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The Heroic Journeys of Bran, Arya and Sansa

Joseph Campbell in the first paragraph most famous work, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” said of all the hero stories of the world:

It will be always the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find, together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever be known or told.

That “suggestion of more” is the catalyst that causes the story of the hero to be constantly reinvented and re-imagined. Whether it’s the modern English Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the Greek Perseus, the Indian Prince Guatama, or the Inuit hero Kiviuq, all the heroic stories of the world “boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.”

It is now generally agreed that Campbell overreached; when applied too broadly, the idea of the Hero’s Journey, what he called the Monomyth, becomes almost meaningless. This is especially true for stories that lack a clearly defined hero who is a warrior or leader, and those stories that don’t originate from Indo-European culture. He also used psychoanalysis as a basis for connecting many myths together in his research, but this is no longer very common among those who write about the Hero’s Journey.

Indeed, in modern fiction it is arguable that the idea that there is a Monomyth has had as much of an effect on writers as perhaps any actual structure that its embedded deep in the human psyche that shapes our mythology (read: Star Wars).

Within ASOIAF, the Hero’s Journey is a structure that serves an essential purpose, its presence in the character arcs of Bran, Arya and Sansa uniting them as a triad.

The structure of the Hero’s Journey reinforces their overall narrative unity. They are the heirs to House Stark’s future and its leaders, the tale of its rebirth both made possible and embodied in their shared coming-of-age. Each passes through at roughly similar times the stages of the Heroic Cycle:

The World of the Ordinary: A relatively carefree childhood of naive beliefs and dreams (often even more romanticized in memory after     enduring their heroic trials and horrors).

The Call to Adventure: A mentor beckons them to go and enter a strange and unfamiliar world or path (in Bran and Arya’s case,     supernatural and magical) that frightens them.

The Refusal of the Call: the Stark children initially resist the call and refuse to go to their destinies.

The Passing of the First Threshold: Guided by new mentors, they are     taken across a perilous and symbolic boundary that separates the world   they know from the one beyond, which is magical, alluring and dangerous.

Trials and Temptations: The Stark children endure horrific suffering, including starvation, violence, enslavement, and sexual assault and are tempted by anger, self-pity, depression and dissociation.

The Abyss: The Heroes reach a point of almost total hopelessness     and despair, believing that they will never see Winterfell or their families again. It is while in the Abyss that the transformation begun by the heroic trials is completed as they are trained by their mentors in new magic, skills and wisdom. It is a time of death and rebirth, their old identities broken down and made new.

The Coming Return: After their transformative time in the Abyss, the Heroes are set up to return to the North with the magic, knowledge, and courage to save their people from the invasion of the Others. Joseph Campbell referred to what variously is to the archetypal hero the artifact, power or knowledge they return with as the “ultimate boon”, which they can bestow on humankind to save them from damnation or destruction.

Because Campbell scoured the entire world and its largest cultures in search of a common structure in heroic mythology, he also believed that the Hero came in a handful of different forms. Two of them are relevant here and influence the characterization of Arya and Bran: The Warrior and The Emperor. Some have pointed out that Campbell was misogynist in his skewing his focus towards male mythological figures. Campbell simply did not analyze what cultures see as the feminine aspects and archetypes of their mythology: the princess, the moon, water, motherhood or sisterhood.  These feminine aspects are vital to the analysis of Sansa and Arya Stark, and thus I will incorporate them in due course.

And once again, I owe a huge thanks to kittenbalerion, who helped me edit and restructure this piece.

Keep reading

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robb and grey wind (names)

Potential spoilers for the books and show. Posted on 29/7/17.

Everyone loves pets, including the Stark children, but naming them is sometimes hard; names, after all, are important. Anyway, the Starks spend some time searching for names for their wolves, and seem to have discussed it together, which is too adorable;

[Catelyn:] “[the children are] In the kitchen, arguing about names for the wolf pups.” (Catelyn I, AGOT)

And the kids seem to fall in love quite quickly (they do have special connections with the wolves later on after all, well, the younger ones at least); “Arya is already in love [with her wolf], and Sansa is charmed and gracious, but Rickon is not quite sure.”

Rickon is unsure, but he is three, and was given the fiercest and scariest wolf of the group for reason…but we know that Rickon and Shaggy seem to form a strong bond later on - by the end of AGOT Rickon seems to have good control on Shaggy, considering he is four and Shaggy is a fastly-growing mythical beast. (I’ll have a meta on Rickon one day…)

And we know that Robb and Jon love their wolves as well, the latter we see is actually a warg, whether he really knows it or not, and Robb might well have been one…we just never got that POV (also, poor Theon, shame there wasn’t a baby squid anywhere). Now I’m going to just be speaking about my thoughts on the wolves names - I know this has been done before, countless times, I’m sure, but these are my opinions, alright? - and what they could mean for their owner’s journeys.

Today I’ll only be talking about one wolf’s name, because this got out of hand;

Grey Wind

The meaning of Robb’s wolf’s name seems quite obvious…a grey wind (??) but Robb’s own name is actually a little more interesting; it means ‘famed; bright; shining.’ So, if you put them together, you get a…famous wind? Yes, you do, because Robb was a famous (grey) wind.

What? You shout, thinking I’m mad, what do you mean Robb Stark, King of the North, Riverlands (and should have had the Vale with him), the warg, the Young Wolf, is a wind (metaphorically, obviously)?

Well, I shall answer you question(s), stranger. Strong winds are storms, or need to make a storm - definitely not the scientific definition - and I thinks it’s say to safe that storms are more dangerous than winds. What does this have to do with Robb? His wolf was called Grey Wind - wind. I’ve spoken about winds, now let’s talk about the colour grey;

Grey is between white and black - good and evil. We know that GRRM wants his characters to be real, human, neither completely good nor completely evil - grey, basically. Robb Stark, I think, is grey, and GRRM did a good job writing a flawed hero in the eldest Stark child. Some parts of Robb are white/good; he’s a hero, a war hero; he goes to war to save his father and sisters (much like his Uncle Brandon); he is excited to get a puppy even though he’s almost fifteen, I think; he’s able to make people trust him, overall has good leadership qualities; among with many other things.

