Will Sansa’s Unkiss amount to nothing more than the active over imagination of a young girl concerning the guy that protected her?

[Houseofthedirewolves]

                                               Breaking Down Sansa's Infatuation with What the Hound Represents to Her

 

From a pretty song to a brutal reality. That is how drastically life changed for the sheltered eldest daughter of a power noble family. Still a child, naive and innocent, Sansa was completely unaware of the type of horrors that would permanently alter her life in Kingslanding.

 

Loss after loss, Sansa found her life slipping beyond her control. Her future was manipulated by the Lannisters, her Stark identity repressed in order to survive, and her status as the respectable daughter of a powerful lord had been belittled to that of traitor's daughter.

 

Sansa was helpless and weak. Unable to protect herself. Her life was filled with turmoil, fear, and violence, and Sansa found herself vulnerable to vicious knights who beat defenseless girls like herself. During this time of suffering and being a prisoner of her former dreams, it was the Hound that looked out for her. He didn't stand up for her, but he did look out for her in a violent and gruff way.

 

In this prolonged period of intense trauma for Sansa, he was also a fierce warrior (literally) feared by other men, and in him she found the brute strength that she craved for herself, but lacked. He frightened her, but he had the ability to protect her when Sansa was unable to protect herself.

 

No one could beat or hurt the Hound like they hurt her. They couldn't strip him and humiliate him like they did to her. So she substituted the Hound in place of her fantasy gallant knights that she was now disillusioned about.

 

Her belief in gallant knights destroyed, it was the Hound that she came to rely on to protect the fair maiden (herself). In a way it's more of what the Hound represents (strength, protection, safety when she had none) that Sansa craves, rather than the man himself that leads to Sansa's infatuation with him.

 

Note the difference from her sexual attraction to Loras which is based on physical attractiveness. Sansa is moving away from fantasizing over males with beautiful faces and to whom she's physically attracted to, to males who have the ability to protect her. Something that she was denied for many years while in Kingslanding. Yes, this is an infatuation that developed from her trauma.

 

Ironically, if she meets the Hound now as the peaceful gravedigger rather than the fierce warrior that easily struck down enemies with his sword, her romantic infatuation with him would be gone. Because if he no longer represents that safety figure who can offer Sansa protection through brute strength, he would no longer fit the role that led to Sansa having fantasies about him in the first place.

 

Looking back in the passage, whenever Sansa found herself wishing that the Hound was near, it was always during a situation where she felt in need of protection. A situation where she feels threatened in someway and is in need of his brute strength. It is not the Hound's personality, character, or who he is as a person that draws Sansa, but rather what he can offer. Strength and protection. And once he becomes a man of peace, he can no longer offer that to her.

 

I'm sure that Sansa would be happy for him that he found peace. She probably might even like him more as a person, but all of it would now be platonic. Because her allure for him was based on what he represented (Brute strength. Protection. Saftey.). And now those qualities have been pushed aside for peace and meditation.

 

Hence the ending of Sansa's infatuation. Maybe by this time Sansa would have evolved into her own source of strength, safety, and protection rather than developing an infatuation with someone else that symbolizes these things to her.

[Traverys]

I think the unkiss is more about Sansa seeing the Hound as a truer knight (even though he isn't one) than any of the other men she has encountered in King's Landing. She is still a young girl clinging to the hope that the stories (a damsel in distress, for instance) will come true for her. She's willing to bend her vision of the ideal (a Loras) in favor of the Hound because even the romantic theme of a knight saving a lady is a better concession than being utterly doomed.

With that said, GRRM himself has stated that the unkiss will be important later. That's why people tend to think that it will amount to something later.

[HoodedCrow]

The Hound took great risk to save Sansa from a mob rape and possible death. With limited power, he tried to save her from the worst of Joffrey, and offered to take her away from KL. Sansa grew to understand the talk and the appearance from actions, to some degree. He also served as a contrast from knights in Romances, to the true knight actions. By the end she was empathetic and was confident that he would harm her. Her unkiss is about her age, puberty, as well.

I believe she does value protection and strength, doesn't she tell Joffrey that her brother is going to kick his buttocks,or something like that?

[Houseofthedirewolves]

6 minutes ago, HoodedCrow said:

The Hound took great risk to save Sansa from a mob rape and possible death. With limited power, he tried to save her from the worst of Joffrey, and offered to take her away from KL. Sansa grew to understand the talk and the appearance from actions, to some degree. He also served as a contrast from knights in Romances, to the true knight actions. By the end she was empathetic and was confident that he would harm her. Her unkiss is about her age, puberty, as well.

I believe she does value protection and strength, doesn't she tell Joffrey that her brother is going to kick his buttocks,or something like that?

I beg to disagree. He never took great risks. The men that he saved Sansa from didn't pose any threat to him. Even the Hound laughed about it because how stupid,and weak they were. He protected Sansa, but never at a cost to himself. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

This is pure tinfoil, but I have wondered if the Unkiss was a premonition of sorts. Sansa seems to have a weaker connection to the supernatural than her siblings, but that doesn't necessarily mean she is completely cut off from it. Perhaps the kiss she claims to remember is of one to come, rather than one from the past. 

[sweetsunray]

53 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

I beg to disagree. He never took great risks. The men that he saved Sansa from didn't pose any threat to him. Even the Hound laughed about it because how stupid,and weak they were. He protected Sansa, but never at a cost to himself. 

