is what it does to you, to be too good too young’. Self-awareness and Cersei’s lack of is what separates the pair, accounting for Jaime’s character development and Cersei’s downfall.   

Jaime’s relationship with Cersei

He tries to deny it, or avoid thinking about it, but it is clear from the offset that Jaime doubts that Cersei loves him as much as he does her. Jaime sees them as almost a traditional married couple and is very loyal to Cersei (for the sake of this paragraph, I basically have to ignore the incest. It’s too creepy and gets in the way of what I’m trying to say, as I am writing from his POV after all. Please just know that they give me the creeps):

‘Cersei was the only women he had ever wanted.’ ‘He could never long bear to be apart from this twin.’

Rather horrifyingly, Jaime doesn’t stray from referring to Cersei as his sibling when he is talking about her as a lover. The fact that they are twins are so similar to one another is almost ingrained in their sexual relationship and appears to be what they like about each other. It’s fair to say being brought up around Targaryen’s, in a family as dysfunctional as the Lannister’s has given Jaime some curious (dodgy) values. He has no shame surrounding their incest and no concern or fear regarding the prospect of others finding out: ‘Why shouldn’t I marry Cersei openly and share her bed every night? The dragons always married their sisters.’

Cersei is absolutely everything to Jaime, and he is consistently thinking about her during captivity and his journey to Kings landing. This fact is the first downfall of their relationship- he is devoted to Cersei to an insane level, whilst she loves her children above all else. In fact, he sees the children- his children- only as a burden, a barrier to Cersei (Freud would love this man). When Jaime hears of Joffrey’s death, he is objective in that Joffrey was a bad person. He considered Joffrey to be Robert’s concern and responsibility, reflecting that Cersei kept them separate. He has no grief for the loss of Joffrey (who does, honestly):

‘Men were supposed to go mad with grief when their children died, he knew. So why was it that he felt so little?’ ‘Perhaps he was the monster they claimed. If the Father above came down to offer him back his son or hand, Jaime knew which he would choose’.

Joffrey’s murder, and Jaime’s hand are the catalyst for an irreparable rift between Jaime and Cersei. Jaime knows that Cersei’s love is transactional and manipulative, and it makes him deeply sad. He does, however, accept it and allow himself to be manipulated. When he returns to Kingslanding and observes her reaction, he can’t deny it: ‘She has never come to me, he thought. She has always waited, letting me come to her. She gives, but I must ask’. Cersei immediately wants something from Jaime, and it is something that even he will not give- to kill Tyrion. He refuses her for the first time: ‘He is still my brother’. I’ll save my valonqar theories for part two (basically because I haven’t read Cersei’s POV and have forgotten most of it haha), but this refusal marks Jaime as finished for Cersei. She realised she can’t manipulate him as well as she has, and she realises that he can’t or won’t save her from her Tyrion. instead, she goads him: ‘Oh, an angry cripple, how terrifying.’ She laughed. ‘A pity Lord Tywin Lannister never had a son. I could have been the heir he wanted, but I lacked the c**k.’

In turn, Jaime realises that he has never had Cersei as unconditionally as he hoped. He proposes to her ‘I’m sick of being careful. The Targaryen’s wed brother to sister, why shouldn’t we do the same? Marry me, Cersei. We’ll have our own wedding feast, and make another son in place of Joffrey’, and her response shows him what’s he’s feared- while she is his world, he is second or third in hers to her children and her desire to rule.  She won’t sacrifice for him or their relationship. ‘Cersei recoiled from his stump. ‘You’re scaring me, Jaime. Don’t be stupid. One wrong word and you’ll cost us everything. What did they do to you?’ ‘No, it’s more, you’re changed’.

This shatters Jaime yet he has done what he feared and stood up to her. He has lost her but gained independence, a freedom from his family and the beginnings of a future. He begins to consider the impact that she has had on him and his image, and acknowledges her impulsive nature:

‘The goat’s evened the trade, though I doubt Lady Catelyn will thank him when Cersei returns her whelps in like condition. The thought made him grimace. I will get the blame for that as well, I’ll wager.’

Jaime is now left with fewer ties, and is struggling with his identity, but it beginning to gain a purpose and moral compass, changes in which I believe Brienne has played a significant role.

Jaime’s relationship with Brienne

‘Guards’, he heard the wench shout, ‘The Kingslayer!’. ‘Jaime, he thought. My name is Jaime’.

A name is very significant thing in ASOIAF and is used as a device to show us what Jaime and Brienne are to each other. Brienne begins her story with Jaime where we do, lovely toxic, immortal Jaime. Their first interaction signifies the lack of respect from each party:  ‘You will call me Brienne, not wench.’ ‘My name is Ser Jaime, not Kingslayer.’

Brienne is so incredibly necessary for Jaime’s ego. She is not his family and will not pander to him. She has no respect for him, apart from a secret begrudging regard for his talents as a warrior. She is another subversion in ASOIAF to the white knight trope and has such honour that even Jaime cannot maintain his façade, as he starts to break down his own horrendous misogynistic thinking (slowly). His act to protect her by lying about his sapphire fortune is one that should come naturally, but is for Jaime, one of the first selfless acts, or at least one of the only acts that he makes for another with no personal gain:

‘That’s a pig-stubborn b***h, he thought. But brave, yes. He could not take that from her.’

He is truly horrendous at first, and cannot resist goading and bullying, cannot get passed his own misconceptions of gender. He does, however, concede over time.

‘No wonder Renly died, with you guarding him.’ ‘That was unworthy’, he murmured. I’m a maimed man, and bitter. Forgive me, wench. You protected me as well as any man could have, and better than most.’

 I want to mention here, that when I first read these books aged 16/17, this ‘ship’ got me, I cannot deny. It’s unfair that the most loathsome of characters attract such love from readers just for a redemption arc, but, so long as it’s a FICTIONAL trope, it gets me. I do love a charismatic, trauma troubled villain with a redemption arc *cough* Jaime and the hound *cough*. As long as it’s fiction, I think we need a lil bit of fun in our reading, and the dynamic that an opposite pairing begrudgingly coming to respect one another gives us it. I think Jaime genuinely believes that everyone is like his family, and has not met someone as decent, kind-hearted and gentle as Brienne. His inner thoughts often indicate his shock at how innocent and honourable Brienne really is. This affects him to the extent that he returns white knight style to save her from the bear.

 ‘Have we come to late? His stomach did a lurch’. ‘You want her? Go get her.’ So he did’.

Again, Jaime is not a hero. This is the bear (sorry) MINIMUM that a person should do for another person in a situation like this. I do, however, LOVE this scene, especially the way GRRM plays up and subverts tropes and stories, particularly that of a ‘true knight’ and a prince charming. Beauty and the beast is his most frequent parallel, with Snow White thrown in there for Cersei.

‘Her name is Brienne’, Jaime said. ‘Brienne , the made of Tarth. You are still maiden, I hope?’ Her broad homely face turned red. ‘Yes’. ‘Oh, good’, Jaime said. ‘I only rescue maidens’  ‘Ser Jaime…I am grateful, but you were well away. Why come back?’ A dozen quips came to mind, each crueller than the one before, but Jaime only shrugged. ‘I dreamed of you’, he said.’

Sansa’s journey with the hound and other knight figures also plays into the subversion of this trope, as she is currently breaking down her own ideals and the stereotype of a ‘gentle lady’. Cersei has altered Sansa’s perception of a queen, and Jaime a beautiful, strong warrior who just happens to be involved in some incest and have thrown her brother out a window. It will be so interesting to hopefully see a Jaime/Brienne/Sansa dynamic in some capacity, particularly as the Starks are often part of Jaime’s thoughts. Jaime has never forgiven Ned for his judgment, for looking down on him and being a better, more honourable person than he is. For Sansa to play a part in Jaime’s own redemption and quest for honour would be beautiful storytelling.

Can’t lie, I didn’t take took much of Jaime’s dreams in and can’t be bothered to now- there will be sooo many amazing analyses of them online already- but what I did take, is that Jaime’s subconscious is telling him that Cersei can’t help him become who he wants to, and Brienne is the one who can. She represents future and light (in whatever capacity). From this point, Jaime begins to unwittingly compare Cersei to Brienne. Their bond becomes deeper, and it is to Brienne that Jaime finally confesses the weight of his trauma, anger and resentment regarding killing Aerys (albeit triggered by extreme pain, fever and rage):

‘Why is it that no one names Robert oath breaker? He tore the realm apart, yet I am the one with s**t for honour.’ (Jaime) ‘Robert did all he did for love.’ (Brienne).