But Robb isn’t all good, he has his flaws; he doesn’t seem to try and understand his greiving, depressed mother’s decision in freeing their captive, Jaime Lannister, in hopes that they’ll get his sisters back for doing so - Robb gets annoyed at her, like since his father died, really they’ve been fighting this war to get his sisters back - and seems to think women/girls aren’t important enough.

He also gets annoyed at his eleven years old sister for writing a letter to him - after she finds out her father has been imprisoned and she is being made to feel like it’s her fault - practically pleading they bend the knee, else their father dies - and Robb gets annoyed that she didn’t mention heir sister, which is both quite understandable and not at all.

Never mind that he broke his vows and then got annoyed when his uncle wouldn’t keep his own promises (??) - but I’ll stop. We/I should remember that Robb was fourteen when all of this started and lived quite a sheltered life, in all honesty, and to be fair, his mother didn’t have the best advice ever and he did have to leave his brothers and home to fight in a massive war just to get his family back but then dies without seeing either of his siblings or father again. :(

But back to the meaning of his name…like I said, the name Robb means famed, bright and shining. Robb was famous; he was very well known, for many things actually, including the fact that he was so young and such a smart battle commander - bright can also mean intelligent. Shining? Um, his armour? Once Tyrion says he remembers Robb’s sword shining?

(I will add that Robb’s reputation seems to drop after his death, which could be blamed on him. Even so, there are those (Manderlys/the Grand Northern Conspiracy) who still have faith in Robb and seem to want to keep his, and Ned’s, legacy alive - even if he is known as The King Who Lost The North. Oops.)

What does any of this have to do with Grey Wind, or (a) grey wind? Well, we know that in the show Jon was named the White Wolf - and in the books too, I suppose, the Others are coming and they are bringing winter with them; in the form of a storm, no doubt.

Robb won’t be there to fight the Others, obviously, but maybe that’s for the best; the Others are bringing a pure, snowy white storm (see: GRRM associating the “bad guys” of the story wih the colour white, flipping fantasy’s good=white, bad=evil trope on it’s head) and while in some world Robb might have made a good commander during this war, he never would have been there, and his wolf’s name tells it all;

Robb (who was once bright, but by the end wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed; and was once famous but now is more infamous than anything), a once-bright-now-dull, neutral grey wind cannot compete, or defeat, a pure white storm.

I wrote this at five am, and I thought it was funny enough to keep. I only managed to write about Robb and Grey Wind, none of the others, apparently I was too busy writing about grey storms?

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“I think a large amount of my dislike for QiTN Sansa stems from two things,

The first and main reason is that a lot of the time when I’m seeing ideas revolving around QiTN Sansa, a lot of these ideas erase both Arya and Bran. Both characters who have an incredibly strong and powerful connection to Winterfell are pushed aside. Bran most often depicted as turning into the weirwood or Arya serving her sister as the Commander of KG or just gone. There is an immediate erasure of both Bran and Arya, two very important characters and yet they are pushed aside.

However, it is more than just that. A lot of the time, when I see an argument about QUiTN Sansa, it is connected to her knowledge of politics but the thing is, it’s Southern politics that Sansa has knowledge of and it has been consistently highlighted that the North and South are two very different areas. They are no way in the same and so Sansa’s ability to do politics in one area is not only potentially useless but also perhaps even debilitating. The Northerners at this moment in time are wary of anything to do with the South and while Sansa is no Southerner or Lannister, she has spent a huge portion of her time not only in the South but married to a Lannister. 

This isn’t something that will just go away. She was disinherited (more specifically pushed down the inheritance line) by Robb because of this very reason.

“Young, and a king,” he said. “A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north would pass to her.” His mouth tightened. “To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north.”

While we have seen no mention of Robb’s will, it is very likely that it is something that will once more pop up. One does not just bring in a will that dictates the future of a hugely important region such as the North and not use it. Robb’s will is a Chekhov gun hanging on the wall and it something that is certain to come into play. Especially when we take into account Littlefinger and his intentions. 

When they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden’s cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back … why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright.

We as readers know LF’s plans will fail. We know he won’t win so why therefore would we believe that he could place Sansa on the throne when we have Robb’s will – Robb who was an obvious hero – that throws LF’s plan into confusion and stands as an obvious adversary to Littlefinger’s desires. 

There is also what Sansa wants. A lot of the queenly motifs within Sansa stories are things forced upon her by other people. They aren’t her desires specifically. Even in GOT when queenhood was within her future, it was never so much the concept of power and being a queen that seemed to excite her but rather the possibility of having a prince, of having Joffrey. Sansa has not shown any interest in being queen and I think this is clearly demonstrated here. 

She pictured the two of them sitting together in a garden with puppies in their laps, or listening to a singer strum upon a lute while they floated down the Mander on a pleasure barge. If I give him sons, he may come to love me. She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon, and raise them all to be as valiant as Ser Loras. And to hate Lannisters, too. In Sansa’s dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya.

When Sansa realises that being queen is no longer a possibility, she does not mourn that loss or even seem to care and when she is presented with Willas, it is not the concept of power and ruling that she focuses on but rather on domesticity and family and home. Sansa has absolutely no desire to rule at all. 

The most important thing that stands within this is that Winterfell is more than politics, it’s rulership is about more than games and politics. It is a place that was built to withstand the Others, a place that has magic woven into its walls. It is strange to outsiders and otherworldly. It buries its kings underground and thrives in the dark.  This concept and idea of darkness, of the security it offers, is something seen in the Stark chapters, most overtly Bran’s. 

“ Never fear the darkness, Bran. The strongest trees are rooted in the dark places of the earth. Darkness will be your cloak, your shield, your mother’s milk. Darkness will make you strong.”

It is through darkness that Bran thrives and gathers strength. When Winterfell is being attacked, it is in the crypts that Bran gathers strength and survives. Darkness is a safe place and such a Stark, kingly concept. 

“The stone is strong. Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained.

