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Jojen (and Meera) Reed - An Analysis


Illuminated by Fire

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Version 2:

I rewrote almost the complete analysis. Many parts where the analysis was previously shallow and mostly descriptive now interpret more. Also I added more content about Meera, because the previous version did not do her justice as a character since there was much more to be written about her.

Introduction

At first a warning: This text will be long. Also, it is not a theory thread, it is an analysis of the Reeds as characters instead of collecting evidence for a major plot point.

Jojen Reed is my favorite character in A Song of Ice and Fire, but in most of the threads he is mentioned in it is just citing his statements about greendreams to support or refute theories (or they deal with him being killed gruesomely). So I decided to write an analysis about Jojen and Meera Reed and their interactions with each other and Bran, although I will focus more on Jojen. Another thing I want to note before I get started is that there are many threads out there dealing with the parentage and ancestry of characters. To be honest: This is a thing I am not really interested in as I think that it plays a minor role (if at all) for the characters themselves. Because of this I will not cover this aspect, but I am sure you will find fairly detailed threads about that in this forum.

Appearance and Abilities

Jojen is a boy of thirteen and Meera a girl of fifteen years (as of ACoK), both crannogmen from the Neck. Regarding their appearance a quote describes it best:

As the newcomers walked the length of the hall, Bran saw that one was indeed a girl, though he would never have known it by her dress. She wore lambskin breeches soft with long use, and a sleeveless jerkin armored in bronze scales. Though near Robb's age she was slim as a boy, with long brown hair knotted behind her head and only the barest suggestion of breasts, a woven net hung from one slim hip, a long bronze knife from the other; under her arm she carried an old iron greathelm spotted with rust; a frog spear and round leathern shield were strapped to her back.

Her brother was several years younger and bore no weapons. All his garb was green, even to the leather of his boots, and when he came closer Bran saw that his eyes were the color of moss, though his teeth looked as white as anyone else's. Both Reeds were slight of build, slender as swords and scarcely taller than Bran himself.

We don't see many crannogmen in the books, but their slim and short stature is a characteristic trait of them according to Meera. The contrast between them is very clear: Meera is dressed as a huntress, wearing a jerkin armored with bronze, an iron greathelm and a leathern shield as protection and spear and knife as weapons. This represents the martial aspect of the crannogmen and underlines her role as a protector of the group in general (in ASoS) and Jojen in particular. This aspect is further underlined by her specific part of their oath: „I swear it by bronze and iron.“ Also notable is that she is very similar to her father (or at least how she describes him), who is even described as wearing the same armor as she does in the story about the Knight of the Laughing Tree. We already see that this is not only a ceremonial thing, because her equipment bears signs of heavy use.

Meera is a capable fighter and huntress, skilled with both spear and net, which is evidenced by her sparring fight against Summer and hunting for the group to supply them with food. Aside from hunting, Meera also scouts for the group and is able to survive on her own, which leads to her being independent from other people. She also has a bit of medical knowledge, as shown in Bran 4 in ASoS, where she treats Summer's wound with some plants.

On the other hand we have Jojen, who is almost three years younger than his sister and has neither weapons nor armor. His eyes have the color of moss and all his clothing is green, which sets him apart and already hints at him being more than just a thirteen year old boy, even before we get any information about his magical abilities like his greendreams. Beyond that he is unusually frail, which is referenced a couple of times, like him needing help to climb or having the worst condition north of the Wall. Unclear is, if it is due to his barely avoided death from greywater fever or if it always was a characteristic of him, but both would fit into the theme of the series that magic requires some sort of sacrifice. In any case, this leads to Jojen being dependent on Meera while traveling. This shows more and more the further north they get and reaches a point where he needs to get carried by her. It is noteworthy that this inverts the gender roles and expectations that exist in Westeros.

Jojen's defining trait are his greendreams telling him of future events, although the dreams need to be interpreted. He also believes that the outcome that he sees in his greendreams cannot be changed, which clashes with Meera's insistence of being able to influence their own fate. The story so far seems to support Jojen's point of view since all the greendreams we have been told about come true at one point or another. But they are not immune to some twists so the interpretation can be wrong, which serves as a plot point in the Winterfell arc, where he makes the prophecy regarding Reek/Ramsay killing Bran, which turned out to be a metaphor for killing the miller's boys to pass them off for Bran and Rickon, whilst they are hiding in the crypts. There are some differences to the other characters in ASoIaF, who have prophetic abilities, especially the Red Priests. The first thing is that Jojen cannot control his greendreams. He cannot „dream at will“, but needs to wait until he actually has them, whereas Melisandre and Moqorro can actively try to see the future in the flames. The other thing is that Jojen is much more careful about interpreting his dreams. He certainly does it, but so far we have gotten almost every dream as he actually dreamt it, unfiltered, before any interpretation, whereas Moqorro and Melisandre mostly share their interpretations directly.

"I dreamed that the sea was lapping all around Winterfell. I saw black waves crashing against the gates and towers, and then the salt water came flowing over the walls and filled the castle. Drowned men were floating in the yard. When I first dreamed the dream, back at Greywater, I didn't know their faces, but now I do. That Alebelly is one, the guard who called our names at the feast. Your septon's another. Your smith as well."
[…]
"In the dark of night the salt sea will flow over these walls," said Jojen. "I saw the dead, bloated and drowned."

This quote is one example of the above, since an Ironborn attack would certainly be an interpretation which he could reasonably make at this point in time, but does not, or it is not mentioned at least.

It should also be noted here, that his greendreams are not his only magical ability, he does seem to sense other magic as well, and even though we do not see the extent of this, the ability itself it mentioned:

"The black one is full of fear and rage, but the grey is strong... stronger than he knows... can you feel him, sister?
[…]
"He won't hurt me. This is not the day I die." The male walked toward them, unafraid, and reached out for his muzzle, a touch as light as a summer breeze. Yet at the brush of those fingers the wood dissolved and the very ground turned to smoke beneath his feet and swirled away laughing, and then he was spinning and falling, falling, falling...

