Becoming No One: Re-reading Arya

[Ice Turtle]

Regarding heritage, Arya also seems loathe to drop the fact that she is important, and she has value. To herself, she is not at all a gutter rat. She immidiately thinks the gold cloaks are after her, and is baffled when she learns they are after Gendry. As of yet, she cannot drop that she is Arya of House Stark.

And if the gods are good, Bywater will find Arya alive, before Robb learns she’s gone missing.

This is from the Tyrion chapter where he receives Robb's peace terms. The commander of the Gold cloaks is personally charged with finding her, later Tyrion claims the same about Varys. Gold Cloaks are actually searching for Arya at this time.

This is a little off topic but how GC knew where to find Gendry? Did Varys tipped Cersei or did she found simply by asking around? But Varys was the one trying to hide Gendry, so it seems as if he had been uncharacteristically sloppy. So the the typical paranoid answer is that it was LF. Or that Gendry was send here only to make Eddard trust Varys more.

However, we also know from later chapters that Gendry knew from early on that she was a girl. Something to keep in mind for later discussion, if this affects Gendry's interactions with her.

We probably have a different understanding about early on, but Gendry will specifically state when it was - and according the timeline it was about two months after they first met.

About foreshadowing, Jaqen is holding a tankard. Arya giving someone his last drink is a motive that will repeat four times in her arc.

[Lummel]

...This is a little off topic but how GC knew where to find Gendry? Did Varys tipped Cersei or did she found simply by asking around? But Varys was the one trying to hide Gendry, so it seems as if he had been uncharacteristically sloppy. So the the typical paranoid answer is that it was LF. Or that Gendry was send here only to make Eddard trust Varys more...

It looks like Varys' original plan was to send Gendry north to the Wall with The Ned who knew that he was King Bob's bastard son. Note that The Ned only swore to the seven and not by the old gods that Joffrey was Bob's trueborn son. Potentially The Ned would have been free at the Wall to say to all and sundry that Joffrey and siblings are all bastards and here, in the shape of Gendry is the proof. The Ned is highly regarded in the North, famously honest and reliable and well placed to soften up the north to be ready for the return of the Targaryen heir that Varys was preparing overseas.

Of course once The Ned is dead, Gendry has no value to Varys so he uses the asset to win trust from Cersei by betraying him to her instead.

[Lyanna Stark]

We probably have a different understanding about early on, but Gendry will specifically state when it was - and according the timeline it was about two months after they first met.

Ah sorry for not being clearer, I meant it more as something to keep track of in the future, not that Gendry understood it directly. :)

This was more a comment about people calling Arya "boy" or "girl", and how she reacts to it.

[total1402]

In fantasy inspired computer games, the chain mail bikini female warriors are extremely common, so a lot of it probably comes from there. For example here or here, taken from some of the most popular fantasy inspired computer games. Female fighters in chain mail bikini type armour is definitely fairly common as a concept within fantasy themed culture, even if most "serious" fantasy novels steer clear of them.

Then you have novels like Erikson's Malazan, where women are warriors on the same terms as men, more or less, and no real difference is made between them at all. They feel rather androgynous, on the whole. Interestingly he has some other interesting female characters (like Felisin) but the soldiers all feel quite a lot like genderless soldiers.

Yeah, it is more common in video games like Dragonage and Guild Wars.

I suppose I was also asking if the criticism was just aimed at the "realism" of the depiction of actual female warriors? Meaning once you allow magic or superpowers the objection on grounds of realism becomes void. Or if its a more general objection of sexualizing female warrior characters? I mean I heard Martin is a bit of a comic book fan, so, would he apply that criticism against "women in chainmail bikinis" and not like characters such as Ms Marvel or Wonder Woman? Since the latter have superpowers and realism doesn't apply.

I suppose I should probably relate this to the topic. If Arya becomes a true Faceless Man and is able to do all this awesome stuff, despite being physically weaker than men does that mean Martins sort of worming his way around the point on realism? Her training seems mainly to have involved things like skin changing and infiltration. But I find it hard to believe that Haqen was THAT good without some supernatural assistence. He seemed to be up there with Ezio and Altair off Assasians Creed. If Arya is anything like that in time then I think you'd be starting to leave reality behind. I could be wrong of course.

[Lummel]

We will get a chance to see Jaqen and can get an idea of how good he is in later chapters of ACOK. Anticipating future chapters is very bad but I don't think that when we get to that part of the reread that there is anything that he does that is out of line with what Arya will later learn.

[total1402]

We will get a chance to see Jaqen and can get an idea of how good he is in later chapters of ACOK. Anticipating future chapters is very bad but I don't think that when we get to that part of the reread that there is anything that he does that is out of line with what Arya will later learn.

Wouldn't that be giving Arya superpowers though? Hence slightly undermining her presentation as having the "real" flaws of being a girl and aspiring to what she wants to do? Jon-"You can't carry a longsword Arya. Arya what are you doing with that dagger?" Thud sound "Ahhh!" Arya-"Can't use the longsword if I disable your hand."

