Quellon Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 By now, I think it is clear Ghost is no ordinary direwolf. He's white, he doesn't make the sounds other direwolves make and that excerpt where Jon remarks how he looks like those weirwood faces...this is all meant to allude that Ghost is something supernatural. Or, spawned by something supernatural. So...what may he be really? Or who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 He's an albino, which sets him apart already. Don't know about the not making a sound, and yes he is clearly special and different from the other direwolves, but I think he's still a direwolf named Ghost as opposed to a person in direwolf form, or an alien being pretending to be a direwolf. The albino seems to be magical in this series. Bloodraven, Ghost, there's got to be another example but I can't think of one. Maybe it indicates the combination of Targaryen blood with a hefty dose of First Men blood? If R+L=J then Jon and Bloodraven are the only two who have that combination at the levels they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curled Finger Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 That's a good question. I've seen many posters indicate that readers may determine the "worthiness" of a character by the wolves' reactions to them. Ghost seems to take to Mel. That should mean I can trust Mel to some degree, but I still find it hard to do. Shadow babies for fratricide is still a deep chasm for me to cross. In truth none of the direwolves are ordinary. Lady seemed to be the most grounded (domesticated?) or least magical of the pack, but we also didn't get to know her very well, did we? Then there is wild Nymeria who seems to sort of protect Arya or maybe she was only letting her girl know she was still around the Riverlands while gathering her smaller grey cousins into a force to be feared. Fierce Shaggy Dog fighting unicorns and biting people, acting much like a wild creature despite being right there in the crypts with his boy. Grey Wind almost warrior like in Robb's cause. Summer so loyal and observant maintaining his wolfishness in hunting, protecting his entire group of humans yet still communicating with his own pack and adopting, winning I'm not sure what the word is to describe what he does with his little wolf pack, but I am watching that with a very close eye. Then we have our Ghost who often disappears for long periods, almost socializes with humans--certainly protects more than Jon and stays in contact with his original pack. The link between Summer and Ghost is nothing short of fascinating. Ghost also seems to have a sense or precognition, at least in Dance, with the pacing Jon credits to Boroq's boar. Still he does seem to listen to Jon and allow himself to be commanded. Maybe we just see Jon commanding Ghost more often than Bran/Summer, but there is this obedience to Ghost that doesn't fit his natural roaming persona. Ghost being unable to speak is an odd thing, but perhaps it is a disability along the lines of Bran's that causes his magical ability to be more pronounced or suspect. But, I don't really see his magic as any different from Summer's or Nymeria's in the wolf dreams. The main difference I see is his many trips away though Jon doesn't worry. So I don't think Ghost is warged by anyone but Jon. And though he is the odd one, his boy is also an odd one--he is after all, the familiar of a half Targ. I'm going to follow this one to see what comes up. You've really put some good questions out there @Quellon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Weirwoods Eyes Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 43 minutes ago, Lady Blizzardborn said: The albino seems to be magical in this series. Bloodraven, Ghost, there's got to be another example but I can't think of one. The Ghost of High Heart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Ravens Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I sometimes wonder what the dynamic would have been if the Stark children and their direwolves hadn't been seperated from one another. Dogs in social groups have Alpha males (or female,s as in the case of Nymeria-gone-wild and her mega wolfpack) and I think Ghost may have ended up filling that position. When the pups are first found with their dead mother they are quite young and their eyes hadn't opened yet. Except for Ghost. He had crawled away from the dead mother and his eyes were open. I take that to indicate that he was already more developed and more independent than his diresiblings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 4 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said: The Ghost of High Heart Is she an albino? I thought she was more like a CotF, only with red eyes because of her gift of seeing the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 14 minutes ago, Lady Blizzardborn said: Is she an albino? I thought she was more like a CotF, only with red eyes because of her gift of seeing the future. Jenny of Oldstones claimed she was a CotF but she sounds rather like an albino with the pale hair, skin and red eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizz-The-Smith Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said: Jenny of Oldstones claimed she was a CotF but she sounds rather like an albino with the pale hair, skin and red eyes. Agreed. Quote Besides the embers of their campfire, she saw Tom, Lem, and Greenbeard talking to a tiny little woman, a foot shorter than Arya and older than Old Nan, all stooped and wrinkled and leaning on a gnarled cane. Her white hair was so long it came almost to the ground. When the wind gusted it blew about her head in a fine cloud. Her flesh was whiter, the colour of milk, and it seemed to Arya that her eyes were red, though it was hard to tell from the bushes. ‘’The old gods stir and will not let me sleep,’’ she heard the woman say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 4 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said: Jenny of Oldstones claimed she was a CotF but she sounds rather like an albino with the pale hair, skin and red eyes. She could be an albino CotF. Twice the power! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandru Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, Wizz-The-Smith said: white hair ... white flesh ... red eyes Well the hair is obviously due to her advanced age, and the pallor would not be unusual in the elderly, either. But the red eyes provide the best evidence that the lady WAS an albino. If they were, and it'wasn't just an optical illusion, maybe caused by the fire. After all, in the dark, everyone's eyes look "black", regardless of the color of their irises. This was a good find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 He's an albino weirwolf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherFromAnotherMother Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Lady Blizzardborn said: Is she an albino? I thought she was more like a CotF, only with red eyes because of her gift of seeing the future. 