The Northern Kings root Winterfell. Darkness is where Winterfell’s true strength lies. More than that, I don’t think it’s a mistake that we have Bran who is learning and growing in a place that is underneath the weirwood roots, who knows and sees Winterfell better than anyone and who has so many connections to Brandon the Builder, the founder of the Starks. Bran just like the Kings of Winter is heavily connected to darkness and roots in a way that has never happened with Sansa before. His connection to Winterfell exists on a whole different level and he knows it better than anyone else.

Bran could see all of Winterfell in a glance. He liked the way it looked, spread out beneath him, only birds wheeling over his head while all the life of the castle went on below… It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb would never know.

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The Ned x Bran Parallels Post

Also, Hufflepuffs!

This is a post that was inspired by an anon’s question:

Who is the most Hufflepuff? Arya, Bran or Sansa? It doesn’t matter if they have traits from other houses, honestly, who doesn’t?

After pondering it for awhile, I began to think of not only just how well Bran fits in with a Hufflepuff sorting, but also how Ned does as well. That in turn, led to thinking of the parallels not just between their personalities, but also how they came to be the Stark in Winterfell and how they feel about it.

Yes, Bran for me is not just the most Hufflepuff, he’s really a pure Hufflepuff by the time his transformation from boy to the Lord of Winterfell is done in ACOK. 

The Stark kids’ story arcs are about coming-of-age, and so the reader should view them not as an artificial altering, but as an organic growth into the adults they were meant to be. So even of that isn’t how people actually are in real life, the Starks’ heroic trials burn away the superficial to reveal them for “who they really are”, and hence the semi-adults we see in ADWD-TWOW.

Which is why need to talk about Bran’s place as the younger boy who must take a up the place of lordship after his father and brother depart for the South and are murdered there, (and who so resents the responsibilities he must take on as a result), and how this is a close reenactment of his father’s own life.

Bran is Ned 2.0, updated with all the magical powers and magical animal friends you need to run your magical castle.

Keep reading

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Bran Stark Meta Masterpost

Please note, the metas listed below are not the only discussions of Bran out there, but they are the only ones that don’t hate, vilify, discount, ignore, falsify his character and storyline, as well as those of others. As this is Bran Stark week, a space designed to appreciate and love Bran in respectful ways, I will not be linking to any posts that clearly mistreat his character and arc.

This isn’t to say that Bran is perfect, of course he’s not, of course he has flaws, flaws that should be discussed, but not in such a manner that seeks to falsely depict him as evil, abhorrent, cruel, etc. Bran is a multilayered, complex, and fascinating character, and he deserves to be discussed as such, with a proper and legitimate handling of his character.  

Bran Stark and the Mythological Figure Bran the Blessed: Bran’s Role as King, and Leader of the Fight against the Others 

-by, ladysmallwood

Bran Stark: Born to Lead, Born to Rule  

-by, ladysmallwood

The Crown of the King in the North Manifested within Bran Stark’s Story 

-by, ladysmallwood

Bran Stark King in the North Gifset + Tag Meta

-by, serbranflakes

Why People Dismiss Bran as Heir to the North and Winterfell 

-by, ladysmallwood

Vilifying Bran Stark: The Ramifications of Skinchanging  

-by, ladysmallwood

Becoming Hodor

-by, forgirlsraisedbywolves

The Jojen Paste Theory is Not True  

-by, ladysmallwood

Why Bran is not the Villain, Why Bran won’t become a Tree 

-by, madaboutasoiaf

Bran Stark Empathy Gifset + Tag Meta

-by, watson-sighs-and-tuts

Bran Stark: Interesting Character

-by, serbranflakes

Remember Who You Are: The Significance of Bran’s Name

-by, ladysmallwood

Why We Love Bran Stark

-by, nenesauriorex

Reasons to Love Bran

-by, watson-sighs-and-tuts

Old Nan’s Stories: Bran, Arya, and Coldhands 

-by, camelscunt

The Skinchanging and Warging Abilities of Bran and Arya Stark

-by, madaboutasoiaf

Arya and Bran Stark: The Bond between a Stark and their Wolf, Parallels between Nymeria and Summer 

-by, ladysmallwood

The Parallel Journeys of Bran and Arya Stark

-by, remusjohnslupin

Bran and Arya’s Relationship 

-by, donewithwoodenteeth

Demons, Shapechangers, and Beastlings: Starks and Warging

-by, thebluebard

**This post will be continuously updated throughout the week, I am hopeful that some fantastic meta will be produced! 

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ASOIAF META SERIES: PART 4

                                         HOUSE STARK META POST

PART 1 // PART 2 // PART 3

                                                                HOUSE STARK

Bran Stark and Bran the Builder

Arya as a Pack Leader

Bran Stark: Wed to Winterfell, Wolf, and Weirwood

Sansa as a Narrative Mirror

Bran and his Destiny

An Analysis of Winterfell: As Camelot, Avalon, and Sacred Tree

A Time for Beasts: Bran, Arya, and the Long Night

The Stark in Winterfell: Bran Stark and the Fisher King

Sansa and the Royces

Bran and the Caves of Gendel and Gorne

Arya and Bran: 1 | 2

Sansa and Bran

Catelyn and Arya

Ned and Arya: 1 | 2

Arya and Robb

Jon and Sansa: 1 | 2

Arya and Sansa

                                                               EDDARD STARK

Who Truly Killed Eddard Stark

In Defense of Ned Stark’s Talent for Power

In Defense Of  Ned Stark

Who is Ned Stark?

Ned Starks Motivation for Everything

Character Discussion: Eddard Stark

Why Ned Stark and Ashara Dayne were not an Item

If Ned had Lived he would have Fought Against a Targaryen Restoration

Would Ned have executed Theon if Balon Rebelled: Yes | No

On Why Ned Allowed Jon to take the Black

Why People Took Ned’s Word for it that Jon was his Son

For the First Time in Years: Eddard Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen

The Importance of Being a Quiet Wolf

Why Ned Remained Loyal to Robert

                                                              CATELYN STARK

In Defense of Catelyn Stark

The Curse of Harrenhal is Real and its Greatest Victim is Catelyn Tully

Why Catelyn Stark is a Good Person

Catelyn Stark on Trial

Character Discussion: Catelyn Stark

Why I Like Catelyn Stark by Me

Catelyn and Lady Stoneheart

Catelyn and Vengeance

Does Catelyn Stark Really Love all her Children?