(Starship troopers reference BTW) ;)

[Lummel]

I see no reason in what I have read so far to assume superpowers for either Arya or Jaqen. Everything seems explicable through either training, observation or chemistry. As Errand Bard was pointing out above working out Arya's identity doesn't require superpowers, she is giving out clues as she goes. Nor does anything else that we will get to see when we get to those chapters of the reread require superpowers so far as I see.

[Errant Bard]

On Sansa, not sure it's relevant but thinking about it, it's only when speaking to Arya that she adopts that "ever so fine" snobbish talk (first time I can remember was the lemon cakes incident, just before Darry.) Inconsistency from GRRM, Sansa's nature, Sansa just playing high noble for everyone, effect reserved to Arya or bias from Arya? (last one is doubtful, it was a Sansa chapter where she talked of Myrcella and lemon cakes)

Wouldn't that be giving Arya superpowers though? Hence slightly undermining her presentation as having the "real" flaws of being a girl and aspiring to what she wants to do?

I don't really get it, Jaqen has no superpowers, we already saw in the first two COK Arya chapters that Arya gave a lot of information to work on for one who has his ears open and his mind keen. Even right now, the deduction that she's Arya Stark is pretty basic... from the Gold Cloaks incident, a sharp man like Jaqen has necessarily made a good educated guess at the truth.

[Elaena Targaryen]

Thank you all for doing a re-read on Arya! I have not re read any of the chapters yet, just the re-read thread, but I think I might try to keep up better since you all are doing such a wonderful job!

Besides what has already been focused on such as gender I'm also curious to see if Arya has any romantic dreams or innocent attractions, it might be hard to find lol. We know that Arya is close to Gendry and it has been pointed out in the past that Arya really seems to notice Jaqen being attractive, more than others maybe, so during the reread I would be curious to see if anyone else sees this. I know Arya is young yet but I think she can show, with innocence of a child, an interest in boys at this time. I also wonder, if it's there, if it can be a / another similarity in the present or future with Sansa as in romantic notions, the types attracted too, future relationship desires, ect. I know Arya is still young but I don't think she will still "find boys gross" like a little girl by the end of the series, even Bran crushes on Meera.

:idea: maybe I should just read and discuss what I notice... :lol:

[Fire Eater]

The wolves are growing braver in the riverlands, and this probably includes Arya.

There was a madwoman who screamed "Fools! They'll kill you fools!" She was described as scarecrow thin, interesting use of analogy as scarecrows are put in fields to scare the crows away. The crow, Yoren, wasn't scared, thinking they will be left alone as they are the NW, but the woman's warnings prove to be right.

[Lyanna Stark]

Errant Bard, great catch on Sansa being described as a snob by Arya. The conflict between the sisters is often emphasised in their chapters, which is why people seem to miss the bits where it's shown they do care about each other.

Welcome to the reread Eleana Targaryen. I agree that Gendry is an interesting part of Arya's arc and he is one of the main "sidekicks" in ACOK. On top of that he also seem to have a fair bit of foreshadowing tied to him, and of course his own character development, which we can follow through Arya's eyes.

[Errant Bard]

The conflict between the sisters is often emphasised in their chapters, which is why people seem to miss the bits where it's shown they do care about each other.

This is not really conflict here, more like a contrast. It's rather evident (well, GRRM said it too) that Sansa at first is merely a foil for Arya: Arya is wild, Sansa is meek, Arya is a tomboy, Sansa is girly, Arya is close to the people, Sansa is highbrow, etc.

It participates in a trick to make Arya more likeable, as she is closer to the modern values.

The conflict between them is then overblown by readers (seriously, there are theories about Arya coming to kill Sansa, boggles the mind.) However it does not mean Sansa is not trying hard to play the snob before King's Landing (she loses that attitude in short order, hence my question if it was an author oversight, a trick to make Sansa more likeable once the Arya foil role was fulfilled, or simply an act that was put by Sansa and dropped. Considering the "courtesy is a Lady's armour" thin, I lean towards writing trick.) or that there is no sibling rivalry (Arya ruins everything! Don't tell Sansa!)

[Elba the Intoner]

Arya and death: Again Arya is connected to death, and death is all around her, yet it does not give her comfort this time.

In the morning we learn that Praed had died during the night, and Arya had noticed the abscence of his coughing.

Later on, Arya gets desensitized to death, but here it disturbs her, and the silence disturbs her. However, she seems hardened enough that Praed's death does not upset her in any meaningful way. She is getting used to the death and destruction that is setting in. Death is all around, literally.

There's also the Red Sword surrounded by half a thousand stars, maybe symbolising that whomever ends up being Azor Ahai will have the entire world circling around him or her.

