Becoming No One: Rereading Arya III

[Lummel]

...Arya and the FM

The reference to Stranger the horse named after death almost biting her face off certainly nods to her future involvement with the FM...

...The BWB

The river crossing where Sandor refuses to pay is interesting. Firstly the rivermen are cheating him and he in turn cheats them, but by giving them the note he is actually no different to the BWB. They may act noble by giving notes, but essentially they are driving people to desperate measures by stealing from them. The notes may make them feel better about what they are doing, but in truth it is just a delusion.

My take on Stranger is that his name is more relevent to Sandor's state of mind and telling us about him and his values than about Arya :dunno:

Also I think you are unfair to the BWB, Sandor doesn't have to kidnap people, he's a fighter he could join any non Lannister retinue (although I suppose he has the difficultly of having fled the Kingsguard in time of war) if what he wants is a place and his keep - he choses desperate measures because he doesn't want, at this point, to sacrifice his dream of vengence. He doesn't need to kidnap Arya or cozen boatmen to lay his sword at Robb's feet or his service to some one else sworn to the king in the north.

I suppose the notes are a delusion, but embodied in that delusion is the idea that people should be paid for the their forage while the wolves and lions take the view that might is right, they don't acknowledge any obligation to the owners. There's something to be said for the respect for, if not the rule of law then at least peace time ways.

...and, did I get this right Rapsie, you like getting tied up in a blanket? ;)

... My idea is that after Sansa`s song at CoK, Sandor`s priorities have shifted. He hates his brother, he wants him dead, but it`s not the same overwhelming hatred he has been feeling for so long. If nothing happened, he would go straight to Harrenhall to find his brother. Instead, he goes to ransom Arya. he talks about money Robb will give him, and title and possibility he will kill Gregor. This doesn`t sound like a man pursuing vengeance. This is a man who tries to rebuild his life. And he sees chance in Starks. For Sansa may pushed him a bit, but he expects of Robb to give him some sort of honest life. We can only grieve lost chance and the fact he never met Robb...

I disagree. Sandor does not go to Harrenhall because he'd die without getting close to Gregor. Gregor wouldn't come out to fight Sandor in single combat. Sandor sees his only chance of being able to get at Gregor is as part of a army, by joining Robb there is pack identity and a veneer of noble purpose over his hellish wish to kill his own brother.

Like Tyrion in Tyrion II AGOT the idea of a person not wanting to kill a sibling is incomprehensible to him. Conflict and hatred are in his opinion the natural family dynamic - or as Beric observed a couple of chapters earlier he's a man already in Hell. His phyical appearance mirrors his psyche - burnt, ugly, raw and seeping. Only the surrender to the loving kindness of the Seven and becoming Sandor the happy monk will save him "the Riverlands are alive, with the sound of the Seven" he'll sing before listing a few of his favourite things ;)

On the chapter, rain sets the tone of these chapters running up to a certain bloody wedding. The colour palate is limited and grim: green, brown and black. No fire, its a cold, wet chapter. Notice how Arya assumes that people will know what hse's talking about when she mentions people by name who they couldn't possibly know without explaining who they are - eg mentioning Lommy Greenhands to Sandor.

[The Sleeper]

Maybe Sandor is a lost soul because he refused to pay the ferryman.

About the blanket. Sandor's and Arya's interactions have the feel of a bizarre buddy movie. Sandor's reactions give off the feel of an adult trying to deal with an unruly child. The threats he makes indicate that Arya had already tried those things and has made herself quite a handfull. And then, when they sit down to eat they discover they can communicate. I imagine that it is rarity for Sandor, having people looking directly to his face and not cutting him any slack and that he appreciates Arya's brand of candor*. They also discover they have common acquaintances, discuss their families and so on ... In short, the beginning of a beautiful friendship between two unlikely yet ultimately fitting characters through a series of misundersatndings. Meanwhile, viewing this story as a series of facts reveals something very different. A seriously dangerous man has kidnapped a child for ransom and threatens, mistreats and verbally abuses said child. And as we know, the child is perfectly willing and able to kill said man given the chance.

In general, I couldn't tell where Arya was between anger and fear in this chapter. I think her predominant feeling is frustration

Notice how Arya assumes that people will know what hse's talking about when she mentions people by name who they couldn't possibly know without explaining who they are - eg mentioning Lommy Greenhands to Sandor.

I think this serves to remind us that Arya has not gone past the ego-centric view of a child her age.

ETA* I think this works for Arya, too. Frustrated as she is, Sandor does not cuddle, patronize or exclude her but challenges her. With him she knows where she stands.

[Mladen]

I disagree. Sandor does not go to Harrenhall because he'd die without getting close to Gregor. Gregor wouldn't come out to fight Sandor in single combat. Sandor sees his only chance of being able to get at Gregor is as part of a army, by joining Robb there is pack identity and a veneer of noble purpose over his hellish wish to kill his own brother.