Bran actually loses his connection to Summer as Jojen touched him, but the text does not give conclusive evidence to the exact cause of it. It could be an ability of Jojen, but it could also just be the fact that Bran has no conscious control about his skinchanging and the touch is a distraction that causes him to lose the connection. However Jojen also says: "I felt you. I felt you fall." So he must have had access to Bran's dreams for a short time as he touched the direwolf, though we do not know how many details he had access to. What remains from these quotes is that his greendreams are his main magical ability, but there seems to be a general affinity to magic as well.

Another part of their respective abilities does come to light when you look at the role both of them play in the group (especially in ASoS). Jojen is the leader of the group, which is specifically mentioned by Bran in the following quote:

He wondered why they all listened to Jojen so much. He was not a prince like Bran, nor big and strong like Hodor, nor as good a hunter as Meera, yet somehow it was always Jojen telling them what to do.

Partially this can be explained with him having his greendreams and having the information advantage in that respect, like the greendream about the Nightfort. Other than that it is on the one hand rooted in his personality in the sense that his maturity and rational thinking helps him to evaluate the situation they are in and the best thing to do in that situation. But it is also his determination to help Bran to become a greenseer (but more to that in the next part).

The dynamic of the group in ASoS is an interesting one regarding the hierarchy between them and how it reflects on their abilities. Jojen is the leader in the sense that he always has the last word regarding the decisions of the group. As mentioned in Bran's point of view: Jojen had his way; he always did. But the kind of leadership he displays is not an absolute one. He asks Bran and Meera frequently about their opinions and requests information regarding things he does not know, like the situation at the New Gift or him asking if they are watched by the mountain people. It is notable that they discuss almost every time they need to make a decision on their future approach and quite heavily so, with Meera providing various counterarguments. That Jojen has the last word in this discussions is not due some social hierarchy, but based on the fact that his arguments are convincing, in short: on competence. Also Meera is not anyone who just follows her brother because she does not want to make the decisions, but because she supports his decisions after hearing his arguments, which places them on a much more equal footing than character duos like Jaime and Tyrion, where the contrast between Tyrion' cunning and Jaime's martial prowess is a very clear one. (As examples go, just read the first Bran chapter in ASoS, the whole discussion is too long to quote.)

As a result Meera has a firm belief in her brother's ability to make decisions and places an incredible amount of trust in him. How far this extends shows this quote from Bran 1 in ADwD:

Behind the ranger, Meera Reed wrapped her arms around her brother, to shelter him from the wind and cold with the warmth of her own body. A crust of frozen snot had formed below Jojen's nose, and from time to time he shivered violently.
[…]
Jojen's eyes were a dark green, the color of moss, but heavy with a weariness that Bran had never seen in them before.
The little grandfather. South of the Wall, the boy from the crannogs had seemed to be wise beyond his years, but up here he was as lost as frightened as any of them. Even so, Meera always listened to him.

As mentioned Jojen has a certain presence (in ASoS Bran 1: Jojen Reed could scare most anyone.) south of the Wall. Because of his behavior there is something unsettling about him and he has a way to make himself heard. North of the wall he is weak and sick and he even lacks the power to remove the snot from below his nose. At this point he has lost his presence and just seems like a weak boy of thirteen years. And despite that Meera listens to him. She does not just protect him, and takes over the decision making of the group which she is clearly capable of judging from the chapters in ASoS (or at least in the extent it still matters while being led by Coldhands), but she still listens to him. This is remarkable and shows the extent in which she trusts in him and why. It is not because of his presence, but because of his ability to make the right decisions, regardless of how bad of a state he is in.

Summarized we have a contrast between Meera's physical strength and her skill as a huntress and Jojen's frailty and magical abilities. But this does not extend to their intelligence in that extent, both Meera and Jojen are quite capable of making their own decisions and discuss their course of action frequently. And while Jojen does make the final call in most situations, the contrast is much smaller than you might expect from other character duos like Jaime and Tyrion.

Personalities of the Reeds and their Relationship

"To Winterfell we pledge the faith of Greywater," they said together. "Hearth and heart and harvest we yield up to you, my lord. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you."
"I swear it by earth and water," said the boy in green.
"I swear it by bronze and iron," his sister said.
"We swear it by ice and fire," they finished together.

I swear it by earth and water

Earth and water are both nature related, it is the material most of the landscape consists of, mostly passive (most - not all - changes caused by earth and water happen very slowly), but at the same time vast and deep. It mirrors Jojen's personality in that he is very solemn and displays exceptional maturity and wisdom, but also alludes to his magical abilities and the religion of the Old Gods. Earth and water are both elements connected that are closely connected to the weirwoods, aside from representing nature in general. I want explain both his wisdom and maturity in detail, because these can be buzzwords, if just applied to any character who talks cryptically or uses many philosophical terms, which, if you analyze them, are mostly nonsense. On the other hand such characters can quickly devolve in just a plot device, instead of a character in their own right. This is not the case here.

First I want to go into the “wisdom”-aspect. Before I get started however, a short definition of what I actually mean with wisdom and maturity, since both terms are not strictly separate and have quite an overlap. In the following wisdom means the more abstract understanding of the world and the grasp of moral concepts while maturity is about dealing with concrete situations.

The gods give many gifts, Bran. My sister is a hunter. It is given to her to run swiftly, and stand so still she seems to vanish. She has sharp ears, keen eyes, a steady hand with net and spear. She can breathe mud and fly through trees. I could not do these things, no more than you could. To me, the gods gave the green dreams, and to you... you could be more than me, Bran. [...]"

The above quote is exceptional because it displays tolerance in a harsh contrast to the Westerosi society, which has very strict expectations of men and women. We often see “bookish” men getting disrespected at best (Sam is a prime example here), because of the role of men of high birth as warriors, while reading books and studying (beyond the necessary skills and things like history) are frowned upon. The maesters deviate a bit from this, but they are sworn to serve. The expectations regarding women are even more strict, even in the north, where it sometimes takes a backseat to necessity (the Mormonts come to mind). The message is clear: Different people have different talents and they should use them (or at least not be hindered to), a statement of tolerance in contrast to strict role confinements. We do not know the crannogmen culture regarding gender expectations, but the fact alone that it differs strongly from the attitude of the rest of Westeros makes it stand out. This continues in the following quote:

“Up and down,” Meera would sigh sometimes as they walked, “then down and up. Then up and down again. I hate these stupid mountains of yours, Prince Bran.”
“Yesterday you said you loved them.”
“Oh, I do. My lord father told me about mountains, but I never saw one till now. I love them more than I can say.”
Bran made a face at her. “But you just said you hated them.”
“Why can't it be both?” Meera reached up to pinch his nose.
“Because they're different,”, he insisted. “Like night and day, or ice and fire.”
“If ice can burn,”
said Jojen in his solemn voice, “then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one,”
“One,” his sister agreed, “but over wrinkled.”

