Six Pups in the Snow: A Direwolves Reread

[Julia H.]

LOL, Are you referring to...

..."Mért nem a Huffnágel Pistihez mentem feleségül?"

Anyway, great topic, and I never would have thought about that sentence being about Rhaegar. Great obsevation, Seams! :thumbsup:

LOL, Yes!!! :lmao: Isn't it funny to project this image onto Cersei?

[Harlaw's Book the Sequel]

Whew, it’s feels great to be back and have so much to catch up on.

Great job on Eddard III, Julia H.

Renly and Barristan’s behavior in the chapter stands out to me. It continues the theme of the knights in shining armor looking but not acting the part. Although Renly is amusing, he contributes very little. Barristan’s behavior in these past two chapters makes me want to reread his reactions and behavior toward dragons and compare/contrast that with his attitude toward direwolves. Also, and I know this is unreasonable, but I get upset when Barristan points out where Lady is.

@RainGhost, I think court would have done more damage to direwolves. I don’t think Nymeria and Lady would’ve survived King’s Landing, and Nymeria most likely would’ve prevented Arya’s escape.

About it not being normal to have direwolves as pets, before reading WOIAF, my assumption was that the current generation wasn’t the first to have direwolf pets or to wargs.

IIRC the WOIAF doesn’t mention any historical Starks having direwolf pets or being wargs. I only remember it being said the Starks fought wargs. Although I don’t think the lack of reference in WOIAF (given Yandel’s biases, skepticism and incomplete information) precludes the idea that previous Starks were wargs and had direwolves, I am wondering if the current Starks having direwolves is more miraculous than I originally thought.

Also how the Starks treat the direwolves is another contrast with how the Lannisters treat their sigil. While Lannisters love lion imagery, there is no personal bond between them actual lions. When the Lannisters had lions, they were kept in a zoo. And there was the lioness that attacked Tytos, which led to the formation of House Clegane.

@Seams, I agree And I think there will be other characters who will act as direwolf replacements that we will need to keep track of. Varamyr says bonding to a wolf is like a marriage, so I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of these direwolf replacements will form romantic attachments to the Starks. Kisses, songs, cloaks and blood feature prominently in ASOIAF weddings, which IMHO cements the idea of Sandor as a replacement direwolf. Also, great Rhaegar reference find!

[Harlaw's Book the Sequel]

Tonight is a triple feature.

Bran III

Summary

While in a coma, the three-eyed crow tells Bran to fly. Bran experiences a series of visions –most involving his loved ones. The crow tells Bran why he must live, and Bran wakes up and names his direwolf Summer.

Observations

• The visions Bran experiences seem reflect the characters current predicament as well as foreshadow their future. The visions involving characters that live longer have more ambiguity to them.
  
• While Bran physically atrophied, his direwolf became physically stronger.
  
• The chapter conveys a reflective attitude that gives the reader the chance to really feel the impact of the previous chapters.
  

Analysis

"The window was open and it was cold in the room, but the warmth that came off the wolf enfolded him like a hot bath."

• Not quite ice and fire, but the spirit of the series title is there.
  
• Comparing Summer to a hot bath reminds me of how the inhabitants describe Winterfell –warm despite the cold surroundings.
  

"His pup, Bran realized…or was it? He was so big now. He reached out to pet him, his hand trembling like a leaf."

• In Bran I, Summer was the defenseless pup, and Bran was his defender. Now their roles have switched. And this is just one of the many things in Bran’s life that has been turned upside down.
  
• The uncertainty over whether Summer is a pup or not could be applied to most of the characters. Although they’ve (or are about to) lost some of their innocence and are (or about to) facing hardships, they’re not yet adults.
  

“…the direwolf was licking Bran’s face. Bran looked up calmly. ‘His name is Summer,’ he said.”

• Bran finally naming his direwolves cements this feeling that Bran has passed a lot of tests in this chapter.
  
• Summer –what to make of the name? Summer is considered winter’s opposite. If you have to face the “heart of winter,” I would want summer on my side too.
  
• In ASOIAF summer (the season) has already been associated with innocence. Bran is considered one of the sweetest and most innocent out of all the characters. For all the contempt (in-universe and out of it) thrown at “summer children” and “the knights of summer,” it’s going to be up to them to save Westeros. Alternatively, Bran will become a harder, less innocent character, so naming his wolf Summer might be a way of preserving of what he loses.
  

Catelyn III

Cat arrives at King’s Landing and meets with Littlefinger and Varys.

Jon III

Summary

Boot camp at Castle Black

Observations

• There are a lot of connections between this chapter and Bran III.
  
• Among other things, Jon has lost faith in the old gods and the new –considers them as cruel and implacable as winter –but news that Bran woke up restores it.
  
• Jon uses Ghost to keep to others away and to make friends.
  

Analysis

"The thought [benjen lying dead in the snow] made him sick. What was he becoming? Afterward, he sought out Ghost in the loneliness of his cell, and buried his face in his thick white fur."

• This image is very similar to Bran and Summer, and I’m again reminded how intertwined Bran and Jon’s stories are.
  
• Once again Jon sees Ghost as the one of the few things that makes life bearable.
  

"‘I don’t see your wolf,’ Lannister said…

‘I chain him up in the old stables when we’re training. They board all the horses in the east stables now, so no one bothers him. The rest of the time, he stays with me.’”

Thorne most likely ordered Ghost’s confinement. It seems it like the rest of Watch leadership doesn’t have a problem with Ghost.

“'It’s better that I’m by myself,’ Jon said stubbornly. ‘The rest of them are scared of Ghost.’

‘Wise boys,’ said Lannister…”

To me it seems like Jon is using Ghost as an excuse not to befriend the other recruits (even though there is good reason for the recruits to be afraid).

“He [Alliser Thorne] sneered. ‘I’d have an easier time teaching a wolf to juggle than you will training this aurochs.’

‘I’ll take that wager, Ser Alliser.’ Jon said, ‘I’d love to see Ghost juggle.'”

• On the flip side, using Ghost in a jape allows Jon to win friends.
  
• We’ve discussed how dangerous the direwolves are and how wise it is to keep them as pets. But seeing how Jon presents Ghost in a variety of ways, it is (or can be) the owner’s choice to keep the direwolf in line or let them be uncontrollable.
  

Eddard IV

Summary

Ned and the girls arrive in King’s Landing. Ned meets with the small council, and Littlefinger takes him to Cat.

Observations

• The “troubles on the kingsroad” have taken a toll Ned, and it affects his interactions with the small council.
  
• The fallout from the “troubles in the kingsroad” continues.
  
• Ned does have some wolf’s blood in him.
  

Analysis

“Sansa blamed Arya and told her that it should have been Nymeria who died. And Arya was lost after she heard what had happened to her butcher’s boy, Sansa cried herself to sleep, and Arya brooded silently all day, and Eddard Stark dreamed of a frozen hell reserved for the Starks of Winterfell.”

• Bran’s visions are confirmed. As noted the Arya and Sansa’s relationship has gotten ugly, and it's not really resolved.
  
• For all that the Starks are seen as embodying ice and cold (especially by their detractors -looking at you, Littlefinger), the Starks consider winter the adversary, and their aptly named castle is not cold. The “frozen hell” bit also reminds me of Dante’s Inferno. The ninth (icy) circle of hell is reserved for traitors. I can see why the idea/dream of a “frozen hell” is plaguing Ned as well as why he would think Starks would wind up there.
  