Like Tyrion in Tyrion II AGOT the idea of a person not wanting to kill a sibling is incomprehensible to him. Conflict and hatred are in his opinion the natural family dynamic - or as Beric observed a couple of chapters earlier he's a man already in Hell. His phyical appearance mirrors his psyche - burnt, ugly, raw and seeping. Only the surrender to the loving kindness of the Seven and becoming Sandor the happy monk will save him "the Riverlands are alive, with the sound of the Seven" he'll sing before listing a few of his favourite things ;)

You have a point, and I agree that he still wants to kill his brother, but it`s just not that overwhelming as it was before. Something changed, not too much, but something did. He wants death of his brother, but he this is the first time he talks about living beyond that. The thing about Sandor was all in killing his brother, I doubt he ever had any thoughts about what`s coming after it, but now we see a bit of change. We see him wanting to become some lordling, to fight for Robb and maybe kill his brother. He would like to become what he hated the most, some sort of presentable man. In some twisted way, he wants to be Florian. Or at least, grounded version of him.

As for parallel between Tyrion and Jaime, well Tyrion did cross the Rubicon by killing Tywin. Also, Tyrion`s hatred is still fresh, and Sandor lived years in hatred. Sandor`s hate for Gregor is fading to something more beautiful. It`s not gone, but it`s not his `raison d`etre`.

And, Lummel, nice catch about this parallel.

[Blisscraft]

Mentor - We've discussed through the course of this reread the presence of mentors to Arya. Sandor is another one. It's interesting that at the beginning of this chapter, Arya thinks of Syrio, "Quiet as a shadow, " before she tries to brain Sandor with a rock. However, Sandor shows her that she isn't quiet enough when he "wakens" and takes the rock from her. A later example of his mentoring is when Arya looks at Sandor's dagger with the idea to steal it. She thinks, "Hard as stone," (another reference to Syrio, although I don't think Syrio ever said this to Arya). He catches her and seems read her thoughts, but she lies to him. He snorts "to show what he thought of that" (her lie) and then gives her a piece of sausage. Finally, although there are more examples of his mentorship, Sandor enlightens Arya as to their true destination: The Twins. He says, "You don't know half as much as you think you do," when he corrects her thinking that they're headed to KL.

Sibling Rivalry - One of the things that Arya and Sandor have in common is they are both seconds. He is the second son to Gregor. She is the second daughter to Sansa. He quickly understands the sibling rivalry between Sansa and Arya. However, his problems with Gregor are much deeper and his wounds more apparent. This common ground becomes a source for an understanding between them. A great example of this is when Sandor says, "You're a little fool. What good would it do you if you did get away. You'd just get caught by someone worse." She replies, "There is no one worse." He response is "You never knew my brother."

Arya pipes up that she does have experience with his brother at the village by the lake. However, she doesn't seem to personalize Gregor's cruelty in the way that she has Sandor's. I'm not sure what to think about this. Perhaps she is simply being reactive in opposition to Sandor because he is right in front of her or maybe she isn't as fearful of him as she was with Gregor and his men.

Birth and Babies - This chapter seems loaded with images having to do with fertility and birth and babies. There are overt references to babies. As Rapsie pointed out above, one example this is that Sandor "swaddles" Arya in a blanket like a newborn. He takes the rock she wants to hit him with, "as if she were a baby."

Another reference to fertility is the rain. It is symbolic of fertility, as water assists in the development of life and growth. Also, rain represents the heaven's spiritual influence upon the earth suggesting the development of spiritual growth in addition to simple earthly fecundity. As a spiritual "fertilization" the rain reflects the state of the psyche. In this chapter, the landscape is flooded and swollen. There is too much of it. It seems to reflect Arya's psychic landscape. However, with Sandor as her new mentor, it seems she will find a new perpective, just as rain will force people inside to seek shelter, so too may Arya. She is prepped to change positions and possibly seek higher ground (in more ways than one).

This brings me to the next reference which is more of a symbol of pregnancy and birth: The Ferry. The ferry as noted above is associated in Greek mythology with crossing the river Styx and entering the realm of Hades. However, it is also a vehicle, a means of passage, not only from life to death (as in the example above), but also from life within the "womb" to the outside world, the distant shore. The ferry is a container that holds Arya (et al) and carries them across turbulent waters to the opposite river bank. Within the ferry, Arya feels the tension between life and death between floating safely within the confines to sinking and drowning when she contemplates "jumping ship" before the river crossing is complete. The ferry is what protects her over the raging waters before "delivering" her across. She understands this and choses to remain within the ferry. She does not leave the ferry's shelter until she safely reaches the other side.