Jojen and Meera are both expressing here that things are complex and not always as black and white as they appear and that apparently contrary things do not necessarily exclude each other. Note that this is a statement not constricted to this specific situation. His comment about the land being one is essentially a part of the religion of the Old Gods, or at least the variation of the children of the forest, that everything is connected and that greenseers can bond with anything (skinchanging all kinds of animals and using the weirwoods, but that does not end there as Bloodraven says later). Together with the quote before it applies to morals as well, which makes Jojen an opposite to Melisandre, since her option is very clearly summarised with this quote: “If half of an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. A man is good, or he is evil.” This is the complete opposite of Jojen's and Meera's opinion. Interesting to note is the following quote in this context:

“There are horses to be had,” said Meera. “Even in the deep of the wolfswood there are foresters, crofters, hunters. Some will have horses”
“And if they do, should we steal them? Are we thieves?
The last thing we need is men hunting us.”

Here Jojen objects to the theft of horses on moral (and practical) grounds. It is one of the rare instances, partially because we do not get many interactions with the smallfolk because of the noble point of view characters, where someone considers the interests and rights of the smallfolk instead of completely ignoring that issue (other examples would be the Arya chapters throughout ACoK and AsoS, some of Davos' chapters and instances like Catelyn giving out money to the oarsmen). Noteworthy is, that his objection makes no mention of class differences, it is just not a category he thinks in at this point. He just says: It is their property, and therefore it is wrong to steal it. This applies to every person, not only to the nobility or the smallfolk.

Another aspect are his religious beliefs. Jojen and Meera are followers of the old gods, but it is not quite clear what perception Jojen has of them. The quote about their respective talents depicts the old gods as acting entities: The gods give many gifts, Bran. But in the last Bran chapter in ADwD he talks about the perspective of the children of the forest:

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one. The singers of the forest had no books. No ink, no parchment, no written language. Instead they had the trees and the weirwoods above all. When they died, they went into the wood, into leaf and limb and root, and the trees remembered. All their songs and spells, their histories and prayers, everything they knew about this world. Maesters will tell you that the weirwoods are sacred to the old gods. The singers believe that they are the old gods. When singers die they become part of that godhood."

Here the weirwoods are the old gods and act as a memory for the knowledge the children of the forest accumulated. He also states that the singers become part of that collective after their death. There is a seeming discrepance between the acting gods on the one side and the collective on the other. You can argue that the singers who are part of the weirwoods are acting, that he disagrees with the singers or that his comment to Bran is metaphorical, but it is ambiguous what Jojen himself thinks about this, since he never offers his own opinion. Because of this I will leave these different possibilities here as they are.

The next point is the “maturity” aspect:

“Then you teach me.” Bran still feared the three-eyed crow who haunted his dreams sometimes, pecking endlessly at the skin between his eyes and telling him to fly. “You're a greenseer.”
“No,” said Jojen, “only a boy who dreams.[...]”

That quote is from their discussion what to do at the start of ASoS (going north, staying at the tower or going somewhere else). He refuses being called a greenseer, because he knows he is not one. This is an example of him knowing his own boundaries. He does not delude himself in that respect and makes his own limitations perfectly clear to others. This is notable on its own, but is exceptional at his age. How many boys of thirteen years are actually calling themselves boys? It is a strong contrast to Bran's attitude to this, as he tells himself many times: I'm a prince of the north, a Stark of Winterfell, almost a man grown (in some variations). Jojen displays a humility by acknowledging his own strengths and weaknesses, but not actually downplaying his abilities like his greendreams. But he knows the boundaries of others as well:

“We have plowed this field before,” his sister said. “You want to make for the Wall, and your three-eyed crow. That's well and good, but the Wall is a very long way and Bran has no legs but Hodor. If we were mounted...”

“If we were eagles we might fly,” said Jojen sharply, “but we have no wings, no more than we have horses.”

Here he outright refuses to go into any “what if”-scenarios, which is actually interesting, because you could think, that as a character, who has a dream thematic to him, he would be more inclined to do this, but it is quite the opposite. Jojen deals with the concrete issues at hand to get them to the crow and does not sugarcoat bad situations. This is a big reason for his leadership abilities mentioned in the first paragraph, which is further proven by the fact that he constantly asks information regarding things he does not know like the lands at the Wall, where he had never been before, instead of being too proud to do this.

Additionally he is very guarded about his feelings and emotions. There are three kinds of situations (five situations in total) where we see him breaking his for the most part stoic attitude. The first kind is his demonstration of pity and sadness when talking about the greendreams concerning his and Bran's death, as seen here:

"My brother has the greensight," said Meera. "He dreams things that haven't happened yet, but sometimes they do."

"There is no sometimes, Meera." A look passed between them; him sad, her defiant.

His greendreams are one thing that evoke an emotional response, related to his belief that they cannot be changed. Another situation where we see him losing composure is at Queenscrown, when the wildlings come into the village:

Jojen turned back to the darkness, and they all heard him suck in his breath. "What is it?" Meera asked.

"Men in the village."

"The man we saw before?"

"Other men. Armed. I saw an axe, and spears as well." Jojen never sounded so much like the boy he was.

He even ends up screaming at Bran and Meera to silence Hodor, when he begins to shout. This is a reminder that Jojen is just a boy of thirteen years after all and this is probably the most dangerous situation he ever experienced. It is also a threat to their mission to get Bran to the three-eyed crow, not only to his life, which explains why he does not have the reassurance his vision about his own death usually gives him in those situations. The last kind of situations is him starving and freezing beyond the Wall, where his dire condition leads to him showing his vulnerability:

Meera helpes Bran back up onto Hodor's back, though his basket was half-crushed and wet from melting snow. Then she slipped an arm around her brother and shouldered him back onto his feet more. His eyes opened. "What?" he said. "Meera? Where are we?" When he saw the fire, he smiled. "I had the strangest dream."

