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Why has Arya lost her edge?


False Aegon

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Hi guys, just started AFFC a few days ago,

So, regarding the interesting debate that stands above, about why Arya spared the Hound, I would share with you this quote from Arya I, AFFC :

Quote

The Hound had been dying when she lefts him on the banks of the Trident, burning up with fever from his wound. I should have given him the gift of mercy and put a knife into his heart.

So, what is important here is that Arya ostensibly admits to herself that she regrets to didn't finish the job with Sandor. The text is pretty clear : she talks about a "gift", in other terms : she thinks that she should have given a clean death to him.

Then, I rather agree with @Horse of Kent, it was a human act to not finish Sandor : she choses to spare her last and only "friend".

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On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 4:22 PM, Sandokan I Ironborn said:

Hi guys, just started AFFC a few days ago,

So, regarding the interesting debate that stands above, about why Arya spared the Hound, I would share with you this quote from Arya I, AFFC :

So, what is important here is that Arya ostensibly admits to herself that she regrets to didn't finish the job with Sandor. The text is pretty clear : she talks about a "gift", in other terms : she thinks that she should have given a clean death to him.

Then, I rather agree with @Horse of Kent, it was a human act to not finish Sandor : she choses to spare her last and only "friend".

I don't see how you can conclude that from that quote. It's not like she is saying she should have given the gift in order to punish the Hound, but that in retrospect maybe she should have done him a kindness. Just before that, she is reminiscing about how the Hound killed Polliver and she did the Tickler and the boy with the pimple, whom she wouldn't have killed if he hadn't grabbed her.

So at this point, she is in a reflective mood, reconsidering her decision, unlike the moment she left the Hound and denied the him the mercy he was begging for, not out of kindness but for spite.

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On 10/23/2016 at 6:57 PM, Nevets said:

Actually, she has little experience entirely on her own, mainly in KL right after her escape.  And that was a very perilous existence.  Otherwise, she was mostly with Yoren, at Harrenhal, or with the BwB, situations in which she was m ore or less taken care of.

Initially, when Sandor takes,her, he keeps her prisoner by wrapping her in a blanket at night and keeping watch during the day.  No opportunity to leave there.  Once she finds out he's taking her to her mom, their interests coincide; reunification with her family.  Even after the Red Wedding, he is trying to get her to her family.

After the Red Wedding, it was probably better for her to stay with Sandor.  She had no real place to go, and didn't know how to find the BwB or Acorn Hall, for example.  For a 10 year-old to be alone in such an environment for any real length of time would have been the height of folly.  Essentially, she stayed with him because there was no better option and he was a big guy with a sword who had no intention of harming her.  And he was still interested in reuniting her with family, albeit for money.

Not to mention, how would

Spoiler

Lady Stoneheart

react if The Hound bumped into the Brotherhood without Banners, with Arya in tow?

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15 hours ago, John Suburbs said:

I don't see how you can conclude that from that quote. It's not like she is saying she should have given the gift in order to punish the Hound, but that in retrospect maybe she should have done him a kindness. Just before that, she is reminiscing about how the Hound killed Polliver and she did the Tickler and the boy with the pimple, whom she wouldn't have killed if he hadn't grabbed her.

So at this point, she is in a reflective mood, reconsidering her decision, unlike the moment she left the Hound and denied the him the mercy he was begging for, not out of kindness but for spite.

Well, whatever the reason she left the Hound, I think that the important fact here is that she regrets her act. She admits that she should have given a decent and "clean" death to Sandor. To be honest, maybe there was a part of spite in Arya's decision, BUT, the idea that Arya now has remorse shows that in a certain way, Arya used to have affection to Sandor. (You don't give a gift of "mercy" to your worst enemy)

After all, we speak about a 10-year old girl, don't we ? She simply couldn't bring herself to kill her last friend, even if she had anger to him for murdering Mycah etc.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 2:02 PM, Sandokan I Ironborn said:

Well, whatever the reason she left the Hound, I think that the important fact here is that she regrets her act. She admits that she should have given a decent and "clean" death to Sandor. To be honest, maybe there was a part of spite in Arya's decision, BUT, the idea that Arya now has remorse shows that in a certain way, Arya used to have affection to Sandor. (You don't give a gift of "mercy" to your worst enemy)

After all, we speak about a 10-year old girl, don't we ? She simply couldn't bring herself to kill her last friend, even if she had anger to him for murdering Mycah etc.

 

OK, but if she has remorse on the ship for not giving him mercy, then at the time she left him she was doing so because she felt he did not deserve that mercy. So her decision to leave had nothing to do with not being able to bring herself to kill a friend -- indeed, she is just about to do it when his eyes pop open -- and everything to do with making him suffer for his past crimes -- regardless of whatever self-serving motive he had for bringing her back to her family.

So what I'm getting at is her state of mind at the moment she left Sandor, and I don't see how anyone could consider it an act of kindness on her part when she deliberately denies him the mercy he is begging for and leaves him to suffer the crueler, more agonizing death.

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