The river is a last example of birth and fertility and like the rain and the ferry, the river may bring forth life or be the cause death. Here the river seems to suggest impermanence and loss. It's over its banks and causing devastation, not only to animals and people, but also to the ancient ground and trees. However, the present devastation will ultimately give rise to renewal and rebirth. Part of this aspect of renewal comes from the notion that the river symbolically represents the passage of time. This is related to the circle analysis we discussed in the prior chapter. There is within the passage of time: fertility, pregnancy, birth, life, decline (receeding waters) and untimately death.

[WiDMNDBAMMD]

Sixes and seven again

When Sandor asks for them to take him across six more men appear to row. When they make it across the ferryman asks for 3 dragons(one for each of their lives) and 3 dragons for the man he lost(death). Six total for life and death.

Sandor gives him the paper and tells him to take ten gold dragons(seven more than the ferryman originally asked for)

Fire and gods

Arya thinks that Thoros will find her in his flames, but then later on Sandor is unable to make a fire. When Sandor reminds her about the man that died in the river while they were crossing she prays her death prayer while awake and says the Hounds name three times, instead of once.

Appearances can be decieving

Arya thinks that the river they are crossing is Blackwater Rush, because she thinks she's being taken back to Kingslanding and Joffrey and the Queen. She can't figure it out for sure because it's been raining a long time and the moss on the trees looks all wrong.

Sandor calls them honest brigands.

The ferryman thinks Arya's a boy, worse yet Sandor's son.

Sandor tells him "knight's honor" is the reason he can trust him to pay him.

Arya thinks how the guy in the round tower doesn't look like a lord, but she doesn't look like a lady either.

She thinks she might be able to swim the river until she watches the man drown.

When Sandor tells her that if she escapes she'll just get captured by someone worse he might have a point to her, she doesn't argue it. So far Arya has escaped from one captive to the next over and over ever Kingslanding, not exactly going from worse to worse but still. Captured over and over.

Arya claims there is no one worse. Sandor claims that she never met his brother Gregor. Arya quickly corrects Sandor that she did meet his brother and his men, then she thinks about how Sandor is correct, his brother is probably worse than him.

Sandor calls her Ned Stark's precious little daughter. When in reality she was anything but that. He probably gets this from how everyone was searching for her after the Nymeria/Joffrey incident. He also might assume it since she wasn't at the Tournament of the Hand, he might believe that Ned Stark thought she was too young to go, when in reality she didn't go because she was practicing swordplay.

Then Sandor talks about his desire to kill his brother and her possible desire to kill her sister. He then points out the difference between them.

"The wolf bitch wants to kill the pretty little bird"?

Arya says she wants to kill him. Sandor gives her a confession again:

"Why because I hatched your little friend in two? I've killed a lot more than him I promise you. You think that makes me some kinda monster well, maybe it does..."

but then he continues:

"but I saved your sister's life too.... and she sang for me, she sang a sweet little song."

Arya claims he's lying, but she doesn't know about any of these events. Sandor is trying to explain the good things that he did for her family. If he actually speaks to Robb or Arya's mother, they'd likely be very thankful that he saved Sansa's life.

Then Sandor finally reveals his plan:

River is the Trident, "It's going to be me who hands you over to that mother of yours"

He then goes on about how BwB stole his gold so he stole her, and she's twice as valuable( 20,000 gold dragons?) as what they took.

He goes about his hopes of entering the Young Wolf will let him join in his service so he can fight against his brother. If not he says he'll take the gold and leave. He believes this because he's heard that Robb is like his father.

Beric was sent off by Arya's father to bring justice to the Gregor, then Beric promises that he can return her safely to her mother's arms. Now Sandor is claiming that he'll do the same thing, except his motive for killing Gregor is not justice, it's revenge. While Beric needs the gold he tries to tell her it's not his main reason. Beric says it on his honor as a knight where Sandor just tells her he's sick of Joffrey.

Maybe Sandor is a lost soul because he refused to pay the ferryman.

I think this serves to remind us that Arya has not gone past the ego-centric view of a child her age.

If that is true then Arya again is feed by "death" or ghost or something like that once again when she takes the sausage from Sandor.

Sandor interrupts her because she goes on about stuff he doesn't care about Gendry, Hot Pie etc, Sandor does the same thing. He doesn't explain that Lollys Stolkworth got raped.

They both put information the other one can't possibly know into their stories to eachother.