The other situation of this kind is when he declines the acorn paste and insists that he will not die that day. To note here is that both times he smiles, but they are melancholic ('wan' is the word used in the other situation) on the one side and related to his dream, which does not sound like a green one, in the other. That means the only time he displays some kind of happiness about something is when he flees from the world for a time in his dream, which displays an underlying sadness that eventually expresses itself in his depression in the last Bran chapter of ADwD.

Both points combined, his factual attitude and his stoicism, are related to a central point: The vision of his own death. This is implied by his statement: “This is not the day I die.” It does not only imply that he has seen his own death, but that he saw enough of the circumstances surrounding it (like time and place) that he knows when he will not die, which requires a certain amount of detail. The fact that he had this vision leads to him being bolder - bordering on recklessness - in ACoK where he does not fear the direwolves of Bran and Rickon, which leads to Jojen and Meera getting chased up a tree. But as they reach their destination his sadness and depression take over, which reaches its (temporary) peak in the last ADwD Bran chapter.

This vision is the central point of his character and the reason why he has that level of maturity while a character like Missandei, who is in many ways more talented than Jojen, is still a child at heart. At first glance his maturity and his acknowledgment of given circumstances while rejecting wishful thinking (and insisting on others to do the same) could be unrelated, but combined with his stoicism the connection comes to light: All three points are the result of how he dealt with his impending death. He has seen his greendreams come true and accepted that his death will come to pass. He could have gone crazy like Cersei did or could have chosen to close his eyes to his forthcoming death. Instead he faced the truth (assuming the events in his greendreams cannot be averted, which there is very strong evidence for) that nothing, not his intelligence or his knowledge about magic, not Meera's fighting skills or anything else can save him from his fate. And facing this very uncomfortable truth leads directly to him being upfront about sticking to the facts and actual possibilities, but he also uses this as a shield to distract himself from his impending death. Further it leads to him being sharp and very direct about it, because it is a very personal thing for him and thus one of the, if not the, most defining trait of his character. It also adds another dimension to his nickname 'little grandfather'. It is not only fitting because he is very solemn for his age, but because he had to deal with an issue that normally come with old age (or in other cases like a terminal illness): The certainty of your own death, not only the possibility of it.

I swear it by bronze and iron

Bronze and iron are both metals which have a connection with the north, and are both metals used for making armor and weapons. In fact, Meera has a bronze knife, bronze armor and an iron greathelm. It emphasizes her role as a huntress, but also her independence and her fighting spirit:

“At least I should climb to the top of the Wall,” Meera decided. “Maybe I'll see something up there.”

“What could you hope to see?” Jojen asked.

"Something,” said Meera, and for once she was adamant.

This kind of calls back to the point in the first part of the analysis that Meera actually questions Jojen and argues with him, and does not just follows his decisions. She is quite capable of doing things on her own accord, as seen in this situation and does actually volunteer to scout out the nearby ghost castles alone to find a way through the wall, after they find the gate at the Nightfort blocked. Another evidence for this is that her father sends them out both to Winterfell, which shows that he trusts both to be capable of dealing with the task of freeing the Winged Wolf Jojen dreamed about. He could have sent some adults in his service to Winterfell after Jojen told him his dream, or Jojen with a guard, if he deemed it necessary to send him. But instead he sent them both, which speaks for Meera's (and Jojen's) ability to act independently and making intelligent decisions.

She also is very protective of her brother which aligns with the quote of Jojen about ones individual talents. Both Meera and Jojen are complementing each other regarding their roles in the group and while he makes most of the decisions she cares about scouting things out and keeping the group alive. How protective she is becomes clear in ADwD:

“You go.” Meera Reed bent down beside her brother. He was settled in the bole of an oak, eyes closed, shivering violently. What little of his face could be seen beneath his hood and scarf was as colorless as the surrounding snow, but breath still puffed faintly from his nostrils whenever he exhaled. Meera had been carrying him all day. Food and fire will set him right again, Bran tried do tell himself, though he wasn't sure it would. “I can't fight and carry Jojen both, the climb's too steep,” Meera was saying, “Hodor, you take Bran up to that cave.”

In this passage it is mentioned that she carried him all day long. Keep in mind that both are not much taller than Bran and even Hodor struggles with the conditions they are in while carrying Bran. So the fact alone that she manages to do that speaks both for her physical strength and for her determination to protect her brother. Furthermore she carries Jojen up the hill herself, which means that she cannot defend herself with her weapons, at least not without dropping him in the snow, which means that she risks being killed by the wights to keep her brother alive.

Another point about Meera is that she is much more cheerful and extroverted than her brother:

Meera spun in a circle. “I feel almost a giant, standing high above the world.”
“There are trees in the Neck that stand twice as tall as this,” her brother reminded her.
“Aye, but they have other trees around them just as high,” said Meera. “The world presses close in the Neck, and the sky is so much smaller. Here... feel the wind, Brother? And look how large the world has grown.”

You can see quite clearly the contrast between Meera's enthusiasm and Jojen's more factual attitude. She clearly enjoys the traveling and the nature they encounter and is the one who often cheers Bran up. Apart from that she is less solemn than her brother and takes most things more lighthearted, like in the quote about ice and fire above:

“If ice can burn,” said Jojen in his solemn voice, “then love and hate can mate. Mountain or marsh, it makes no matter. The land is one,”
“One,” his sister agreed, “but over wrinkled."

Noticeable is that she shares most of his view, but goes about it in a different manner. They do not contradict each other from a philosophical point (apart from his fatalism, more to that later) and while they have very different talents, their tolerance is mutual. And as mentioned above she is very intelligent and has some 'deep' lines of her own, for example in the story about the Knight of the Laughing Tree:

“He likes the stories where the knight fights the monsters.”
“Sometimes the knights are the monsters, Bran.[...]”

