Asoiaf Meta - Blog Posts

so i see a lot of people talking about how the asoiaf fandom treats it’s female characters today and i figured that i would give my two cents on it (also, it gives me a reason to procrastinate writing my history essay lmao).

first off, read this post by @maesterleia because they explained my exact thoughts better than i ever could.

female characters are treated are with a double standard compared to male character – which, unfortunately, is very typical in all fandoms but it seems to be taken to the extreme in asoiaf, a book series that does everything possible to make it’s characters as nuanced and shaded grey as possible. and while most of the male characters are analyzed with that in mind, every female character either must be a) a perfect woman that has never done or even think a wrong thing or b) an evil, scheming seductress who’s probably going to end up a worse war criminal than tywin lannister.

forget nuance, forget complexities of the human nature, forget being human – women are not allowed to be flawed here and if they are, they must be a villain. it’s like @maesterleia wrote in their post “Why is a female character having flaws seen as detrimental? Because this mindset is rooted in the idea that only villainous female characters are allowed to have flaws. Cersei, for example, can be dissected and analyzed critically because she’s on the villainous side of the narrative. She’s complex and sympathetic, but still largely classified as a villain (generally), and therefore, she is–according to this mindset–allowed to be flawed.” 

it’s a ridiculous ideology and the cause of so many stupid and pointless fandom wars. the idea that a hero that happens to be female must be free of any flaws or arcs where they battle with their own morality when male characters like jon snow or robb stark is judged the same way makes no sense to me. 

why isn’t jon judged for the way he called myrcella “insipid” for smiling at robb and being an eight year old girl or how he was classist and insensitive to his other night watch’s recruits in the beginning of agot the same way sansa was mean and insensitive to arya? why isn’t robb talked about descending into madness or dictatorship after he ordered the execution of rickard stark the same way daenerys is talked about after she ordered the execution of the slave masters? why is tywin admired for being ambitious but cersei or margaery or arianne is called a scheming slut for having ambitions too? why isn’t ned shamed for taking a young theon away from his home and culture and forcing him to live as a hostage the same way catelyn is shamed for not being a mother to her husband’s bastard? hell, why is jaime considered to be morally superior than cersei, who yes is a very bad and terrible person, when he tried to kill an eight year old boy and still shows no remorse, why he is the good lannister and worthy of redemption but cersei is not?

the unfair and ridiculous double standard is of no use when it comes to analyzing the female characters and the only thing it does is caused the fandom to pit women against each other. the “sansa vs daenerys” debate or the “arya vs sansa” or the “elia vs lyanna” debate, all discussion full of misogyny – deciding which character is better by saying who hasn’t done any wrong things (all of them have done some not-so-great things and all of have them done even more great things, give it a break guys) or who’s better by who’s more feminine or who’s less feminine (ridiculous AND sexist, especially considering it’s possible to be both feminine and masculine and not just one or the other). This also goes hand in hand with the idea that there is only allowed to be One female character that can be the hero in the series and all the others must be either be their enemy or something to prop them up – all while most of the fandom can find it in themselves to have multiple complex male characters in their heart.

the whole ideology that male characters can have flaws and make mistake and still be considered capable of redemption, or capable of learning, or still a good person while such ideas can’t be afforded to female characters is fucking toxic and a great way to make a fandom unbearable to be in.

ROUND TWO for YOU (not even sure if these all qualify as blorbos for u but i want 2 hear yr opinions on them): tyrion lannister, ned stark, and arya stark >:)

AAAAAA YES!!!!! THANK YOUUUUUU

I. LOVE. This man. He inspires me so much. He was definitely a big part of how I developed my guiding values during highschool. He's idealistic , even to his own detriment, but I really appreciate what he stands for. THEREFORE: a muse sent by the gods.

He gets "accidental" parental figure cuz of the whole...y'know...Jon situation fsjtsjg. He can do no wrong cuz he is STUPID devoted to his moral compass, and the adult in the room cuz he honestly felt like the only emotionally mature person in King's Landing most of the time.

I. LOVE. HER!!! She does SO many nasty things but she can do no wrong cuz she's MY crazy girl. She can stab and poison whoever she goddamn wants to.

Cryptid, feral, fish love me women fear me...you know our girl is bonkers. But she really do be my favorite ♥️ She's an unapologetic mary sue cuz it's INSANE the amount of situations she's survived. However, I not only think that this is narratively legitimate, but think that Arya's "plot armor" it is great for the themes/meaning and is actually a wonderful part of asoiaf. Arya ♥️♥️♥️

Unlike the others, Tyrion CAN do wrong in my eyes, cuz sometimes it's like. Really, dude? Nonetheless, I adore and care for this man. By the end of A Game of Thrones I knew he was worthy of respect.

He literally is SUCH an Angst Machine, and I think he's for real been perpetually lost (emotionally) for as long as the audience has known him. He's so...gah. He's so real. Shout-out to the times he gets bitter and nasty (A Dance with Dragons I'm looking at you). May he be feral!!