There is strong imagery of the color red here and death as a looming presence. This brought to mind something from the book Phantom of the Opera as that is fresh in my mind having read it recently and also the story, The Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allen Poe. In Phantom, Erik (the Phantom) shows up at a masquerade ball as the Red Death. He is very closely associated with death throughout the book, such as his appearance being described as wearing a gentlemen's suit topped by a death's head, his appearing out of a pile of skulls at the church in Perros and later we learn how he sleeps in a coffin and was also planning to blow up the whole Opera during a crowded performance. Leroux was an admirer of Edgar Allen Poe who famously wrote a story about the Red Death. The Mask (or Masque) of the Red Death by Poe has been interpreted to be about the idea that you can't escape death (on a very simple level as of course there are more subtle ideas at play such as Prince Prospero shutting himself off from the suffering of his people outside and holding a masquerade ball for his friends only and partying in a carefree manner while the smallfolk are dying by the thousands outside). A stranger shows up as the red death, creating an ominous feeling that death is coming for them all, and indeed the Prince and all his friends hiding with him in his castle end up dead. (I like this blogger's explanation of the Red Death as a party crasher) and to me it also represents that the good times, the days of summer, are coming to an end. That's why I love that quote Lyanna used in the chapter analysis, how it seemed to Arya that the whole world was holding it's breath. I think if I was at a party having a grand old time and then someone showed up as Red Death I might hold my breath too when I first caught sight of him. I would think that any party would end shortly thereafter.

Anyway, to tie this to Arya's chapter, I really get the sense that Martin must also have been giving a nod to Poe here. The red sword in the sky, which Arya associated in the previous chapter as Ice with her father's blood on it, is looming in the sky just as we really start to see the smallfolk suffering in all it's gruesomeness. Arya at this point is still affected by it and not desensitized yet, so she is not at Prince Prospero's level. Also, this is her first real interaction with Jaqen, who has red and white hair. We'll later see that he is the first to tell her all men must die (the phrase valar morgulis) and learn that he is an assassin. Also, it's interesting that the recruit who dies overnight supposedly had a very bad cough which she no longer hears once he dies. I had first thought of the red death plague as an Ebola outbreak, but there was no Ebola in the middle ages. Then I thought about the Bubonic plague which ravaged Europe in the middle ages, but that was known as the Black plague. Then I remembered reading somewhere that it probably was supposed to represent Tuberculosis which causes one to spit up and cough up blood (no doubt what Gyles Roseby had) which was very common in the middle ages, and also Poe lost a lady love to tuberculosis IIRC. I would say that Vaed's coughing and then silence through death represents the red death in the form of Tuberculosis.

ETA Also, one more thing about this quote: Yet somehow it felt as though the world were holding its breath, and the silence made her shiver., which I think is just a beautifully written haunting image, is that it reminds me of The Silence of the Lambs and lambs symbolize sacrifice and slaughter, as in the phrase leading lambs to the slaughter. That's kind of what's happening here. Aside from all the smallfolk being slaughtered, it's foreshadowing what will happen to this group of Night's Watch recruits later. (OK so I just googled The Silence of the Lambs and learned that the novel by Thomas Harris is a sequel to an earlier novel titled Red Dragon!)

[Blisscraft]

Well done, Lyanna. Love to read your summaries.

Ice Turtle - Love the tankard image and its association with the HoBaW. Very nice.

Elba - Death is a real buzz kill.

By the end of this chapter, Arya no longer rides a donkey, but a horse.

ETA: The tankard is a feminine symbol.

[Milady of York]

The association of a comet with war, destruction and death –especially if it’s red-coloured or sword-shaped– isn’t peculiar to novels, fantasy or not.

It’s a very old interpretation frequently repeated throughout the eras, so I doubt GRRM took it from literary sources but from history. The reference to a comet as a red sword isn’t Poe’s, it’s a metaphor that already existed in Antiquity, old as time itself, for there’s even a mention of a red star in The Iliad in relation to war and destruction of a land. Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes this phenomenon in his book The Wars of the Jews:

"There was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city [he’s referring to Jerusalem], and a comet, that continued a whole year."

A comet with these characteristics –not just any comet but one that had specifically this shape or colouring– was an ominous sign warning of danger in the ancient world, for they thought it meant an armed conflagration was in the horizon. The episode described above happened in 66 AD, and shortly after, the Jews rebelled against Rome, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem, the razing of their Temple and the expulsion of the Hebrew people from Palestine.

In the Middle Ages, the Conquest of Britain by William the Bastard was preceded by such a comet; also, the bloody First Crusade was preceded, according to medieval writer Ekkehard of Aura, by celestial portents, amongst which was a sword-shaped comet that appeared in 1097 [interestingly, astronomers on both sides of the conflict saw the shape as resembling their own type of arm: the Christians said it had the shape of a longsword, and the Muslims said it was scimitar-shaped]. The Crusaders would ravage Byzantium and take Jerusalem in 1099, and massacres followed. The next times a sword-shaped or red comet was registered, the Mongols invaded and ravaged Europe and the decades-long religious wars between Catholics and Protestants started.