“Bran’s wolf had saved the boy’s life, he thought dully. What was it that Jon had said when they found the pups in the snow? Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord. And he had killed Sansa’s, and for what? Was it guilt he was feeling? Or fear? If the gods had sent these wolves, what folly had he done?"

• Ned paid a heavy price for taking Jon in, but I think this passage shows that it wasn’t for nothing, and that Ned (and the other Starks) have benefitted from Ned’s choice.
  
• I mentioned in Bran I that I didn’t think Ned believes the gods sent the wolves. Now is when I believe he does take the idea seriously. He pushes aside the spiritual questions to focus on the dagger, but I wonder if Ned should’ve taken more time to think through these questions if for nothing but to give him a different perspective.
  
• What would’ve happened if Ned had known about Summer saving Bran and Cat before killing Lady? I’m curious if Ned could’ve gone through with it while having the thoughts he’s having now.
  

"He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once."

A big R + L = J hint. Even though Jon is only explicitly mentioned in the part I already quoted, I feel his (ghostly) presence quite a bit in this chapter.

“Lord Baelish, I am a Stark of Winterfell. My son lies crippled, perhaps dying. He would be dead, and Catelyn with him, but for a wolf pup we found in the snow. If you truly believe I could forget that, you are as big a fool now as when you took up sword against my brother.”

I love this part. It's a nice summation of Ned's thoughts without the doubts. This will guide Ned's actions in his upcoming chapters. But I also hate it for giving Littlefinger more ammo for manipulating Ned.

[Franziska]

Great work Harlaw's Book. :)

• In Bran I, Summer was the defenseless pup, and Bran was his defender. Now their roles have switched. And this is just one of the many things in Bran’s life that has been turned upside down.
  

I like that observation. Yes they have switched their roles, and at the same time their bond gets stronger. Soon Bran’s wolfdreams will start. In some way I think Summer and Bran are already bonding closer than e.g. Jon and Ghost.

A pair of yellow eyes looked into his own, shining like the sun. The window was open and it was cold in the room, but the warmth that came of the wolf enfolded him like a hot bath.

A beautiful the description of the wolf’s eyes and how he’s warm compared to the cold room. I always wondered, why Bran names his wolf immediately after he’s waking up. Yes, yes, I know before he wakes up, Bloodraven shows him the heart of the winter but somehow I never found it a satisfying answer. But here the wolf acts as Bran’s personal sun, so Summer becomes an apt name.

When his brother Robb burst into the room, breathless fro his dash up the tower steps, the direwolf was licking Bran’s face. Bran looked up calmly. “His name is Summer,” he said.

I like this scene but somehow I still find it strange, how calm Bran is. I guess, if I would wake up and not feel my legs anymore, I would panic, cry, whatever but surely not remain calm. Maybe it is just, because of the lack of food.

Thorne most likely ordered Ghost’s confinement. It seems it like the rest of Watch leadership doesn’t have a problem with Ghost.

I never considered, that Thorne might have something to do with Ghost being chained up.

When Robb and Bran practice in the yard in Arya I neither Grey Wind nor Summer are mentioned, yet maybe we can’t consider this as a “normal” practice day. We don’t know much of Winterfells everyday life; were the kids allowed to have the wolves with them or not? We only know that Catelyn forbid Arya to take Nymeria to her needlework.

I thought it was Jon’s idea to chain Ghost up while training, but it could also be Thorne’s or anyone else’s order.

“They’re not my brothers,” Jon snapped.

…

“Best you start thinking,” Noye warned him.

In this chapter Jon has become the lone wolf. Arya and Sansa are together in KL and Bran, Rickon and Robb are in Winterfell. But Jon has no relative.

I guess in the Stark wolf pack Ned and Cat were the alphas and the children were in submission. For the first time in his life Jon is now without his familiar pack and does not know the rules of his new one (how could he, not even Benjen found some time, to tell him the truth about the state of the Night’s Watch).

The only one, who actually tells Jon, that his behavior is inappropriate, is Donal Noye. Noye takes up the role as the elder wolf and teaches the young one a lesson…

Jon smiled at him. “I’m sorry about your wrist. Robb used the same move on me once, only with a wooden blade. It hurt like seven hells, but yours must be worse. Look, if you want, I can show you how to defend that.”

…and Noye is successful. Jon adapts his lesson and changes his behavior.

• Ned paid a heavy price for taking Jon in, but I think this passage shows that it wasn’t for nothing, and that Ned (and the other Starks) have benefitted from Ned’s choice.
  

Even though Jon is only explicitly mentioned in the part I already quoted, I feel his (ghostly) presence quite a bit in this chapter.

I agree. Beside all his flaws, I think Jon is somehow the good ghost/soul of the Stark siblings.

I think there are many chapters, where Jon is mentioned as the one who offers solace or help. E.g. for Arya’s worries about being a bastard or Bran who got Jon’s fish after catching nothing or in Bran I, when his words save the pups of death.

[Seams]

Having direwolves as pets is not normal, whatever the Starks may think, and direwolves do not belong in the south.

About it not being normal to have direwolves as pets, before reading WOIAF, my assumption was that the current generation wasn’t the first to have direwolf pets or to wargs.

IIRC the WOIAF doesn’t mention any historical Starks having direwolf pets or being wargs. I only remember it being said the Starks fought wargs. Although I don’t think the lack of reference in WOIAF (given Yandel’s biases, skepticism and incomplete information) precludes the idea that previous Starks were wargs and had direwolves, I am wondering if the current Starks having direwolves is more miraculous than I originally thought.

Somehow, I think the crypt at Winterfell helps to answer this. Most Starks get their direwolves when they die - in the form of carved stone - along with a sword. Ned's children are unusual in that they get their direwolves as living pups before they (the Stark children) are buried in the crypt.

Ned's insistence that Lady's bones be taken to the crypt at Winterfell (sorry if I'm jumping ahead again - is this in the next chapter?) may show his faith that the gods sent the wolves, his recognition that the wolf and the girl should one day be reunited (in death), as well as his regret for having to kill his daughter's pet/guardian.

Harlaw's Book, your question raises an interesting possibility for me about the historic Bolton habit of flaying Starks and making cloaks out of their skins. (Described by Jaime in ASOS and also mentioned in AWOIAF.) If the Starks have a longtime reputation for warging, maybe the Bolton habit of taking their skins began with the relatively human motive to slay monsters. Maybe no one talks about ancient Stark tendencies to warg because the recent generations have been so nice and have intermarried with Andals enough to reduce the threat, making the Boltons look like the monsters of the north.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Eddard |V is interesting.

When I consider Ned and the girls inner turmoil and grief.

The different way they each process this grief.

Ned is cautious for future danger.

Arya has fire and anger at injustice.

Sansa doesnt yet seem to feel any personal responsibility,

my view of her here is shock and confusion.

They each still have some tough feelings to reconcile,

not to mention these events are on the heels of Brans tragic fall.

This is some real personalized trauma they are going through with a series

of shocks close together.

And it's going to get worse before it (if) gets better (yikes)!

[nzmermaid]

I feel so sorry for Sansa, for losing her innocent wolf, as she does. Sansa is then an extremely vulnerable character and continues to be so until she learns the way of the world. To me, the loss of her wolf is a disconnection to her own strength and spirituality.