Also he's the adult in the room because, like Eddard, Tyrion really do be the only sensible person in the room sometimes.

Dany had never looked upon the Usurper’s face, yet seldom a day had passed when she had not thought of him. His great shadow had lain across her since the hour of her birth, when she came forth amidst blood and storm into a world where she no longer had a place. And now this ebony stranger had lifted that shadow.

— ACOK, Daenerys II

[...] “Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.”

— AFFC, Samwell IV

[...] “The frightened child who sheltered in my manse died on the Dothraki sea, and was reborn in blood and fire. This dragon queen who wears her name is a true Targaryen.” [...]

— ADWD, Tyrion II

The prophecies in the House of the Undying correspond with the three phases of Dany’s life: 

Phase 1: Marriage to Drogo, her time on the Dothraki sea (daughter of death, a fire for life, a mount to bed, a treason for blood) 

Phase 2: Her antislavery campaign (slayer of lies, a fire for death, a mount to dread, a treason for gold) 

Phase 3: A dream of spring, which will only come after defeating the Others (bride of fire, a fire to love, a mount to love, a treason for love) 

Three fires: 

A fire for life––Drogo’s funeral pyre gives rise to her three living dragons 

A fire for death––Dany kills Kraznys with Drogon’s dragon fire and initiates her anti-slavery revolution 

A fire for love––yet to be revealed 

Three mounts: 

A mount to bed––she rides the Silver to her wedding night with Drogo 

A mount to dread––Drogon, who is “Balerion the Black Dread” come again, whom she rides at the end of ADWD, before she explicitly rejects the false peace with the Meereneese slavers 

A mount for love––yet to be revealed 

Three treasons (under my interpretation of Dany as the treasonous agent/subject, not the object being betrayed): 

A treason for blood––Dany betrays Mirri’s own use of blood magic by using blood magic to birth her dragons as well as executing Mirri to avenge her own blood (her unborn son)

A treason for gold––Dany negotiated a business deal with Kraznys whereby she’d purchase his Unsullied in return for one of her dragons but betrays him by starting an antislavery revolution, which also leads her to overseeing the former slaves redistributing the wealth of the slaveowners in Yunkai and conquering Meereen to free slaves and feed her freedmen 

A treason for love––yet to be revealed 

Within her daughter of death, slayer of lies, and bride of fire prophecies, the correspondence is a little shakier, but still holds true: 

Death of Viserys happens with the Dothraki––> leads to her becoming the scion of House Targaryen and Queen Regnant 

Death of Rhaego––> she is the Stallion that will Mount the World, not Rhaego, and though his death also happens when she’s with the Dothraki, it is she who will free slaves, unite the Dothraki into one horde, and invade Westeros, not Rhaego 

Death of Rhaegar––> she is Azor Ahai, the Prince that was Promised, the last dragon, and hers is the song of ice and fire; neither Rhaegar nor his firstborn will fulfill the prophecy 

She slays the lie of Stannis being Azor Ahai while she’s still with the Dothraki, because that’s when she births her dragons

She slays the lie of Aegon, the Mummer’s Dragon, by being “Aegon the Conqueror with Teats” as she conquers Slaver’s Bay 

She will slay the lie of Euron being a dragon-rider/user of dragons when he uses his dragonbinder to steal a dragon 

She marries Drogo (with the Dothraki), then marries Hizdahr (when she’s in Slaver’s Bay, Meereen specifically; this is also when Victarion and Euron want to marry her), and she will marry… a certain someone, later on 

Also, each of her prophetic dreams against fighting the Others corresponds with each part of her arc: 

She has her first one when she’s having fever dreams after miscarrying Rhaego 

She has her second one before she kills Kraznys and frees The Unsullied in Astapor 

I wonder, then, when she will have her third one 

Finally, it’s fascinating that each of her three prophecies ends with love. Not with blood, gold, dread, treason, or death; but with love. It’s so poetic that GRRM ends each of these life-defining prophecies with love. Dany is the embodiment of love. Her life is an emblem of love. And it’s like GRRM is telling us that this girl who is so loving and selfless and has been so bereft of love and care for so long, that her life is leading up to this great love and has been the whole time.

Daenerys Appreciation Month - Elements

Making this gifset made me realize how much Daenerys is connected to all the four elements. I’ve never really thought about it before, but all the classical elements are strongly present in, and are important to, her narrative. 

Earth 

Daenerys quickly connects to it during her journey with the Dothraki.

The green swallowed her up. The air was rich with the scents of earth and grass, mixed with the smell of horseflesh and Dany’s sweat and the oil in her hair. Dothraki smells. They seemed to belong here. Dany breathed it all in, laughing. She had a sudden urge to feel the ground beneath her, to curl her toes in that thick black soil.

And when Viserys comes to berate her for what he considers an unrefined look and behavior, Daenerys doesn’t feel ashamed. On the contrary, she feels a part of nature around her. 