[Elba the Intoner]

This part of Arya's journey has a lot of parallels with Tyrion's journey in Dance. Arya is captured by the Hound, wrapped up in a blanket burrito to keep from fighting and thinks she is being taken back to King's Landing to be presented to Joff and Cersei, just like Tyrion was captured by Jorah, wrapped up tight (I think in a blanket too at one point?), and he thinks he is being taken back to King's Landing to be presented to Cersei. They are both made to ride on the same horse with their captor. Arya's river crossing here is very treacherous and she peeks her head out from below deck to see one of the poles snap with a loud crack and one man falls overboard to his death. When the hurricane hits the ship Tyrion is on, he peeks above board at one point, the mast of the ship snaps with a loud cracking sound and a few men fall overboard to their deaths. Also, the way Arya confronts the Hound about Mycah gets him really ticked off and he tells her to shut up about it. This reminded me of when Gregor is fighting with Oberyn and Oberyn keeps yelling about Elia and the kids and the Mountain gets ticked off and tells him to shut up. Also we have the talk about wanting to kill siblings and in a reverse parallel we have the captor here, the Hound, saying how he wants to kill his brother. With Tyrion he talks with Jorah about killing his siblings only he is the captive in that case. Also, Tyrion has been going from captive to captive at that point in a sense though he wasn't exactly a prisoner per se when he was traveling with Young Griff and co but neither was Arya exactly a captive when she was with the brotherhood. Arya is hoping the Brotherhood will find her and rescue her from the Hound just as Tyrion hopes Griff and co. will find him and rescue him from Jorah.

[Fire Eater]

@Blisscraft

Good catch on the Underworld and Charon reference. Charon was described as having fierce eyes of a bluish-grey color, and having an irascible temper. Many mythological Greek heroes were ferried to and fro the Underworld by Charon, coming back alive. Plus, the sigil of House Clegane is three dogs, a reference to Cerebrus, the three-headed dog that was guardian of the Underworld who prevented the dead from leaving.

snip

Another good catch by Elba.

[Elba the Intoner]

Thanks Fire Eater. We just finished that part of the Tyrion reread so it was fresh in my mind.

[Blisscraft]

@Blisscraft

Good catch on the Underworld and Charon reference. Charon was described as having fierce eyes of a bluish-grey color, and having an irascible temper. Many mythological Greek heroes were ferried to and fro the Underworld by Charon, coming back alive. Plus, the sigil of House Clegane is three dogs, a reference to Cerebrus, the three-headed dog that was guardian of the Underworld who prevented the dead from leaving.

Well done on the three dogs! Very nice.

[Ragnorak]

I was struck by the violent and warlike imagery from the opening. The rain assaults the river like ten thousand swords, the river is drowning the trees as if they were men, and the leaves are choking the shoreline. One element of this is the war between Arya and Sandor. The sound she hears is like the preamble to a dogs growl and trees and water are symbols we've come to associate with Arya. The landscape mirrors their conflict. Even the links of the Hound's armor dig into Arya. On one level the entire chapter is a war that plays out between Sandor and Arya until they reach their first accord of sorts at the end.

Again we have religious symbols in conflict destroying each other. I think we've had four chapters in a row with destroyed septs. Has there been a chapter without a reference of some sort to the Seven in Storm? The water destroys the trees, the water has drowned the sept, the water prevents Sandor from lighting the fire, and the fire inside the ferry cabin is suffocating which mirrors the choking and drowning imagery in the opening description. The hammer of the waters is also an old god thing and this scene certainly resembles what that must look like, but we also have the tree that looks like a kraken and a theme of drowning so I'm not entirely sure where to draw the lines in the water. Dabbling in a little crackpottery I suppose the tree resembling a kraken might be an indication that the drowned god came about when the greenseers smashed the Iron Islands with the hammer of the waters. I've seen that brought up speculatively before. The Iron Islands must have started out as First Men given what we know of history and it isn't particularly difficult to imagine why their neighbors might feel inclined to visit apocalyptic doom onto their reaving brethren. /end crackpot

A couple of random things stood out. Arya thinks it is a dead deer or horse floating down the river. The three wolves she ran across had killed a fawn and in her wolf dream the pack chased down a horse. Iron is mentioned three times. The black iron sky that is pouring down the rain, the iron brazier inside the ferry cabin and the iron rasp of Sandor's voice. The iron swords in the Winterfell crypts and the mention of iron in the Reeds' oath makes me wonder about its use here. Given the theme of names and identity along with the carving of faces into trees, Arya carving her name into trees as a means of being found seems significant. Sansa mistook Sandor for her father back in GoT and Arya is mistaken for his son here. Arya getting a face full of rain when she looks upstream strikes me as the tears of her past as she looks back. If I look back I am lost? Both her future and Sandor's lie downstream.