Book 1 vs Season 1: Catelyn on the Sidelines

On My Honour as a Tully, On My Honour as a Stark

The Silencing of Catelyn Stark

Catelyn was a Good Political Adviser to Robb

Catelyn Stark is Not Defined by her Interactions with Jon Snow

Re: Catelyn Reacted Better to Ned’s Bastard than Ned

Is Catelyn all bad?

                                                                 ROBB STARK

Military Commander: Part 1 | 2 | 3 

The Men Who Would Be King: Robb Stark

On Robb and whether he warged into Grey Wind

On Robb and Jon and Ruling

Why Robb had to die

A Message from the South: The Location of Robb’s Letter

The Location of Robb Stark’s Will

On the Existence of Robb’s Will

In Response to Robb Hate

Robb, Theon, Jeyne & Jeyne

Thoughts on Robb Stark

What Robb Symbolised to his Siblings

On Whether Robb Earned the Title of The King Who Lost the North

War of the Roses Parallels

How Robb was able to Finance his War

Robb’s Blind Spots, Privelege and Empathy (or Lack Thereof)

Theon and Robb’s Dynamic

“Robb Deserved to Die” Or, A History Lesson in Hindsight

A Few Thoughts on Robb and Grey Wind

Robb did not Bring the Red Wedding on Himself

Robb and What Being a King in a Feudal System Means

                                                                   JON SNOW

Other Wars: Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Jon Snow in ADWD: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

On Jon’s Likely Reaction to Finding out his Parentage 1 | 2

Jon, Rhaegar, and the Big Picture

Jon Joining the Night’s Watch as a Case of False Agency

Why I Respect Jon Snow and How You Can Too

Jon Snow and the Laaaadies

Jon Snow is not a Feminist

What Resurrected Jon Might be Like

The Relationship between Jon and Ghost

On Whether Jon Might take the Northern Throne

Parallels between Jon and Dany

Jon and Dragon References 

Jon Snow will return as an Other

Lightbringer is not a sword. It’s a child: Jon Snow

Character Discussion: Jon Snow

Why did Jon got stabbed

Jon will not think Himself Heir to the Iron Throne, He Already has a King

Jon Snow and Ygritte

Parallels Between Jon and Theon

On Jon’s Judgement of Selyse

What if Jon had been raised at Starfall?

Jon Snow and Making Dad Proud

Jon Broke his vows for Ramsay

Jon Broke his vows for Arya

Playing with Robb and Historical Heroes

On Jon Snow’s Life Pre Asoiaf

Jon the Rebuilder

Jon and identity

Jon Went Overboard in Allying with the Wildlings

Jon and Bloodraven

On Jon and Ghost and the Wall Interfering with the Direwolf Connection

Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow Parallels

On Whether Jon is a Bastard

Jon’s leadership of the Night’s Watch

On Whether Jon Might Have Avoided the Night’s Watch Mutiny

The Romance of Jon and Ygritte

Fetch Me a Block: Jon Snow’s Leadership

Some Ramblings About Jon Snow

On Tyrion and Jon

On Jon Snow and Knowing Nothing

Jon’s Constant References to Ygritte in ADWD

Jon and his Bastard Status 

The Ingenuity of Jon Snow

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The Night’s Watch Takes No Part…

                                                                SANSA STARK

Sansa and Sandor: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sansa as the Sixth Major Character: 1 | 2 | 3

Sansa and Petyr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Sansa has a Tendency to Romanticize 1 | 2 | 3

Sansa as the Good Girl

Why Sansa Represses and Alters her Memories 

Sansa and Sandor and the Unkiss

Sansa and the Game

Sansa’s Growth: Handling Robert Arryn

Sansa and Arya

Sansa and Bravery

Sansa is a Fighter

Parallels Between Sansa and Lysa

Sansa and Stark Identity

ASOIAF Clothing Sansa Stark

Sansa and the Likelihood of Warging/Skinchanging

What Lady’s Death means for Sansa

From Pawn to Player: Rethinking Sansa

Kneeling at her wedding

Re-thinking Sansa Stark

Myranda Royce & Alayne Stone

Sansa Stark, Prophecy, and Elizabeth of York

An overlooked explanation for Sansa’s mistakes in AGOT

Snow Winterfell

Character Discussion: Sansa Stark

Sansa, Ned & Cat

Sansa’s Neglect and Grooming

Sansa & Suicide

Following Joffrey’s Death

Sansa Stark not Alayne

Reactions to Alayne I in TWOW

Sansa & Poison

Why Harrenhal may be the Castle built from Snow

Sansa as an ISFJ

Please Understand that Sansa Stark is not Passive

Medusa Imagery

Alayne and Harry the Heir

She Got Better

Sansa’s Coping Mechanism

                                                                 ARYA STARK

Why Arya is with the Faceless Men 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Arya and Femininity 1 | 2

Arya and Lady Stoneheart 1 | 2

Why Arya is a Badass

Why Arya will Survive

Arya and the Trauma of Killing

Arya on Justice, Survival and Killing

Arya and Value of Death/Desire to Kill

Arya is Traumatised, Not Detached

Arya’s List: A Cry for Revenge or a Cry for Control

Why Arya Chose the People on her list

The Significance of Nymeria for Arya’s Storyline

Arya is not Losing her Identity

Arya and Compassion

Arya is not a Sociopath or Psychopath

Arya and Kindness and Compassion

Arya and Self Esteem

Things people forget about Arya Stark

Arya and making friends

Don’t Forget Valar Dohaeris

Arya was Bullied by Sansa

Arya and Bullying

Arya and Loneliness

Parallels Between Arya and Dany

Parallels Between Arya and Daenerys

A Response to the Claim that People Should not Root for Arya

Reasons to Love Arya

The Importance of Lady Smallwood

Arya has Intelligence and Cunning

Arya’s Mental Strength and Wits

Arya has the Skills to Handle Politics

Arya does not Represent the Stranger

Arya and Signs of Depression

Arya is not Anti-Women/Arya is a Feminist

Arya and the Old Gods

Arya the Outcast

Arya and her Northern Roots and Starkness

On Arya and Marriage and Children

Arya is an Extrovert

Why Arya Treasures Needle

Arya and “Needlework”