She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here.

Daenerys is the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, and will be the leader of the greatest of Khalasars. And although the Dothraki do not represent Earth per se, their nomadic style of life, their customs and culture, their usual environment - the Dothraki Sea - could be seen as attributes of it. 

Later, while in Meereen, Daenerys loves to spend the little free time she has in the garden of her terrace, and once even sleeps on the grass, preferring nature to the comfortable bed in her apartments. 

The pale pink light of dawn found her still out on her terrace, asleep upon the grass beneath a blanket of fine dew.

Water 

She carries water in her name. Daenerys Stormborn, as she was born during the fiercest tempest in history. She also spent her first few years in Braavos - a city of the Hundred Isles, built among canals and a lagoon - and following Willem Darry’s death, all of Daenerys childhood and early adolescence was spent on ships, traveling in between the Free Cities. 

The narrow sea was often stormy, and Dany had crossed it half a hundred times as a girl, running from one Free City to the next half a step ahead of the Usurper’s hired knives.

Her love for water is greatly felt in this quote:

She loved the sea. She liked the sharp salty smell of the air, and the vastness of horizons bounded only by a vault of azure sky above. It made her feel small, but free as well. She liked the dolphins that sometimes swam along beside Balerion, slicing through the waves like silvery spears, and the flying fish they glimpsed now and again. She even liked the sailors, with all their songs and stories. Once on a voyage to Braavos, as she’d watched the crew wrestle down a great green sail in a rising gale, she had even thought how fine it would be to be a sailor.

Air 

Before her dragons, came her silver. 

The silver horse leapt the flames as if she had wings. When she pulled up before Magister Illyrio, she said, “Tell Khal Drogo that he has given me the wind.”

She raced by on her silver, riding like the wind.

And then came Viserion, Drogon and Rhaegal. Though even before they hatched, Daenerys has been dreaming of flying.

A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew.

Flying, she thought. I had wings, I was flying. But it was only a dream.

With the birth of her dragons, Daenerys’s dream of flying became very real and only a matter of time until it came true, and she impatiently waited for this moment.

If I had wings, I would want to fly too, Dany thought.

Another year, or perhaps two, and he may be large enough to ride. Then I shall have no need of ships to cross the great salt sea.

“If you were grown,” she told Drogon, scratching him between the horns, “I’d fly you over the walls and melt that harpy down to slag.” But it would be years before her dragons were large enough to ride.

They grow quickly now, and when they are grown I shall have my wings. Mounted on a dragon, she could lead her own men into battle, as she had in Astapor, but as yet they were still too small to bear her weight.

They are all three growing. Soon they will be large enough to bear my weight. Then she would fly as Aegon the Conqueror had flown, up and up, until Meereen was so small that she could blot it out with her thumb.

If I were a dragon, I could fly to Westeros, she thought.

And finally when the moment came for her to reach the sky, Dany was exulting: 

Her heart felt as if it were about to burst. Yes, she thought, yes, now, now, do it, do it, take me, take me, FLY!

As she says herself, on Drogon’s back, Daenerys feels whole. She loves flying. 

Hers had been a lonely sojourn, and for most of it she had been hurt and hungry … yet despite it all she had been strangely happy here. A few aches, an empty belly, chills by night … what does it matter when you can fly? I would do it all again.

Up and up and up he’d borne her, high above the pyramids and pits, his wings outstretched to catch the warm air rising from the city’s sun baked bricks. If I fall and die, it will still have been worth it, she had thought.

And in her dreams at night, it is in the air that she finds happiness and peace.

She dreamed. All her cares fell away from her, and all her pains as well, and she seemed to float upward into the sky. She was flying once again, spinning, laughing, dancing, as the stars wheeled around her and whispered secrets in her ear.

Daenerys embodies this famous quote perfectly:

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

And her eyes were turned skyward long before she tasted flight.

Fire

The most obvious of the elements associated to Daenerys, and she has it in her blood.

The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean.

The fire is mine. I am Daenerys Stormborn, daughter of dragons, bride of dragons, mother of dragons, don’t you see? Don’t you SEE? 

I don’t know if this has some kind of literary significance, but the fact that Daenerys connects so strongly in her soul with all the four basic elements is pretty amazing.

- She killed the Night King

Cute things about Arya:

- Arya likes exploring.

- She likes picking flower and giving them to her dad causes she loves him.

- She likes babies and playing with kids.

- She makes friends with ANYBODY.

- She used to swing her doll around when forced to eat vegetables.

- She gets sad when she thinks about Bran being sad and misses playing with her baby brother Rickon.

- She talks too fast when she gets excited. (Ex. When talking about her older brother Jon)

- She swims like a fish.

- She gets sad when thinks her wolf puppy Nymeria not liking her anymore.

- And she put someone on her hate list cause he stole her best friend’s favorite helmet.

- She adopted some random baby at 9 just cause she was scared.