Game Of Thrones and the Women Of Westeros
An Introduction
Westeros is an… interesting place to be a woman. As many know, A Song Of Ice And Fire and, consequently, Game of Thrones is loosely based on events surrounding The War of The Roses (see Kyle Kallgren’s excellent video comparing and contrasting the historical and fictional worlds here), with elements borrowed from the history of the Middle Ages. The role of women is also largely borrowed from that time: their reach is limited, their learning is contained to “wifely duties,” and their fates are mostly left for men to decide.
But there are differences in this world — the supernatural and the scheming. With dragons, “white walkers,” shadow magic, with all the clandestine talks and plotting, the fictional land of Westeros is on the cusp of upheaval. It’s creating a ripple effect that is turning traditional Middle Ages gender roles on their ears.
Daenerys Targaryen seems to be gaining power by the second. She went from being sold into marriage by her brother to being a Khaleesi (queen of the Dothraki) with power of her own. After wandering in the desert with little hope, she is now called the “Mother of Dragons” and people whisper her name with fear and wonder.
In finding freedom and power herself, Dany seems to want to pay it forward, freeing slaves in every city she encounters. She gains followers with every step — and power. Don’t forget power. It’s in short supply for the women across the Narrow Sea.
This shift, this traditional female role being overturned, is seen more readily in Arya and Brienne, both of whom shrug off the idea of marrying a man and bearing his heirs easily. They know they want lives filled with action. And they might have been denied that in less interesting times.
They are, despite the gap in age, women of action and vitality, not content to sit aside and let their fates be decided for them. They not only want to fight, but are capable of doing so and, really, any of the women in Westeros might be able to fight if they chose to pursue it. It’s just that most don’t.
That’s not to say that Cersei Lannister doesn’t fight. Sure, her married name is Cersei Barratheon, but we all know where her loyalties lie. She is from a powerful family and constantly works to display that power. She can pretend to be docile for a moment, but she finds it humiliating to have to pretend she’s weak to gain power. Cersei has to hide so many secrets when she’d prefer to shout them from the turrets. She schemes and plots, but always finds herself pushed back, by her own machinations and by her own displays of defiance. Maybe she should have taken a page out of Olenna Tyrell’s book.
Olenna (also known as the Queen of Thorns) doesn’t seem to have a defiant bone in her body. She dutifully married, sired heirs, and now gently guides her children and grandchildren into just the right position. Somehow, people die, leaving her progeny better off. But that has nothing to do with her. She’s just hanging around the Red Keep to dote on her granddaughter, Margaery, who’s gone from the wife of one man who thinks he has a legitimate claim to The Iron Throne to another. As this show seems to hinge on who the many claimants to The Iron Throne, who’s to say who truly deserves it? (hint: not Joffrey at all. I seriously hope that’s not just my opinion.)
Margaery Tyrell seems to be tossed whichever way the crown lies. She doesn’t seem to mind the death in her wake if it leads to her being Queen at last. In a way, while I don’t admire her outright, I understand her resilience. She wants to reach the highest pinnacle she can in a time with limited scope for women. She wants to rule and she is willing to put up with what she has to in order to get there. With Loras, she had to accept his attraction to her brother, even encourage it. With Joffrey, she had to pretend to like his quirks (killing things, for instance). It’s almost the Westeros equivalent of listening to music you can’t stand to impress a boy you like. But it’s not so needy as that. Much like her grandmother, she doesn’t like the boy or man in question. He’s just a means to an end. She wants power and she doesn’t care what kind of show she has to put on to get it. She’s a definite player in the Game of Thrones and she has allies.
That brings us to Sansa. Much like her father and mother, she doesn’t know how to play games. She is an almost tragic example of a leaf in the wind of other men’s plans. She goes from the consort of a future king to his chew toy. She has no true friends in The Red Keep after the loss of her father. She becomes bitter and closed off, yet docile, resigned to a fate not decided by herself.
Obviously, there are more women in this world, but let’s save a little for later…
The women of Westeros play this game of power on so many levels that I can’t help but be fascinated by them. In the coming weeks, I’ll be jumping into their world, catching up, episode by episode, with where they are now. In short, Legendary Women is going to score the Game of Thrones (The Seven help us all).
I have read the books, but I will try not to let that clutter my reviews or spoil those who, for various reasons, don’t want to read ahead. I may make note of changes, but only those that have already happened. Each review will consist of a short summary, a pass/fail score on the Bechdel Test, and a little weigh-in on the character growth for the major and minor fictional females of this world. I might leave some room for some off-topic fangasms, but rest assured, I’ll try to keep it in perspective.
In the summer and leading up to season five, I’ll be going into the earlier seasons, but we’ll focus on season four for now.
Thoughts on “Two Swords” right this way.
*****
All Game Of Thrones promotional images courtesy of David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and HBO.