I feel like this sacrifice happened too easily, too quickly Cersei's want was satisfied. Its all a down side - is there an upside of the killing of Lady?

[Harlaw's Book the Sequel]

Great work Harlaw's Book. :)

Thanks!

A beautiful the description of the wolf’s eyes and how he’s warm compared to the cold room.

Agreed! And we should probably keep track of what the direwolves eyes and fur gets compared to. For eyes, off the top of my head, we have so far:

• Summer eye's = sun
• Nymeria's = coins
• Ghost's = blood and summerwine

I never considered, that Thorne might have something to do with Ghost being chained up.

When Robb and Bran practice in the yard in Arya I neither Grey Wind nor Summer are mentioned, yet maybe we can’t consider this as a “normal” practice day. We don’t know much of Winterfells everyday life; were the kids allowed to have the wolves with them or not? We only know that Catelyn forbid Arya to take Nymeria to her needlework.

I thought it was Jon’s idea to chain Ghost up while training, but it could also be Thorne’s or anyone else’s order.

I agree that the text is ambiguous over whether chains Ghost up during training of his own accord or whether Thorne ordered it. But I lean towards Thorne ordering for a couple of few reasons. It feels in character for Thorne to have done so. Second, Jon says Ghost stays with him the rest of the time. From upcoming Jon chapters, most of Jon's time is spent doing tasks for other Brothers of the Watch, so that's where I got the implication that Thorne ordered Ghost to be chained.

In this chapter Jon has become the lone wolf. Arya and Sansa are together in KL and Bran, Rickon and Robb are in Winterfell. But Jon has no relative.

I guess in the Stark wolf pack Ned and Cat were the alphas and the children were in submission. For the first time in his life Jon is now without his familiar pack and does not know the rules of his new one (how could he, not even Benjen found some time, to tell him the truth about the state of the Night’s Watch).

The only one, who actually tells Jon, that his behavior is inappropriate, is Donal Noye. Noye takes up the role as the elder wolf and teaches the young one a lesson…

…and Noye is successful. Jon adapts his lesson and changes his behavior.

Noye was a Baratheon man. This might be too tenuous, but a stag (or former stag) man told Jon to remember he wasn't a Stark and to make effort to forge bonds with the other recruits and let go of Winterfell (not that Noye was wrong to do so) reminded me of the image of the stag and direwolf in Bran I.

I agree. Beside all his flaws, I think Jon is somehow the good ghost/soul of the Stark siblings.

I think there are many chapters, where Jon is mentioned as the one who offers solace or help. E.g. for Arya’s worries about being a bastard or Bran who got Jon’s fish after catching nothing or in Bran I, when his words save the pups of death.

I always found it interesting how the Starks looked to Robb for bravery, but they went to Jon for solace.

Somehow, I think the crypt at Winterfell helps to answer this. Most Starks get their direwolves when they die - in the form of carved stone - along with a sword. Ned's children are unusual in that they get their direwolves as living pups before they (the Stark children) are buried in the crypt.

Intriguing.

Ned's insistence that Lady's bones be taken to the crypt at Winterfell (sorry if I'm jumping ahead again - is this in the next chapter?) may show his faith that the gods sent the wolves, his recognition that the wolf and the girl should one day be reunited (in death), as well as his regret for having to kill his daughter's pet/guardian.

No worries. I agree that Ned wanting Lady buried at Winterfell shows Ned believed something was due to Lady and Sansa. And Eddard IV builds on this does show Ned is worried about what the incident has done to his soul --hence the anxiety over the frozen hell reserved for Starks.

Harlaw's Book, your question raises an interesting possibility for me about the historic Bolton habit of flaying Starks and making cloaks out of their skins. (Described by Jaime in ASOS and also mentioned in AWOIAF.) If the Starks have a longtime reputation for warging, maybe the Bolton habit of taking their skins began with the relatively human motive to slay monsters. Maybe no one talks about ancient Stark tendencies to warg because the recent generations have been so nice and have intermarried with Andals enough to reduce the threat, making the Boltons look like the monsters of the north.

I support the theories about Boltons flaying as a reaction to skinchangers. I could see a reveal where that the Boltons used to be better people from the Starks, but their war with the Starks led them to become what they currently are while the Starks went in the opposite direction happening. It would also feel very GRRM to have the Boltons believe they're the good guys trying to save Westeros from the Starks.

I feel so sorry for Sansa, for losing her innocent wolf, as she does. Sansa is then an extremely vulnerable character and continues to be so until she learns the way of the world. To me, the loss of her wolf is a disconnection to her own strength and spirituality.

I feel like this sacrifice happened too easily, too quickly Cersei's want was satisfied. Its all a down side - is there an upside of the killing of Lady?

Upside to killing Lady? Hmm... I've seen discussion about how Lady's death enabled Bran to wake up. And the TV show supports that idea. I believe I've mentioned this before, but I don't think Lady and Nymeria would've survived Kings Landing. So that's another way Lady paid for Nymeria's life. Also I don't think Arya would've left Kings Landing without Nymeria , and Nymeria's presence would've prevented Arya from hiding and getting out of the city. As bad as Arya's journey gets, I think being a hostage in Kings Landing would have been worse for her. (I wouldn't be surprised if she ended with Jeyne Poole's fate).

I know a lot of people see Lady's death as foreshadowing Sansa's death, but I've wondered whether it could foreshadow Sansa's survival. Something that I think we've been seeing a little bit of now, and will definitely see a lot more in the upcoming chapters, is the direwolves being able to something their owners cannot. So Lady dying may in fact mean Sansa won't.

[nzmermaid]

Thanks Harlaw, for your answer re the killing of Lady.

Interesting about flaying and warging - The Bolton's cruelty seems to be a manifestation of jealousy, literally taking another skin to wear, in imitation of the gift the Starks have for warging - but if it well known that the Starks are wargs? it seems they are not aware of this? so would the Bolton's know of this?

It seems to be not a revered thing and kept secret and outlawed . . . I have not delved into all this as much as others I admit.

[Ellfoy]

On the matter of Ghost being chained during Jon's training, I don't really agree with the idea that it is Thorne's work. I think that Jon would have mentioned this in his thoughts if that was the case. And there is actually a resaon for Jon to chain Ghost during training. The direwolves are guardian, Jon knows that Ghost could react really badly if Jon is hurt during training so it is wiser to chain Ghost during that time. Plus, well I guess that it is normal to not bring your direwolf during training (more polite and fair to the others).

The idea of the Bolton flaying people because of the Starks ability to skinchange is really interesting. nzmermaid, in that case I think that the reason behind the Bolton flaying habbit would have been forgotten, like the knowledge of the Starks warging power was forgotten.

[Hrafntýr]

@Ellfoy: I agree about the logic of keeping Ghost away during practice sessions. The parallel would be Shaggydog's attack on the Walders during the game of Lord of the Crossing in the WF godswood.

[Julia H.]

Excellent work, Harlaw’s Book the Sequel!

Bran III

"The window was open and it was cold in the room, but the warmth that came off the wolf enfolded him like a hot bath."

• Not quite ice and fire, but the spirit of the series title is there.
• Comparing Summer to a hot bath reminds me of how the inhabitants describe Winterfell –warm despite the cold surroundings.

