Valkyrja

Brilliant observation. Sansa's paragraph even outright states that she feels does not 'belong' in such a landscape, and yet is tempted to linger.

I have recently been re-reading the Irish mythology cycle, the [i]Tain [/i], and when I got to the story of Cuchulainn again (one of my favourites!) it struck me that the character of Sandor Clegane seems to (sort of) be a reference to him. Cuchulainn: ~ nicknamed The Hound of Ulster (that's the obvious one) ~ associated with dogs/hounds from his early childhood ~ has loyal steeds, one of which stays with him to the death and fights violently for him (kills thirty men with his hooves and teeth before he dies) ~ in many versions, described as having dark longish hair, pale skin, and appearing lean but in fact being the strongest man alive ~ his face disfigures itself when he goes into his [i]riastrad[/i], his warp spasm/battle fury (though this is only temporary disfigurement, his otherwise handsome face is described as pretty hideous-looking at these times) ~ fated to die young and violently and outnumbered (but heroically, of course) Sandor Clegane ~ nicknamed The Hound ~ also associated with dogs throughout the series and because of his house's sigil ~ has a loyal but tempermental stallion, Stranger, who is an effective warhorse ~ described as having a similar physical appearance---dark hair, leaner than his brother of course but incredibly strong ~ face horribly disfigured (permanently, but still gives him a fearsome otherworldy and monstrous visage in battle, along with his Hound helm) ~ while there is no specific prophecy regarding Sandor's fate, there doesn't really need to be one. A character like him is almost certainly doomed to die young. Whether Sandor dies "heroically" or not.....we'll just have to wait and see. :) * Granted, these are all rather general similarites and I admit that I might be stretching certain things a bit, but I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. Forgive me if someone else has already posted about this, its been a while since I read the first parts of this thread. Of course, there are obvious differences too. Sandor is a much more "real" character, whereas Cuchulainn, being mythological, always looms larger than life (he has a "hero light" shining about him, has many lovers, performs outrageous feats, etc). Sandor, despite his physical strength, is an anti-hero and is more "human", the better to fit into the shadowy greys of the world of ASoIaF than the more overtly heroic world of the [i]Tain[/i]. Nevertheless, I wonder GRRM intentionally referenced Cuchulainn in the character of the Hound or if I am just overly sensitive, being so obsessed with mythology as I am. Hmm.... * Incidentally, if anyone on here is unfamiliar with the story of Cuchulainn's death, please do check it out. Its an incredibly bad-ass/epic way for any warrior to go. If GRRM grants Sandor an exit even marginally akin to Cuchulainn's, it would be a fitting way for such an intense character to die. (Hence why I still can't believe that he's really dead yet!)

[quote name='The Red Witch' post='1447623' date='Jul 20 2008, 10.01']It is probably a nod to Loki who is a Trickster as well and father of giants. I noticed the name Daeron appears in the Silmarillion as a minstrel as well at the court of Thingol who betrayed Luthien twice because he wanted her himself. Thinking this is where the name of the Nightwatchman that Arya kills came from.[/quote] If I remember correctly, Daeron the Elf in the Silmarillion is also a minstrel/harpist/musician of sorts, as is Daeron the ex-Nightswatch brother whom Arya kills. Its been a while since I read both the Silm and ASoIaF though, so I could be mistaken.