This shows that Meera is wise for her age, too, it is only not that obvious as with Jojen due to her demeanor. Every point that is made in the 'wisdom' part above applies to Meera as well, maybe not in the extent as it applies to Jojen, but the differences are a lot smaller than they appear to be on first impression.

The other part mentioned above is her fighting spirit:

“Why would the gods send a warning if we can't heed it and change what's to come?”
“I don't know,” Jojen said sadly.
“If you were Alebelly, you'd probably jump into the well to have done with it! He should fight, and Bran should too.
[…]
“If I went to the dungeon I could drive a spear right through his heart. How could he
murder Bran if he was dead?”

Here she holds the view that Jojen's visions can be averted and that you should fight to define your own fate. More than that she proposes to kill Reek (or Ramsay in disguise) in his cell. As bad as a person he is (which they know, since his deeds should be common knowledge at least in the caste itself) take a moment to consider that she still proposes to kill a helpless prisoner to prevent the vision about him killing Bran and Rickon. This adds a darker tone to her character since she is willing to do very questionable things to protect people dear to her.

She also is very furious about Jojen's fatalism, similar to him being very vocal about sticking to the facts as mentioned above, since it, if it were justified, makes protecting the people she loves a hopeless endeavor. This is together with her independence her most defining trait: The desire to protect the people she loves. This combined with her rejection of an unchangeable fate is a strong contrast to Jojen accepting the reality of his own death at a young age and their main source of conflict.

But if you put all things together, although they have very different talents and temperaments their mentality is largely the same. This leads to them complementing each other and working together instead of just grudgingly accept their sibling because they differ from the Westerosi gender norms. More importantly they genuinely love each other not despite of their talents and characteristics, but because of them, seeing them as positive aspects that should be used instead of conformed to expectations.

Jojen and Bran, Meera and Bran

Since Bran is the point of view character and the purpose why the Reeds came to Winterfell in the first place the relationship between Bran and the Reeds is an important one to analyze to understand the Reeds and Bran (I will focus on the Reeds here, an analysis of Bran would be a matter for another thread).

All of the other lords and knights had departed within a day or two of the harvest feast, but the Reeds had stayed to become Bran's constant companions.
[…]
They were both older than Bran, even though his ninth name day had finally come and gone, but they never treated him like a child.

The last line of the quote is actually fairly important. It is the pillar of their relationship: Both of them take Bran seriously. While they both have different roles, they value his opinion (even if they do not follow every order or suggestion like him wanting to take the Kingsroad to the Wall). This is coupled with their loyalty to him as Stark bannermen, which is evidenced by the oath at the Harvest Feast (see the beginning of the above part of the analysis), but there is another important situation.

Meera took Bran by the hand. "If we stay here, troubling no one, you'll be safe until the war ends. You will not learn, though, except what my brother can teach you, and you've heard what he says. If we leave this place to seek refuge at Last Hearth or beyond the Wall, we risk being taken. You are only a boy, I know, but you are our prince as well, our lord's son and our king's true heir. We have sworn you our faith by earth and water, bronze and iron, ice and fire. The risk is yours Bran, as is the gift. The choice should be yours too, I think. We are your servants to command."

[…]

No matter where he went, to Karhold or White Harbor or Greywater Watch, he'd be a cripple when he got there. He balled his hands into fists. "I want to fly," he told them. "Please. Take me to the crow.

This choice is what matters here: they do not just drag him along, insisting it is the best for him to learn, but they give him the choice and say: It is about you, your risk and your benefit, so you make the decision. And that is what much of Bran's respect for the Reeds is based on. They take him seriously. It is noteworthy that it is Meera who says this to him, but if Jojen had objections against it he would have most likely protested.

Another important part of the quote is the line: “We are your servants to command.”

Although the Reeds make most of the decisions regarding how they approach their journey, Bran makes the two important decisions about the journey itself: Choosing to travel to the Crow and finally deciding to leave through the black gate. This shows that the Reeds still acknowledge their role as bannermen of House Stark.

Related to their role as bannermen as the representatives of House Reed is their pride as crannogmen:

“There are no knights in the neck,” said Jojen.
“Above the water,” his sister corrected. “The bogs are full of dead ones, though.”
“That's true,” said Jojen. “Andals and ironmen, Freys and other fools, all those proud warriors to set out to conquer Greywater. Not one of them could find it. They ride into the neck, but not back out. And sooner or later they blunder into the bogs and sink beneath the weight of all that steel and drown there in their armor.”

This is a bit surprising, since Jojen does not bear weapons and does not appear to get pleasure out of fighting. But regarding their home both display a fierce kind of pride that tells us that the crannogmen are very capable warriors, at least on their own territory. And although they have a very tolerant attitude they are still part of a culture that uses poison and stealth to kill their enemies, often times cruelly. They are part of the same people who turned Moat Cailin in a living hell for the ironborn and have a reputation to kill with their poisons even when they only inflict the smallest wounds with their weapons. The crannogmen are very similar to Dorne in that regard who are also more tolerant than the rest of Westeros (and maybe have the same heritage laws, given that they are introduced as 'The Lady Meera of House Reed with her brother, Jojen of Greywater Watch'), but also have a very cruel and vengeful side, as shown by Oberyn and Doran Martell.

If you take a look at the hierarchy in the group, you see that it is an intricate one. Meera kind of fulfills the role of a big sister for Bran, distracts and entertains him on their journey and allows him to just be himself instead of constantly being caught up in the difficulty of their situation. Being in this role she has a position of authority over Bran, but she evens this out by acting very much as the servant she claims to be. She continuously calls him 'prince' by which she affirms her status. It is similar for Jojen. He acts as the leader of the group and as a mentor to Bran, which, in both roles, gives him a position of authority, but he also calls him 'prince' and 'your grace' by which he also affirms his role as a servant and bannerman.

