Most Gothic Character in ASOIAF?

[dsug]

So ASOIAF is a really interesting blend of fantasy and political thriller, but I also think it has a touch of Gothic in it. Gothic heroes are known for their unique style, and are usually melancholy, doomed people with deep flaws. A quick google search on the characteristics of a Gothic character gave me this:

• Wealthy, high rank in society
• foreshadowed to be doomed from the beginning
• haunted by the past
• strong physical presence
• strong sexual element
• association with the supernatural
• driven by passion
• flaws, vices, self-destructiveness

Based on that, and the general attitude and reputation of a stereotypic gothic character, I'd have to say that Cersei Lannister is the most gothic. She lives a life of wealth and privilege as the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Her death has been foretold since her childhood, and she is haunted by the prophecies of an enigmatic witch. She is strikingly beautiful, and engages in multiple affairs throughout the series. Her only friend is the necromancer Qyburn, who gifts her with an undead servant. She is "all wildfire" and ruled by passion and emotion. She's cruel, she's arrogant, she's abusive, she's paranoid. She drinks too much and sleeps around. Her ambition and anger leads to her demise and humiliation. By all accounts, she is a terrible person. And yet, we're drawn to her. 

As a close second, I'd say Jon Snow could be a classic gothic hero. His a noble bastard, and eventually the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. He is very melancholy and insecure. His consorting with witches and battles against ice demons show a strong association with the otherworldly. He appears to be a striking physical presence, a slender black phantom in a sea of white snow. His dealings with the wildlings led to his betrayal and assassination by his comrades. 

So I've rambled enough. What do you think? Are there gothic influences in ASOIAf? And if there are, in whom do they manifest most? 

Thanks for reading!!!

[The Weirwoods Eyes]

I was going to say Jaime Lannister. But have to admit Cersei fits it better. 

 

[ShadowCat Rivers]

Read it and straight away thought of Tyrion.

 

Seems like goth is a Lannister trait 

[Joy Hill]

With the exception of "association with the supernatural", I think Ramsay fits pretty well.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I agree with the previous posters who mentioned the Lannisters but I would like to add that Arya has 7 out of 8 of the characteristics you have mentioned.

[Philokles]

Tyrion. He fits six of the criteria perfectly and even has a strong physical presence of sorts. He only lacks being doomed from the beginning.

 

9 minutes ago, Jon's Queen Consort said:

I agree with the previous posters who mentioned the Lannisters but I would like to add that Arya has 7 out of 8 of the characteristics you have mentioned.

I count four (wealth, haunted-ish, supernatural and passion)?

[John Doe]

Tyrion imho, except maybe for his hedonism. 

 

 

[Jon's Queen Consort]

4 hours ago, Horse of Kent said:

I count four (wealth, haunted-ish, supernatural and passion)?

foreshadowed to be doomed from the beginning; 

Quote

When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.

This always seemed awfully dark about Arya's future.

strong physical presence; Strong because of her *power* with a weapon and as an assassin in training.

flaws, vices, self-destructiveness; The fact that she is haunted from the past to the point that she endangers herself is self destructive. Other characters are also haunted by the past but they don't endanger themselves because of that.
 

[estermonty python]

I mean...Jon Snow is the most gothic character in literature since Heathcliff.  Is this really a debate?

[dsug]

3 hours ago, ShadowCat Rivers said:

Read it and straight away thought of Tyrion.

 

Seems like goth is a Lannister trait 

ahh tyrion didn't even cross my mind.

he certainly is that tortured soul that gothic lit loves so much. 

[dsug]

also as for cersei, she also seems to be a good fit due to gothic lit's infatuation with beauty and its decay. Cersei's beauty is slowly fading, and she hates it. 

[SeanF]

2 hours ago, Jon's Queen Consort said:

foreshadowed to be doomed from the beginning; When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers. This always seemed awfully dark about Arya's future.

strong physical presence; Strong because of her *power* with a weapon and as an assassin in training.

flaws, vices, self-destructiveness; The fact that she is haunted from the past to the point that she endangers herself is self destructive. Other characters are also haunted by the past but they don't endanger themselves because of that.
 

Arya's a good choice.  For all his or her flaws, the protagonist of a Gothic novel should be somewhat sympathetic, which Arya is.  Cersei is much less so.

[ShadowCat Rivers]

3 minutes ago, SeanF said:

Arya's a good choice.  For all his or her flaws, the protagonist of a Gothic novel should be somewhat sympathetic, which Arya is.  Cersei is much less so.

While she's technically a good fit, she lacks that special masochistic *something* that comes from within, a quality that the Lannister siblings have mastered 

[Julia H.]

I was also going to say Jaime. He fits all the criteria and I can see him as a Gothic hero. Cersei is very Gothic, but not really a heroine in my mind.

I probably wouldn't have thought of Tyrion, but that's a good point, too ... except maybe his instinct to survive and the way he generally values his own life in any circumstances make him less Gothic than his siblings. 

[usama]

Rhaegar 

[dsug]

32 minutes ago, usama said:

Rhaegar 

oh yeah that's a good one. he is beautiful, romantic, mysterious, and melancholy. and a prince lol.

39 minutes ago, Julia H. said:

I was also going to say Jaime. He fits all the criteria and I can see him as a Gothic hero. Cersei is very Gothic, but not really a heroine in my mind.

I probably wouldn't have thought of Tyrion, but that's a good point, too ... except maybe his instinct to survive and the way he generally values his own life in any circumstances make him less Gothic than his siblings. 

Well Cersei is the heroine of her own story. Just because we don't like her doesn't mean she isn't the protagonist, unless we are expected to root for someone like the high sparrow. 

As for Jaime, I don't know if he himself is a Gothic character, but the nature of his story definitely could fit in the genre. Wealthy and handsome since birth, misunderstood, destructive romance with a femme fatale, maimed and forced to reevaluate his life. 

[Julia H.]

37 minutes ago, dsug said:

 

Well Cersei is the heroine of her own story. Just because we don't like her doesn't mean she isn't the protagonist, unless we are expected to root for someone like the high sparrow. 

 

Everyone is the protagonist of their own story (even the High Sparrow is the protagonist of his own story). That doesn't make everyone a hero or a heroine. 

[The Wolves]

Bloodraven and House Blackwood is the most Gothic house in the story. 

[dsug]

11 minutes ago, Julia H. said:

Everyone is the protagonist of their own story (even the High Sparrow is the protagonist of his own story). That doesn't make everyone a hero or a heroine. 

I mean the story of the high sparrow vs Cersei is told from Cersei's perspective, so naturally we are more inclined to root for her, at least in theory. In the story of cersei Lannister, she is the heroine. If the chapter has "Cersei" on top, she's the hero of that chapter. 

[Julia H.]

Just now, dsug said:

I mean the story of the high sparrow vs Cersei is told from Cersei's perspective, so naturally we are more inclined to root for her, at least in theory. In the story of cersei Lannister, she is the heroine. If the chapter has "Cersei" on top, she's the hero of that chapter. 

That's one meaning of hero but I used the word in a different sense in my first post above. Of course, I can see Cersei as the protagonist of a chapter named after her, and I realize that she is a POV character. I can't see her as being endowed with the characteristics of a true hero(ine) and I can't see her story arc as a hero(ine)'s arc though.