The hot bath in association with Summer reminds me of the last Jon chapter in ASOS, where Jon is pondering his answer to Stannis, takes a hot bath in the bathhouse, then goes through the Wall and meets Ghost. Both of these are moments of realization, connected with the direwolves. Does the hot bath have a special symbolic meaning?

Summer brings Bran warmth just as he is facing a vision where winter is presented as death and his room is cold because the window is open (which may suggest vulnerability). The “hot bath” simile can also be associated with the hot springs whose water flows in the walls of Winterfell: warmth in the middle of winter.

A beautiful the description of the wolf’s eyes and how he’s warm compared to the cold room. I always wondered, why Bran names his wolf immediately after he’s waking up. Yes, yes, I know before he wakes up, Bloodraven shows him the heart of the winter but somehow I never found it a satisfying answer. But here the wolf acts as Bran’s personal sun, so Summer becomes an apt name.

• Summer eye's = sun
• Nymeria's = coins
• Ghost's = blood and summerwine

I love the observation of the direwolves’ eyes. Summer and the sun are obviously connected, but it is also interesting that Bran is the one who will travel to the far North, therefore he is most in need of a “personal sun”. Nymeria’s eyes are like coins, and that is remarkable given the importance of a certain coin with regard to Arya’s journeys. Then Ghost’s eyes are like blood and summerwine. Obviously, summerwine is also associated with summer, but I find the blood connection more exciting. Blood is a crucial concept in Jon’s story. He has Stark blood, First Men’s blood, he is Ned’s blood, a Stark by blood rather than by law, and there is also the secret concerning his bloodline, which may be significant in more ways than one, and it all has a lot to do with the reason why Jon has left Winterfell. It may be that the descriptions of the direwolves’ eyes reflect the important assets the Starks need during their journeys.

Jon III

Actually, I can imagine that the boys are scared of Ghost. Most people are afraid of direwolves, and when Jon seems to be hostile rather than friendly towards them, those fears are not surprising at all. It is also one more thing that makes Jon seem very different from the rest of them.

Franziska, it is a great observation that Jon is the “lone wolf” at the moment. He has to find a new pack to survive the coming winter.

Eddard IV

“Sansa blamed Arya and told her that it should have been Nymeria who died. And Arya was lost after she heard what had happened to her butcher’s boy, Sansa cried herself to sleep, and Arya brooded silently all day, and Eddard Stark dreamed of a frozen hell reserved for the Starks of Winterfell.”

<snip>

• For all that the Starks are seen as embodying ice and cold (especially by their detractors -looking at you, Littlefinger), the Starks consider winter the adversary, and their aptly named castle is not cold. The “frozen hell” bit also reminds me of Dante’s Inferno. The ninth (icy) circle of hell is reserved for traitors. I can see why the idea/dream of a “frozen hell” is plaguing Ned as well as why he would think Starks would wind up there.

Thanks for bringing up the Dante connection! A “frozen hell” is very appropriate with regard to the Starks in the context of the story, and betrayal is a central motif here. It also foreshadows the Starks’ fate, particularly Ned’s: He will be accused of treason and die a traitor’s death. Robb will be called a traitor in the South, and Jon will have to pretend to be a turncloak and struggle with the stigma and the other consequences afterwards.

“Bran’s wolf had saved the boy’s life, he thought dully. What was it that Jon had said when they found the pups in the snow? Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord. And he had killed Sansa’s, and for what? Was it guilt he was feeling? Or fear? If the gods had sent these wolves, what folly had he done?"

• Ned paid a heavy price for taking Jon in, but I think this passage shows that it wasn’t for nothing, and that Ned (and the other Starks) have benefitted from Ned’s choice.
• I mentioned in Bran I that I didn’t think Ned believes the gods sent the wolves. Now is when I believe he does take the idea seriously. He pushes aside the spiritual questions to focus on the dagger, but I wonder if Ned should’ve taken more time to think through these questions if for nothing but to give him a different perspective.
• What would’ve happened if Ned had known about Summer saving Bran and Cat before killing Lady? I’m curious if Ned could’ve gone through with it while having the thoughts he’s having now.

When I was reading these lines in the novel for the first time, I thought it was a long overdue realization, so why couldn’t Ned see it before? But of course, it’s easy for the reader. :unsure:

Jon thinks of the Old Gods as his fathers’ gods, and he must have learned important things about the Old Gods and the ancient religion from Ned. Yet, Ned has also learned something from Jon in this regard. Jon’s suggestion that the Stark children were meant to have the direwolves probably would not have occurred to him without what he had learned from Ned, however, it was also instinctive knowledge, a sudden inspiration the depth of which Ned did not realize at the time, but now he is beginning to.

The killing of the innocent is another recurring theme in the novel. Ned defied Robert and hid the innocent child who was in mortal danger in a war he did not even know about. It was a brave deed and the right thing to do. But not even Ned undertook the same trouble and risk to save a direwolf pup – and let’s be honest: how many of us would have? Yet, the guilt is there, because the destruction of the innocent is still a sin, and who could tell what died (apart from domestic peace) with the wolf pup that day?

Somehow, I think the crypt at Winterfell helps to answer this. Most Starks get their direwolves when they die - in the form of carved stone - along with a sword. Ned's children are unusual in that they get their direwolves as living pups before they (the Stark children) are buried in the crypt.

Ned's insistence that Lady's bones be taken to the crypt at Winterfell (sorry if I'm jumping ahead again - is this in the next chapter?) may show his faith that the gods sent the wolves, his recognition that the wolf and the girl should one day be reunited (in death), as well as his regret for having to kill his daughter's pet/guardian.

Harlaw's Book, your question raises an interesting possibility for me about the historic Bolton habit of flaying Starks and making cloaks out of their skins. (Described by Jaime in ASOS and also mentioned in AWOIAF.) If the Starks have a longtime reputation for warging, maybe the Bolton habit of taking their skins began with the relatively human motive to slay monsters. Maybe no one talks about ancient Stark tendencies to warg because the recent generations have been so nice and have intermarried with Andals enough to reduce the threat, making the Boltons look like the monsters of the north.

I think at least some of the stone direwolves in the crypt may be sculptures of real, existing direwolves. In the case of recent generations, putting direwolves into the crypt is obviously only tradition.

There is another question… If the ancient Starks were wargs, I wonder how wargs acquired their monstrous reputation in the North. The Starks were everything in the North for millennia: kings, lords, protectors, the heroes of legends. If they were well-known wargs, shouldn’t wargs have a better reputation? Or is it possible that warging was once a recognized, exclusive right of the royal family of the North, considered an abomination in all other mortals?

Thanks Harlaw, for your answer re the killing of Lady.

Interesting about flaying and warging - The Bolton's cruelty seems to be a manifestation of jealousy, literally taking another skin to wear, in imitation of the gift the Starks have for warging - but if it well known that the Starks are wargs? it seems they are not aware of this? so would the Bolton's know of this?

It seems to be not a revered thing and kept secret and outlawed . . . I have not delved into all this as much as others I admit.

Welcome, nzmermaid!

It is absolutely possible that flaying was the Boltons’ response to skinchanging. I don’t know if that makes it any better though. It could definitely be an expression of envy and jealousy, perhaps even a magical attempt to acquire the warging skill, not necessarily a nobler idea of fighting monsters. Today it is probably “only” cruelty. They are not specifically after skinchangers, after all.