It is interesting to note in which circumstances they call him 'prince' and when they call him just Bran. Meera uses his title when she is especially polite or in an affectionate manner, by which she combines both roles which are described above, in one, by acknowledging her position as a servant and being as a caretaker at the same time. For Jojen it is different: Most of the times he calls him 'prince' or 'your grace' is as he justifies or explains his decisions as the group leader, like a hand or steward would. By doing this he places himself under Bran's authority, making the decisions because he has the best reasons most of the time, but only to make Bran's own choice become reality: Reaching the Three-Eyed Crow. On the other hand he always calls him Bran when teaching him about greenseeing and warging, or explaining him some things about the world (like the “love and hate can mate” quote or the one about using your own talents). Here he uses his position of authority to make Bran realize the importance of mastering his talents and to put weight behind his lessons. This strikes a balance between his obligations a a bannerman and his determination to make Bran a greenseer.

Now I want to go into more detail regarding their respective roles:

Meera's relationship with Bran is more of a lighthearted one: She tells him various things about the Neck and Greywater Watch and generally tries to cheer him up, prime example here is the story she tells him in ASoS Bran Chapter 2, not so much the content than her comments throughout it. She is generally more amiable than her brother. That combined with her being a skilled huntress and Bran losing the use of his legs is the reason why she grows on him. She also helps him dealing with the loss of his loved ones at Winterfell:

“Remember Old Nan's stories, Bran. Remember the way she told them, the sound of her voice. So long as you do that, part of her will always be alive in you,”
“I'll remember,” he promised.

While Jojen is responsible for his training before they reach the Crow and gives him some useful advice about the world in general, Meera is essential to prevent Bran becoming depressed and keeping him in a mentally healthy state. Without her it would be much more difficult for Bran to handle his loss.

Jojen on the other hand fulfills the mentor role for Bran. Notable about his behavior is that he is always honest with with Bran and tries to get him to accept and master his abilities, while acknowledging that he cannot teach him enough. He does not try to sugarcoat the facts:

There's the wolf dreams, those aren't as bad as the others. I run and hunt and kill squirrels.

[...]

"Meera gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Is that all?"

"I guess."

"Warg," said Jojen Reed.

Bran looked at him, his eyes wide. "What?"

"Warg. Shapechanger. Beastling. That is what they will call you, if they should ever hear of your wolf dreams."

The names made him afraid again. "Who will call me?"

"Your own folk. In fear. Some will hate you if they know what you are. Some will even try to kill you.

"Old Nan told scary stories of beastlings and shapechangers sometimes. In the stories they were always evil. "I'm not like that," Bran said.

[...]

"I don't want it. I want to be a knight."

"A knight is what you want. A warg is what you are. You can't change that, Bran, you can't deny it or push it away. You are the winged wolf, but you will never fly." Jojen got up and walked to the window. "Unless you open your eye."

He put two fingers together and poked Bran in the forehead, hard.

"I was a prince, Jojen," he told the older boy. "I was the prince of the woods."

"You are a prince," Jojen reminded him softly. "You remember, don't you? Tell me who you are."

"You know." Jojen was his friend and his teacher, but sometimes Bran just wanted to hit him.

After Bran told him the dreams, he just says "Warg". It is not even a sentence. He does not say: "I fear I must tell you..." or "I know it will be hard..." or something like that. He just tells Bran the things how they are, at the beginning almost insolent (when he asks about his dreams and it ends up with them getting chased on a tree by the direwolves in ACoK - Bran chapter 4), which ties in with the points made in the above paragraph. However, as the second quote above indicates, Bran sees Jojen not only as a teacher, but as a friend, which means that he does want to learn about his powers and is glad that Jojen is willing to do it.

At one point Jojen lets Bran repeat the Stark words and says that it is important that he masters his abilities quickly (as a response to Bran saying that he does expect too much from him a a nine year old). Jojen's directness here and insistence on Bran accepting his powers shows that Jojen considers the coming winter a very urgent matter. We do not know what exactly he knows about the Others. He could know something since Bloodraven communicates with him (or at least did), but it is not very likely that he knows the complete situation about the Others returning, otherwise Howland Reed would have sent a warning to Winterfell a long time ago.

As another point I want to bring up the fact that Bran wants to hide him warging Hodor from the Reeds. He knows that it is the wrong thing to do or else he would not have to hide it, but it is unlikely that he understands the magnitude of it. He also does not mention the Reeds directly here, so he could mean Bloodraven and the Children of the Forest as well, but since he traveled the most time with the Reeds it is most likely directed at them. That Meera would not condone it should be relatively clear, for Jojen it is not that clear but if you recall the analysis of Jojen in the second part of the analysis it appears unlikely that he would approve of this. The fact that Bran hides this from the Reeds does indicate that he is afraid of losing their respect and that his (in my opinion) central conflict is between completely acknowledging that what he does it wrong and stopping it on the one side and continuing with it as a replacement for his lost legs for egoistical reasons on the other.

Regarding Jojen I want to bring up a more speculative thought, there is not much direct evidence of it (so take it with a grain of salt). For this I will quote three passages:

"The gods give many gifts, Bran. [...] To me the gods gave the green dreams, and to you... you could be more than me, Bran. You are the winged wolf, and there is no saying how far and high you might fly[...]

"It is given to a few to drink of that green fountain while still in mortal flesh, to hear the whispering of the leaves and see as the trees see, as the gods see," said Jojen. "Most are not so blessed. The gods gave me only greendreams. My task was to get you here. My part in this is done."

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one. The singers of the forest had no books. No ink, no parchment, no written language. Instead they had the trees and the weirwoods above all. When they died, they went into the wood, into leaf and limb and root, and the trees remembered. All their songs and spells, their histories and prayers, everything they knew about this world. Maesters will tell you that the weirwoods are sacred to the old gods. The singers believe that they are the old gods. When singers die they become part of that godhood."
Bran's eyes widened. "They're going to kill me?"
"No," Meera said. "Jojen, you're scaring him."
"He is not the one who needs to be afraid."

The first quote is about Bran's potential and him surpassing Jojen with his abilities. The second one is about the rarity of greenseers. The tone of this puts me off here: "Most are not so blessed. The gods gave me only greendreams." It seems to me that there is a certain bitterness underlying this words, because he contrasts the abilities of greenseers with his own. The third quote is (aside from interesting information about the Children of the Forest) about the last sentence. He seems to imply here that he is the one who needs to be afraid and that is obviously due to him having foreseen his death.

