22. Just a Game of Thrones?

Almost everyone is familiar with Game of Thrones today, and that in itself speaks of its commercial success. The question, however, is whether it is also an aesthetic and literary success. That’s what I have tried to examine here.

George R.R. Martin’s novels, and consequently the show based on it, are inspired from the English War of Roses (1455-85) between the houses of Lancaster and York, which are echoed in Martin’s houses of Lannister and Stark. Some more historical inspirations for the series are the Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age (the Ironborn), the Mongol hordes (the Dothraki), Byzantine Greek Fire (Wildfire), the legend of Atlantis (ancient Valyria), Hadrian’s Wall (the Great Wall), the Hundred Years’ War (13371453), and the Italian Renaissance. It is a mystical, but still credible, re-imagination of the history.

It is undoubtedly an epic story, covering everything from wars between royal dynasties, battles between good and evil, romances, using modes like the quest narrative, the bildungsroman and melodrama. Martin has depicted a “morally grey-scale world” where no character is uni-dimensional. This is because the reader is given a story from multiple perspectives. Martin himself says, “Having multiple viewpoints is crucial to the grayness of the characters. You have to be able to see the struggle from both sides, because real human beings in a war have all these processes of self-justification, telling ourselves why what we’re doing is the right thing.” This is what makes his characters and plot so plausible in the reader’s mind. The number of characters itself brings a whole new level of complexity to the plot, and the plot has multiple storylines.

The question of loyalty is examined with great detail in both the novel and the television series. The concepts of family, duty and honor are of great importance in the story. LyannaMormont is extremely loyal to the Stark house even when StannisBaratheon claims that the Iron Throne is his by hereditary right as his brother’s sons are all bastards, which can be seen in the following dialogue:

StannisBaratheon: “Do you know this wretched girl? LyannaMormont.”

Jon Snow: “The Lord Commander’s niece.”

StannisBaratheon: “The Lady of Bear Island and a child of ten. I asked her to commit her House to my cause. That’s her response.”

Jon Snow: “[reading aloud] ‘Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark’.”

Lord PetyrBaelish is a true politician, to the very core of his heart. He is loyal to no one but himself in his thirst for power. He betrays Ned Stark thus causing his death at the hands of a child-ruler, i.e. JoffreyBaratheon, then his wife Lady Catelyn, their daughter Sansa Stark, and he kills LysaArryn himself. He is also known as Littlefinger, which is a little ironic since he is the one around whose finger everyone dances. In contrast to him is Lord Varys, the Spymaster, who is an eunuch, and also the only one thinking about the good of the seven realms. As he’s literally castrated, he gathers as much knowledge as possible in order to appropriate some power for himself.

Speaking of power, one must examine the portrayal of female characters in this series as, their mutual antagonisms aside, there are strong female roles here. Cersei, although an adversary, is one of the strongest characters in the entire series, with her courage, ambition, willful desire, politics being really quite commendable. She even manages to garner some sympathy from the readers in her ‘Walk of Shame’. Ygritte, a wildling, is unembarrassed of her desires, fights like a warrior for her home, love and honor.

Arya Stark from a small age shows distinct traits of a headstrong individuality, and a desire to fight for herself quite literally, using her ‘Needle’. She has completely subverted the idea of a needle, which is otherwise culturally a feminine stereotype as women are supposed to sew and stitch as that is what is expected of a woman. Stitching in itself is a metaphor for the woman being the homemaker. Arya breaks both of these by using her ‘Needle’ to escape certain imprisonment, potential death, and for revenge, which is why she is one of the most popular characters. Princess DaenerysTargaryen, Stormborn, the Princess of Dragonstone and heiress to the Targaryen throne after her older brother ViserysTargaryen, is also a well-liked character. She is a victim of patriarchy through and through – sold by her brother to the leader of a barbarian community, the Dothraki, in exchange for an army; molested by her husband in the beginning of her marriage; alienated from that community also after her husband’s death. However, she comes out on the other side a survivor, and her story is truly inspirational. She gives birth to dragons, forms her own army, frees countless slaves, beginning with the ‘Unsullied’, as she knows what it means to be bought and sold. It is interesting to notice that she is the only one fighting against slavery.

Sexuality has been explored in great depth in the series. Whether positive or negative, there is an unashamed portrayal of human sexuality throughout the novel, and even more so on screen. Although it is almost the single greatest factor for its popularity with the young generations, it has also brought to the forefront that which was previously restricted to the private realm and a taboo to even talk about, especially for females. It has not confined itself to only the accepted forms of desire either, but has dealt with it from a grassroots level - from the family itself. Cersei and Jamie Lannister, siblings, indulge in an incestuous relationship, thus giving birth to three children. The Targaryen dynasty is built and brought down due to their incestuous relations. Craster, a wildling, sexually abuses his daughters so that his entire family is both his daughter as well as his wife. Only the female children are allowed to live in his household, and the male ones are sacrificed to the white walkers. The extent of the victimisation of these women is truly pitiable. They are first abused by their own father, forced to bear his children, and later molested by the betrayers of the Night’s Watch after the Mutiny. This is one of the many flaws in Martin’s series and the show - Craster’s Keep is never revisited and the reader/viewer has no idea of what happens to them. It is also one of the various subplots that undercut the figure of the powerful and strong female figure.

But there is also DanaerysStormborn - she cleverly uses her sexuality to win her husband’s affection and after his death, climbs onto his funeral pyre. She comes out of it unharmed, gloriously naked and the mother of three dragons. Sexuality has therefore been depicted as both oppressive and powerful in this story. It has been used as a punishment for adultery, when Cersei is tried by the High Sparrow – she must perform a ‘Walk of Atonement’ in order to see her son, i.e. walk naked through the streets of King’s Landing. Hence, it cannot be said conclusively that sexuality in this story and show is either completely positive or completely negative.

These are just a few of the issues considered in the series, and there are a lot more such as religion, discrimination, society and class, coming of age, the interweaving of past and present and so on. They add layers of meaning and intricacy and thereby completely and absolutely engage the reader as well as the viewer.

Simran Mittal

III Year