Dragon References in Arya’s Narrative

Arya is Going to the Wall Foreshadowing

Arya is Batman

In Defense of Arya Stark

Arya on Beauty, Romance and all Those Things we don’t Focus on

Character Discussion: Arya Stark

Arya Was Playing Shae in “Mercy”

The Evolution of Arya: Comparing Arya in the Proposal Letter to Arya in ASOIAF

The way Arya refers to Sandor Reflects her Feelings about him

Arya is Relatable

Arya is Important for Feminism and not because she has a Sword

Arya’s Ideals and Code of Justice will Never line up with the Faceless Men

                                                                 BRAN STARK

Bran and Winterfell 1 | 2

Bran and Skinchanging into Hodor 1 | 2

Bran and Bravery and Fear

Bran and Harry Potter Parallels

Bran the Underdog

Will Bran Skinchange a Dragon?

Abomination in Training: The Indoctrination of a Greenseer

Bran, Skinchanging Hodor, and the Deconstruction of Destiny in ASOIAF

On Bran and Hodor

One Does Not Simply Warg Into Hodor

Bran as Lord of Winterfell

Why Bran will end up ruling Winterfell

The Significance of Bran’s Name

Reasons to Love Bran Stark

Why Bran is not the Villain of ASOIAF

Bran Stark and the Mythological Figure Bran the Blessed

Bran Stark: Born to Lead, Born to Rule

The Crown of the King in the North Manifested within Bran’s Story

Bran’s First Three-Eyed Crow Dream

Hodor, Bran, and the Land of Always Winter

Character Discussion: Bran Stark

Bran as a God of Winterfell

Why Bran May Never Return to Wintefell

Why Bran is not going to Die

Bran and Hodor have a Genuine Friendship

Bran Stark: Interesting Character

Reasons why Bran Stark Matters

The Jojenpaste Theory is not True

King Bran Summary and Masterpost

Bran Stark: INFP

My Favourite Thing about Bran

Bran Will not Stay in the Cave until he Dies

Similarities Between Bran and Dany’s Last Chapters

                                                               RICKON STARK

Rickon Post Skagos will not be a Savage/Cannibal

Rickon and the Skagosi

Re-interpreting Rickon

                                                               BENJEN STARK

Benjen Stark is too much of a Chekhov’s Gun to be Coldhands

The Mysterious Benjen Stark

Benjen Stark is in Skagos

Why Benjen Joined the Night’s Watch, the Secret He Should Have Shared

On Whether Benjen Knew About Jon’s Parentage

                                                               LYANNA STARK

Parralels Between Lyanna and Helen of Troy 1 | 2

On Lyanna Stark

Lyanna the Grey

The Implausability of Rhaegar’s and Lyanna’s Love

How Rhaegar May Have Seen Lyanna

Love Is Sweet, Dearest Ned, But It Cannot Change a Man’s Nature

Rhaegar, Lyanna, and Consent Issues

On the Romanticised Attitude to Rhaegar and Lyanna

The Dragon’s Ladies Part 3: The Rose of Winterfell

The Disappearance of Rhaegar and Lyanna in TWOIAF

Lyanna Stark is the Knight of the Laughing Tree

                                                                 VIDEO/AUDIO

The Winds of Winter: Mercy Preview Chapter

History: House Stark

Plots: House Stark

Book Discussion: Jon Snow

Catelyn - A Mother’s Madness

Jon Snow - Only the Cold

A Dragon, a Wolf and a Rose

Sansa - A Song of Innocence

Arya - A Gift of Mercy

Sansa and the Hound

Grand Northern Conspiracy 1 | 2

Princes of Winterfell

EPIC HISTORY: House Stark

North/Stark History

The Knight of the Laughing Tree: Story & Theory

Why did Rhaegar take Lyanna?

Epic Starks: King Theon Stark

Bran the Builder: Legendary Founder of House Stark

Bran the Builder Theory: Legendary Hero?

The Winds of Winter: Sansa I

The Winds of Winter: Arya I

FeastDance: Jon Snow

FeastDance: Arya Stark

FeastDance: Brandon Stark

FeastDance: Sansa Stark

“No one”: how will Arya Stark’s story end?

Will Jon Snow return?

R+L=J: who are Jon Snow’s parents?

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My King Bran Meta Masterlist

Bran and Kingship Myths:

The Stark in Winterfell: Bran and the Fisher King Myth

Bran and his Heroic Journey: The Image of the Emperor (2/3 of this work though is also about Arya and Sansa’s heroic journeys)

More about Bran and the Fisher King

Bran and parallels to other Lordly and Monarchical Characters:

Bran’s parallels to his father.

Bran’s parallels to Dany: ASOIAF’s most magical monarchs

Bran and Theon: The Lost Princes

How Bran will return to Winterfell late in TWOW and his role in the War for the Dawn:

The bond between the raven and the wolf: Bran, Arya and the Long Night

Bran and the Caves of Gendel and Gorne

Bran and the Ice Eyes Legend

Other proof for Bran as the Rebuilder:

The Builder was a Greenseer: Winterfell as a magical fusion of Weirwood and Castle, Camelot and Avalon

The Builder’s connection the Last Hero, and Bran’s connection to both

Comparing the Image of the King and the Image of the Shaman in Bran’s Story

My Favorite Thing About Bran

Bran and Wedding Imagery

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Is there anyone else in the Stark family that you think might have the wolf's blood (besides Lyanna, Arya, etc)?

I feel like they all have it to some extent, with it being more pronounced/noted in “confirmed” wolf’s blood characters like Lyanna, Arya, and Brandon.

Wolf’s blood is generally associated with wildness, impulsivity, and deviation from the norm or from accepted social standards. For example, Catelyn notes this about Brandon:

He spoke courteously enough, but beneath the words she sensed a coolness that was all at odds with Brandon, whose mirths had been as wild as his rages. 

Which seems to imply that he performed everything to excess. And indeed, we see that quite plainly in his decision to ask the crown prince to “come out and die” in his own home and stronghold. 