Foreshadowing

This is a chapter that probably deserves a thorough analysis on its foreshadowing in a separate thread. It has come up a couple times in the foreshadowing thread. Martin dedicates a great deal of page space to this crossing and three dragons and a kraken sounds very familiar as of the end of Dance. I remember Arya wishing that the river would drown everyone in Kings Landing when she first leaves. She does think this is the Blackwater initially and this does seem like the aftermath of the hammer of the waters. When the glancing blow from the kraken comes Arya is sent painfully to one knee-- painfully bending the knee to whom?. That line in particular might be the best speculative hint we have about Arya's future if the tea leaves for the rest of the foreshadowing can be read properly.

ETA

"Hard as stone." This is the first time we see Arya use this phrase and it stands out from her other Syrio-isms possibly because it isn't an animal. The prior chapter was Sam meeting Coldhands and the last line is "hard as stone" referring to Coldhands hands. Any thoughts?

[Mladen]

Mentor - We've discussed through the course of this reread the presence of mentors to Arya. Sandor is another one. It's interesting that at the beginning of this chapter, Arya thinks of Syrio, "Quiet as a shadow, " before she tries to brain Sandor with a rock. However, Sandor shows her that she isn't quiet enough when he "wakens" and takes the rock from her. A later example of his mentoring is when Arya looks at Sandor's dagger with the idea to steal it. She thinks, "Hard as stone," (another reference to Syrio, although I don't think Syrio ever said this to Arya). He catches her and seems read her thoughts, but she lies to him. He snorts "to show what he thought of that" (her lie) and then gives her a piece of sausage. Finally, although there are more examples of his mentorship, Sandor enlightens Arya as to their true destination: The Twins. He says, "You don't know half as much as you think you do," when he corrects her thinking that they're headed to KL.

Sibling Rivalry - One of the things that Arya and Sandor have in common is they are both seconds. He is the second son to Gregor. She is the second daughter to Sansa. He quickly understands the sibling rivalry between Sansa and Arya. However, his problems with Gregor are much deeper and his wounds more apparent. This common ground becomes a source for an understanding between them. A great example of this is when Sandor says, "You're a little fool. What good would it do you if you did get away. You'd just get caught by someone worse." She replies, "There is no one worse." He response is "You never knew my brother."

Arya pipes up that she does have experience with his brother at the village by the lake. However, she doesn't seem to personalize Gregor's cruelty in the way that she has Sandor's. I'm not sure what to think about this. Perhaps she is simply being reactive in opposition to Sandor because he is right in front of her or maybe she isn't as fearful of him as she was with Gregor and his men.

Birth and Babies - This chapter seems loaded with images having to do with fertility and birth and babies. There are overt references to babies. As Rapsie pointed out above, one example this is that Sandor "swaddles" Arya in a blanket like a newborn. He takes the rock she wants to hit him with, "as if she were a baby."

Another reference to fertility is the rain. It is symbolic of fertility, as water assists in the development of life and growth. Also, rain represents the heaven's spiritual influence upon the earth suggesting the development of spiritual growth in addition to simple earthly fecundity. As a spiritual "fertilization" the rain reflects the state of the psyche. In this chapter, the landscape is flooded and swollen. There is too much of it. It seems to reflect Arya's psychic landscape. However, with Sandor as her new mentor, it seems she will find a new perpective, just as rain will force people inside to seek shelter, so too may Arya. She is prepped to change positions and possibly seek higher ground (in more ways than one).

This brings me to the next reference which is more of a symbol of pregnancy and birth: The Ferry. The ferry as noted above is associated in Greek mythology with crossing the river Styx and entering the realm of Hades. However, it is also a vehicle, a means of passage, not only from life to death (as in the example above), but also from life within the "womb" to the outside world, the distant shore. The ferry is a container that holds Arya (et al) and carries them across turbulent waters to the opposite river bank. Within the ferry, Arya feels the tension between life and death between floating safely within the confines to sinking and drowning when she contemplates "jumping ship" before the river crossing is complete. The ferry is what protects her over the raging waters before "delivering" her across. She understands this and choses to remain within the ferry. She does not leave the ferry's shelter until she safely reaches the other side.

The river is a last example of birth and fertility and like the rain and the ferry, the river may bring forth life or be the cause death. Here the river seems to suggest impermanence and loss. It's over its banks and causing devastation, not only to animals and people, but also to the ancient ground and trees. However, the present devastation will ultimately give rise to renewal and rebirth. Part of this aspect of renewal comes from the notion that the river symbolically represents the passage of time. This is related to the circle analysis we discussed in the prior chapter. There is within the passage of time: fertility, pregnancy, birth, life, decline (receeding waters) and untimately death.

Just to say how amazed I am with this post. Blisscraft, my dear friend, I :bowdown: to your excellency.

[The Sleeper]

"Hard as stone." This is the first time we see Arya use this phrase and it stands out from her other Syrio-isms possibly because it isn't an animal. The prior chapter was Sam meeting Coldhands and the last line is "hard as stone" referring to Coldhands hands. Any thoughts?