I once read a biography of Napoleon and remember an interesting bit: during his reign, a big comet appeared in the sky, which was reddish in colour and was called Napoleon’s Comet. This one was seen as a sign of the war and bloodshed his rule would bring to Europe (his followers disagreed, of course), and it seemed to be confirmed during his disastrous Russian campaign, where he lost his Grande Armée and ravaged the Eastern countries. And these are only some examples from real life. It’s certainly significant that the red comet appears just before the War of the Five Kings, and is fitting that it should be later referred to as a red sword in Arya’s POV whilst she’s in the zone most affected by the war, for it specifically symbolises the bloodshed of war, not plague per se, which has its own set of bad omens and can happen in wartime or in peacetime.

[Elba the Intoner]

{snip}

Great post Milady. You are just a wellspring of information! Thank you. I know that constellations and heavenly bodies have been viewed as signs or omens for various purposes throughout history but you certainly know the details. I did want to clarify what I was saying about the red sword comet though. I didn't mean to suggest that that in and of itself was some kind of nod to Poe per se, just that it is one of many strong examples in the chapter that show an imagery of red and death in combination and all those images together led me to the thoughts on red death (if that makes any sense).

Thank you all for doing a re-read on Arya! I have not re read any of the chapters yet, just the re-read thread, but I think I might try to keep up better since you all are doing such a wonderful job!

Besides what has already been focused on such as gender I'm also curious to see if Arya has any romantic dreams or innocent attractions, it might be hard to find lol. We know that Arya is close to Gendry and it has been pointed out in the past that Arya really seems to notice Jaqen being attractive, more than others maybe, so during the reread I would be curious to see if anyone else sees this. I know Arya is young yet but I think she can show, with innocence of a child, an interest in boys at this time. I also wonder, if it's there, if it can be a / another similarity in the present or future with Sansa as in romantic notions, the types attracted too, future relationship desires, ect. I know Arya is still young but I don't think she will still "find boys gross" like a little girl by the end of the series, even Bran crushes on Meera.

:idea: maybe I should just read and discuss what I notice... :lol:

I agree and I do think there are hints there that when she is older she would not rule out romance. She certainly notices handsome men. In this chapter she describes Jaqen as handsome though that doesn't necessarily mean much. As for parallels with Sansa, well, in this chapter there is this:

Arya edged backward away from the wagon. When she felt the hand on her shoulder, she whirled, bringing up her stick sword again, but it was only the Bull. "What are you doing?" He raised his hands defensively. "Yoren said none of us should go near those three.." "They don't scare me," Arya said. Then you're stupid. They scare me."

As compared with Sansa's first chapter in AGOT:

She stepped backward and bumped into someone. Strong hands grasped her by the shoulders, and for a moment Sansa thought it was her father, but when she turned,it was the burned face of Sandor Clegane looking down at her, his mouth twisted in a terrible mockery of a smile. "You are shaking, girl," he said, his voice rasping. Do I frighten you so much?"

It's almost exactly the same interaction between Arya and Gendry and Sansa and Sandor.

[Ragnorak]

Very nice write up, Lyanna!

I love your observation on the Seven being represented in al the travelers (more refugees than travelers), though I do think we have the Stranger represented in the graves at the side of road. The scenery associated with the Seven is far from positive but I'm hesitant to see it as the same negative imagery we saw in Ned's beheading chapter. There the symbols of the religion itself had a highly negative context. This is just human suffering. It is probably significant that the Seven are going South and Arya is going North.

As a side note-- Some years back we were graced by a couple of comets. Living near a city with an abundance of light pollution they seem little more than bright stars or planets with a hint of a tail when seen with the naked eye. I had occasion to travel to the middle of nowhere while the comet was still in the sky and it presented quite a different picture. The tail of the comet stretched across at least three quarters of the sky and apart from the moon (when it was out) it was clearly the brightest thing in the night sky. I remember realizing why comets were taken as such significant signs as I stared in awe at this impressive sight that seemed so mundane when I first saw it.

I was thinking about why these recruits were so willing to stand up to the Gold Cloaks. Part of it is certainly that Yoren treated them well especially compared to their prior lives. There is also the fact that they came from the dungeons so as criminals the Gold Cloaks are somewhat of a natural enemy. There is also the innate sense of fairness particularly in the young. Taking the Black is one of those things that can place even the most lowborn out of the reach of the most powerful. Almost everyone of them has been pardoned and the idea that their own pardons are questionable can't sit well. Possibly the most important factor is that Yoren said no before the Gold Cloaks ever said who they wanted. He was willing to defend all of them equally and prior to pointing to Gendry it could have been any of them that they were after. The end result is that Gendry isn't a lone wolf but a member of a pack and he survives.

This is also the incentive monent for Arya's future pack.