You can draw the conclusion here that he is envious of Bran and his greenseeing abilities, and the fact that he will live (probably) longer to benefit from them, whereas he has his future death in mind after having no other task left. The evidence is relatively thin, but I think it is certainly possible, especially because he does not express his emotions openly most of the time and his loyalty as a Stark bannerman prevents it from saying it aloud (apart from basic human decency of course, since Bran has paid quite a price for his gifts to awake). Maybe envy is too harsh of a word, but at least it indicates that he is bitter about him dying soon and not being able to live his life, being denied more years and more experiences.

A Matter of Fate

Now I want to analyze the central conflict between Jojen and Meera: The conflict between Jojen's fatalism and Meera's fighting spirit.

“The things I see in green dreams can't be changed.”
That made his sister angry. “Why would the gods send a warning if we can't heed it and change what's to come?”
“I don't know,” Jojen said sadly.

“If you were Alebelly, you'd probably jump into the well to have done with it! He should fight, and Bran should too.”

[…]

“Not drowned.” Jojen spoke as if every word pained him. “I dreamed of the man who came today, the one they call Reek. You and your brother lay dead at his feet, and he was skinning off your faces with a long red blade.”
“If I went to the dungeon I could drive a spear right through his heart. How could he murder Bran if he was dead?”
“The gaolers will stop you,” Jojen said. “The guards. And if you tell them why you want him dead, they'll never believe.”

[...]

"It will not matter. The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie."

A notable point about this scene is that her statement here is the harshest statement she makes throughout the whole series. She is a very calm person, seldom angry or annoyed. The closest she comes to actually being angry (apart from her conflict with Jojen) is in the Nightfort, where she gets annoyed with Sam while he struggles to get out of her net. In this scene she accuses him of surrendering to his fate and that he is even willing to killing himself.

Calling back to the part about Meera in the second section of the analysis her most defining traits are the desire to protect the people she loves and her independence. The vision of Jojen's death, should it turn out to be true, does mean on the one hand that she would lose the person that she has the closest bond to, but it also means that she can do nothing to avoid it. As a person who is very capable of doing things of her own and is not very reliant on other people this means that there are situations she cannot do anything about. Thus it negates both of the above traits: She loses her brother and she is completely helpless about it. This explains the tone in the above quote. It is not only her being angry, but she also wants to provoke Jojen into a response to awaken his fighting spirit, getting him to at least try to avert his vision. Because of this his actual response, not raising his voice and calmly explaining what he saw and why they cannot kill Reek, is much more devastating for Meera than any angry outburst from Jojen could have been.

Throughout ASoS the conflict between them is very subdued due to them having the clear goal to bring Bran to the Wall and then to the Crow. Then in the first two chapters of ADwD we see the full extent of Meera's protectiveness when she tries to get Jojen to eat the acorn paste, carries him when he is too weak to walk after they kill the elk and protects him on the last steps to the cave. In the third Bran chapter the conflict escalates since they do not have a clear goal anymore, which can be seen in the appendix of ADwD. It mentions Jojen twice: Once under House Stark, where it refers to Jojen's greendream as a blessing, and the other time under Beyond the Wall, where it refers to them as a curse. This summarizes the change between them traveling to Bloodraven and the time after their arrival. As long as they travel, Jojen can draw strength out of the knowledge when he would die, because he knows that he survives certain situations (he only becomes nervous when there could be other complications, as the situation at Queenscrown). After they arrive there is nothing left to do. He says himself that his task was to bring Bran to the crow.

His greendreams are no longer consolation or help, they are a burden. He knows he will die soon and there is (in his opinion) nothing he can do about this and he falls into a depression, wanting to go home to Greywater Watch. Meera herself worries about her brother and is helpless, because there is nothing she can do to save him or at least convince him to try to fight his fate in an attempt to avoid his greendreams.

"He want to go home," Meera told Bran. "He will not even try and fight his fate. He says the greendreams do not lie."
"He's being brave," said Bran. The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid, his father had told him once, long ago, on the day they found the direwolf pups in the summer snows. He still remembered.
"He's being stupid," Meera said "I'd hoped when we found your three-eyed crow... now I wonder why we ever came."

For me, Bran thought. "His greendreams," he said.
"His greendreams." Meera's voice was bitter.
"Hodor," said Hodor.
Meera began to cry.

Notable in this passage is the following sentence: “I'd hope when we found your three-eyed crow... now I wonder why we ever came.” There was no indication that the Three-Eyed Crow could do anything about Jojen's death. Even Bran thinks: For me. He does not say it to not hurt Meera, but it is the truth. The only reason they went on this journey is Bran, to let him become a greenseer. The fact that she had hopes that the Three-Eyed Crow could help Jojen underlines that she, in contrast to Jojen himself, does not accept that Jojen's death is inevitable. But because his greendreams do not show any signs of being wrong (the three notable ones who all turn true: The sea flooding Winterfell, the dream about Bran and Rickon and Reek and the vision about the gate at the Nightfort) she becomes increasingly desperate and clings to the hope that is left: The Three-Eyed crow helping Jojen.

But after they arrive in the cave both Reeds are largely ignored by both Bloodraven and the Children of the Forest, at least as far as the last Bran chapter in ADwD indicates. This disillusionment combined with the lack of purpose that previously kept them both on track finally shows itself in Meera crying and Jojen getting more and more depressed. The determination that was previously there is gone because there is nothing to be determined about anymore and because of this the previously subdued conflict escalates. How it will conclude remains to be seen.

Conclusion

To sum it up I want to list the most important points of the analysis:

1: Although the Reeds subvert the standard gender roles of the Westerosi society they accept and love each other (and Bran) as who they are and do not look down on each other because they do not fulfill certain expectations.

2: The main conflict is between Jojen's acceptance and Meera's defiance of Jojen's vision about his death. In this conflict their core character traits clash with each other: Jojen's acceptance of the inevitability of his greendreams and sticking to the hard truths and Meera's role as a protector and her independence. It gets that heated because they genuinely love each other.

3: As two very different characters who complement instead of fighting each other, they emphasize compromise and unity, instead of the very radical views of characters like Melisandre and Moqorro.

