A Dance With Dragons

“All kneel for Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles, and Mother of Dragons.”

Daenerys’s many titles encompass her history. She is Stormborn because there was said to be a violent storm on the day she was born in Westeros. She is Unburnt, a Khaleesi, and mother of dragons because she literary survived fire hot enough to hatch dragons. She is the breaker of chains because she is a liberator of the enslaved people of Astapor and Meereen. The problem for Daenerys is that it is impossible to fulfill all of the duties associated with these roles, especially in a society in which rule by unmarried women isn’t always acceptable.

“It is not those foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. You would do well to keep your wolf close beside you. Ice, I see, and daggers in the dark. Blood frozen red and hard, and naked steel. It was very cold.”

Melisandre tries to warn Jon one last time that he has to be on the lookout for revenge and betrayal from his cunning allies. She even warns him that he needs to keep Ghost near him for protection. Jon isn’t impressed with her advice because he feels ambivalent about prophecy, which even she admits is no sure guide to how one should move forward. Still, her advice shows an understanding of power that Jon lacks as an inexperienced commander who relies heavily on the old values of the Starks, which have already led to the death of his father and his brother.

“Kill the boy and let the man be born.”

Aemon, a man who watched the destruction of the Targaryen dynasty over several generations from his perch at the Wall, is a source of lessons about power for Jon. His advice to Jon is a warning that Jon needs to become comfortable with making hard, unpopular decisions if he wants to maintain power.

“They had chosen him to rule. The Wall was his, and their lives were his as well. A lord may love the men that he commands, he could hear his lord father saying, but he cannot be a friend to them. One day he may need to sit in judgement on them, or send them forth to die.”

Early on in his rule as lord commander, Jon feels the burden of power as he is forced to shift in his relationship with the men. Being a leader is lonely, he discovers. This quote also highlights the influence of Stark values on Jon’s ideas about power and leadership.

“Lonely and lovely and lethal, Jon Snow reflected, and I might have had her. Her, and Winterfell, and my lord father’s name. Instead he had chosen a black cloak and a wall of ice. Instead he had chosen honor. A bastard’s sort of honor.”

Jon further feels the cost of power when he considers the life he could have had as a Stark now that Stannis has offered to legitimize him. Jon feels himself an imposter because of his illegitimacy. His qualification of his honor as a “bastard’s sort of honor” shows that some of the conflict over his illegitimacy is internal. He also recognizes another cost of power—loneliness—which he recognizes as something he and Melisandre have in common.

“I am the blood of the dragon, she thought. If they are monsters, so am I.”

Daenerys struggles to accommodate herself to the two parts of her history as a Targaryen: She comes from people who exercised great power but also abused that power. Her fear that she may become a monster interferes with her ability to use violence when necessary. This quote also highlights that the dragons are a symbol of history and power for her.

“Death, there will be death, aye. Your lordship lost a son at the Red Wedding. I lost four upon the Blackwater. And why? Because the Lannisters stole the throne. Go to King’s Landing and look on Tommen with your own eyes, if you doubt me. A blind man could see it. What does Stannis offer you? Vengeance. Vengeance for my sons and yours, for your husbands and your fathers and your brothers. Vengeance for your murdered lord, your murdered king, your butchered princes. Vengeance!”

Davos Seaworth calls on the only powerful argument he can think of to move the Manderlys to support Stannis, which is vengeance. Despite not having been groomed to power as a noble, he has a deep understanding of human psychology. While his effort to sway Manderly initially seems to fail, Manderly later supports his cause. Vengeance and betrayals, perhaps even more so than a desire to do one’s duty, are powerful motivations for many of the characters in the book.

“If I were you? I would go west instead of east. Land in Dorne and raise my banners. The Seven Kingdoms will never be more ripe for conquest than they are right now. A boy king sits the Iron Throne. The north is in chaos, the riverlands a devastation, a rebel holds Storm’s End and Dragonstone. When winter comes, the realm will starve. And who remains to deal with all of this, who rules the little king who rules the Seven Kingdoms? Why, my own sweet sister. There is no one else. My brother, Jaime, thirsts for battle, not for power. He’s run from every chance he’s had to rule. My uncle Kevan would make a passably good regent if someone pressed the duty on him, but he will never reach for it. The gods shaped him to be a follower, not a leader.”

This advice that Tyrion gives to Young Griff/Aegon helps characterize him. The words are witty and persuasive, demonstrating just why Tyrion is a good ally to have, despite his lack of armies. In addition, this advice shows his political acumen. This advice is exactly what Young Griff uses to sway the Golden Company and Jon Connington to go to Westeros. Using just his words, Tyrion is able to cause big shifts in the quest for the Iron Throne.