“I guess,” said Hot Pie, scrambling on all fours for a big rock to throw. Arya could not believe what she was seeing. She hated Hot Pie! Why would he risk himself for her?

We also see her bond with Gendry.

We also have the repeated theme of her using her senses. She listens to gossip and learns in the inn but even when it isn't important to the plot she smells the soap in Gendry's ear. We even have a detailed list of things she hears waking in the night that leads her to learn from hearing silence. She's already constantly practicing lessons that she'll be put through more strenuously and consciously much later in Braavos.

I like the Tully grandfather thoughts. I agree that it is an important emphasis on the Cat connection which is often overlooked, but it is also a demonstration of "family" as a value to the Stark children. Arya never met a Tully relative to the best of my recollection and certainly not her grandfather. Despite all that she's been through her reflex is to care about family. Her not wanting to let others die for her while she sits back is a reminder of Ned and his leadership style. Her older lessons are still with her.

Just an observation-- I love the way Martin writes the smallfolk dialogue, especially in Inns where they argue over rumors. We get some great examples of that in Arya's chapters.

[1234567]

Arya Between Arya 2 and Arya 3 – ACOK

Only a couple of mentions of Arya in between Chapters

In Jon 1

“Maester Aemon had counted more than a hundred name days, Jon knew. Frail, shrunken, wizened, and blind, it was hard to imagine him as a little boy no older than Arya. Mormont continued. “

In Catleyn 1

When trying to convince Robb to swap Jaime for the girls.

“I can’t release the Kingslayer, not even if I wanted to. My lords would never abide it”

“Your lords made you their king.”

“And can unmake me just as easy”

“If your crown is the price we must pay to have Arya and Sansa returned safe, we should pay it willingly.”

“But I won’t free him, not even for Arya and Sansa”

“I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for father, but…”

“…but not for the girls?” Her voice was icy quiet. “Girls are not important enough, are they”

Robb made no answer, but there was hurt in his eyes.

Arya 3 – ACOK

Summary

Arya is still journeying North with Yoren and the new recruits. Arya notes that the flood of people that had encountered going south had ceased and now they encountered very few people at all, which has left Arya relived as it means there are less people to point out the way they have gone. However the road has become difficult to track and is no longer a straight path but a twisted and difficult path to follow.

Although the terrain is not particularly arduous being mainly farmland and woodland

the path was so narrow and crooked that their pace had dropped to a crawl

The wagons are slowing the group and stuck wheels, etc are slowing their pace. At one point they meet an oncoming Ox cart and there is no room to pass each other, so the ox cart has to turn around and the group have to follow them at an even slower pace.

Arya could not help looking over her shoulder, wondering when the gold cloaks would catch them. At night, she woke at every noise to grab for Needle’s hilt. They never made camp without putting out sentries now, but Arya did not trust them, especially the orphan boys. They might have done well enough in the alleys of King’s Landing, but out here they were lost. When she was being quiet as a shadow, she could sneak past all of them,

Since the Gold Cloaks came in search of Gendry, all the other boys treat him as if he was special. Gendry however says he didn’t do anything to any Queen and was just an apprentice armourer until his master told him he had to join the Night’s Watch. He would then go off and polish the helm he had made.

The rest of the boys try to guess what he has done. Lommy guesses that he is the bastard son of the traitor Ned Stark, but Arya is quick to dismiss this.

“He’s not,” Arya declared. My father only had one bastard, and that’s Jon. She stalked off into the trees, wishing she could just saddle her horse and ride home. She was a good horse, a chestnut mare with a white blaze on her forehead. And Arya had always been a good rider. She could gallop off and never see any of them, unless she wanted to. Only then she’d have no one to scout ahead of her, o watch behind, or stand guard while she napped, and when the gold cloaks caught her, she’d be all alone. It was safer to stay with Yoren and the others.”

Yoren tells her that they are near the God’s Eye and that the group won’t be safe until they cross the trident. They are taking a diversion route to try and chase off the gold cloaks. They begin to go West and the farmland becomes mainly forest, and the terrain becomes more hilly with fewer villages. Although they left KL fully stocked they have now run out of food and Yoren sends two poachers from the group off to find food while the rest of the group collect berries etc as they travel. Arya likes to go off by herself and one day manages to catch and kill a rabbit. As a reward she get a whole leg to herself, but shares it with Gendry and everyone else gets a spoonful. Jaqen H’ghar thanks her but Rorge calls her more names.

While traveling they are not welcomed by villagers and have to pay for food, and Yoren laments that there was a time when High Lords all over the seven kingdoms would have gladly given them hospitality. However they get hostility in return.

One of the scouts report a large group of injured, but armed men up ahead of them and Yoren decides to move the group on a different path to avoid them and any trouble. It is a two day diversion, but Yoren tells the group that as they have the rest of their lives at the Wall, two days matter very little. As they pass they begin to see men guarding fields and one man in a tree with a bow and arrow. Yoren remarks

“Him in his tree, let’s see how well he likes it up there when the Others come to take him. He’ll scream for the Watch then, he will.”