 ‘The man who has cooked Lord Rickard Stark in his own armour. And all the time, I stood by the foot of the iron throne in my white plate, still as a corpse, guarding my liege and all his sweet secrets.’ ‘Bring me your father’s head, if you are no traitor’.

From this point, whether they meant it or not, whether they’re conscious of it, Jaime and Brienne have become important to each other, and their relationship has shifted to one of respect, even if they still judge one other before listening. Jaime is very hurt in later instances where Brienne jumps to conclusions and misunderstands him, as is she. When they reach Kingslanding, for example, Jaime has Brienne arrested to save her for potential death at the hands of Loras Tyrell.

 ‘Brienne’s big eyes were full of hurt as Balon Swann and a dozen gold cloaks sent her away. You ought to be blowing me kisses, wench. Why must they misunderstand every bloody thing he did? Aerys. It all grows from Aerys.’

He continues to think of Brienne after he is free and around Cersei, wanting to confide in her and hear her opinions. He has accidently come to depend on her to be around. He manages to use his knowledge and understanding of Loras’ character to convince him to free Brienne- a move more characteristic of Tyrion, and one that marks the shift in Jaime. Following his dismissal from Tywin and Cersei, Jaime feels free to act and gives Brienne her quest. They are awkward and both uncomfortable in friendships, but they are trying:

‘Blue is a good colour on you, my lady’, Jaime observed. ‘It goes well with your eyes.’ She does have astonishing eyes’.

Brienne glanced down at herself, flustered (she’s in looooove. Or infatuation.) ‘The white cloak…’ ‘is new, but I’m sure I’ll soil it soon enough.’ ‘That wasn’t…I was about to say that it becomes you.’

We finally have names. And Jaime focusing on Brienne’s eyes, which has become a metaphor of his shift from misogyny to respect. After all, GRRM can be cheesy, and would definitely subscribe to the eyes as the window to the soul. We also have an incredible shift from Jaime. He betrays Tywin and his house spectacularly by telling Brienne that Ramsey is marrying fake Arya. He is committed to his desire to aid the Starks- for his own honour and in defiance of his father. They characteristically misunderstand one another and bicker, but leave one another in an exciting alliance:

‘Both of us swore oaths concerning Sansa Stark. Cersei means to see that the girl is found and killed, wherever she has gone to ground…’ (Jaime)

‘If you ever believe that I would harm my lady’s daughter for a sword, you-‘ (Brienne)

‘Just listen’ he snapped, angered by her assumption. ‘I want you to find Sansa first and get her somewhere safe’. He gives Brienne what remains of ice, in the form of Oathkeeper. ‘So, you’ll be defending Ned Stark’s daughter with Ned Stark’s own steel, if that makes any difference to you’.

Jaime has managed to achieve Brienne’s respect, something greatly important to him (not that he’d necessarily admit it) and has managed to do something he wanted to do, independent of the wants, needs or expectations of his family. He is growing…

A Song of Ice and Fire analysis- Catelyn Stark and Robb Stark

Catelyn Stark

Instincts and foreshadowing

’Catelyn had never liked this Godswood.’ ’For her sake, Ned had built a small sept where she might sing to the seven faces of God, but the blood of the first men still flowed in the veins of the Starks, and his Gods were the old ones.’

From the outset, we are shown that Catelyn has a strong sense of her identity tying to her Tully roots and  phrase- family, duty, honour. She has never assimilated to the North or completely understood it, yet she and Ned have such a clear respect, love and peace for each other. She is very religious and superstitious, however, and it’s interesting that the first encounter we get of the Godswood is from her perspective. She fears and believes the omens that Ned has shut down:

‘There are darker things beyond this wall’. ‘His smile was gentle. ‘You listen to too many of Old Nan’s stories. The others are as dead as the children of the forest, gone eight thousand years. No living man has ever seen one.’ (Ned). ‘Until this morning, no living man had ever seen a direwolf either.’

Catelyn has keen instincts which, combined with her faith, allow her to take caution from omens and foreshadowing. Yet, she often dismisses her own gut, presumably due to her place as a woman. It is after all, Catelyn who has taught Sansa her ideals- to be a lady is to be dutiful, gentle, well spoken, and maintain her ‘place’ as female, never overstepping the powerful men that surround her.

‘Dread coiled within her like a snake, but she forced herself to smile at this man she loved, this man who put no faith in signs.’

The dismissal of Catelyn’s instincts has had a disastrously detrimental impact on her life and family, particularly when Cat does share her suspicions, only to be rebuked by characters she is surrounded by. Two key examples of this are her lack of trust in Theon Greyjoy from the beginning, and her caution around Walder Frey, whom so many others underestimate and disregard:

 ‘If truth be told, I doubt even Lord Frey knows what Lord Frey intends to do. He has an old man’s caution and a young man’s ambition and has never lacked for cunning’.

Despite, however, her insight and caution, we do frequently see Arya’s feistier qualities in Catelyn, and she can display a rashness at times, for example, her decision to arrest Tyrion. Her more impulsive nature wins out in instances where she is thinking only of her children. To her credit, Catelyn always has fair motives, and does always come to realise that she has acted rashly. She is incredibly hard on herself at these times:

‘It was your doing, yours, a voice whispered inside her. If you had not taken it upon yourself to seize the dwarf…’

She is slower to dismiss Tyrion that other characters, and since travelling alongside him, has  begun to understand some of the nuances of his character and the extent of his cunning: ‘Once, she would have named Tyrion the least dangerous of the Lannister’s. Now she was not so certain’. She begins to begrudgingly believe in Tyrion’s word and believes that he is her best chance to get Sansa back: ‘Not Cersei, Tyrion. He swore it, in open court. And the Kingslayer swore it as well.’ ‘She had made Jaime swear a hundred oaths, but it was his brother’s promise she had her hopes pinned on’. Cat’s decision to free Jaime for her daughters is one that is completely understandable, yet very rash. It plays into Cat’s role as a mother, but influences Robbs later doubts and hits in warfare and their consequential downfall.

Catelyn takes time to really perceive the Lannister’s and I think she has a better understanding of them than many. I enjoyed the parallels between Cat’s motherhood and Cersei’s, as she considers Cersei’s own motives. They are both primarily mothers, and this is something that is often underestimated by the men in this world. It by no means lessens the hatred that Cat feels towards Cersei but allows Cat an understanding of Cersei. She knows how Cersei works and understands her Achilles heel:

‘Cersei is a mother too. No matter who fathered those children, she felt them kick inside her… The crack was still there; even Cersei could weep for her children.’ When thinking of what happened to Ned and Jon after Cersei fears the mortality of her children: ‘Small wonder the queen had killed them both. Would I do any less for my own?’

‘For men the answer was always the same, and never farther away than the nearest sword. For a woman, a mother, the way was stonier and harder to know’.

I also enjoyed Cat’s interactions with Stannis and Renly, as they allow us to see her feistier nature, and let GRRM be playful. Cat essentially breaks down the Baratheon’s war fuelled feud into what it is- pride. She stands before Stannis, who we have been taught to fear, and acts as a mother reprimanding her prideful children: ‘You each name yourself King, yet the Kingdom bleeds, and no one lifts a sword to defend it but my son.’

War symbolism & Greek myth parallels

‘It must not come to war, Catelyn thought fervently. They must not let it.’

‘War will make them old, as it did us. I pity them’.

Catelyn is almost a personification of the consequences of war and a symbol of true war; not the glorification of the stories and songs and songs that create excitement amongst young men, but the reality of the death and destruction it leaves mothers, families, houses. At the beginning of the books, for many younger characters there is an excitement brewing around the upcoming battles, the chance for glory, ‘honour’, fame. Catelyn is someone who has seen war before and truly grasps it’s consequences:

‘So young, Catelyn thought, trying to remember if she had ever been like that. The girl had lived half her life in summer and that was all she knew. Winter is coming, child, she wanted to tell her’.

Interestingly, after Ned leaves her in charge of Winterfell and she becomes enveloped in Robbs war storyline, Catelyn does associate far more frequently with the North and its way, something she herself is often surprised by.

‘She was no stranger to waiting, after all. Her men had always made her wait.’  

If you have read any of my blog posts so far, you will know I love a wee Greek mythology parallel, and Catelyn acts as the Penelope of this story. She symbolises the fear, dread and sense of duty created by those who are left behind during war, and her story during Robert’s rebellion parallels the Penelope to Ned’s Odysseus (Odysseus less in character, more in story structure). Like Penelope, Cat puts duty and family first in all things, and it is duty that often balances her and gets her through, or at least allows her to mask, her grief throughout her arc. After saving Bran:

‘Catelyn remembered the way she had been before, and she was ashamed. She had let them all down, her children, her husband, her House. It would not happen again. She would show these Northerners how strong a Tully of Riverrun could be’.