There other Syrio-isms that do not refer to animals. "Smooth as summer silk" and "calm as still water" come to mind right now. And the way it is set out in the paragraph it could refer to how she means to stare down Sandor, or to how Sandor appears to her. Either of these or she is thinking about the sausage. I am going with the first one. She is choosing how to deal with Sandor, put on a brave face and not give him an inch.

ETA Interestingly though, I think this is the first time she is invoking a Syrio-ism when dealing with another person. She usually thinks of Syrio's words in order to focus on phsyical tasks and perform a certain. Later on wiht the FM she will be using "calm as still water" to keep her face from giving any hint of her feelings.

[Ser Pollo Loco]

Foreshadowing

This is a chapter that probably deserves a thorough analysis on its foreshadowing in a separate thread. It has come up a couple times in the foreshadowing thread. Martin dedicates a great deal of page space to this crossing and three dragons and a kraken sounds very familiar as of the end of Dance. I remember Arya wishing that the river would drown everyone in Kings Landing when she first leaves. She does think this is the Blackwater initially and this does seem like the aftermath of the hammer of the waters. When the glancing blow from the kraken comes Arya is sent painfully to one knee-- painfully bending the knee to whom?. That line in particular might be the best speculative hint we have about Arya's future if the tea leaves for the rest of the foreshadowing can be read properly.

ETA

"Hard as stone." This is the first time we see Arya use this phrase and it stands out from her other Syrio-isms possibly because it isn't an animal. The prior chapter was Sam meeting Coldhands and the last line is "hard as stone" referring to Coldhands hands. Any thoughts?

I think it will be Euron, if you combine it with Dany's foreshadowing of a kracken might bring them down and The hiz blue lips dream. I think the warlocks will provide some difficulty for Dany and Arya. Flying is associated with escape, she'll see the kracken and the dragons and finally "fly" back to winterfell/Jon

[Blisscraft]

There other Syrio-isms that do not refer to animals. "Smooth as summer silk" and "calm as still water" come to mind right now. And the way it is set out in the paragraph it could refer to how she means to stare down Sandor, or to how Sandor appears to her. Either of these or she is thinking about the sausage. I am going with the first one. She is choosing how to deal with Sandor, put on a brave face and not give him an inch.

Har! I'm tempted (because this is too funny) to go with the sausage. :rofl:

Miladen - Merci! That's the extent of my French. :(

About stone - It seems a negative symbol within the world of GRRM, especially with regard to the "stone men" and the "stone giant." It certainly can have a negative connotation in the greater world in which we live. "Turning to stone" comes to mind as something once living is now immoveable and compassionless, like Pharoh's heart in the Bible. However, stone is something that was very much a part of worship for our ancestors, like the stone circles from the Stone Age. Stone is used as the marker still for graves, tombstones. It is a symbol of permanence and remembrance. It can be a point of worship and pilgrimage as the "black stone" in Mecca.

As the metaphor of "hard as stone" in this chapter, Arya seems to be using this to remind herself to be in touch with an emotionless, unfeeling, heartless aspect of herself. She is once again confronted with a dagger she may steal in order to try to stab Sandor as she did previously after his "trial." She seems to need to solidify her feelings in order to objectify Sandor so that she can kill him this time, instead of not having the "stones" to do it the last.

[ShadowCat Rivers]

A lot of Syrio's words in this chapter, but Arya fails to implement them. Especially the "see with your eyes":

It has to be the Blackwater, Arya decided as she watched the rain lash the river. The Hound was Joffrey's dog; he was taking her back to the Red Keep, to hand to Joffrey and the queen. She wished that the sun would come out, so she could tell which way they were going. The more she looked at the moss on the trees the more confused she got. The Blackwater wasn't so wide at King's Landing, but that was before the rains.

Prejudice and fear don't let her see clearly. She was right about the moss in the first place. The moss on the trees tells her that they are going north, but she is convinced that they are heading south, hence the confusion. In her mind, she has connected the Hound with Joffrey because of Mycah so she has forgotten all she heard about the Hound from Thoros and Berric and the Hound himself. Failed to "listen with her ears" as well.

In general, this is an other hard landing. Like a baby, like a doll are comparisons that highlight her total impotence against men like the Hound in a straightforward confrontation, which leads to her later decision to stay with the Faceless men and her determination to learn their arts.

I think that they are a surprise to each other, both of them. Arya is the opposite of the typical highborn little girl and Sandor does a lot of talking for the monster he is supposed to be. Their conversation -mostly Sandor's confession, actually- by the camp (non) fire has a vibe of a talk between peers. Maybe he appreciates some honest hate in the same way he likes an honest brigand.

Forshadowing...