Ned said that Lyanna had a “touch of the wolf’s blood”, which is best exhibited through the events at Harrenhal with the KotLT and her (still unconfirmed) decision to run away with Rhaegar.

Now, there’s a big difference between Lyanna and Brandon’s behaviors. Lyanna’s actions were protective, either of herself or others, and her anger was largely harmless (i.e. Lyanna poured a cup of wine over Benjen’s head when he makes fun of her for crying). Brandon’s behaviors were decidedly violent and destructive. He was irresponsible in his sleeping around, he liked violence and didn’t shy away from it (he nearly killed a teenaged Petyr, threatened Rhaegar, tried to physically fight him at Harrenhal, etc), and his actions were largely selfish.

With all this, it’s easy to see why Arya would be compared to such characters, as we’ve seen her temper, her inclination towards martial activities, and how she’s willing to speak the truth no matter who or what is on the receiving end. In contrast with the other Starklings, she is certainly the “wildest”. However, despite her being good at dispensing violence, she doesn’t take the same joy in it that Brandon did. A bloody sword is not a beautiful thing to her. The people she does kill are people who hurt her loved ones, similar to Lyanna’s response to Howland’s abuse, however more violent. Unfortunately, Arya doesn’t have the same option as Lyanna to simply take up a knight’s mantle and dispense justice through jousting.

But, I think the other Starklings have exhibited some of these behaviors as well, just not with the same consistency. In other words, if Lyanna had a “touch” of the wolf’s blood, I’d say the rest of them, bar Arya, had maybe a drop or two that shows itself under duress. For example, I believe Sansa’s defense of Ser Dontos was one such instance. She quickly jumps to defense of a stranger and speaks out of impulsivity despite knowing full well by this point what Joffrey does to her when she dissents. Robb’s decision to marry Jeyne in secret was definitely an impulsive decision, done out of passion and duty, despite the consequences of breaking a vow.

Rickon in particular is noted to have developed a harsh temper and a wildness that’s reflected in Shaggydog, which seems to imply that he might also be exhibiting the behaviors associated with the “wolf’s blood” (but it may just be a natural reaction to all of the grief and strife he’s endured without a parent or an adult sibling to help him).

Bran is the most subdued out of them all, a result I think of having to grow up so quickly. He had been noted by other to be rather mature for his age. Also, a lot of his temper comes out of a place of frustration with his own disability. So it’s hard to say just how wolf blooded he is, though he certainly has the strongest connection to old Stark traditions and to his own direwolf.

Jon, however, displays some of the classic “wolf blooded” behaviors. His impulsivity is something that he doesn’t grow out of, even by ADWD. He’s prone to tempers when he’s upset, especially in his earlier chapters, and he was see him say quite a few things he doesn’t mean out of anger. We see him jump to Sam’s defense when he’s being bullied in the training yard, and he’s a strong believer in justice done right. But like Arya, and unlike Brandon, violence isn’t something that pleases him or that he’s eager to do. I feel like a lot of these behaviors become less pronounced by ADWD, as he grows up and into his role as Lord Commander, but we see glimpses of it here and there, particularly when he learns of “Arya’s” marriage to Ramsay:

By now she’d be eleven, Jon thought. Still a child. “I have no sister. Only brothers. Only you.” Lady Catelyn would have rejoiced to hear those words, he knew. That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton’s throat as easily.

That line in particular reminds me of Brandon’s own desire to kill Rhaegar. There’s rage in it, but Jon is much more controlled.

In any case, the line between what’s “wolf blooded” and what’s just a natural reaction is hard to say, particularly in kids this young. It is a made up term for a certain set of behaviors that plenty of non-Starks exhibit too. As for historical Starks, I can think of Brandon Snow and possibly Rodrik Stark as being “wolf blooded”.

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The Eyrie is mine. (insp.)

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Women in Ice Cells: The She-Wolves of Winterfell, Part 2

In Part 1, I talked about Lyanna Stark from a Watsonian (in-universe) perspective, examining what we could glean about her personality and character from the little information we had. This essay will be a little different from my usual fare, as it will focus on Lyarra Stark, wife of Rickard and mother to Brandon, Eddard, Lyanna and Benjen, about whom we know basically nothing (in GRRM’s own words: “Lady Stark. She died”), and how GRRM’s attitude towards and treatment of her is emblematic of the issue of the Dead Ladies Club in general.

Keep reading

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I think I might be writing a meta on our favourite player, in every sense of the word, Petyr Baelish, but I need to choose a title.

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Some people blame Sansa for Ned's death, and some blame Ned for his own death. Imho, Ned dug his own grave by going to Cersei. Still, in an interview GRRM said, "Sansa was the least sympathetic of the Starks in the first book; she has become more sympathetic, partly because she comes to accept responsibility for her part in her father's death." Does this mean her actions really did contribute to his death? The interview was done by Amazon UK. I believe you've linked it in a post before. Thanks!

I have, it’s a favorite interview. I’ve also answered this question before, but not for a long time, so you get it again, this time with extra quotes and sources.

So, first and foremost – Sansa is not to blame for her father’s death. The only ones to blame are Joffrey, who gave the order; Ilyn Payne, who obeyed without question; and almost certainly the man who convinced Joffrey to go against the plans of Cersei and Varys and the small council to allow Ned to confess treason and take the black, the man who made sure Ilyn Payne and Janos Slynt were ready and waiting for the execution.