She represses her own needs throughout, leading up to the Stoneheart, and is plagued by grief and doubt in herself as a mother, often torturing herself:

‘Weary of duty. I want to weep, she thought. I want to be comforted. I’m so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while, that’s all…a day… an hour…’

‘I have come so many thousands of leagues, and for what? Who have I served? I have lost my daughters, Robb does not want me, and Bran and Rickon must surely think me a cold and unnatural mother. I was not even with Ned when he died.’

Cat holds a respected place in the North due to her keen sense of duty and marriage to Ned. It is her grief and humility that balance the Northmen’s desire for vengeance, the bloodthirsty game of war that they are heading towards. She reminds them of the peace that they once held and the future that they desire, the danger of war and all its horrors, and its purpose . It is directly after Cat’s plea that Robb is crowned King of the North with the aim of freedom and political peace:

“I will mourn for Ned until the end of my days, but I must think of the living. I want my daughters back, and the queen holds them still. If I must trade our four Lannisters for their two Starks, I will call that a bargain and thank the gods.”

Catelyn’s weariness for war and experiences during Robert’s rebellion result in her frequent dismissal of vows for vengeance. She understands that this cannot bring the closure men wish for and knows that her only hope is to grasp on to her humanity, and the family she has left.

‘Your grief is mine, Cat. The Lannister’s will pay, I swear it, you will have your vengeance’ (Edmure) ‘Will that bring Ned back to me?’ she said sharply.’

This is the antithesis of who she becomes as Lady Stoneheart. She is driven by vengeance, lacks mercy and has lost her humanity. I love that GRRM will often take a character’s core belief, drive or personality and dismantle or shift it- Ned and Jon’s honour, Jaime’s warrior, Sansa’s gentle lady. I have to say, I wasn’t thrilled with the introduction of Stoneheart. I hate any zombie like tropes and feel like the books don’t need her. I do, however, think she might have an interesting arc, maybe Arya related since she’s on her own path of death and vengeance with no clear end in sight.

Jon:

The less likeable side of Cat’s personality is her hatred of Jon and the unfair decision to blame him rather than Ned for his birth. She tries to forget, for the sake of her duty, but withholds her resentment, and it has consequently festered within her, haunting her when she doubts herself. ‘Whoever Jon’s mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely… Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborns she bore him. Somehow that made it worse.’ Interestingly, in a conversation of inheritance, Robb shares plans to legitimise Jon as heir. Catelyn is blinded by hatred and her usual even temperament and instincts are gone, replaced by a deeply unlikeable version, a twisted manipulator:

‘If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again. Should he wed and breed, any sons you may have by Jeyne will never be safe.’ ‘Jon would never harm a son of mine’. ‘No more than Theon Greyjoy would harm Bran or Rickon?’ ‘Grey Wind leapt up atop King Tristifer’s crypt, his teeth bared. Robb’s own face was cold. ‘That is as cruel as it is unfair. Jon is no Theon’.

‘Should I die without issue, I want him to succeed me as King of the North. I had hoped you would support my choice.’ ‘I cannot’, she said. ‘In all else, Robb. In everything. But not in this…this folly. Do not ask it.’ ‘I don’t have to. I’m the king’.

It is sad that Catelyn will likely never learn the truth, unless GRRM has plans for Lady Stoneheart to play a part in the revelation of Jon’s true parentage. GRRM is sure to tell us that Robb has written his wishes as a royal decree, in the presence of Cat, and the letter legitimising Jon and naming him heir is surely waiting to come up in a future plot point.

Robb Stark and motherhood

‘My son is leading a host to war, she thought, still only half believing it. She was desperately afraid for him, and for Winterfell, yet she could not deny feeling a certain pride as well. A year ago he had been a boy. What was he now? she wondered.’

Robbs character arc has excellent development, resulting in his relationship with Catelyn changing. We only ever see Robb through Cat’s eyes, through the lens of a mother who is weary of war. We see Cat strain to allow Robb the space to grow from her child son into a King.

‘Mother?’ he said, his voice thick with emotion. Catelyn wanted to run to him, to kiss his sweet brow, to wrap him in her arms and hold him so tightly he would never come to harm… but here in front of his lords, she dared not. He was playing a man’s part now, and she would not take that away from him.’

Catelyn rarely gives herself credit as a mother or leader, frequently comparing Robb to Ned whenever he leads well, and dismissing the council that she gives. I believe Catelyn’s role in the success Robb had as a leader was very significant, and she acted in place of hand. She changes her role from mother to lady when required, and Robb takes her council:

‘The day will come when you need them to respect you, even fear you a little… Laughter is a poison to fear. I will not do that to you, much as I might wish to keep you safe.’ ‘Robb, I will not soften the truth for you. If you lose, there is no hope for any of us. Remember the fate of Rhaegar’s children.’ She saw the fear in his young eyes then, but there was a strength as well. ‘Then I will not lose’, he vowed’.

Catelyn provided Robb strength as a mother, council as a leader, hard truths as a King and the love and courage to persevere. She gives herself over to Robb, focusing on him to give her spirit and purpose whenever her thoughts stray to her other children: ‘And yet there was nothing she could do for any of them, and so she made herself put all thought of them aside. You must save your strength for Robb, she told herself. He is the only one you can help. You must be as fierce and hard as the North, Catelyn Tully. You must be a Stark for true now, like your son’.

She is, however, confined to gender roles and experiences the misogyny that all the female characters are privy to. This permeates into Cat’s own self-esteem and lack of confidence in her ability to influence Robb, often withholding her council or instincts. She is, however, respected and very aware of her place as a Lady. I would argue that Cat is far more politically minded that she believes, with the ability to think tactically. She can make men listen and can use her gentle, highborn nature to her advantage, in a way that we are seeing paralleled in Sansa.

‘Give me Cersei Lannister, Lord Karstark, and you will see how gentle a woman can be,’ Catelyn replied. ‘Perhaps I do not understand tactics and strategy…but I understand futility’.

I’m taking a wee space now to share instances where Robb himself gives us some lovely characteristics reminiscent of Neds. ‘That makes him evil’, Robb replied. ‘I do not know that it makes Renly King. Joffrey is still Robert’s eldest trueborn, so the throne is rightfully his. Were he to die, and I mean to see that he does, he has a younger brother. Tommen is next in line after Joffrey.’ When others argue for Renly’s many Kingly qualities: ‘What does Lord Stannis have against that, that we should cast it all aside?’ ‘The right’ said Robb stubbornly. Catelyn thought he sounded eerily like his father as he said it’. We frequently see evidence throughout these chapters that Robb would have made a balanced and fair King, due to the influence of both Ned and Catelyn.

As time goes on, however, Cat loses some of her influence over Robb: ‘He wants me gone, Catelyn thought wearily. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and I tell him things he does not want to hear.’

They both make errors in judgment that have dire consequences; Catelyn freeing Jaime, and Robb marrying Jeyne (is she another future plot hidden pregnancy?) This gets in the way of Robb heading Cat’s council, and he is no longer as receptive to her instincts, for example, his decision to distance himself from Grey Wind due to Jeyne’s fear. He begins to show his age and stubborn attitude after marrying, holding Cat at arm’s length:

‘You always kept him with you before.’ ‘He’s part of you, Robb. To fear him is to fear you.’ ‘I am a not a wolf, whatever they call me’. Robb sounded cross’. ‘‘These wolves are more than wolves, Robb. You must know that. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your

father’s gods, the old gods of the north.’

Robb becomes disillusioned and extremely strained as he begins to grasp the truth of war and his burden. It is due in part to his and Cat’s rash actions and their consequences that his success begins to unravel, and we head towards the red wedding. It is also now, that we see Robb and Cat grow stronger together, as they both understand what they have lost and prepare themselves to press on. Catelyn does try to encourage him to surrender, however, she understands that this is her motherly desire, that he is too like Ned and has come to far to do so. When they meet their end, they are at a place of mutual understanding, prepared to carry on for their family and home.

‘Gods be good, why would any man ever want to be king? When everyone was shouting King in the North, I swore to myself, that I would be a good king, as honourable as Father, strong, just, loyal to my friends and brave when I faced my enemies… now I can’t even tell one from the other.’

Catelyn’s scene at the red wedding is heart wrenching, and her last act is to offer herself as sacrifice for Robb, paralleling Ned for Sansa. ‘They could do as they wished with her; imprison her, kill her, it made no matter. She had lived too long, and Ned was waiting. It was Robb she feared for’. And, of her last thoughts, Ned:

‘No, don’t cut my hair, Ned loves my hair’.