In the re-read the "bloody wedding" is clear as summer sky, but in the first read I got nothing from it, I took it for just an expression. I wonder, how many hints could be hiding in what looks like simple speach. Other things like the kraken-tree and the three dragons are easier to spot as potential forshadowing but very very difficult to interpret.

I was trying the ferrymen approach, who crossed the river (the narrow sea?) for the promise of three dragons but in the end they got nothing, instead they suffer losses because of a "kraken", but I couldn't make a connection that makes sense to be in an Arya chapter.

*edited for spelling

[brashcandy]

This thread has really been overflowing with brilliant posts recently, and that will soon be even more evident when Blisscraft presents Arya X for us tomorrow. Bliss, thanks again, and I'm looking forward to your analysis.

[Pod The Impaler]

I think that they are a surprise to each other, both of them. Arya is the opposite of the typical highborn little girl and Sandor does a lot of talking for the monster he is supposed to be. Their conversation -mostly Sandor's confession, actually- by the camp (non) fire has a vibe of a talk between peers. Maybe he appreciates some honest hate in the same way he likes an honest brigand.

Oh, absolutely.

The Hound felt a lot of things for Sansa, but I think he comes to see Arya with a grudging respect. They are much like each other - fierce, brutally honest, hardly afraid of anything. And as you say, he appreciates the honesty of her hatred. The way she judges people is much like he does. She's not as callous as he is (not yet), but she also is a catalyst for his moral apathy finally breaking down.

Even if they mostly bark and snarl at each other, I think there is some respect there. It's an adversarial sort of respect, for most of the time, only becoming cooperative respect after the Red Wedding.

[The Sleeper]

The river appears to be the central feature of this chapter. It is swollen, it is crossed at the cost of a life and an empty promise and no-one can follow them afterwards. It feels like very much like a boundary, a point of no return for both characters. We know where their destination is and we know that they are two of the few survivors and we know that it is the end of the hope for home for Arya and the end of the possiblity of a ransom and/or a new master for Sandor. In some ways, their destination is the end of Arya Stark and the Hound. The river washes away the last of their lives and wants to take them where they are meant to go, Sandor to the Quiet Isle and Arya beyond the sea. It could be why GRRM had Arya mark her name on the trees. After the RW, there will be few evidence indeed that she was around.

It is important to remember that Arya believed she was being taken back to King's Landing. This made her desperate enough to escape that she considered death an acceptable outcome of her attempt. It took blow to the boat to stop her and the consequent death of another to dissuade her from going through with it.

Arya's sit down with the Hound is the first time she has conversation with a "bad guy". She uses unyielding hostility during that conversation and is introduced to several concepts that have been unknown to her so far. She realizes that she can differentiate between bad guys (Sandor is not as bad as his borther), that she may have common ground with that one (while nowhere near the amount of hatred that Sandor harbors for his brother, there is a bit of resentment between her and Sansa), that undisputed family loyalty is not universal, that a bad guy may not always be bad (Sandor saving Sansa form the mob), that a bad guy's motivation is not neccessarily different from that of the good guys (the BwB also wanted to ransom her) that a bad guy can be of use to her and that their motives may align (the Hound is after all taking her to her family). She is also introduced to the idea that people may change sides.

These concepts compliment the things she observed during her travels with the BwB that the good guys aren't always on her side and that her side aren't always the good guys.

[Blisscraft]

Arya X - Chapter Summary

Short, but pithy, this chapter begins with Sandor and Arya in disguise. They are in a two wheeled "wayn" pulled by "a pair of old drays that had known better days." (That's a bit catchy, isn't it?). Stranger, Sandor's companion black stallion is tied to the wagon, following, unamored, unbarded and unharnessed. Naked horseflesh tied to the creaking and swaying wayn. Sandor, is disguised as a "big" farmer "garbed in spotchy green homespun and a soot-grey mantle with a hood that swallowed his head." Beneath the disguise, however, Sandor is still in oiled mail and boiled leather. Arya, freshly barbered by Sandor, looks like a farmer's son, a swineherd, or "drowned boy rat." Within the wayn are salt pork and pickled pigs feet. Sandor and Arya may have changed but the weather hasn't. It's raining and muddy and slow going.

About an hour from the Green Fork, three riders approach: A knight, Donel Haigh, and two squires. The riders circle round the wayn. Sandor stops the wayn and waits "patiently on their pleasure." The knight is wearing a sigil that Arya doesn't recognize. Haigh inquires as to their business at the Twins. Sandor answers respectfully with his head down. Haigh notices Stranger and inquires after him.

"M'lady told me to bring him, ser," Clegane said humbly. "He's a wedding gift for young Lord Tully."

"What Lady? Who is it you serve?"

"Old Lady Whent, ser."

"Does she think she can buy Harrenhal back with a horse?" the knight asked. "Gods is there any fool like an old fool?"