However, Sansa did unfortunately have a part in the events that led up to Ned’s execution. As did many others, not in the least Ned himself – because, after all, he did tell Cersei he knew of the true parentage of her children, and told her he would be telling Robert as soon as he returned from his hunt, and told her to flee with her children before Robert killed them all. Ned also made plans to send his daughters to safety, preparing a ship for them to travel back to Winterfell (because, unlike the common paradigm, Ned was not stupid, just… outwitted, and too merciful). However, when Robert returned several days later, deathly wounded, Ned did not tell him (he didn’t want to break his heart in his last moments on earth), only modified his will to refer to Stannis and not Joffrey. The next morning (an hour before he was informed Robert had died), Ned told Arya and Sansa that he was sending them away from King’s Landing by noon. He allowed Arya to have one last lesson with Syrio (who was coming with them), but told Sansa she could not see Joffrey before they left. And Sansa fled, crying, and went to Cersei:

She was the good girl, the obedient girl, but she had felt as wicked as Arya that morning, sneaking away from Septa Mordane, defying her lord father. She had never done anything so willful before, and she would never have done it then if she hadn’t loved Joffrey as much as she did. […] The king had been her last hope. The king could command Father to let her stay in King’s Landing and marry Prince Joffrey, Sansa knew he could, but the king had always frightened her. He was loud and rough-voiced and drunk as often as not, and he would probably have just sent her back to Lord Eddard, if they even let her see him. So she went to the queen instead, and poured out her heart, and Cersei had listened and thanked her sweetly… only then Ser Arys had escorted her to the high room in Maegor’s Holdfast and posted guards, and a few hours later, the fighting had begun outside. –AGOT, Sansa IV

She was not privy to all of Ned’s plans regarding Stannis, the gold cloaks, etc… but she knew more than just that her father planned to spirit her and Arya away from King’s Landing. She knew when they were to leave, on what ship, how many men would be in their escort, who would have the command, where Arya was that morning, etc… all of which was useful to Cersei in planning and timing her move.–GRRM

Because Ned did not tell his daughters why he needed them to leave King’s Landing, because he did not tell Sansa that Cersei was an enemy, because Sansa trusted the queen and was desperate to stay with Joffrey, Cersei was able to draw out all of the information she knew. You can imagine the conversation: “Oh, you’re leaving, my dear?” “Yes, Father is making me go, you have to make him change his mind, I love Joffrey and–” “Yes, of course, sweetling, but tell me, how has your father said you will be traveling?” “Oh… there’s a Myrish ship, the Wind Witch, it’s leaving today–” “Surely your father isn’t sending you on a ship with foreign sailors, all alone.” “No, Septa Mordane and Jeyne and Arya are going too, and there’s to be a troop of ten men for our protection, led by–” “And where is your sister now, dear Sansa?” “Arya’s having a lesson with her dancing master in the Small Hall, even though she gets to bring him with us! It’s not fair…”

And after that interrogation disguised as concern, Cersei took Sansa prisoner. At the very moment Ned was making his stand in the throne room, Sansa was under armed guard in Maegor’s Holdfast. Even if, somehow, Ned had been able to escape Cersei’s coup, Janos Slynt’s betrayal, and Littlefinger’s dagger, somehow managed to get out of the Red Keep with a few men, Sansa would have already been a Lannister hostage.

As it was, because of Sansa’s information, Cersei’s men killed Syrio Forel, and killed the Stark men at the Wind Witch and set up a trap for Arya. As it was, after Ned was taken prisoner, he was quite prepared to die. He was not going to capitulate and betray his word, to tell the world the lie that he was a traitor, that he’d lied about Joffrey’s claim to the throne… until Varys reminded him about Sansa:

“So what is your answer, Lord Eddard? Give me your word that you’ll tell the queen what she wants to hear when she comes calling.”“If I did, my word would be as hollow as an empty suit of armor. My life is not so precious to me as that.”“Pity.” The eunuch stood. “And your daughter’s life, my lord? How precious is that?”A chill pierced Ned’s heart. “My daughter…”“Surely you did not think I’d forgotten about your sweet innocent, my lord? The queen most certainly has not. […] Lord Eddard, tell me… why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain… or he could bring you Sansa’s head. The choice, my dear lord Hand, is entirely yours.”

–AGOT, Eddard XV

So, to save his daughter, one of his children who he loved more than life itself, Ned came to Baelor’s Sept, to confess his “treason”, take the black, and be sent to the Wall. And Sansa was there too, proud that because of her desperate plea for her father’s life, because of the love of her dearest Joffrey, because of the kindness of Queen Cersei, because she’d been a good girl and done as she’d been told and written Cersei’s letters to her mother and Robb to ask them to stop the fighting, that her father would be safe, and everything would be all right. Until the moment Joffrey smiled at her, and called for Ilyn Payne.

Afterwards, alone in the room in Maegor’s Holdfast, Sansa became suicidal with grief and guilt, knowing how her trust had been betrayed. Afterwards, Joffrey told her that Cersei had said she was stupid, and Sansa realized that the queen’s kindnesses and promises to help had only been lies. Afterwards, Sansa understood:

Once she had loved Prince Joffrey with all her heart, and admired and trusted his mother, the queen. They had repaid that love and trust with her father’s head. Sansa would never make that mistake again. –ACOK, Sansa I

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The Starks Are Coming

A theory about the origin of House Stark’s words and their distant relation to the Others.

Potential spoilers for the books and show. Also, this is my first meta and so it might be a little all over the place!

“Winter Is Coming” is quite a known phrase within the fandom and in-universe, isn’t it? People quote it all the time and I can’t even count how many times Ned said it, but it was a lot of times - which I think is funny because how many people really know the meaning of these words? Or rather, the theorised meaning of the words.

Unlike some Westerosi House words like the Baratheon’s Ours Is The Fury or the Royce’s We Remember - which is pretty chilling btw - Winter Is Coming doesn’t appear to be a threat, per se. It seems to be a warning more than anything. A warning that the cold, freezing and harsh winter is coming, as it always is, and perhaps it used to be a warning that the Others’ were coming.

But what if the words are a threat and a warning? Not for winter or the Others but for the Starks themselves; who are descendents of the Others?

I know, it sounds crazy, can you imagine a Stark, honourable, noble Stark, marrying and/or bedding an Other! But think about all the theories that the Night’s King, who fell in love with a woman who was almost certainly an Other, was actually a Stark - and there are those who belive that the show’s Night’s King is actually a Stark - and so, is it really so out there to think that some time afterwards a Stark wed or bedded another woman with ice cold skin? I don’t think so.

(This might be why the Night’s King name was wiped from history, all records of him destroyed, his name forbidden, maybe the Starks did this to clear their name and clean up their mess?)