I want peace for Catelyn and for her to be with Ned. I think GRRM knows this and intends it for the reader, which is why I feel like Arya will have a part to play in Lady Stoneheart’s story, possibly killing her and allowing her to be at peace with the knowledge that at least some of her children live.

Lady Stoneheart

As I mentioned before, I don’t love the Stoneheart plot and prefer to leave it with Catelyn. I do, though, appreciate the extent of GRRM’s foreshadowing, so will leave this post with so wee quotes. Please let me know what you think of Cat as she can definitely be a bit of an ambivalent character and let me know how you think her arc will end. I really appreciate anyone who has read this post and shares my love of ASOIAF!  

‘Sometimes she felt as if her heart had turned to stone’ (AGOT)

‘The face of a drowned woman, Catelyn thought. Can you drown in grief?’ ((ACOK)

‘When they took his head off, they killed me too.’ (ACOK)

‘The silent sisters do not speak to the living, but some say they can talk to the dead. And how she envied that.’ (ACOK)

‘I am become a sour woman. I am a creature of grief and dust and bitter longings. There is an empty place within me where my heart once was.’ (ACOK)

‘It is too late for ifs, and too late for rescues’, Catelyn said. ‘All that remains is vengeance’. (ASOS)

‘If anything befell you, I would go mad, Robb. You are all I have left’. (ASOS)

A Song of Ice and Fire analysis- Davos Seaworth & Stannis Baratheon

Davos Seaworth

Although his aren’t the most interesting chapters in my opinion -probably due to his close relations to Stannis, who is characterised to be the epitome of dull- I love Davos. I feel like GRRM wrote him almost as compensation for Ned’s death, and a representation of goodness, as I see so many parallels between him and Ned, as with his relationship dynamic to Stannis and Ned’s to Robert. He is incredibly loyal to Stannis and humble in character: ‘If I stayed a smuggler, Allard would have ended on the Wall. Stannis spared him from that end, something else I owe him’. Davos begins with a low sense of self-worth, and so is driven to proving himself to Stannis through loyalty. ‘Everything I am, I owe to him’. He is also motivated by his sons, and to a lesser extent, his wife, although, it has to be said, she is rarely mentioned. Davos will challenge Stannis and stand up for what he feels is right, particularly as the books progress:

 ‘You have given me an honoured place at your table. And in return I give you truth’.

Stannis Baratheon

Stannis has his own similarities to Ned Stark, in terms of his inability to neglect his sense of duty which acts as the basis of his moral codes. There are however, some stark (did not mean the pun) differences in reactions and decisions made in later books as Stannis becomes more desperate, maddened, and arguably indoctrinated by religion (to be fair, the red religion is unquestionably magical and powerful, if a bit grim).

Stannis as a King is an interesting premise, as he is truly indifferent towards the idea, simply acting on his sense of duty. He is, however, also biased by his resentment of Robert and the ways in which he has been overshadowed and underappreciated. ‘When have they ever loved me? How can I lose something I have never owned?’. His personality and character  are shown throughout and is well known, so I don’t feel the need to go into it too much, but I do love these quotes as I believe they sum him up well:

‘Make it Ser Jaime the Kingslayer henceforth,” Stannis said, frowning. “Whatever else the man may be, he remains a knight. I don’t know that we ought to call Robert my beloved brother either. He loved me no more than he had to, nor I him.”

On Renly ‘Fools love a fool’ grumbled Stannis, ‘but I grieve for him as well. For the boy he was, not the man he grew to be.’

‘I am King. Wants do not enter into it. I have a duty to my daughter. To the realm. Even to Robert. He loved me but little, I know, yet he was my brother. The Lannister woman gave him horns and made a motley fool of him’.

Their arc

Davos has more of an influence throughout the series than perhaps even he realises as he routinely acts as a moral compass, and truth teller amongst the council who- like all in game of thrones- pander to Stannis: ‘Davos had come too far with Stannis to play coy now. ‘Last year they were Robert’s men. A moon ago they were Renly’s. This morning they are yours. Whose will they be on the morrow?. ‘And Stannis laughed. A sudden gust, rough and full of scorn. ‘I told you Melisandre’, my Onion Knight tells me the truth’.

 Davos’ birth and low status impact his self-image, but he holds a significant influence over Stannis’ actions, and acts as a rebuttal to Melisandre’s council. I will love GRRM forever for being such an incredibly smart writer, and in writing their relationship, I love the instances like the above quote that act to parallel Ned and Robert, and yet clearly highlight their difference. Davos is not as black and white, not as ‘morally good’, not quite as hesitant to murk around in politically position he has been dealt. It is these traits that allow Davos to live where Ned didn’t, and stand him in better stead for the circumstances that led to Ned’s downfall- imprisonment, the risk of his children, protecting Roberts son, becoming hand, attempting to recruit people to Stannis’ cause.

‘I am a man. I am kind to my wife, but I have known other women. I have tried to be a father to my sons, to help make them a place in this world. Aye, I’ve broken laws, but I never felt evil until tonight. I would say my parts are mixed, m’lady. Good and bad.’ ‘ A grey man. Neither white nor black, but partaking of both.^’ (Melisandre)

 It also serves to show that Stannis is- for now- more just, less clouded, rash and impulsive than Robert. He can listen, and it is when he becomes so entwined in his anger, desperation and fanatical rage that he seems more likely to fail, or head towards the same fate as Robert. It is after the murder of Renly that Stannis reaches a turning point, a point of no return. He has broken his moral code, he has cheated, and he now truly subscribes to Melisandre’s prophecies. He is deeply haunted, and in the extremely unlikable event that he was to become King, he would be a shell of himself and what he stands for.

‘Only Renly could vex me so with a piece of fruit. He brought his doom on with his treason, but I did love him Davos. I know that now, I swear, I will go to my grave thinking of my brother’s peach.’

In following Stannis, Davos is subject to a lot of unpleasant truths that he attempts to avoid, avoiding his guilt by following the mantra that he will do what he can to stop future injustice. His story arc becomes a metaphor for faith and loyalty, and what we become when this is questioned or dark truths begin to unravel. ‘I… I am yours to command. What would you have me do?’ Davos can see the change is Stannis, and it is his will to continue believing in him that carries him forward- and a little bit of denial for the man he thought he knew (strong Ned/Robert vibes). He manages to make use of his influence on Stannis, convincing him not to let Melisandre come to war, for fear of the alienation the red religion will bring in Westeros. This results in a paradox of actions and feelings: Stannis condemns Davos and his later assassination attempt on Melisandre, and yet respects his loyalty, promoting him to hand. I believe that Stannis himself understands that he is wrestling with his actions, morals, and the Kingdom he wants to create; it is this that convinces him to keep Davos close, where he would have condemned others multiple times. He needs duality, he needs to maintain a sense of himself, and Davos is this guide. Even as this is happening, Davos is experiencing his own existential crisis’. He is changed by the death of his children, the stress of his situation, and the knowledge that even he cannot deny the power of the red God.

‘Ours is not a choice between Baratheon and Lannister, between Greyjoy and Stark. It is death we choose, or life. Darkness, or light’. (Melisandre). ‘My heart’, Davos said slowly, ‘is full of doubts’. ‘Ice and fire, he thought. Black and white. Dark and light. Davos could not deny the power of her God’.

I want to mention here, that these chapters are made more interesting than I remembered by the addition of Melisandre and a significant amount of prophecy being told to us through Davos’ lens. I have tabbed prophecy and want to look into it more when I’m further into my reread. Once I’m through my 7000000 Bran and Jon chapters, I’ll bring together all the prophecy and go on a deep internet theory hole of what it all means. Interestingly though, there is another touch of prophecy, told to Davos by Ser Axell:

‘Say what you will. I would never betray Stannis.’ ‘You would. You will. I see it in your face. And I have seen it in the flames as well. R’hallor has blessed me with the gift. Like Lady Melisandre, he shows me the future in the fire. Stannis Baratheon will sit the Iron Throne.’

Quotes like this and references scattered throughout to Davos being a turn cloak are likely less prophecy and more manipulation- people know his influence on Stannis- but I do think they foreshadow a turning point in Davos’ arc, maybe in the form of turning his back on Stannis and towards Jon. This is particularly likely, if and when, Stannis goes full Agamemnon and sacrifices Shireen. I love the Greek myth parallels, even as I loathe what they’ll signify.