They are waived on toward the Twins. The wayn has become stuck in the mud because of the stop, but the drays are able to pull out it out and they continue onward.

Sandor identifies the knight as Donel Haigh to Arya. He "snorted" at him and tells Ayra, he's "taken more horses off him than I could count. Armor as well. Once I near killed him in a mele." When Arya asks Sandor why Haigh didn't recognize him, Sandor once again repeats his mantra, "Because knights are fools. . ." (I keep hoping he'll add, "It is known").

As they slog toward the Twins in the mud and the rain, Arya recalls several things and ponders more. She recalls the capture of the wayn from a fortuitously "big" farmer. She thinks that she's "almost there" as they slowly come closer, but her belly is "knotted up tight." She recalls that she has had a "terrible" dream the night before, but can't remember it's details, only the feeling it gives her which seems to get stronger the closer she gets to the Twins. She thinks:

There was nothing between her and her mother but a castle gate, a river, and an army. . . but is was

Robb's

army, so there was no real danger there. Was there?

She thinks about Bolton and her escape with Gendry and Hot Pie. She recalls her hair cut by Sandor, a worse barber than Yoren, and how she is now "half bald on one side." She fears that her mother and brother will not know her. She was a "little girl" the last time she saw them at Winterfell.

They hear music before they see the castle. The closer they get to the Twins the louder and more discordant the music becomes.

They pass through an apple orchard and a rain soaked corn field, go over a rise and then "the castle, river and camps appeared all at once."

Arya looks for familiar sigils and wishes it were day so she could see more clearly. There is a cicle of wagons and carts drawn around the edge of the castle to make a "crude wall." The sargeant and guards who stop them are Lord Bolton's men. Sandor tells them "the same tale he'd used on the outriders," but Bolton's sargeant is "a harder sort of nut than Ser Donel Haigh had been." The sargeant is scornful of the offering and tells them the castle's closed. He tells them to see "Sedgekins." It's seems that the salt pork and pigs feet will go not to the feast, but to the northmen: "Ale makes a man hungry, and old Frey won't miss a few pigs' feet. He don't have the teeth for such anyhow. Ask for Sedgekins, he'll know what's to be done with you."

The wagon circle opens at the sargeant's command. Sandor eases the wayn through toward the tents. "No one seems to pay them any mind." Arya then recognizes a tent: Lord Smallwood's, yellow with six acorns and thinks of Lady Smallwood at Acorn Hall. She remembers that Lady Smallwood had said she "was pretty."

Arya continues to look for someone familiar, but all she sees are strangers. The music grows louder still, as well as the sounds of men and dogs and horses, rain and the Green Fork, "growling like a lion in its den."

The feast tents are filled with men drinking ale. The men are packed together and "there was hardly any room to move. . ., but none of them seemed to mind." Arya envies that the men are warm and dry as she is wet and cold. She overhears a toast to her uncle, Lord Edmure and then another to "the Young Wolf and Queen Jeyne." She doesn't know who Queen Jeyne is. She only knows of Queen Cersei.

She sees the firepits and smell the meat cooking. She urges Sandor to stop at the tents because she sees "northmen" and says, "I bet there are Winterfell men too." Sandor reminds Arya that her brother and mother will be in the castle. He says,

"You want them or not?"

"Yes, she said. "But what about Sedgekins?". . .

"Sedgkins can bugger himself with a hot poker." Celgane shook out his whip, and sent ot hissing through the soft rain to bite at a horse's flank. "It's your bloody brother I want."

[Blisscraft]

I'll be brief on my analysis as I am more interested in what you think than what I think.

A couple of prior themes:

Mentor - Sandor continues in this role. He teaches her how to behave with his patient manner and eyes cast down when they encouter Haigh and the squires. He tells her that knights won't notice small folk, but they will see horseflesh. This is a continuation of Syrio's lesson regarding seeing.

Disguises - Arya is again disguised as someone other than who she is. It seems more troubling to her now as she nears a reunion with her family. She is troubled than they won't know her. This seems to have as much to do with her inside as her outside.

Returning and promises - One thing I wanted to note is that this Arya chapter is separated from her previous one by two chapters, Jon and Catelyn. In both Jon and Catelyn's chapters, each character respectively returns to a place where they have made a promise. Jon returns to Castle Black from his stint with the wildings. Catelyn returns to the Twins where she brokered the promise for Robb to marry a Frey. Jon and Catelyn are "arguably" oathbreakers. They have not kept promises.

Arya is not returning to a place she's been before, but her prior return to High Heart colors her first trip to the Twins. The reason she is with Sandor is that she ran away from the BwB because they were not going to fulfill their promise to return her to her mother at Riverrun. Sandor so far has kept his promise to her. She is closer to her family than she has ever been.