[Julia H.]

I’m sorry about the delay (RL is busy at the moment). According to schedule, the next part of our re-read consists of two chapters: Tyrion III and Arya II. For the moment, however, I’m ready with the Tyrion chapter only, so I’m posting that one in order to keep the discussion going. I will come back with the Arya chapter as soon as possible.

Tyrion III

Overview

On his last night in Castle Black, Tyrion is having dinner with the officers of the Night’s Watch. He makes fun of Ser Alliser and gets called a “giant” by Maester Aemon. Afterwards he talks to the Old Bear, who asks him to speak up for the Night’s Watch in King’s Landing. Later, following a sudden whim, Tyrion goes up the Wall, where he meets Jon Snow, who is on guard duty. Ghost is with Jon.

Observations

- Tyrion is still skeptical about the usefulness of the Watch.

- Again, we are warned that Winter is coming.

- Jon appears as “the watcher on the Wall”.

- The end of this chapter is one of my favourite scenes.

Analysis

Wild Things in the Woods

“There are wild things in the woods, direwolves, and mammoths and snow bears the size of aurochs, and I have seen darker shapes in my dreams.”

Mormont’s words evoke the prologue:

“There’s some enemies a fire will keep away,” Gared said. “Bears and direwolves and…and other things…"

Why is it that up here, in the North, a list of wild and frightening things always starts with direwolves and bears, even though the true danger is so obviously something else? Anyway, Mormont at least dares to mention the white walkers, too, eventually. Besides the coming Winter, Mormont and Tyrion also discuss Jon Snow, Winterfell, the plight of the Night’s Watch, the Royce boy and Gared, Benjen Stark (missing in action) and the lack of competent candidates who could be Lord Commanders after Mormont.

As Mormont recalls Gared’s fate, we are reminded not only of the Prologue, but also of the finding of the direwolf pups, thus this episode can also be considered a direwolf-related moment. Mormont says he would never have believed that Gared would become a deserter:

“I should never have believed it, not of him, but Lord Eddard sent me his head from Winterfell.”

Of course, Gared was not supposed to turn up near Winterfell, not without the Lord Commander’s permission, so that makes him a deserter. Yet, what can we make of Mormont’s former opinion about him? (Notice that Mormont has a realistic picture of Marsh and Thorne, so perhaps he was able to correctly judge Gared’s character as well.) Is it simply there to bring it home how frightening the Others are? Or does it imply that there may be something we don’t know of Gared’s desertion?

Of bears and direwolves… We never know how these noble families acquired their sigils – or do we? It seems to have happened thousands of years ago, but the members of the family are still referred to as Wolves or Bears (the Old Bear, the She Bear, the Wolf Maiden, the direwolf etc.). It sounds like barely disguised totemism, which actually fits with the animistic religion of the First Men / CotF.

The Watchers on the Wall

Tyrion meets Jon Snow on night guard. Jon is accompanied by Ghost.

Friend

One important motif here is friendship:

“Hello, Ghost.”

<snip>

“If I touch Ghost, will he chew my hand off?”

“Not with me here,” Jon promised.

Tyrion scratched the white wolf behind the ears.

Tyrion and Ghost are on quite friendly terms now. Ghost’s feelings are apparently in harmony with Jon’s, who shakes hands with Tyrion and calls him a friend after Tyrion promises him to help Bran.

He pulled off his glove and offered his bare hand.

“Friend.”

The mention of Ghost “juggling” (“And has Ghost learned to juggle yet?”) is a joke that Jon and Tyrion share, giving an opportunity for Jon to tell Tyrion about his new friends among the trainees.

They also reveal how they both love their brothers.

Giant

Yet, the direwolf makes Tyrion uncomfortable in one respect:

The beast came up as high as his chest now. Another year, and Tyrion had the gloomy feeling he’d be looking up at him.

Jon is also described as looking bigger as he is dressed for night guard:

He looked bigger and heavier in his layers of fur and leather, the hood of his cloak pulled down over his face.

Now let us consider an earlier moment in this chapter:

“I think he is a giant come among us, here at the end of the world.”

Both Jon and Ghost have grown recently, or so it seems to Tyrion, and the idea that Ghost will soon be bigger than Tyrion may imply that Jon will also grow “larger” (not simply in the physical sense) than Tyrion, who was called, earlier in this chapter, a “giant”.

A White Shadow

The direwolf is described as a “shaggy pale shape” (silent, of course) and as “a white shadow” “pacing along beside Jon”. His appearance is in sharp contrast to the darkness of the night and he also seems somehow less than solid - like a shape, a shadow, a stream of light, a ghost.

Actually, the whole scene is described in terms of black and white:

Castle Black lay below him, etched in moonlight.

The dark of the night, the darkness, the black brothers, their layers of wool and leather, black on black, Castle Black, the dark trees, the black wood are contrasted with snow and ice, the Wall glimmering in the light of the moon, the bright glitter of moonlight on water, the lights of Mole’s Town. Also this:

Across his chest was a gleaming black warhorn, banded with silver.

Jon (dark-haired, dark-clad) and Ghost seem to melt harmoniously into this duality of darkness and silvery lights, the Wall and its shadow.

Although Ghost is described as “a white shadow”, from the descriptions it seems that of the two of them, Jon – dark and mysterious, his face covered, hidden behind the hood of his black uniform – resembles the shadow while Ghost seems to be related to the silver light of the moon or the glimmering whiteness of the Wall.

The Edge of the World

Tyrion followed him and side by side they stood on the edge of the world.

As he stood there and looked at all that darkness with no fires burning anywhere, with the wind blowing and the cold like a spear in his guts, Tyrion Lannister felt as though he could almost believe the talk of the Others, the enemy in the night.

“My uncle is out there,” Jon Snow said softly, leaning on his spear as he stared off into the darkness.

It is a very atmospheric scene. Although seemingly not much happens, I feel it must be an important scene. For a moment, Tyrion can sense the truth the Old Bear has been trying (in vain) to make him see. Jon (with Ghost) and Tyrion standing side by side on the “edge of the world”, looking into the ominous darkness beyond the Wall is a moment that must have some future significance with regard to the storylines of these characters.

Far off to the north, a wolf began to howl. Another voice picked up the call, then another. Ghost cocked his head and listened.

Once again, we are reminded that there are wolves – possibly direwolves – beyond the Wall. Winter is coming, the Starks are going to experience hard times, and south of the Trident Lady has already been killed, but the direwolves are alive and well in the far North, beyond the Wall, and Ghost seems to be a connection between them and the Starks.

The audible presence of wolves beyond the Wall may also be a clue perhaps that Benjen Stark is alive out there somewhere.

“If he doesn’t come back,” Jon Snow promised, “Ghost and I will go find him.” He put his hand on the direwolf’s head.

“I believe you,” Tyrion said, but what he thought was, And who will go find you? He shivered.

Another promise and another ominous premonition. Does Jon’s promise foreshadow the NW expedition in ACoK? Or does it foreshadow another journey beyond the Wall, where Jon will set out with (or perhaps as?) Ghost and will indeed find Benjen Stark?

The physical connection – the touch – between Jon and Ghost seems to be another example where Ghost gives Jon strength and comfort. It also suggests that through Ghost, Jon almost literally gets in touch with whatever is waiting for him beyond the Wall.