Another interesting exchange between the two occurs when Davos’ loyalty is truly questions and he is becoming more reckless:

‘A desperate folly took hold of Davos, a recklessness akin to madness. ‘As you remained loyal to King Aerys when your brother raised his banners?’ he blurted’. ‘I would have it speak the truth. Through the truth is a bitter draught at times. Aerys? If only you knew… that was a hard choosing. My blood or my liege. My brother or my King.’

The decision to free Edric, and Stannis’ concurrent decision to raise him to hand signifies the extent of their relationship and influence. Melisandre understands this and it is dangerous for Davos.

‘What is the life of one bastard boy against a kingdom?’ ‘Everything’, said Davos, softly.’ (Some utilitarian/Kantian philosophy and existential crisis creeping up in their chapters).

And yet Davos stays. Despite his desire to leave, to be with his surviving sons and wife, to be away from politics, away from sorcery. Stannis is above all for him, is his God in a way after serving his ‘justice’, and Davos is one of the many characters in ASOIAF for whom duty comes above all. He is also one of many political figures who stay in the hope of making a small difference, making the terrible ‘less bad’ and doing their part to make a slightly more just world. It is Davos who influences Stannis to go to the wall, a well calculated decision that Davos does not give himself credit for. He is trying to distract Stannis from his fury, from his flailing morals, from Melisandre, and is trying to bring Stannis redemption, purpose and resources a clean way. He has an interesting influence on the story and prophecy, being the one to bring Melisandre and Jon together (despite the fact that he is then sent away by Stannis with the influence of Melisandre).

This sets up Davos for the next stage of his arc- he has more independence, more responsibility and more political power as he becomes involved with Manderley’s plot to find Rickon- and I’m assuming, he believes, Bran?- to the throne as King of the North. We end with Davos hesitantly gathering himself to go off to cannibal island, and Stannis stuck outside Winterfell, becoming startlingly close to Agamemnon/Iphigenia sacrifice territory. I think we’re setting up for the books version of the battle of the bastards, and there are so many exceptional plots in this story that I am EXCITED (assuming of course, that we ever get to read them hahaha). Looking forward to seeing Skagos and Davos’ future part to play in the story! I feel like he’s about to have a lot more interactions with major characters. Also, I got chills reading this part:

‘The north remembers, Lord Davos. The North remembers and the mummers’ farce is almost done’.

‘The young wolf is dead’, Manderly allowed, ‘but that brave boy was not Lord Eddard’s only son.’

Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts on anything I’ve said or anything game of thrones! I’m completely amateur at this and just doing it for fun, but I’m finding this reread by POV so rewarding and fun! There’s so much I’d forgotten and I love GRRM with all my heart.

Daenerys Targaryen analysis (part 2 of 2)

A Dance with Dragons

Ruling Meereen

A Dance of Dragons sees Dany’s first taste of ruling in Meereen as she battles to carve her identity as Queen. It is clear that Dany has no interest in Meereen and its people once she has freed them. It is spite, stubbornness and a desire to prove herself that keep Dany here, playing as Queen in a city whose customs she does not know and does not appreciate: ‘I must don my floppy ears and become their Queen again’, ‘A crown should not sit easy on the head’. Dany is losing herself, which is reflected in her inability to control her dragons (who she subsequently locks up). She finds ruling to be boring and has little patience for her subjects:

 ‘You would think they might be happier, Dany thought. They have what they came for. Is there no way to please these people?’

This comes in spite of that fact that Dany has once again failed to implement policies to support the city. Dany has instead become somewhat of a white saviour symbol, and this is jarring for many readers who up until this point surely rooted for Dany to rule the Iron Throne. This is why I love GRRM, every single character is flawed and dimensional and real- our alliances and wishes as readers change frequently and at no point can I pin point exactly what will happen. It is when Daenerys challenges the cities customs, particularly banning fighting pits that she encounters deep hatred. She is kind and- I’m sure anyone now would say- right, but she is politically inexperienced. This backlash heightens Dany’s loneliness and uncertainty, as she begins to realise that her faith- her dragons- can bring her power, but not good leadership. She experiences imposter syndrome and a self-loathing which cannot be tamed by faith in her dragons.

‘Mother of dragons. Mother of monsters. What have I unleashed upon the world? A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros? I am the blood of the dragon, she thought. If they are monsters, so am I’.

I love the parallels to Jon at this point, in his own feelings of grief, doubt and isolation. I’d love to go more into them as a pair but it’s just so hard to get a good grasp on everything in these books because GRRM has written so, so much to be analysed! We really do start to see parallels to Jon and Daenerys story and experiences in the later books, and I think GRRM is beginning to show how Jon’s upbringing and influences have grounded him and primed him to potentially rule in contrast to Dany- he has become a remarkable leader. (Also, parallels to the connection to their animals and own wellbeing).

Dany becomes increasingly worn by this backlash, and dilutes her own morals as she begins to listen to her subjects: ‘It was blood the Meereenese yearned to see’. ‘If this is truly what my people wish, do I have the right to deny them? It was their city before it was mine, and it is their own lives they wish to squander’. Her doubt is worsened by her interactions with Xaro, who acts to develop Dany’s character. She is beginning to accept that she must change her ideals and leadership, but still lacks the knowledge and cannot find the place for the gentle ideals she upholds in the barbaric world she is part of. Xaro has disillusioned Dany and shattered the identity that she has been striving to achieve:

‘He was too eloquent for her. Dany had no answer for him, only the raw feeling in her belly. ‘Slavery is not the same as rain,’ she insisted. ‘I have been rained on and I have been sold. It is not the same. No man wants to be owned.’

 ‘A poor city that was once rich. A hungry city that once was fat. A bloody city that once was peaceful.’ ‘His accusations stung. There was too much truth in them.’

Daenerys is defensive and uncertain. At this point, there is significant foreshadowing and dramatic irony should Dany take the path of the show and die at the end:

‘You will only bring it destruction, as you did Astapor’.  ‘Do not close your eyes to your peril, Daenerys… ‘Have you forgotten? I have dragons.’ ‘That would make me very sad, my sweet delight… for young and strong as you now seem, you shall not live long. Not here’. ‘You have grown suspicious, Danerys. Always. ‘I have grown wise, Xaro’. ‘I am no butcher Queen’.

Marriage and proposal

There is definite growth in Dany’s character as she stops running for the first time and faces her doubts. Her decision to marry Hizdahr Zo Loraq marks Daenerys choice to rule seriously and show her respect for the customs and interests of Meereen’s people. It is in this dutiful marriage that Dany becomes truly disenchanted, similarly to Sansa and Cersei: ‘it may be that this is the best end we can hope for’. This is possibly the first time Dany has acted from duty rather than impulsion (of her own free will, not the will of Viserys) and here Dany’s actions are similar to choices Jon would make. I also enjoyed the contrast in Dany’s selfless decisions to Cersei’s current refusal to remarry (although I 100% would do a Cersei). Dany  is also learning- as have Sansa and Cersei- to use her beauty and perception as youthful/naïve to give her an advantage where she can. This is essential due to the sexism in this world .There are some nice Cersei parallels/contrasts throughout this book, particularly how Dany deals with the plague that infects her people in contrast to Cersei shutting out and hating the subjects of Kings Landing. Still, even this decision reflects Dany’s overall flaws; she decides to feed the dying despite knowing that she does not have enough resources for the healthy. This shows the contrast between Dany’s kind nature and actions, and her often poor judgement. Her fatal flaw is her desire to fix her wrongs only after it’s too late and has the potential to cause more harm.

Despite her sense of duty, Dany’s decision to marry is an unpopular one, particularly to Selmy, who tries to appeal to Dany by telling her that she is unwanted in Meereen but anxiously awaited in Westeros. The fact that Dany will not be convinced even after being compared to Rhaegar marks how lost she is at this point in time: ‘Prince Rhaegar’s sister has come home at last’. ‘If they love me so much, they will wait for me.’

It is at this point that Quentyn offers a marriage and alliance to Dorne. This is an exceptional opportunity, which Selmy tries to emphasise, but which highlights how stubborn and scared Dany is. She chooses to marry Hixdahr despite being told that the Dornish alliance is the key to ruling Westeros. Daenerys is at this point plagued by prophecy and mistrust:

‘Sometimes there is truth in dreams… The sun’s son. A shiver went through her. ‘Shadows and whispers.’ What else had Quaithe said? The pale mare and the sun’s son. There was a lion in it too, and a dragon. Or am I the dragon?… Dreams and prophecies. Why must they always be in riddles? I hate this. Oh leave me, Ser. Tomorrow is my wedding day.’