“‘She said that sorcery was a sword without a hilt. There is no safe way to grasp it.’

‘A wise woman.’ Melisandre rose, her red robes stirring in the wind. ‘A sword without a hilt is still a sword, though, and a sword is a fine thing to have when foes are all about.’”

When Melisandre attempts to sway Jon to her side with prophecies, he quotes Val to show that there is some danger in relying on prophecy, especially since they can be easily misinterpreted. Although Melisandre is the sorceress in the pair, her understanding of prophecy is much more pragmatic than Jon’s. Her pragmatism and acceptance that there is some peril in relying on prophecy is one of the reasons she is able to exercise greater control over power than Jon.

“Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.”

Daenerys recalls the words of Jorah Mormont as she considers how best to respond to challenges to her power. The history lesson here is that sometimes getting and keeping power requires cunning and underhanded behavior, especially for people who have weak bases for power. Daenerys receives news shortly after that Astapor is burning and there is bloody flux among the displaced people from Astapor.

“It was never wise for a ruler to eschew the trappings of power, for power itself flows in no small measure from such trappings.”

Jon still hasn’t moved into the rooms reserved for the lord commander of the Night’s Watch, which Melisandre believes is an error. Jon wants to present himself as humble, as one of his men, because he still hasn’t accepted that part of the cost of power is separation from those he governs. This error is one of many early that lead to the mutiny of the Night’s Watch later. Melisandre has already learned that part of being powerful is looking the part.

“Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark. And you. A small man with a big shadow, snarling in the midst of all.”

The red priest Moqorro doesn’t underestimate Tyrion based on his appearance and his humor. Tyrion’s shadow is his ability to understand events and people around them and then manipulate them to the desired end. Moqorro is one of the few who reject the idea that Tyrion’s small stature and face make him unimportant.

“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.”

Ensconced in a weirwood throne under the ground beyond the Wall, Bran is being reborn. Bran has the space to be reborn because he is in hiding and gathering his strength by learning from the greenseer. His path represents a different approach to power than others pursue in the book. The belief in the ground, darkness, and nature as sources of power reflects the beliefs of people who worship the old gods of the North; these beliefs form an important part of the cultural context of the Winterfell sections of the book.

“What was he now? Only Bran the broken boy, Brandon of House Stark, prince of a lost kingdom, lord of a burned castle, heir to ruins.”

Bran feels the weight of history when he considers what has happened to his family since the death of Robert Baratheon. In this passage, he feels sorry for himself and refuses to acknowledge that there is the potential to be a powerful person if he would only accept that he will not be able to occupy the roles for which he was groomed. He has not yet managed to kill the boy in him, so he isn’t ready to undergo the rites of passage the greenseer offers him.

“I am not blind, nor deaf. I know you all believe me weak, frightened, feeble. Your father knew me better. Oberyn was ever the viper. Deadly, dangerous, unpredictable. No man dared tread on him. I was the grass. Pleasant, complaisant, sweet-smelling, swaying with every breeze. Who fears to walk upon the grass? But it is the grass that hides the viper from his enemies and shelters him until he strikes.”

Prince Doran Martell offers the Sand Snakes a lesson in power. His point is that it takes both force and cunning to keep and get power. In Dorne, those two approaches to power were split between the two men, but the Sand Snakes assumed that the more obvious exercise of power by the man who looked the part in an ableist society was the sole power. Oberyn is dead because he relied on brute force and not enough cunning. Doran is trying to teach the Sand Snakes enough guile to survive. They have already damaged the interests of Dorne by disfiguring Myrcella Baratheon out of vengeance.

“Stannis had given her their lives. Yet she sensed no true mercy in the man. He was determined, beyond a doubt. Nor did he lack for courage. Men said he was just…and if his was a harsh, hard-handed sort of justice, well, life on the Iron Islands had accustomed Asha Greyjoy to that. All the same, she could not like this king. Those deep-set blue eyes of his seemed always slitted in suspicion, cold fury boiling just below their surface. Her life meant little and less to him. She was only his hostage, a prize to show the north that he could vanquish the ironborn. More fool him. Bringing down a woman was not like to awe any northmen, if she knew the breed, and her worth as a hostage was less than naught. Her uncle ruled the Iron Islands now, and the Crow’s Eye would not care if she lived or died.”

Asha Greyjoy understands a great deal about the importance of personality and gender when it comes to the exercise of power. Stannis doesn’t inspire loyalty because he lacks charm. He also fails to understand the culture of the people he hopes to win over or defeat, which is a liability. Asha’s discussion of what it means to be a woman reveals that patriarchy and misogyny are so ingrained in the culture of the North that it is hard for women to hold power in their own right. Although she knows that sexism accounts for some of her struggles, she also feels a sense of betrayal over being left behind in Winterfell.