[Franziska]

Thanks for your analysis Julia.

You already mentioned the most important scenes of this chapter. Two things I'd like to add.

The beast came up as high as his chest now. Another year, and Tyrion had the gloomy feeling he’d be looking up at him.

I like this quote, because it contains one of the few moments, where we actually get some information about Ghost’s height.

According to my encyclopedia people under the size of 1.5 meters are considered as “dwarf” and Tyrion might be even smaller. So if Ghost comes up to Tyrion’s chest, his height might be somewhere between 70 to 100 centimeter.

Regular wolves (Canis lupus lupus) reach a height of 70 to 90 centimeter and they are full-grown after 12 months. They achieve their sexual maturity with 2 years and in the wild they can reach the age of 10 years.

Now I assume that direwolves are not just larger than regular wolves, they also live longer, need more time to become full-grown and so on.

I guess Ghost is now 5 or 6 months old and he has already reached the size of a common wolf. No wonder people are terrified by those wolfpuppies. Yet he’ll keep growing at least until the end of ASOS.

They walked, with Ghost pacing along beside Jon like a white shadow.

I still wonder, what’s the point of Ghost being so silent. As far as I know, people with albinism often have problems with their eyes and I guess this might be the same with animals but muteness? Is this muteness/silent behavior biological or more a “magical” thing? And if the latter, might this change in the future? (e.g. when Jon learns the truth of his heritage?)

[Seams]

Great analysis, Julia H.! Your ideas really sent me back into the books - rereading the earlier Jon and Tyrion scenes, finding foreshadowing in little details, wondering what it means that Jon wants Ghost to learn to juggle, further pondering an idea I've been considering about Benjen.

When you mentioned that the conversation between Jon and Tyrion at the end of the chapter is one of your favorite scenes, I found myself agreeing with you and wondering what it is that is so appealing about this dialogue. I think it arises from the several interactions between the two characters to this point: Tyrion has been something of a mentor for Jon already, using his own situation as a little person to put Jon's status as a bastard into perspective, thus helping him to cope with his sense of being an outsider within his own family. He has told him to embrace his identity - his bastard birth - as a way of armoring himself, making himself stronger. He also told him that his own mind is his weapon and he reads in order to keep a sharp edge on this weapon. He steps right up for some verbal sparring with Jon's nemesis, Alliser Thorne, and he agrees to help Bran at Jon's request.

These are two very likable characters who seem to have little in common except Tyrion makes it clear that they have everything in common. Bringing it back to our direwolf focus, as you point out, we see Ghost ready to attack Tyrion in the early encounters but (warily, perhaps) allowing Tyrion to pet him by the time of the gloveless shaking of hands in this chapter. Tyrion has seen the way that Ghost obeys Jon, so maybe he has learned something, too.

These observations are not necessarily wolf-related, but they came to mind as a result of your essay:

- Tyrion and Donal Noye seem to play similar mentor roles for Jon in these early chapters. Tyrion even told Jon to "armor" himself with his bastard identity and described the "whetstone" of reading that he uses to keep an edge on his mind. I think GRRM creates linked characters like this throughout the books, but I hadn't noticed a link between Donal Noye and Tyrion in my two times through the books. You also made the points about Tyrion being called a giant by Maester Aemon and we know that Donal will eventually die in combat with a giant.

- Jon's first real encounter with Tyrion is outside the Winterfell feast. Tyrion is sitting over a door and is described as looking like a gargoyle. I know there are ongoing motifs with doors and stones, so these two symbols have to be significant in this first encounter of two major characters. That Jon chapter concludes with light from the open door casting a shadow that makes Tyrion look as "tall as a king." So he goes from being a stone monster, in Jon's POV, to being a king. Another "Tyrion as Giant" reference?

- In that first meeting, Tyrion compared himself to a fool: "Did I offend you?" Lannister said. "Sorry. Dwarfs dont have to be tactful. Generations of capering fools in motley have won me the right to dress badly and say any damn thing that comes into my head." Tyrion is present when Jon jokingly accepts the offer of a bet in reply to Alliser Thorne's remark that it would be easier for him to teach a wolf to juggle than for Jon to teach Grenn and Pyp to be better swordsmen. The only other juggler in the books so far (I believe) is the fool Butterbumps, part of the Tyrell household. Are Tyrion and Ghost both being compared to fools? If so, why? Like singers, the fools in the series so far seem to indirectly reveal truths or foreshadow events. They are often shown in close association with women - Catelyn with Jinglebell; Sansa with Ser Dontos; Lady Olenna with Butterbumps; Shireen with Patchface. I guess this is only relevant to this thread if it involves Ghost, but it may need a thread of its own.

I'm grateful that you called attention to the emphasis on black in association with Jon while the direwolf and the wall are white. I was recently struck by similarities between Arya participating in the House of Black and White and Jon's joining of the Night's Watch. The colors are one of the major clues that we are supposed to draw a parallel, I think, but your analysis led me to wonder whether Ghost in his white coat is playing the role of King's Guard for Jon. If the speculation is correct that Jon has a royal destiny, it makes (literary) sense that he would have a white guard to protect him.

The combination of Jon all in black with the white wolf also combines to make grey, a color of the Stark sigil. Perhaps this is a hint that Jon with his wolf is as much a Stark as any of his half-siblings, now that he has joined the Night's Watch and teamed up with the wolf.

Tyrion followed him and side by side they stood on the edge of the world.

As he stood there and looked at all that darkness with no fires burning anywhere, with the wind blowing and the cold like a spear in his guts, Tyrion Lannister felt as though he could almost believe the talk of the Others, the enemy in the night.

My uncle is out there, Jon Snow said softly, leaning on his spear as he stared off into the darkness.

It is a very atmospheric scene. Although seemingly not much happens, I feel it must be an important scene.

The line about Tyrion feeling a spear in his guts really struck me - is this an allusion to the death Tyrion will be inflicting on his father? I just found the google books text online and went back to reread more of Tyrion's POV and found this:

He passed a massive catapult, as tall as a city wall, its base sunk deep into the Wall. The throwing arm had been taken off for repairs and then forgotten; it lay there like a broken toy, half-embedded in the ice.

Without the spear in the gut reference, I might not have noticed this. Taken together, I wonder whether this is foreshadowing Jaime's dismantled arm? Or is it another Donal Noye allusion?

Are there other details in Tyrion's visit to the edge of the world that might foreshadow other developments in his story or the fate of others in his family?

[Julia H.]

Interesting details, Franziska, thanks for sharing!

Great observations, Seams! I especially like this part:

I'm grateful that you called attention to the emphasis on black in association with Jon while the direwolf and the wall are white. I was recently struck by similarities between Arya participating in the House of Black and White and Jon's joining of the Night's Watch. The colors are one of the major clues that we are supposed to draw a parallel, I think, but your analysis led me to wonder whether Ghost in his white coat is playing the role of King's Guard for Jon. If the speculation is correct that Jon has a royal destiny, it makes (literary) sense that he would have a white guard to protect him.

The combination of Jon all in black with the white wolf also combines to make grey, a color of the Stark sigil. Perhaps this is a hint that Jon with his wolf is as much a Stark as any of his half-siblings, now that he has joined the Night's Watch and teamed up with the wolf.