Later that day they see fires in the north and the next day arrive where a village had been. There is desolation everywhere, with dead and burnt animals being feasted on by crows and burnt houses and burnt bodies impaled on posts sticking up from the holdfast walls. Arya and the boys are told to stand fast by the wagons, while Yoren and two men go to investigate. Arya asks if they should go after them and Gendry, wearing his helm for the first time Arya is aware of says no and to wait.

They come back eventually with a crying two year old girl and a woman who has had her arm cut off. All she utters is the word “please”. Rorge and Biter both think this is funny and start to laugh.

The woman is put in a wagon and Yoren says they have to go as Wolves will come by nightfall. Hotpie tells Arya he is afraid and Arya says she is too.

“He squeezed her shoulder. “I never truly kicked no boy to death, Arry. I just sold my mommy’s pies, is all.” Arya rode as far ahead of the wagons as she dared, so she wouldn’t have to hear the little girl crying or listen to the woman whisper, “Please.” She remembered a story Old Nan had told once, about a man imprisoned in a dark castle by evil giants. He was very brave and smart and he tricked the giants and escaped . . . but no sooner was he outside the castle than the Others took him, and drank his hot red blood. Now she knew how he must have felt.”

The woman dies by the evening and Gendry and another recruit dig her a grave.

When the wind blows Arya thinks she can hear the branches whispering “Please, Please, Please” and this gives her the chills.

They have no fire that night and eat wild radishes, beans and water from the brook. The water tastes odd ad Lommy says it is the taste of rotting dead bodies. Arya drinks lots of water just to fill her belly.

She wakes up in the night desperate to pee. She finds Needle and heads towards the trees, but gets stopped by Hotpie on Sentry duty, who tells her to pee against a tree as Wolves are out there.

Arya thinks of a way to get out of the situation by pretending to be afraid of wolves and says she now doesn’t need to go. She goes back to her blanket, but when she hears Hotpie walk off, she moves to the other side of the camp and dodges the sentries with ease. However she goes further than she normally would just in case.

She is peeing by a tree when she hears a noise and is worried it is Hotpie, but then sees eyes reflected in the moonlight and realizes it’s a wolf. She suddenly realizes it is a whole pack and is terrified that she’ll be eaten. One wolf approaches with bared teeth, and she thinks that Hotpie will gloat when they find her devoured body in the morning, but the wolf turns around and leaves. Terrified she follows the sound of Yoren sharpening his dirk to get back to camp and climbs into the wagon with Yoren. She whispers to him that here are Wolves in the forest and that they scared her. Yoren says he thought her kind are fond of wolves and Arya says that Nymeria was a Direwolf. But that she and Jory chased her away because the Queen would kill her.

“It made her sad to talk about it. “I bet if she’d been in the city, she wouldn’t have let them cut off Father’s head.”

“Orphan boys got no fathers,” Yoren said, “or did you forget that?” The sourleaf had turned his spit red, so it looked like his mouth was bleeding. “The only wolves we got to fear are the ones wear manskin, like those who done for that village.” I wish I was home,” she said miserably. She tried so hard to be brave, to be fierce as a wolverine and all, but sometimes she felt like she was just a little girl after all.

Yoren begins to ponder if it would have been safer leaving her in the city and notes that in 30 years he has only lost 3 men and even wishes he had taken a ship to go north. He tells Arya to go to sleep.

She did try. Yet as she lay under her thin blanket, she could hear the wolves howling . . . and another sound, fainter, no more than a whisper on the wind, that might have been screams.

Analysis

On reflection I think this is one of the most chilling chapters in the book. The feeling of being hunted and the gruesome nature of violent death and destruction all around, whilst the group can only plod slowly through this nightmare landscape when all that you want to do is flee on a fast horse to safety gives a true sense of the destructive nature of the war of the five kings.

Character Development.

Also for those who think of Kevan Lannister as the “Good Lannister”, this destruction and wanton cruelty (people impaled and burned alive) has been overseen by him. Good man he is not.

On a side note, I had thought the 2^nd season of the TV series negated Jon, Dany and Sansa’s arc terribly, but after re-reading these chapters it becomes evident that they have not done any justice to Arya’s arc either.

Anyway on to themes raised within this chapter.

Safety

Arya’s concern that the Gold Cloaks may return and her growing anxiety about the pace they are travelling at are evident in this chapter. When she wakes at every sound she hears and grabs Needle for protection, you can really feel the fear of being hunted. Although they were after Gendry, she still fears it is her that they are searching for. As Lyanna commented in the last chapter about Arya’s growing awareness of the group being part of a “pack” we see in this chapter that she clearly identifies the benefits of being in a group.

“Only then she’d have no one to scout ahead of her, o watch behind, or stand guard while she napped, and when the gold cloaks caught her, she’d be all alone. It was safer to stay with Yoren and the others.”