“Prince Aerys as a youth, he was taken with a certain lady of Casterly Rock, a cousin of Tywin Lannister. When she and Tywin wed, your father drank too much wine at the wedding feast and was heard to say that it was a great pity that the lord’s right to the first night had been abolished. A drunken jape, no more, but Tywin Lannister was not a man to forget such words, or the…the liberties your father took during the bedding.”

Daenerys commands Barristan Selmy to tell her some encouraging stories about her parents’ marriage as she makes her way to her wedding to Hizdahr. The stories he tells illustrate two important themes—the importance of duty over personal will for the wise ruler and the weight of the bad history of the Targaryens from whom Daenerys is descended. The story is a reminder to Daenerys that she has to marry Hizdahr to shore up her position. Doing so is part of the cost of keeping power in a hostile city.

“Barristan Selmy was not a bookish man, but he had often glanced through the pages of the White Book, where the deeds of his predecessors had been recorded. Some had been heroes, some weaklings, knaves, or cravens. Most were only men – quicker and stronger than most, more skilled with sword and shield, but still prey to pride, ambition, lust, love, anger, jealousy, greed for gold, hunger for power, and all the other failing that afflicted lesser mortals. The best of them overcame their flaws, did their duty, and died with their swords in their hands. The worst…The worst were those who played the game of thrones.”

Barristan sees a clear line between being a courtier and being the prince/princess. His understanding of what it takes to be a good protector is rooted in duty rather than ambition. He returns to this importance of duty in maintaining legitimate authority as he struggles to decide if it is his duty to accept Hizdahr or to oppose him if Daenerys is still alive. This struggle is one of the central internal conflicts that drives him as a character later in the book.

“You could make a poultice out of mud to cool a fever. You could plant seeds in mud and grow a crop to feed your children. Mud would nourish you, where fire would only consume you, but fools and children and young girls would choose fire every time.”

Barristan Selmy highlights flaws in both Daenerys and the Martells as they pursue power. He has a good understanding of who Daenerys is. Despite his loyalty to her, he understands that her lack of discipline over her emotions and her youth are weaknesses that damage her ability to rule. He also faults Dorne for sending such an ordinary prince to ally with Daenerys; Quentyn does not look the part of a heroic prince, making it hard for Daenerys to be swayed by him. Despite his ability to see Daenerys’s flaws, Selmy continues to support her. Loyal servants like Selmy play an important role in whether powerful people are able to maintain their power.

“‘Fuck your lineage,’ said Gerris. ‘The dragons won’t care about your blood, except maybe how it tastes. You cannot tame a dragon with a history lesson. They’re monsters, not maesters.’”

Quentyn’s wise companion questions the young prince’s plan to steal the remaining dragons by calling Quentyn naive. Like Daenerys, Quentyn believes that the weight of history is on his side and that he can be one of the gallant princes out of the songs and stories he listened to as a boy. He isn’t pragmatic and lacks a good understanding of who he truly is, traits that lead to his downfall and death.

“I rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. I tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell.”

A much wiser Jon Connington now recognizes the hubris that brought him down when he was the Hand of Rhaegar Targaryen during Robert’s Rebellion. He brings this wisdom to his mentorship of Young Griff/Aegon, which is the reason he encourages the young man to rely on guile rather than force as he consolidates his power.

“‘Theon,’ he repeated. ‘My name is Theon. You have to know your name.’”

Up until the point in the narrative, Theon calls himself “Reek” even in interior monologues. It is only after he breaks the cycle of revenge and betrayal by helping Jeyne Poole escape that he is able to become Theon once again. Reclaiming his name is a sign that he has regained his agency.

“Better for Daenerys, and for Westeros. Daenerys Targaryen loved her captain, but that was the girl in her, not the queen. Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her. Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled. The Prince of Dragonflies loved Jenny of Oldstones so much he cast aside a crown, and Westeros paid the bride price in corpses. All three of the sons of the fifth Aegon had wed for love, in defiance of their father’s wishes. And because that unlikely monarch had himself followed his heart when he chose his queen, he allowed his sons to have their way, making bitter enemies where he might have had fast friends. Treason and turmoil followed, as night follows day, ending at Summerhall in sorcery, fire, and grief. Her love for Daario is poison. A slower poison than the locusts, but in the end as deadly.”

Barristan Selmy bears the weight of history for Daenerys, and what he knows of history is that monarchs’ unwillingness to choose duty over love has been a source of destruction. He understands that Daenerys’s inability to govern her emotions is a liability that damages her ability to think strategically. In his role as Queensguard, he tries to sway her to actions that benefit her, once again showing the importance of having good advisors.