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Theon giving fake Arya away


Nissa

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I'm reading DOD and I'm on the Prince of Winterfell chapter. Something is not adding up for me maybe someone can help. Theon is made to give away fake Arya to Ramsy in marriage by Lady Dustin and the Boltons. The reasoning they give for that being necessary is that Theon can back up the claim that it actually is Arya to any of the lords in the north who are skeptical. I can't help but think the skeptical lords would be furious that he "killed" Bran and Rickon and thus ruin that whole crap idea in the first place. How is this a good plan? 

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The idea wasn't to make skeptical lords happy, it was to keep them from questioning the authenticity of the bride. Theon is the noble in the North most likely to know what Arya Stark looks like. Those in attendance can be furious all they like about Theon Greyjoy giving away Arya Stark, so long as they're biggest gripes about wedding are that Theon Greyjoy is giving away Arya Stark.

 

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22 hours ago, shadows and dust said:

The idea wasn't to make skeptical lords happy, it was to keep them from questioning the authenticity of the bride. 

 

Thanks for replying this is still bothering me. I'm not very good at conveying my thoughts (especially online). My whole problem with the storyline is that I wouldn't trust the authenticity of the bride based on their "proof". Although I guess that's the whole point is that eventually the northmen are going to rebel against the boltons regardless. I just think Theon being the one to vouch for Arya being the real one is kind of ridiculous. 

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Well, Theon isn't the only reason they're accepting the marriage. Roose outnumbers them, has a Frey army supporting him, and has plenty of their family members down at the Twins as hostages, so even if they don't believe they have to pretend to or risk being destroyed. Wyman brings this up regarding the Red Wedding: he doesn't believe the werewolf story and the Freys know it, but he has to pretend regardless or they'd kill his son.

Theon himself just adds a layer of legitimacy. It might not be definitive but it's something, and likely to sway at least a few people.

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Well, not many people alive and in the North have seen Arya Stark recently, none know her better and Theon who was nearly her adoptive brother. People may hate Theon for killing Bran and Rickon but none of them know Arya closely enough to be able to discredit Theon's word. And as The Drunkard said, they have a sword over their heads (more like their sons' heads) and so are even less inclined to oppose Bolton on what would be a hard claim to prove anyway.

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On April 29, 2016 at 7:01 AM, The Drunkard said:

Well, Theon isn't the only reason they're accepting the marriage. Roose outnumbers them, has a Frey army supporting him, and has plenty of their family members down at the Twins as hostages, so even if they don't believe they have to pretend to or risk being destroyed. Wyman brings this up regarding the Red Wedding: he doesn't believe the werewolf story and the Freys know it, but he has to pretend regardless or they'd kill his son.

Theon himself just adds a layer of legitimacy. It might not be definitive but it's something, and likely to sway at least a few people.

 

On April 29, 2016 at 9:15 AM, Blade of Sunlight said:

Well, not many people alive and in the North have seen Arya Stark recently, none know her better and Theon who was nearly her adoptive brother. People may hate Theon for killing Bran and Rickon but none of them know Arya closely enough to be able to discredit Theon's word. And as The Drunkard said, they have a sword over their heads (more like their sons' heads) and so are even less inclined to oppose Bolton on what would be a hard claim to prove anyway.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about making a post about how it seems like a stretch that Ramsey has gotten away with so many crimes but I'm thinking now the same reasons apply. I know pre-Ned things were different in the north but it's surprising that one man was keeping the whole north together. 

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Is their someone else you propose would be able to authenticate Arya more than Theon?

It's more of a formality really, most people don't fully believe it, but are also not willing to outright rebel. Having Theon vouch for Arya wasn't a part of the big master plan, it was just a convenience brought forward from happening to have Theon as a hostage. I'm sure using Theon was also a message to the other Lords about what happens when you mess witht he Boltons.

It's definitely more credible than no one vouching for Arya, and again, everyone hating on Theon kind of takes the spotlight away from jeyne.

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@Nissa, Keep reading. There is always more to this series, then most of us see the 1st time. This whole storyline centered around WF at that point of the books, has quite a lot of things happening. This thread really should be posted on the still reading section.

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On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 1:38 PM, shadows and dust said:

Those in attendance can be furious all they like about Theon Greyjoy giving away Arya Stark, so long as they're biggest gripes about wedding are that Theon Greyjoy is giving away Arya Stark.

 

 

On ‎4‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 0:05 PM, Nissa said:

I just think Theon being the one to vouch for Arya being the real one is kind of ridiculous. 

In addition to  him being a logical choice as was said early, I think it's a good ruse play.

Theon giving FArya away is clever slight of hand. Think, if you don't want someone to watch your bride too closely, give the people something that will divert their attention. So long as they're staring daggers at Theon, they aren't trying to pierce your veil. It's why a magician always comes equipped with a scantily clad assistant - draw the eyes elsewhere.

Anytime you go into a lie, your best bet to avoid scrutiny needed to unravel you, is to build many straw man arguments to distract from the issue at hand. If you get people invested on the periphery they can lose sight of the target issue.

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On May 10, 2016 at 3:32 AM, Black Wolf Smith said:

@Nissa, Keep reading. There is always more to this series, then most of us see the 1st time. This whole storyline centered around WF at that point of the books, has quite a lot of things happening. This thread really should be posted on the still reading section.

I'll keep that in mind for future posts thanks! I finished DwD a couple weeks ago 

 

@Wendel Shoemaker @shadows and dust I think you both had a similar though thanks for the insight 

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