We see she wants to flee and still collects berries by herself, but that she knows, that she has to stay with the group for her own safety.

Loss of Childhood

“Once, when Lommy Greenhands had the watch, she shimmied up an oak and moved from tree to tree until she was right above his head, and he never saw a thing. She would have jumped down on top of him, but she knew his scream would wake the whole camp, and Yoren might take a stick to her again.”

This passage struck me as particularly sad. In a previous Arya chapter we have her remembering Jon jumping out as a ghost in the crypts and after the initial scare, all the children laughing. Here we have Arya who again sees the childish fun of jumping down and scaring Lommy, only childish games and play are no longer safe and instead of laughter, there is fear of being beaten. What should be a relatively carefree period of Arya’s life is gone. Even if all the Stark children survive, their childhoods have been taken from them, which in incredibly sad.

On a more positive note though is it is another connection between Arya and Jon: a love of harmless practical jokes. Through the incident where Jon is a ghost (which has also perhaps deeper foreshadowing) and Arya wants to jump down and scare Lommy, we glimpse another facet of the bond between them. In Jon’s chapter we see him trying to imagine Aemon as a child like Arya. Out of all his siblings, she is the one that he first brings to mind.

We also see that Arya just wants to be at home and had the life she had before. She is trying to act older than she is, and her statement below reminded me a lot of Cat’s desire to be able to be a frightened grieving woman if only for a little while (can I find that ruddy passage btw, no). I think this is another way in which the similarity between Arya and Cat is noticeable.

I wish I was home,” she said miserably. She tried so hard to be brave, to be fierce as a wolverine and all, but sometimes she felt like she was just a little girl after all.

Inner Strength

“He’s not,” Arya declared. My father only had one bastard, and that’s Jon. She stalked off into the trees, wishing she could just saddle her horse and ride home.”

Again I think we see how strong Arya is here. Although she is one to hold her grief close to her chest, it must be hard to have had your father murdered and then hear others blithely talk about him being a traitor who had his head nicked off in gossipy chit chat. While this could be interpreted as a numbness or detachment from what has happened, it appears more as Arya keeping her grief internalized, or as Bran saw in his vision, “Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart”.

Symbolism

FM and the future path

“The bad part was, the road wound back and forth like a snake, tangling with even smaller trails and sometimes seeming to vanish entirely only to reappear half a league farther on when they had all but given up hope. Arya hated it.”

Arya’s future path is one that like the road will be difficult to navigate and one where the end destination is unclear. The metaphor of being lost in the woods and unable to find the path home seems to fit her journey. The idea of the path disappearing, to vanish seems to echo Arya’s future as in the House of Black and White she disappears to become Cat and the Blind girl only to emerge as Arya once again. The fact that the path is eventually reclaimed suggests that she will eventually regain her identity as Arya of House Stark.

The Night’s watch

“It’s sweet corn, better’n a stinking old black bird like you deserves,” one of them answered roughly. “You get out of our field now, and take these sneaks and stabbers with you, or we’ll stake you up in the corn to scare the other crows away.”

Although I think the farmers had a point that the group was stealing their food, it also is clear from the way they respond that the Night’s Watch is far from the highly regarded institution that Ned had made it out to be to Jon.

Put of the Frying Pan and into the Fire

“She remembered a story Old Nan had told once, about a man imprisoned in a dark castle by evil giants. He was very brave and smart and he tricked the giants and escaped . . . but no sooner was he outside the castle than the Others took him, and drank his hot red blood. Now she knew how he must have felt.”

Arya sees herself in this story and although she has escaped the dark castle and evil giants (KL and the Lannisters), her freedom is not as wonderful as she had hoped as there are greater terrors outside the walls due to the scouring of the Riverlands by Lannister troops under Kevan’s orders (Others).

Foreshadowing

Gendry

“I was s’posed to be an armorer, and one day Master Mott says I got to join the Night’s Watch, that’s all I know.”

“Arya would watch him polish the metal with an oilcloth, shining it so bright you could see the flames of the cookfire reflected in the steel. “

Again we have more foreshadowing for Gendry. We see the flames reflected in his helmet, which links him to R’hollor. We also see that he was apprentice to Tobho Mott. Given that Tobho Mott is meant to know spells he learnt in Qohor for reworking Valyrian Steel it maybe guessed that Gendry has learnt more interesting techniques than a standard armour’s apprentice. It also again goes someway to suggesting that Gendry’s purpose is to forge (Oathkeeper into) Lightbringer.

The Battle against the Others

“As the world darkened, the fire seemed to grow brighter and brighter, until it looked as though the whole north was ablaze.”

Although it has not happened yet, I wonder if this phrase hints at the coming conflict between the Others and the Night’s Watch and the role of R’hollor in the upcoming confrontation.