Selmy keeps trying, but she’s exhausted, defeated and in denial as to the significance of this opportunity. ‘One day I shall return to Westeros to claim my father’s throne, and look to Dorne for help… I may die before I see my seven Kingdoms. Westeros may be swallowed by waves. Come. It’s time I wed.’ Dany marries, yet admits to herself that she feels restless and overwhelmed. She is left full of regrets, having sacrificed so much to be stubborn.

I’ll also briefly (hopefully) mention here that Dany is significantly influenced by Daario at this point, whom she believes she is in love with. Daario manipulates and promotes Dany’s more impatient and ruthless qualities, and uses this influence to oppose Selmy’s council. Dany has never allowed herself to grieve Drogo, and compares Daario’s relationship to her marriage: ‘Daario had helped her to remember. ‘I was dead and he brought me back to life. I was asleep and he woke me.’ Selmy is frustrated by the careless way Daenerys acts around Daario (we forget she is so young) and dismays the influence Daario holds. This is evident when Dany suggests Selmy help her to find someone to ‘remove’ Brown Ben, a direction with which Selmy is very uncomfortable and Dany is uncharacteristically callous . ‘You are too honest and too honourable’.  This could be interesting foreshadowing for the relationship she will have with Jon and the contrasting views of opinion and action, leading to her downfall. Daenerys then asks that Quentyn accompany her to see the dragons: . ‘A flicker of doubt passed across the long, solemn face of Barristan Selmy. ‘As you command.’ Dany’s lack of trust is deepening and those around her are losing their grip on her actions. Dany listens to what Hizdahr says and compromises her own morals more as time goes on and she gets more tired. However, there is a scene in which she does at least forbid dwarves fighting without consent. I believe this is here to foreshadow how she might treat Tyrion.

Drogon and prophecy

‘When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,’ she said sadly. ‘When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before’.

When Dany is finally reunited with and carried away by Drogon, she finally begins to grieve, relearn who she is and accept her nature. Drogon marks Daenery’s sense of self and helps her to remember:  ‘He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I’.

She feels physically ill and is burned following this journey, but Dany feels free and content: ‘Dany knew the lure of home’. She is hesitant at first, but gives in to Drogon and trusts him ‘On Drogon’s back she felt whole’. Drogon attempts to revisit Dragonstone, but seems to accept that Dany is not yet ready for this. He brings her back to Dothraki lands, and reminds her of the hope that she felt there:

 ‘Not since those half remembered days in Braavos when she lived in the house with the red door had she been as happy’.

I love this chapter so much and the way Drogon helps to reunite Dany with her identity. We feel as exhausted with and as Dany by this point and crave this point for her. She finally takes the time to delve into her psyche and remember what has brought her to this moment, abandoning her mantra ‘if I look back I am lost’. During this time, Dany dreams of Viserys, seeing and accepting the dualities of truth; she loves him, she recognises his terrible nature. Daenerys grieves the chaining of her dragon, and grieves the loss of Jorah. It is through a vision of Jorah that Dany decides it is time to look forward to Westeros. She again accepts that she is both angry at Jorah and ready to accept him back in her council:

 ‘Your War is in Westeros, I told you’. ‘Lost because you lingered in a place you were never meant to be, murmured Ser Jorah, softly as the wind. ‘alone because you sent me from your side’. ‘You are a queen, her bear said. In westeros’.

‘I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of War. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and seem them grow. I am only a young girl’. ‘No. you are the blood of the dragon.’

This (Hamlet, Lion King, Jesus/God type exchange) solidifies Dany’s change, and let’s her move forward. She hears the bells of Kahl Drogo, smiles and recalls the prophecy. It is at this point that we leave Dany- hopefully for now and not forever (pls let Winds of Winter appear) and the Khalasar who have found her.  

This was an absolute ramble for no reason other than I love these books with all my heart and wanted to revisit them. I have so much more to say and there’s so much I’ve missed. I’d love to read any comments you have and any of your own theories or perspectives. Thank you so much for reading this!

Mythology/religion

I really don’t have the energy at this point to analyse fully haha, but my true love is mythology and I wanted to mention just a wee bit of the Greek myth references I’ve noticed- I’ve done a whole blog post on this before 😊. Again, I’ll have missed loads and would love to read your comments. I think Daenerys is intentional named (by GRRM) after Arys, due to the fact that character names often parallel their influences and personality- others are Arya/Artemis, Cersei/Circe etc. Dany was born of destruction and brings War wherever she goes. She- and Targaryen’s in general- is a symbol of the War and conquering.

I also think Dany parallels Aeneas and the Aeneid, but I would have to do a lot more research on this subject (I read this book a good few years ago now and don’t know how much of it I took in!). From what I have noticed: Dany’s protection from fire and disease parallel Aeneas protection given by the Gods throughout his journey. It is also similar to Jesus’s miracles, and the death of the pale mare in the Dany plague chapter definitely has some religious and mythological symbolism that I can’t fully remember. ‘The comet mocks my hopes, she thought, lifting her eyes to where it scored the sky. Have I crossed half the world and seen the birth of dragons only to die with them in this hard hot desert?’- religious symbols, doubt they are for her, doubts herself, feels fear. Similar to religious prophets.

Dany’s reasoning and purpose are also similar to my memory of Aeneas’; she strives to find love and peace yet battles between these personal wants and a desire to rule and immortalise her name- led by prophecy, destiny and family legacy. She wants to match Rhaegar (and Aegon the conqueror) as Aeneas tries to match the feats of the Trojan heroes and his Goddess mother Aphrodite.

The epiphany Hamlet vibes last chapter also reminded me of religious symbolism that I can’t place just now because my mind is frazzeled, and the epiphany’s that he has throughout his journey. Also, significance of the underworld!! (Really wish I had the energy to research all this properly!). Also, if I can one day be bothered, I’m definitely going to look at what the end of the Aeneid can tell us about Dany’s possible future, because I’m sure we still have a significant amount of time before Winds of Winter, never mind A Dream of Spring. I’m just going to end here with one more quote, which I have taken to mean we will see her and Jon meet sometime in the future:

 ‘Off in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound made her feel sad and lonely’.

Daenerys Targaryen analysis (Part 1)

A Game of Thrones

Identity and relationships

We meet Daenerys as a young girl enslaved by her brother’s words and abuse, yearning for some semblance of peace and home. ‘Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever’.

She has no interest in politics, as she believes will have no part in it other than as Viserys wife. She believes herself to be an object and fully accepts the word of Viserys. Her relationship with Drogo is therefore incredibly complex, as he signifies oppression and slavery, but also the beginning of her freedom. Crucially, he (in the books) is the first man to ask her permission and he never abuses her. I would argue though, that in the confines of this world, her lack of choice in the marriage negates this consent. Daenerys is given space and time whilst Khaleesi to heal and reflect on the words she has been fed. He complicated relationship with Viserys changes, as she loses fear alongside parts of her naivety and innocence, particularly after she becomes pregnant:

‘My brother will never take back the Seven Kingdoms’, Dany said. She had known that for a long time, she realised. She had known it all her life.’

In place of Viserys, Jorah becomes a confident and father figure, strengthened by Dany feeling his presence as a reminder of her ties to Westeros. Through this relationship and trust, he is subtly allowing Dany to realise the significance of her place in the West, as an alternative to Viserys. By the time of Viserys’ death, Dany is starting to associate herself with the dragon, something she never did before her role as Khaleesi. Dany struggles with her identity, and tries to create a sense of self by her collective, monarchist thinking. She doesn’t yet have her own desires, or when she does- a peaceful family life- she forsakes them for the sake of the Targaryen dynasty. It is clear that Dany has been pushed to believe in the Targaryen cause her whole life, as it plays a huge part in her outlook, yet she does not know this world, and it’s not something she herself cares about or strives for:

‘With Viserys gone, Daenerys was the last, the very last… She must not forget’.

As Dany searches for identity, Rhaegar’s legacy plays a significant part in her sense of morality and rational. She strives desperately to act in a way that would please one of the only relations she has who was perceived by the world as good, kind and fair. Jorah (and later Barristan Selmy) realise the power in this and use this urge to live up to Rhaegar to influence Daenerys. Dany begins to recognise and name herself heir, particularly after she has been hardened by the death of Drogo and her child. It is at the end of A Game of Thrones that Daenerys has accepted that she will return to Westeros by and for herself. Drogo’s funeral and the subsequent birth of her dragons also signify Dany becoming a woman, and it is at this point that prophecies become significant.

‘Viserys is dead. I am his heir, the last blood of House Targaryen. Whatever was his is mine now’.

 ‘She saw crimson fireflies and great yellow serpents and unicorns made of pale blue flame; she saw fishes and foxes and monsters, wolves and bright birds and flowering trees, each more beautiful than the last. She saw a horse, a great grey stallion lined in smoke, it’s flowing mane a nimbus of blue flame. Yes, my love, my sun-and-stars, yes mount now, ride now’.

