#would've preferred to pm you for this correction rather than publicly but oh well

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Very nice post! I see you also included searches for "father" "sister" etc-- but I'm not sure if you know this, asearchoficeandfire excludes words with apostrophes unless you specifically search for them. So things like "Arya's", "father's", etc, wouldn't come up in a search for "Arya" or "Father". Not sure the difference in numbers would be so high as to change the general trend of the stats, but for example a search in Sansa's POV shows a great number of "father's", and I imagine it might be even more for other POVs.

ASOIAF: Stark Family Mentions

I did this a long while ago and then set them aside, but I took another look and thought maybe someone would be interested in this.

There seems to be a lot of discussion around the Stark family relationships and how close they are or think about each other. So, I basically went through the Stark POVs (+ Theon and Jeyne Poole) and noted all the instances they are mentioned / remembered in other POVs. I went the extra mile and also did searches for father, mother, brother, sister, etc. to catch any mentions that might not have referenced the character by name, this was especially important for father and mother mentions with the kids.  

Again, this isn’t meant to be a definitive record, I did searches and did my best to count, and use context for the counts, but I might have miss one here or there, but the info is to the best of my ability and intention. This gives an overall impression of how often they are on their mind, but you still need to look at the books to get the context and break down the actual relationships.

Also, after doing the more straightforward number of mentions, I felt the idea was a little skewed if the characters actually interacted together, of course those numbers would be higher just because of proximity and plot, so I also did charts trying to adjust for this, so you can see the number of times they mention each other without being in the same room / story line.

I would like to stress that removing the interactions isn’t to diminish their impact, those interactions are important and tell us a lot too, but it just didn’t really reflect the idea of mentions / memories when they are AWAY from their family. So I did both charts so you can make the comparisons. By the end of the first book most of the family is separated, so those are the numbers that were most affected.

I also decided to combine books 4 and 5 into one to save some space and they were supposed to be one book anyway, split into two. 

I would also like to note that mentions of Catelyn, Arya, and Sansa are higher mostly because Eddard was actually interacting with his wife and daughters, so of course their mentions would be higher. Bran is also slightly higher as he had his accident, so of course he was on his mind even while away. Since most of the time there is nothing to worry about back home, Ned’s thoughts don’t really turn to Robb, Jon, or Rickon until the end which is why their numbers are low.

I know that Jon’s seems small, but most of their interactions early on in book 1 take place within Jon’s POVs and I didn’t cross count mentions within other POVs, maybe I should have… but I kinda just stuck to the individual POV as it was easier with the search, would probably need to pull out the books for something more comprehensive and I don’t have THAT kind of time.

Similarly, Catelyn’s mentions of Eddard and Robb are higher as she is actually interreacting with them in her POV, especially Robb as he has no POV. But clearly her children are on her mind, Bran especially because of his accident. 

Theon is also rather high because she also interacts with him in book 1, and it is in her POV where we see the reactions to his betrayal and taking of Winterfell as well as the ‘death’ of Bran and Rickon.

I feel like Robb’s huge number of mentions kinda skews the others, their numbers are decent they just look smaller in comparison. It is just that she is our eyes on Robb and of course they are fighting a war. So I did a chart that leaves out all the mentions of Robb and Eddard, and adjusts for interactions just to reflect the mentions better.

Jon and his struggle to live up to his father’s example and his struggles with leadership, along with his identity issues have Eddard on Jon’s mind more than anyone else. Jon also struggles with Robb loss and his memories of Robb resurface often. Jon also interacts with Arya and Bran earlier in the series, and then of course fArya’s situation brings Arya back into Jon’s thoughts in the last book. 

I removed the actual interactions (Jon I & Jon II) and just left the mentions and thoughts about each other. This reduced the mentions of Eddard, Bran, Arya, Catelyn, and Robb the most. It is still notable how high Eddard and Robb mentions are on his mind.