Both Arya and Jon serve a rather special organization (though I like Jon's more), and both organizations require their members to leave behind their families, their former identities and everything they had. Yet neither can do that perfectly - Arya retains Needle, "Jon Snow's smile", while Jon can't stop caring for his "little sister".

I totally love the idea of Ghost being Jon's Kingsguard! It brings to mind Jaime's weirwood dream, where the members of the old Kingsguard appear as ghosts.

[Julia H.]

Arya II

Overview

While the court starts preparations for the Hand’s Tourney, Ned is morose and Arya is suffering from the aftermath of the traumatic experience that Mycah’s death, Lady’s death and losing Nymeria meant to her. Arya is hiding in her bedchamber, drawing comfort from the memory of Winterfell and Needle. Eddard arrives and they have a serious talk about the wolf pack, about honorable lies and about the coming Winter. At the end of the chapter, Arya starts her lessons with Syrio Forel.

Observations

- I’m surprised that this is only the second of Arya's POV chapters. We have learned so much about her from other characters’ POV’s.

- Sansa is all excited about the tourney – has she forgotten Lady so soon?

- Ned and Arya seem to have similar feelings.

Analysis

The Lone Wolf

The chapter is centered round the wolf pack versus lone wolf metaphor, which is nicely tied in with the experience of our lone wolf, Jon, as was observed upthread.

He missed his true brothers; little Rickon, bright eyes shining as he begged for a sweet; Robb, his rival and best friend and constant companion; Bran, stubborn and curious, always wanting to follow and join in whatever Jon and Robb were doing. He missed the girls, too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but “my half-brother” since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant. And Arya… he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. (Jon III)

That was when Arya missed her brothers most. She wanted to tease Bran and play with baby Rickon and have Robb smile at her. She wanted Jon to muss up her hair and call her “little sister” and finish her sentences with her. But all of them were gone. She had no one left but Sansa, and Sansa wouldn’t even talk to her unless Father made her. (Arya II)

In Tyrion III, Jon, the lone wolf, is beginning to find a new pack, but he is still concerned about the old one. Arya, however, is still with her “family” – albeit it is reduced to her father and sister – and yet she is unhappy with them. She feels she cannot trust the Stark household any longer:

They’d been her friends, she’d felt safe around them, but now she knew it that was a lie. They’d let the queen kill Lady, that was horrible enough, but then the Hound found Mycah.

It is a bitter experience of growing up: The adults she has trusted cannot solve all problems, cannot always help her, cannot always put things right. However, when she is finally alone, with Needle in her hand, she finally faces her own guilt about Mycah.

Her fault, her fault, her fault. If she had never asked him to play at swords with her…

Once again, she longs to go back to Winterfell or to find Jon. She seems to be a proper little lone wolf at this moment – until Eddard arrives to talk to her and to comfort her.

The Wolf Pack

“You have a wildness in you, child. ‘The wolf blood’, my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave.”

So the wolf blood is a “wildness”, and it may be a curse as much as a blessing, or so it seems to Ned. Once more the wolves symbolize the Stark personality, the innate Stark traits, which may have disadvantages as well as advantages. (The disadvantages seem to be especially obvious when the Starks go South.)

Arya is compared to Lyanna.

“We all lie,” her father said. “Or did you truly think I’d believe that Nymeria run off?”

“Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

Indeed, it was not easy to chase away Nymeria:

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn’t want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have her deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ‘shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

Nymeria lost her pack, just as Arya will, but Arya (even before Ned’s famous speech) realized that it was important for Nymeria to find a new pack.

“It was right,” her father said. “And even the lie was … not without honor.”

Ned confirms that Arya did the right thing when she gave up Nymeria in order to save Nymeria’s life. He also admits that the lie she had told her father had honor in it. Lying to loved ones instead of sharing a dangerous secret with them is exactly what Ned has been doing for fifteen years. It means carrying the burden of the lie alone rather than putting part of it on others’ shoulders. Obviously, Ned can relate.

“Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”

In a sense, all of the Stark children will become “lone wolves”. Arya will wander the Riverlands, then she will make the voyage to Braavos… Sansa will be left alone and vulnerable in KL. Robb will leave behind Winterfell and go South to be killed brutally. Bran and Rickon’s ways will part, too. Jon has already left the pack. Will they survive? How will it be possible?

Of course, sometimes it is possible to find a new pack, as Nymeria does. Other times, the lone wolf, facing death, can still think of the survival of the pack – hence Robb’s will. Still other times, the “wolf blood” must be hidden, for example when Sansa assumes the bastard name Stone. Yet, “the survival of the pack” can also be interpreted as the “lone wolves” retaining the pack feeling despite the separation. Perhaps when Winter is truly here, the scattered, surviving Starks and their direwolves will return and unite, saving the pack.

Any thoughts?

[Franziska]

In a sense, all of the Stark children will become “lone wolves”.

I agree. In the next Bran chapter, there is a similar situation for Bran and his brothers. I'll take this up, when we are there. :cool4:

“Jory kept his word,” her father said with a smile. “There are some things I do not need to be told. Even a blind man could see that wolf would never have left you willingly.”

Somehow I think this is strange. In Eddard III Ned claims he never paid much attention to the direwolves names, yet he knows exactly, how close they are to their owners. How could that happen? How much time did Ned spend with his children?

“We had to throw rocks,” she said miserably. “I told her to run, to go be free, that I didn’t want her anymore. There were other wolves for her to play with, we heard them howling, and Jory said the woods were full of game, so she’d have deer to hunt. Only she kept following, and finally we had to throw rocks. I hit her twice. She whined and looked at me and I felt so ‘shamed, but it was right, wasn’t it? The queen would have killed her.”

I think, it was a really hard lesson for Arya to drive Nymeria off, since the wolf was such an important companion for her. As a Warg she left a part of herself in the woods below the Trident, so I think it is not hard to understand, why the girl seems to be so lost after this.

There was always the discussion, what Lady’s death means for Sansa’s life. But what does it mean for Arya to lose Nym? We know, Arya becomes wilder in ACOK and the later books; people die at her hand while her counterpart is terrorizing the Riverlands. What would it mean, if she’s reunited with Nymeria? Would she calm down or become even more radical?

[Harlaw's Book the Sequel]

Great job with Tyrion III and Arya II, Julia H! And I've been loving the responses too! Please accept my apologies for not being around much, RL has gotten to me too.

Bran IV (aka the chapter that launched this reread)

Summary

Bran is frustrated with all the changes that have occurred since his fall. Old Nan begins telling him a story, but she’s interrupted when visitors arrive.

Observations

• (Understandably) Bran is angry for most of the chapter. But he's obviously not the only one who is angry and frustrated.
  
• Even though Bran, Robb, and Rickon are together, they behave more like lone wolves than a pack (similar to Arya and Sansa in Kings Landing). Despite their owners’ estrangement with each other, the direwolves are still able act as a pack.
  
• Considering all the dog versus direwolf discussion, what’s the implication for the Last Hero having a dog with him?
  
• Robb sitting on Ned’s high seat with an unsheathed sword resembles the statues of the Lords/Kings in the crypt.
  
• Tyrion has a somewhat positive opinion of Ned
  

Analysis

“In the yard below, Rickon ran with the wolves. Bran watched from his window seat. Wherever the boy went, Grey Wind was there first, loping ahead to cut him off, until Rickon saw him, screamed in delight, and went pelting off in another direction."