4: Despite assuming the roles of a mentor and a protector they do take Bran seriously and urge Bran to make his own decisions and think things through.

That was it for the analysis. If you have read that far I hope I could provide an insight into the character of both Reeds that goes beyond a simple categorization of Jojen as a person with prophecies and Meera as a cheerful huntress.

If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes in the text I have overlooked I would appreciate a PM so that I can fix it. And of course, if there are points that you disagree with (or just think that I am biased at a certain point which certainly could be): Discussion is explicitely encouraged.

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I thank you Illuminated by Fire. This was a well-thought out post, and brings to mind what I always seem to forget. Meera (and Jojen) are worthy contenders for 'the bravest people in Westeros'.


My main fascination with them, quite frankly, had more to do with their father than themselves. (Yes, I'm one of those who needs to know all of Howland Reed's secrets!)


As their storyline progressed, though, I came to a point of fatalistic acceptance (much like Jojen's), though I pray for Meera's and Hodor's return south of the Wall.


Wonderfully done. :)


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That was a very fun and interesting read. You did an excellent job, very detailed, I loved it. Lots of very good points you had in there, but a few that stood out to me the most...:


That point about Jojen being frail showing that magic requires sacrifice is very interesting. I've never thought about that before!


I also liked what you said about his greendreams being referred to as both a curse and a blessing. I always wondered about that, and I really like your explanation.


Meera's my favourite character, and I loved your analysis of her. Jojen too, it was very cool. I'm glad you decided to write this up :bowdown: :bowdown:


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Nice def well researched and made sense, id like to add when u mention jojens leadership abilities w he is the clear leader but he askes for everyones advice, I was in Marine Coprs and thats a way to lead, use your people and value theor opinions noone likes someone who is bossy he, it speaks to his maturity even more so, how many 13 year olds realize that? Btw im typing this on my phone so I cant quote what u wrote and if I made typos I apologize, I hope you can follow my logic im a lil tipsy

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Thanks for your kind answers (and actually reading it).


I actually had two more paragraphs I wrote but I cut them. One was about the comparison between Jojen and Luwin and the other one a comparison between Jojen and Melisandre. But after I wrote them I saw that the former one only really makes sense in a Bran analysis, since the conflict secularism vs magic as symbolised by them is fairly obvious. The interesting part is their role in the conflict in ACoK between the Bran's acceptance of his place in Westerosi society (being a lord or something else) and realising his potential as a greenseer and the gradual shift from the one end to the other. But it does not give many additional information about Jojen. The latter comparision was similar, it would make sense in an analysis of magic in ASoIaF, but it does not give much information about him as a character. Apart from that the post is long enough as it is now I think.



As for the knight of the laughing trees: I don't care that much about the mysteries in the novel, I focus more on the characters, their interaction and development, so it's not very likely that I write something about that, but it could be. I wrote this one because I am on a reread, found myself going through the Bran chapters ahead of time and just had the motivation to spend the weekend to write it.





Well, I really like Meera and Jojen and it seems as though they will both die in the lonely North. I mean, Meera probably could make it back home on her own, but she won't leave her brother.





As for that I think they make it back to Greywater Watch, since we need to meet Howland Reed anyways and it's mentioned that Jojen want to go back to Greywater Watch which seems to imply that he saw himself die there (at least there is a good chance for that). Which point of view we get for this is another question.


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  • 3 months later...

An update:



I rewrote the complete analysis. Only some parts of the original analysis remain unchanged. I did go more in depth in this version and added my interpretation some parts where it was mostly descriptive and shallow. Some points are completely new like their connection with the more violent side of the crannogmen culture and the similarities with Dorne (this is only an example, it's one paragraph, not a whole new section). Also there is more content about Meera now because I concentrated more on Jojen the last time and her content was lacking in comparison. There is still a bit more text about him than about Meera, but that has also to do with the fact that they have many similarities. The main conflict about Jojen's vision about his death now has an own section.



Edit: I will revisit the analysis from time to time, but I will only post a update post when there are major changes (that means basically: not before Winds of Winter)


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I've started this but have to leave now so have made it topic I'm following. Great stuff so far and like you, Jojen is one of my fav's (2nd only to the Hound). :cheers:



Will be back for more, keep up the good work.



:commie:


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  • 6 months later...

Totally forgot about this but saw your link in your sig while lurking the Bran reread. Love, love, love Jojen and he just doesn't get enough press. I for one feel he'll make it back and will be OK. Here that George?! Make it so, please.



It's been a long while since I read their chapters, but iirc, Jogen was not only depressed but a bit hostile to the Children wasn't he? At any rate, he's distressed and his relationship with Meera becomes constrained and difficult. I worry about him!



Am looking forward to more of the Reeds in the Bran reread. Opps, I see it's started. Yay!

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Totally forgot about this but saw your link in your sig while lurking the Bran reread. Love, love, love Jojen and he just doesn't get enough press. I for one feel he'll make it back and will be OK. Here that George?! Make it so, please.

It's been a long while since I read their chapters, but iirc, Jogen was not only depressed but a bit hostile to the Children wasn't he? At any rate, he's distressed and his relationship with Meera becomes constrained and difficult. I worry about him!

Am looking forward to more of the Reeds in the Bran reread. Opps, I see it's started. Yay!

Thanks, I'm glad you got around to reading it. Regarding the children: I do not recall any hostility, only that Meera was crushed that Bloodraven and the CotF cannot do anything for Jojen or do not care. And yes, Jojen sinks more and more into depression due to his impending death and Meera becomes increasingly desperate regarding this. Important to note is that Meera still clings to her hope whereas Jojen accepted the inevitability of his green dreams early on. It remains to be seen if that is indeed the case. I would love to see him survive, but to be honest I do not see it happening at this point.

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Illuminated by Fire - Thank you so much for writing this A+ article on the Reeds. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. You have a writing style that makes it easy to read. I am not unaware that you gave up your own personal time to do this, which makes me appreciate your post that much more. I learned so much about the Reeds that otherwise I would not have known. I thank you for that.

Edited to add this. Thanks too for the link on the Winged Wolf. When someone is new, it can be hard trying to find these really good discussions, so I'm appreciative when someone adds them.

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