Maybe a Stark married an Other woman before all that, which I think is more likely. According to legend, the Night’s King was Lord Commander of the Watch not long after it was built, and the Starks were already Kings of Winter by now. They were named the Kings of Winter, for gods sake! I’ll soon get to that, but first though, let’s hear Osha’s take on it, which is a valid point, I think;

[Osha:] Winter’s got no king. (Bran VII, AGOT)

I take this to mean that no one can control winter - but what if they can, what if they did? What if the Starks actually ruled Winter, through their Others’ blood? It sounds weird, I know, but just imagine it! The Others bring winter, the true winter, with them - as they are in the current story.

I hear you asking, why can’t they control winter, and the Others, now then? Dont worry, if you were, because I have an answer; it’s been more than, what, tens of thousands of years since this “bonding” of man and Other might have happened, it’s almost…well, stupid to think that they could still hold power over their very distant relatives, the Others.

People think it’s hardly possible that Daenerys can control - well ‘control’ might be a stretch - her dragons after they had been gone for a century and a half - and therfore, no Targaryen had been able to bond with them. If you think that isn’t likely, imagine thousands and thousands of years of breeding with people who aren’t Others, and the Starks only slept with/produced with an Other once - according to my theory anyway - in all those years, and at the very start of this long timeline.

Yeah, it’s very unlikely Starks have enough Other blood to control them now. (That’s not to say I don’t discount the theory that a Stark shall defeat the Others, I just don’t think they’ll control them any time soon - or rather, at all.) But perhaps that is why the North/First Men eventually knelt to the Starks; they knew that they had some crazy powers and didn’t want to mess with them - over thousands of years though, after the Other blood ‘ran out’ I think the North stayed loyal because they saw that the Starks were actually good guys - good guys who wouldn’t kill them with their special powers.

But going back to the house words; House Stark’s words were obviously made a very long time ago, back when the Starks first came to power, like any power, which was before they became kings, I think. At the time those words - Winter Is Coming - were made, I think the Starks/a Stark had either just bedded an Other or could still control the Others, and Winter.

Of course, as I said earlier, House Stark, and their words, have been around for thousands and thousands of years, and in that time their words have stopped being a threat and more a warning - though it would be cool if some still used it as a threat - like Robb did in the TV show, in this scene.

EDIT: I forgot to say, but the name/word Stark means “strong, powerful and massive”, so…yeah.

TLDR; The Starks have Others blood, which once allowed them to control Winter. I think their words, basically, mean; the Starks are coming and Winter itself is coming with them.

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Thank the Seven Gods for Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne

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7 quotes you need to understand Bran Stark

Bran could perch for hours among the shapeless, rain-worn gargoyles that brooded over the First Keep, watching it all: the men drilling with wood and steel in the yard, the cooks tending their vegetables in the glass garden, restless dogs running back and forth in the kennels, the silence of the godswood, the girls gossiping beside the washing well. It made him feel like he was lord of the castle, in a way even Robb would never know.-AGOT

Their faces were stern and strong, and some of them had done terrible things, but they were Starks every one, and Bran knew all their tales. He had never feared the crypts; they were part of his home and who he was, and he had always known that one day he would lie here too. -ACOK

The gods were looking over him, he told himself; the old gods, gods of the Starks and the First Men and the children of the forest, his father’s gods. He felt safe in their sight, and the deep silence of the trees helped him think.-ACOK

Why must he waste his time listening to old men speak of things he only half understood? Because you’re broken, a voice reminded him. A lord on his cushioned chair might be crippled, but not a knight on his destier. Besides, it was his duty. -ACOK

The stone is strong. Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I’m not dead either.-ACOK

“He was the Prince of Winterfell, Eddard Stark’s son, almost a man grown and a warg too.”

A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. A greenseer.- ADWD

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We see Ser Barristan’s dismissal through Sansa’s eyes, and I think it is a very important step to her becoming disillusioned with the system of knighthood and songs. In her last chapter, after hearing her father has been labelled a traitor and writing letters to her family, her coping mechanism is that she “took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his borther’s queen” (551). She still fully buys into this idealized picture of knighthood, even though she has already encountered Gregor Clegane and realized that not all knights behave the way that she should. When she sees Ser Barristan–in every way the perfect knight–discarded she sees the system of knighthood function completely opposite from the way it should.

“They all laughed then, Joffrey on his throne, and the lords standing attendance, Janos Slynt and Queen Cersei and Sandor Clegance and even the other men of the Kingsguard, the five who had been his brothers until a moment ago. Surely that must have hurt the most, Sansa thought. Her heart went out to the gallant old man" -Page 623

Sansa is immediately able to empathize with Ser Barristan, because he is like her and like Ned–they are people who did what they were supposed to, acted with honor, did they duty, followed the rules. And they each get punished for it in turn. It’s a small moment in comparison to seeing her father lose his head, but seeing Ser barristan disgraced is a crucial step for Sansa to realize that the system does not reward good behavior, that it is a game she must learn how to play and that survival is on the line.

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In the show, we see Sansa scream and cry after Ser Hugh dies in the Hand’s Tourney, which is a perfectly reasonable reaction, but it is very different from her reaction in the books, which I find a lot more interesting:

Jeyne Poole wept so hysterically that Septa Mordance finally took her off to regain her composure, but Sansa sat with her hands folded in her lap, watching with a strange fascination. She had never seen a man die before. She ought to be crying too, she thought, but the tears would not come. Perhaps she had used up all her tears on Lady and Bran. It would be different if it had been Jory or Ser Rodrick or Father, she told herself. The young knight in the blue coat was nothing to her, some stranger from the Vale of Arryn whose name she had forgotten as soon as she heard it. And now the world would forget his name too, Sansa realized; there would be no songs sung for him. That was sad

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Sansa is very emotional, and especially early on in the series we see her totally overcome with emotions, as an eleven-year-old girl would be. Slowly over time she shifts to observing the world around her, and selecting the proper response, rather than reacting emotionally. Her A game of Thrones arc is largely about disillusionment and realizing that life is not a song, and witnessing death for the first time, she realizes it will not be a song, and it will not be meaningful. Sansa is not nearly as expressive about Arya, but internalizes everything and mulls it over. Being able to respond rather than react, and being so finely tuned to what is going on around her is what really enables Sansa to survive in court for so long.