Politics and slavery

In developing her sense of self and place in the game of thrones, slavery is very significant to Dany and themes of slavery can be seen early on:

‘There was no slavery in the free city of Pentos. None the less, they were slaves’.

Dany sees herself in people who experience the slavery that she herself has dealt with since childhood. Daenerys genuinely wants to help people, like Rhaegar did, and anti-slavery philosophies guide her strongly. It is also clear, however, that she has a very black and white view of freedom. She has never learned how to lead, unlike those primed from birth for royalty, and she does not yet think critically. This is evident in her sense of entitlement and heroism after helping Mirri Maz Duur:

‘Dany felt she could trust the old, plain-faced woman with her flat nose; she had saved her after all.’

Dany does not consider the hardships that Mirri Maz Duur has already faced and fails to consider the feelings of those she has ‘freed’. This is similar to Dany’s inner monologues and discussions throughout the books regarding other cultures. Dany often fails to consider the needs and desires of those that she is leading. She genuinely wants to help and wants to create a sense of family and community, but her privilege and entitlement are often her downfall, for example, the tragic result of blood magic used on Drogo.

Themes of ‘madness’ begin from this point in line with the significance of prophecy. From this point, Danerys often finds herself questioning her own sanity, and creates the mantra ‘if I look back, I am lost’.

‘Was it madness that seized her then, born of fear? Or some strange wisdom buried in her blood? Dany could not have said’.

It is not until later books, that Dany becomes more nuanced in these views, for example, the bloodshed evident in Qarth.

 ‘Is it only the plunder they see? She wondered. How savage we must seem to these Qartheen’.

A Clash of Kings

Identity and relationships

Grief is a prevalent theme for Dany, or rather, her refusal to deal with grief as she pushes on instead. Her relationship with Jorah is intensified as is her lack of self esteem and her doubt. Jorah reveals his feelings whilst Dany is vulnerable and her grief complicates things, as she values and feels for Jorah strongly as a mentor, friend and father figure (good old daddy issues). The revelation that Dany is now infertile- or believes she is- also impacts her deeply:

‘What man would want a barren wife?.. He can never have me, but one day I can give him back his home and honor. That much I can do for him’.

She almost feels that she owes Jorah love due to her own upbringing and abusive relationship with Viserys. Loss has permeated Dany’s life and she frequently recalls the death of everyone who has loved her. Feeling safe and loved is something that is extremely significant to Dany, particularly after the loss of Drogo, and she projects this by trying to support those around her, and a fierce desire to create a sense of home.

‘My great bear, Dany thought. I am his Queen, but I will always be his cub as well, and he will always guard me’. It made her feel safe, but sad as well. She wished she could love him better than she did’.

Despite her grief, or to deny it, Dany allows herself for the first time to imagine a life as Queen and to consider what this will mean.

‘I want to make my kingdom beautiful, to fill it with fat men and pretty maids and laughing children. I want my people to smile when they see me ride by, the way Viserys said they smiled for my father’.

Danerys desires are still not driven by her own interests, rather in the interest of living up to the Targaryen legacy. She strives to become a conqueror as a means of showing the world and herself what she can achieve. Dany has internalised Viserys stories, and has never questioned that their father was good and wrongfully accused. At times, her desire to live up to her father’s name and conquer drive Danerys until she becomes progressively more unattainable and difficult to council. These actions are very dependent on Dany’s self-esteem at the time, and it is when Rhaegar is the influence that Daenerys is more stable.

Prophecy and madness

Following the death of Viserys, Daenerys begins to consider the Targaryen stereotypes, particularly the rumours of insanity and darkness. These permeate her inner thoughts, predominantly after Dany experiences visions in the house of the undying. Dany becomes consumed by the prince who was promised and is certain that Rhaegar was meant to be the prophesised.

‘’Aegon’ he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. ‘’What better name for a King?’’ ‘’He has a song.. He is the prince that was promised and his is the song of ice and fire’’. ‘’There must be one more’’. ‘The dragon has three heads.  She later says she’s certain it was Rhaegar.

‘’The shape of shadows…morrows not yet made…drink from the cup of ice… drink from the cup of fire… three heads has the dragon… child of storm…’

‘Yet even crowned, I am a beggar still. I have become the most splendid beggar in the world, but a beggar all the same. She hated it, as her brother must have. He must have known how they mocked him. Small wonder he turned so angry and bitter. In the end it had driven him mad. It will do the same to me if I let it’. ‘No, that is defeat. I have something Viserys never had. I have the dragons. The dragons are all the difference’.

At the end of book two, Dany has become significantly more lost and paranoid. The dragons are essential to her wellbeing, signifying her own faith and desire to keep going.

A Storm of Swords

Identity and relationships

Jorah continues to have a significant influence on Dany and play an important role, for example, she is concerned about Jorah’s judgement of Daario and her feelings for him. She feels safe with Jorah, and feels connected through him to Westeros and her brother. This is tainted when Jorah kisses Dany, resulting in her admittance to herself of the loneliness, isolation and weight that Dany is feeling. This power and influence is particularly important in the lead up to Dany’s ‘madness’ should that be the route GRRM goes down, after Dany finds Jorah’s treason.

‘I tell you truly, Daenerys, there is no man in all the world who will ever be half so true to you as me’. ‘No true knight would ever kiss a queen without her leave.. What Dany wanted she could not begin to say, but Jorah’s kiss had woken something in her, something that had been sleeping since Khal Drogo died.. Sometimes she would close her eyes and dream of him, but it was never Jorah Mormont she dreamed of.’

Jorah uses his influence to try and council Daenerys when she attempts to buy the unsullied with the involvement of her dragons: ‘Go forth and kill the weak? Or, ‘go forth and defend them’. Interestingly (to me anyway, hahaha) from this point, Dany’s inner monologues often appear to battle between using strength or kindness to rule. This could be marked as dramatic irony should Dany go on to treat Kings Landing similarly to the show’s depiction. Daenerys morals tend to become flimsier in times of desperation, and she grapples with how she should use her power. Rhaegar is again her port of guidance, and Jorah’s remarks significantly impact Dany:

‘At the trident, those brave men Viserys spoke of died beneath our dragon banners- did they give their lives because they believed in Rhaegar’s cause, or because they had been bought and paid for?’’ (Dany)

 ‘’Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honourably. And Rhaegar died.’’ (Jorah)

Later, when Dany reflects on her decisions: ‘She felt desperately afraid. Was this what my brother would have done? I’m not religious and know religion is a sensitive topic, so I’m not going to say too much, but I would like to mention the interesting religious parallels that play out in ASOIAF. Dany could be likened to Jesus in her self-defined role in the prophecy. Following the vision (and the birth of her dragons), she truly believes in the three headed dragon, and that it is her fate to rule, and yet Dany often feels doubt in her own actions and place. Rhaegar acts as a Godlike figure to Dany at these times. Quaithe also appears almost as a religious messenger whenever Dany feels lost, guiding her towards her path: ‘Remember. To go North, you must journey South. To reach the west, you must go East. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow’.

I love the introduction of Selmy to Danerys world, and feel that he adds a more pure, less biased council for Dany than her previous relationships. Dany instantly loves and trusts Selmy for his personal knowledge of Rhaegar. She will, however, stop Selmy when she feels that he is undermining Dany’s Godlike vision of her brother: ‘Dany did not want to hear about Rhaegar being unhorsed’. Selmy provides Daenerys with a more nuanced perspective of the War throughout the books. He characterises Rhaegar as gentle and kind, a lover of song and stars, interestingly a contrast to the ‘ultra-masculine’ depiction of a successful ruler that Dany has been trying to take on. Selmy humanises Rhaegar:

‘Not sour, no, but… there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaegar, a sense of doom. He was born in grief, my Queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days.’

Selmy challenges Dany’s idea of Ned (key to future encounters with Jon). ‘Stark was a traitor who met a traitors end… Lannister or Stark, what difference? Viserys used to call them the Usurper’s dogs. All the dogs are just as guilty’ He tries to balance Daenerys black and white thinking as he tells her of Ned’s part in trying to stop Robert from harming her. He also understands that he may have an influence over Dany’s decision to go to Westeros. Throughout her time at Meereen, Selmy almost conditions Dany, telling her that Rhaegar would be proud whenever Daenerys leans in to her gentler instincts. He is used to dealing with Targaryen’s and provides almost a moral compass for Daenerys.