Grey Wind’s notable attribute is his speed. It fits with the foreshadowing of Robb's fast rise and fall. It also complements Robb’s behavior –trying to become a Lord as fast as possible that he acts without caution.

"Shaggydog ran at his heels, spinning and snapping if the other wolves came too close. His fur had darkened until he was all black, and his eyes were green fire."

• Shaggy’s fur changing to all black makes me wonder if something fundamental about Rickon has changed as well. It also makes a interesting contrast with Ghost whose coloration has set him apart since birth --possibly suggesting Jon’s path was already set out while Rickon’s was more fluid.
  
• I support the theory that green and black symbolize inter-dynastic conflict, and green symbolizes usurpation. I think Shaggy’s green eyes and black fur foreshadows Rickon being in the middle of the Stark succession plots, and that Rickon can be viewed as both the rightful heir and the usurper.
  
• Green fire automatically makes me think of wildfire. Shaggy’s eyes are described as “green fire” two times in this chapter.
  

"Bran’s Summer came last. He was silver and smoke, with eyes of yellow gold that saw all there was to see. Smaller than Grey Wind and more wary. Bran thought he was the smartest of the litter.”

• I like how Summer being more wary and possibly more intelligent than Grey Wind mirrors Bran’s actions and Bran's criticism of Robb’s behavior throughout the chapter. I think even more than Cat, Bran sees through Robb the Lord and sees Robb the child.
  
• Smoke and silver… The smoke description reminds me of how Bloodraven also chooses to wear smoke hued clothing. And obviously smoke is associated with fire. Starks have some connection with silver. Silver is a shade of grey –a Stark color. They prefer silver jewelry/accessories and currency over gold. However, the silver could be a nod to the Tullys since the Tully trout is silver.
  

“'Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods.'”

Children die, but direwolves appear to live (though not comfortably), a pretty succinct summary of the Stark kids’ arc if you ask me.

“They [the Others] were cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins.”

Fire, sun, and blood are all things that Shaggy, Summer, and Ghost’s eyes have been compared to. The hints of the direwolves as opponents to the Others keep piling up.

"…the wolves came on. Their eyes found Lannister, or perhaps they caught his scent. Summer began to growl first. Grey Wind picked it up. They padded toward the little man… ‘The wolves do not like your smell, Lannister,’ Theon Greyjoy commented. ‘Perhaps it’s time I took my leave,' Tyrion said. He took a step backward…and Shaggydog came out of the shadows behind him, snarling. Lannister recoiled, and Summer lunged at him from the other side. He reeled away, unsteady on his feet, and Grey Wind snapped at his arm, teeth ripping at his sleeve and tearing loose a scrap of cloth.”

Now we get to the centerpiece of the chapter, why do the wolves attack? Why is Summer the first to growl, especially after Tyrion gives the plans for the saddle. Lets backtrack to the beginning of the chapter. Bran isn’t in a good emotional place. He’s angry he can’t walk and at the consequences that come with the disability. He’s angry that everyone has abandoned him. He’s also angry at the Three-Eyed because he thinks the crow lied to him. And he’s not exactly pleased when Tyrion’s arrival interrupts Old Nan’s story (although it’s the reader who has the true cause for grief).

When Bran is around Tyrion, he doesn’t feel comfortable. Tyrion’s questioning about the fall doesn’t help Bran feel more at ease. Also Bran doesn’t believe Tyrion right away that the saddle will enable him to ride, comparing Tyrion to the lying Three-Eyed Crow. It doesn’t help that even Tyrion is doing something nice, he still acts a bit jerkish. Add Summer’s (and Bran’s) naturally wary behavior to the mix, and I think it’s plausible that Bran and Summer’s feelings on their own give enough reason for Summer to attack Tyrion –with Grey Wind and Shaggy joining due to the pack mentality as well as picking up on the dislike towards Tyrion too.

Could the attack be a warning about the upcoming war between the Starks and Lannisters? Yes. Is it a warning that Tyrion is not a Stark ally? Yes. Is it a sign that Tyrion is not really the nice guy he appears to be? Yes. These all fit. So the attack could be warning of the threat Tyrion presents.

One theory alternate theory I’ve thought about is that the wolves attacked to prevent Tyrion from leaving, preventing the encounter at the Crossroads Inn. If the delay had been long enough, Cat might have been able to send word in time for Tyrion to be kept prisoner at Winterfell.

Something that stood out to me on this reread of the attack was that the only damage Tyrion sustained was a scare and a torn sleeve. But by now, we’ve already seen a direwolf kill a man, so in comparison, the wolves’ attack seems comparably tame. I think there was time for the direwolves to seriously injure or kill Tyrion before they were called off, but they didn’t? Why? So after all this analysis, I feel I’ve wound up with more questions than answers.

“'No doubt they mistook me for dinner.' Lannister bowed stiffly to Bran. 'I thank you for calling them off, young ser. I promise you, they would have found me quite indigestible. And now I will be leaving, truly.'”

• Tyrion calling Bran ser is a nice touch that I hadn’t noticed till now. Even though it could be read as mockery, I do think Tyrion was sincerely complimenting Bran. There’s kind of an implicit acknowledgment that Bran has Ned and Jon’s graces. Also I think despite all that happened to Bran, he’s still on the path to knighthood, just not the type of knighthood anyone expected. (In the Arthurian comparison’s thread, I compared Bran to the Green Knight from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Also I think Bran assumes the duties of a Kingsguard to Jon, which fits with Jon having quite an unconventional Kingsguard around him).
  
• Now why is Tyrion so hostile to this attack when he was able to shrug off Ghost’s attack and become friends with Jon? Honestly, I think Jon acted worse considering he waited for Tyrion to ask nicely before calling off Ghost, whereas the other Stark boys don’t impose such a condition, they just call the wolves off. There are three reasons I can think of for the different reactions. First, Tyrion felt bad for what he said to Jon prior to Ghost’s attack. Here, I don’t think Tyrion thinks he has any reason to be ashamed of how acted. Second, Ghost’s attack was done in private, and this attack happened in a public, formal setting. Third, (Bran’s presence notwithstanding), Tyrion has a soft spot for cripples, bastards, and broken things, which is why I think he was able to not hold what Ghost did against Jon. Meanwhile, in Tyrion’s eyes, Robb doesn’t belong in one of those categories, so he has no desire to be nice to him or anyone else at Winterfell other than Bran.
  

"Summer snatched table scraps from Bran’s hand, while Grey Wind and Shaggydog fought over a bone in the corner. Winterfell’s dogs would not come near the hall now. Bran found that strange at first, but he was growing used to it."

• Grey Wind and Shaggy fighting over a bone and Summer staying out of it might be more foreshadowing for how the Stark succession plays out. It could also be foreshadowing for how Rickon challenges Robb's decisions, ie not wanting Robb to visit holdfasts or go South.
  
• The dog vs. direwolf theme strike again.
  

"Robb carried Bran up to bed himself. Grey Wind led the way, and Summer close behind."

I like how this provides a bookend to the beginning.

[Half Of Tormunds Member]

"Bran’s Summer came last. He was silver and smoke, with eyes of yellow gold that saw all there was to see. Smaller than Grey Wind and more wary. Bran thought he was the smartest of the litter.”

I missed this part about Summer seeing all there was to see the first time around. Another nod to Bloodraven perhaps, or maybe the Weirnet.