2 hours ago, zandru said: Well the hair is obviously due to her advanced age, and the pallor would not be unusual in the elderly, either. But the red eyes provide the best evidence that the lady WAS an albino. If they were, and it'wasn't just an optical illusion, maybe caused by the fire. After all, in the dark, everyone's eyes look "black", regardless of the color of their irises. This was a good find! 2 hours ago, Horse of Kent said: Jenny of Oldstones claimed she was a CotF but she sounds rather like an albino with the pale hair, skin and red eyes. There is also this description from the world book, for what it's worth. Quote Jenny of Oldstones was accompanied to court by a dwarfish, albino woman who was reputed to be a woods witch in the riverlands. Lady Jenny herself claimed, in her ignorance, that she was a child of the forest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therae Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Also following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady bonehead Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Isn't there a line from a song: "Jenny would dance with her ghosts"? Interestingly, some people in Westeros believe in ghosts (as they do in the real world) but we don't know if they actually exist in the story (unlike zombies). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unchained Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 3 hours ago, Curled Finger said: That's a good question. I've seen many posters indicate that readers may determine the "worthiness" of a character by the wolves' reactions to them. Ghost seems to take to Mel. That should mean I can trust Mel to some degree, but I still find it hard to do. Shadow babies for fratricide is still a deep chasm for me to cross. In truth none of the direwolves are ordinary. Lady seemed to be the most grounded (domesticated?) or least magical of the pack, but we also didn't get to know her very well, did we? Then there is wild Nymeria who seems to sort of protect Arya or maybe she was only letting her girl know she was still around the Riverlands while gathering her smaller grey cousins into a force to be feared. Fierce Shaggy Dog fighting unicorns and biting people, acting much like a wild creature despite being right there in the crypts with his boy. Grey Wind almost warrior like in Robb's cause. Summer so loyal and observant maintaining his wolfishness in hunting, protecting his entire group of humans yet still communicating with his own pack and adopting, winning I'm not sure what the word is to describe what he does with his little wolf pack, but I am watching that with a very close eye. Then we have our Ghost who often disappears for long periods, almost socializes with humans--certainly protects more than Jon and stays in contact with his original pack. The link between Summer and Ghost is nothing short of fascinating. Ghost also seems to have a sense or precognition, at least in Dance, with the pacing Jon credits to Boroq's boar. Still he does seem to listen to Jon and allow himself to be commanded. Maybe we just see Jon commanding Ghost more often than Bran/Summer, but there is this obedience to Ghost that doesn't fit his natural roaming persona. Ghost being unable to speak is an odd thing, but perhaps it is a disability along the lines of Bran's that causes his magical ability to be more pronounced or suspect. But, I don't really see his magic as any different from Summer's or Nymeria's in the wolf dreams. The main difference I see is his many trips away though Jon doesn't worry. So I don't think Ghost is warged by anyone but Jon. And though he is the odd one, his boy is also an odd one--he is after all, the familiar of a half Targ. I'm going to follow this one to see what comes up. You've really put some good questions out there @Quellon. There is a theory out there that Ghost trusts Mel because they are siblings in way. I am of the belief that Mel is also an albino who makes her hair red, and that she is Bloodraven's daughter with Sheira Seastar. If Bloodraven is behind the dire wolves somehow then that would explain their connection. Albinos are a convenient way to color anything like a weirwood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 1 hour ago, OtherFromAnotherMother said: <snip There is also this description from the world book, for what it's worth. <snip Thanks, OFAM. 45 minutes ago, Lady bonehead said: Isn't there a line from a song: "Jenny would dance with her ghosts"? Interestingly, some people in Westeros believe in ghosts (as they do in the real world) but we don't know if they actually exist in the story (unlike zombies). Ser Bonifer Hasty has a line about all the things a righteous/holy man need not fear. I recall wights and revenants being mentioned but I'm not sure about ghosts. It's in a Jaime chapter in AFFC if anybody wants to look it up. It was that line that got me thinking our "fire wights" are revenants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curled Finger Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 57 minutes ago, Unchained said: There is a theory out there that Ghost trusts Mel because they are siblings in way. I am of the belief that Mel is also an albino who makes her hair red, and that she is Bloodraven's daughter with Sheira Seastar. If Bloodraven is behind the dire wolves somehow then that would explain their connection. Albinos are a convenient way to color anything like a weirwood. OH heck yeah. I've thought there was something to her red eyes forever and there is that milky white complexion, but I don't think it ever crossed my mind she could be an albino. Good on you, Dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Seriously, not on weirwolf.... I'm losing my topical puns touch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fattest Leech Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I gotta say, I am a little surprised at how many posters think Mel and Ghost are alike and how many think Ghost was trusting Mel in that scene by the tower. Learn something new everyday. Adding: Yes, I am being genuine in this slight shock. Not sarcastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.