.Meereen was never your city, her brother’s voice seemed to whisper. Your cities are across the sea. Your Seven Kingdoms, where your enemies await you. You were born to serve them blood and fire.’

Prophecy and madness

Selmy is able to soothe and reassure Daenerys when she worries that she has the ‘Targaryen taint’: ‘Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.’ Dany is able to confide in him and begins to feel safe to question Viserys perspectives. At this point, she is incredibly tired and frequently considers how Targaryen’s before her dealt with the burdens of ruling. Daenerys is lost and philosophical regarding the future she wants.

‘Was my father truly mad? She blurted out.’ ‘There is some good to be said of my father, surely?’. ‘There is, Your Grace. Of him and those who came before him… and Rhaegar. Him most of all.’ ‘I wish I could have known him.’ Her voice was wistful.’

 ‘All alone but for my brother. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn’t have done that. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves? ‘Some kings make themselves. Robert did.’ (Jorah) ‘He was no true King,’ Dany said scornfully. ‘He did no justice. Justice… that’s what kings are for’.

This isolation paranoia is heightened greatly when Selmy reveals Jorah’s betrayal. This is a pivotal moment for Dany, as she loses her friend and feels that her connection to Selmy has been tainted.

 ‘I was going to take you home! I should say the word and burn he two of them. Was there no one she could trust, no one to keep her safe? ‘Are all the knights of Westeros as false as you two?’ ‘They betrayed me. But they saved me. But they lied’.

The undying had said she would be betrayed twice more, once for gold and once for love.’ (I’m interested in thinking more about the prophecy when I read other POV’s. I do wonder if the once for love will be Jon killing Dany?)

Politics and slavery

Dany is disillusioned by the slavery, and injustice that she has come across, and her own trauma often results in Dany acting emotively rather than politically. One of the first things Dany does following the fall of Astapor is to abolish the custom of naming the Unsullied as slaves. She also frees the slaves within the city. These extremely well intentioned gestures are however not well considered, as Dany then fails to accommodate for the needs of these freed people. She cannot provide the city with money, education or laws. This becomes a common theme with Dany the conqueror and yet due to her privilege and entitlement, Dany fails to see her shortcomings.  

‘I gave them the city, and most of them were too frightened to take it’. ‘I told them they were free. I cannot tell them they are not free to join me’.

When Dany later attempts to free Meereen, Jorah advises that she should move on, due to the starvation and sickness her own followers are facing. ‘You cannot free every slave in the world, Khaleesi. Your War is in Westeros’. Dany is angry at this council, believing that failure to free the people is defeat. Daenerys is driven by kindness and a love for the children she sees suffering. Ending slavery is also important to Daenerys as something that she sees as part of her own identity, legacy and the carving of her own name and reputation within the Targaryen legacy. In freeing the city, Dany makes the decision to torture and kill the slavers, a decision which plagues Dany. ‘It was just. It was, I did it for the children.’  This marks the start of her making decisions as ‘Queen’ rather than Daenerys. Dany frequently battles her own kind heart and what she feels a ruler ‘should’ do, particularly difficult in a barbaric world where Kings frequently exude toxic masculinity.

 ‘Is this the face of a conqueror? So far as she could tell, she still looked like a little girl. No one was calling her Daenerys the conqueror yet, but perhaps they would.’

She is disillusioned by the end of ASOS, as her first time ruling does not elicit the hero complex that she strives for: ‘The widows will curse me all the same’. Dany is beginning to realise that her actions have consequences and that she is not yet equipped with the skills and knowledge required to rule. ‘All my victories turn to dross in my hands… Whatever I do, all I make is death and horror.’

My favourite new reads of 2021

A very late Happy New Year! I am remotivated to post this then get on with some more up to date regular 2022 posts! I also love posting on Instagram @carlybooks_ and looking at bookish accounts, so please follow me there if interested! 😊 I never count rereads in this list because I reread old favourites, so here are my 5 favourite new reads of 2021 (p.s. there are fuller descriptions of each book in 2021 blog posts so these are just wee snippets):

Honourable mentions:

Klara and the Sun, Kitchen, After Dark, Luster, Exciting times. I’ve written about these books in more detail in 2021 blog posts, but they all have the sort of style of writing I love- character driven, almost plotless, somehow dreamy, reflecting on social issues and their impact on people in today’s society. I fell in love with Japanese literature this year, it’s very beautiful and almost magical!

Number five- Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes:

‘’Now, in Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, Natalie Haynes – broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist – redresses this imbalance. Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, she puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the menfolk. After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Agamemnon, Paris or Odysseus, Oedipus or Jason, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope.’’ (Pandora’s Jar synopsis)

I didn’t read as much non-fiction as I usually do this year, but this was a great one! I didn’t love Natalie Hayes fiction books as much when I read them, but the way this book was written weaved in all the characters with modern social issues so well, I’d recommend! I’d also recommend listening to the songs she mentions throughout, listening to Beyoncé lemonade during the Medea chapter was quite an experience.

Number four- Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

‘’Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young – but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They worry about sex and friendship and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?’’ (Beautiful World, Where are You synopsis)

I listened to this as an audiobook which I think is always the way to go with Irish narrators because I love the accent and it adds to the feeling of a conversation unfolding. I think this might be my favourite of her books. I love the storytelling, elements of mental health and the social commentary on social media/technology and climate change. I do feel the need to say that the characters are a bit pretentious (why do they always go on a spontaneous holiday hahaha) and Rooney’s characters are definitely privileged with first world problems. I think it’s important to keep this in mind whilst reading, but I do always feel for the characters (I was more interested in one perspective than the other though). I’d love to read more books that look at the impact of social media on our self-esteem and mental health.

Number three- Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

‘’It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother’s sense of snobbish propriety. The miners’ children pick on him and adults condemn him as no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.’’ (Shuggie Bain synopsis)

This book was so powerful, and the relationships were beautiful and very sad. I felt even more connected to the story because of the LGBT elements and the setting- some of my own family members have experienced some of these issues and I think they’re still sadly very relevant around Glasgow. I think this book manages to be filled with hopeful moments despite the poignant sad ones. I’m currently reading Young Mungo as I got a review eBook on net galley, woo (did not know that was a thing until last month!) and I think I like it even more, although I love wee Shuggie as a character so much. I’d 100% recommend reading some Scottish fiction if you’re from elsewhere around the world, I’d love to know if it still has the same impact or gives you a new perspective on Scotland. I’d also be curious to know where you are from and what books you’d recommend from your home country! 😊

Number two: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

‘’When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire – to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.’’ (Norwegian Wood synopsis)

This was one of the first books I’ve read translated from Japanese and I loved it! I always love books which are basically just about characters and relationships where nothing really happens, and this is exactly that bit with a kind of whimsical feeling. There was something so interesting and unusual about this book and it’s made me want to go to Tokyo one day even more than I already did. I”d really recommend this, although I’d first check the trigger warnings as there are themes such as suicide. I’d also recommend this as a first choice for Murakami’s books because it’s a lot more realistic and less insane than his others. I read 4 of his this year and I am finding some uncomfortable themes with the ways he writes women. Overall though, Norwegian Wood has become one of my favourite ever books!

Number one: Duck Feet by Ely Percy

‘’Twelve-year-old Kirsty Campbell used to like school – that is until she started first year at Renfrew High. Set in the mid-noughties and narrated in a Renfrewshire dialect, Duck Feet is an episodic novel comprised of 65 linked short stories, all following the lives of working-class school-girl Kirsty and her pals as they traverse from first to sixth year of high school.’’ (Duck feet synopsis)

Another Scottish book, they did well last year! I also went to a Waterstones reading and signing from Ely Percy and it was amazing to hear their perspective on their perspective on writing the story, it brought it to life even more. I’d like to go to more book events in 2022! I’m also happy that I joined an Instagram book club last year, hosted by @scottieandthebooks. It gave me the chance to read with others, making it a less solitary experience and creating a culture of celebration of Scottish literature (although I’m too shy to really speak in it haha!) Anyway, I loved book so much, I went to school nearby Renfrew a few years after this is set and it’s so close in time and place that I felt like I was reading about my own school (good and bad times haha!). My favourite chapter VL just flashed me back to forgotten (or repressed) times. I also loved the deeper moments and themes throughout and related to so many of the characters. I’d love to read more about the queer characters in Duck Feet if Ely writes this book. I’d 100% recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you everyone who read or commented last year, I honestly love reading comments and talking about books as reading can feel lonely otherwise! Please let me know of your favourites reads of last year, I’d genuinely love to know! 😊 I know we’re still in difficult times, but I hope you have an amazing year, and please reach out to me if you’d ever like to talk- about books, mental health or anything else!