I decided to add Theon’s POV to the mix as he did spend quite a lot of time with the Starks and his chapters deal with them and Winterfell. This is also where I decided to start counting Jeyne Poole mentions, for similar reasons and that her story is very much intertwined with Theon and Arya of House Stark.

Theon also has daddy issues and has complicated thoughts about Eddard and Robb. Bran and Rickon are also fairly high as Theon actually interacted with them when he took Winterfell and drove them from their home.

Arya and Jeyne Poole’s stories really can’t be separated, as most of the mentions of Arya are mostly in reference to Jeyne being able to play her part, or Theon comparing the two and reminding Jeyne that she is now Arya, or calling her Lady Arya, etc. There are a few memories specifically about Arya, but most are just referencing her due to the situation. You really can’t understand Arya mentions without Jeyne also being acounted for.

Bran’s highest mentions are with Robb, and mostly in book 1 as they are interacting and Bran is our eyes on what Robb is doing and feeling. Eddard’s situation and death also affect Bran and has him in his thoughts a lot, and learns more about him from the Reed’s stories and his green dreams. Bran spends the most time with Rickon and travels with him, and he also thinks about Jon more as he begins his travels beyond the wall and wargs into Summer more. 

Bran’s thoughts about his family really start to go down after book 3, only his father is mostly on his mind, and that is because he is learning more about young Ned. Arya is slightly higher too because of his green dream of Lyanna and the children of the forest remind him of her.

Really need to explore Bran’s and Ned’s relationship more.

Sansa spend most of her time interacting with Arya and her father in book 1 which is why their mentions are so high. Once she is on her own the numbers even out. Sansa thinks about Robb and her mother most in book 2 and 3 as they are fighting against the crown and she is hoping they will rescue her. Sansa also thinks more about her parents once she is in the Vale and Baelish’s fixation with her mother, Lysa’s accusations about her mother, and Baelish insistence on Sansa call him father, bring them both to mind more often in her thoughts.

Sansa also has a sudden jump in Bran mentions in book 3 when Tyrion mentions him (special saddle) to her and of course when she learns of his and Rickon’s deaths. Sansa’s thoughts on her family also reduce a lot by the last book, once she is truly in her Alayne role.

Again, Eddard and Sansa spend the most time actually interacting with Arya on the page in book 1. The second chart removes all the interactions and direct story related mentions and only leaves the mentions and memories, of course this reduces Sansa and her father’s numbers, it also reduces Jon’s (Arya I) where he said goodbye and gave her Needle.

It is clear Arya spends a good amount of time thinking about her father in book 2 and 3, not only processing his death but also remembering his words. 

Arya also is traveling to meet Robb and her mother, so they are also on her mind a lot while on the road and trying to get to them, especially her mother. Sansa’s mentions are pretty consistent too in her thoughts. Part of this is due to her thoughts about her mother and Sansa comparisons, and the other is her travels with Sandor.

I’d say that Jon, Robb and Bran are also pretty consistently in her thoughts too.  The number’s are reduced too by the last book, but Arya usually mentions her family all together, so their numbers line up fairly well (baseline of Rickon with 4), with slight more going to Jon (favorite). She is the most consistent in remembering them all, probably because it is part of what drives her.

- - -

Well, this was a basic run down, I could really go more in-depth with each character, but this was my general impressions on why some mentions seem larger than others. I’m sure this isn’t perfect, I was just trying to get a basic idea.

Like with Eddard. I do find it very interesting how high Eddard Stark is mentioned / remembered by nearly everyone, even though he was killed in book 1, he certainly left an impact on all of his children, even Theon. If I just look at the mentions of Ned from book 2 on after his death and the initial shock of it, you can really get a picture of how often he is remembered in their thoughts.

Jon - 85 times, Catelyn - 63 times, Arya - 60 times

Bran - 55 times, Theon - 52 times, Sansa - 21 times

* If you think I made a grievous error and a number is wrong, let me know - I’ll look at it again and fix it.