Death and the House of Black and White

“Arya drank too much water, just to fill her belly with something”

Apart from being another reference and connection between Arya and Water, Arya, who had previously been told by Yoren not to drink too much water, drinks in order to give her something to fill her belly in this chapter. Given that the water literally has the taste of death in it, I wonder if this foreshadows in someway or echoes her involvement with the House of Black and White. They too have a pool of water where drinking from it causes death, so that it could be said that those water contain death. In this chapter Arya is taking death into herself and using the death tainted water to fill the emptiness within her as she will later try and use the FM to fill the void in heart. However it can be noted that although it is giving her a feeling of fullness, the water is not sustaining her and similarly the FM are not filling the void within her. It is after this she meets the Wolf in the forest, perhaps suggesting that when she is done with the FM, she will reunite with Nymeria, or that or her return to Westeros, Nymeria will find her.

Weirwoods and Wargging

“When the wind blew, Arya thought she could hear the long trailing branches whispering, “Please. Please. Please.” The little hairs on the back of her neck rose, and she almost ran from the graveside.”

We know Arya is a Warg and I wonder if she is interacting with Bloodraven at this point or at least semi conscience of the Weirwood Web? Any thoughts?

Then we have her encounter with the wolf. As wargging leaves something of you in the animal and something of the animal in you, I would guess that these wolves are part of Nymeria’s pack and don’t attack Arya as they sense their pack leader.

“Then she saw the eyes shining out from the wood, bright with reflected moonlight.”

Again we also have references to moonlight when the wolves eyes are mentioned and the idea of the moonlight revealing them. this contrasts to the FM where it is only when the moon is absent that Arya regains herself.

[The Sleeper]

Some overdue thoughts on the previous chapter:

Arya found her resolve. She gets tired of running away from danger, tired of feeling weak and afraid and decides to make a stand. She refuses to be intimidated by Rorge and Biter and hits him between his eyes. When the gold-cloaks come she shows herself with sword in hand and announces that she is the one the were looking for. She is touched by the fact that the other recruits were willing to stand up for her and thinks to herself that if she were a waterdancer she could go out and kill her pursuers.

Arya has been a victim and a runaway, seen people die around her and seen a man die for her and she's had enough (or so she thinks). Just then, she finds herself in danger of witnessing a repeat performance. This is at the core of much of her actions and motivations. Arya despises feeling vulnerable, which is why she always seeks ways to become stronger.

...and going on to this chapter:

Maintaining that resolve wears down on her. I agree Rapsie that this chapter reads much like a horror story. Arya has faced a brush with a danger that was directed at her (it turns out she wasn't) but is now in the vicinity of a beast that kills and destroys indiscrimanetly. They don't encounter it yet, but they see it (the fires in the North), they hear it, they come across its trail, the burnt holdfast, see its victims, they even taste it in the water. The effects of its presence are palpable. The land is largely empty and what people are left are hostile to outright dangerous. It won't do them much good in the end. This is no man's land and they are stuck going through it at a snale's pace.

It is also a bit of a wake up call. She is not the center of the universe. Gendry receives the attention for being the target of the gold-cloaks and the beast that lies ahead does not care what her name is or if she is a boy or a girl. In the end she feels just like a little girl not fiece as a wolverine.

What really stood out is the encounter with the wolf. Arya wanders off alone in a dark forest to encounter with the wolf. Aside from this fitting with the theme previously mentioned, there are some other things to consider. The wood is described as pitch black and she wanders twice as far as she normally would, being completely cut off from the rest of the group. The wolf is her house's sigil and as we are to find out she is connected in a much more profound way with a wolf herself, a wolf that will or already is terrorising the riverlands. Could this be an encounter with her true naure/ what she is to become that terrifies her? Despite her reaction, I couldn't help but think of the wolf's reaction as a nod, like to like.

..and on Arya's growing sneakiness:

She has becme so adept at slipping through the guards they set that she does it casually, every night. On Lommy she does it as a game, to test her limits. Poor Lommy doesn't stand a chance.

[brashcandy]

Quite a haunting chapter, and by the end of it it's not only children like Arya who are affected by what they see, but grown, weathered men like Yoren. The twisting path, their frequent setbacks and delays symbolizes the hopelessness of the journey, and Yoren's increasing restlessness adds to the sense unavoidable disaster for this group.

Her skills are also growing stronger as just an Other noted above, where she instinctively listens before she moves to learn what everyone is doing, and can actually distinguish the sleeping noises of Biter and Rorge:

When she woke it was pitch-black and her bladder was full to bursting. Sleepers huddled all around her, wrapped in blankets and cloaks. Arya found Needle, stood, listened. She heard the soft footfalls of a sentry, men turning in restless sleep, Rorge's rattling snores, and the queer hissing sound that Biter made when he slept.

Drinking the water that tastes of death just to fill her belly seems to foreshadow her eventual role with the FM and to represent her experiences during this period; she is literally eating death to fill the void left by the loss of her family and the despair she feels. The hunger within her is being sated by something that is corrupt and ultimately unhealthy.