Preston Greenfield, a KG, was killed by the mob, when he tried to go to the High Septon's aid. That the Hound laughed does not mean the rioters posed no threat to him. Laughter can be a way to cope with danger. You do know the expression Sandor-speak, right? It's him acting all macho, vicious and tough to mask other feelings. And he sure risked losing Stranger to the mob for her. Only when Sansa's safely back in the Red Keep does he go looking for his horse.

Proposing to get her out of King's Landing and to her mother and brother would have been a great risk to himself. He'd have been seriously hunted. Without her, an alert was put out, but no actual force went out to look for him. 

As for the OP - no, it's not just protection that she desires Sandor for. The chemistry begins to develop, albeit latent, because he showed his more vulnerable side and because of a shared intimacy (non sexual) when he escorts her back to the Hand's tower after the tourney of the Hand. He revealed the biggest secret of his past to her and huddled at her feet after doing that.

[Houseofthedirewolves]

3 minutes ago, sweetsunray said:

Preston Greenfield, a KG, was killed by the mob, when he tried to go to the High Septon's aid. That the Hound laughed does not mean the rioters posed no threat to him. Laughter can be a way to cope with danger. You do know the expression Sandor-speak, right? It's him acting all macho, vicious and tough to mask other feelings. And he sure risked losing Stranger to the mob for her. Only when Sansa's safely back in the Red Keep does he go looking for his horse.

Proposing to get her out of King's Landing and to her mother and brother would have been a great risk to himself. He'd have been seriously hunted. Without her, an alert was put out, but no actual force went out to look for him. 

 

Getting her out of Kingslanding was not a great risk to himself nor would it be something that he had to go out of the way to do. He was already leaving, she was already in her room isolated from everyone else. The rest of the people were either gathered with the queen or fighting on the battlefield. That is why the Hound was able to leave so easily, taking Sansa with him would have put him at no greater risk.

The potentially greatest risk to himself he was easily dissuaded from taking. 

[sweetsunray]

3 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

Getting her out of Kingslanding was not a great risk to himself nor would it be something that he had to go out of the way to do. He was already leaving, she was already in her room isolated from everyone else. The rest of the people were either gathered with the queen or fighting on the battlefield. That is why the Hound was able to leave so easily, taking Sansa with him would have put him at no greater risk.

Bullshit. Tywin would have sent a whole garrison of Lannisters after them, led by Marbrand, if the Hound had taken Sansa with him, within several hours after her escape was noticed. Nobody thought the Hound important enough by himself to send a garisson after him. But Sansa was their needed hostage against Robb having Jaime.

[Lord Wraith]

*Grabs popcorn* I summon @ravenous reader

[Houseofthedirewolves]

Just now, sweetsunray said:

Bullshit. Tywin would have sent a whole garrison of Lannisters after them, led by Marbrand, if the Hound had taken Sansa with him, within several hours after her escape was noticed.

It's pointless arguing about a risk that he DIDN'T TAKE. 

The potentially greatest risk to himself (for her) and yet he was easily dissuaded from taking it. If he was so desperate to protect Sansa then he should have taken her just like he took Arya. But he didn't because it was EASIER for him to leave her. Again he did not go out of his way for her.

[Houseofthedirewolves]

 That the Hound laughed does not mean the rioters posed no threat to him. Laughter can be a way to cope with danger. You do know the expression Sandor-speak, right? It's him acting all macho, vicious and tough to mask other feelings. And he sure risked losing Stranger to the mob for her. Only when Sansa's safely back in the Red Keep does he go looking for his horse.

6 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

 

Getting her out of Kingslanding was not a great risk to himself nor would it be something that he had to go out of the way to do. He was already leaving, she was already in her room isolated from everyone else. The rest of the people were either gathered with the queen or fighting on the battlefield. That is why the Hound was able to leave so easily, taking Sansa with him would have put him at no greater risk.

The potentially greatest risk to himself he was easily dissuaded from taking. 

“Brave?” His laugh was half a snarl. “A dog doesn't need courage to chase off rats. They had me thirty to one, and not a man of them dared face me.”

Again, the Hound was not scared of the mob. He knew that he could take them. They were made up of weak men that lacked proper discipline, weapons and armor. All which he had. It was a field day for him.

[Houseofthedirewolves]

13 minutes ago, sweetsunray said:

Preston Greenfield, a KG, was killed by the mob, when he tried to go to the High Septon's aid. That the Hound laughed does not mean the rioters posed no threat to him. Laughter can be a way to cope with danger. You do know the expression Sandor-speak, right? It's him acting all macho, vicious and tough to mask other feelings. And he sure risked losing Stranger to the mob for her. Only when Sansa's safely back in the Red Keep does he go looking for his horse.

Proposing to get her out of King's Landing and to her mother and brother would have been a great risk to himself. He'd have been seriously hunted. Without her, an alert was put out, but no actual force went out to look for him. 

As for the OP - no, it's not just protection that she desires Sandor for. The chemistry begins to develop, albeit latent, because he showed his more vulnerable side and because of a shared intimacy (non sexual) when he escorts her back to the Hand's tower after the tourney of the Hand. He revealed the biggest secret of his past to her and huddled at her feet after doing that.

Sansa prayed for him and stopped seeing him as a monster when he shared his inner hurt and revealed his vulnerability.

Chemistry? When he threw her on the bed and held a knife to her? She closed her eyes because she thought that he was about to kiss her, causing the Hound to become angry because he thought she was scared to look at his face. (This moment later helped shape her memory of the Unkiss.)

Sansa's infatuation wasn't hinted at until she left Kingslanding. When she was safely away she started repressing and altering her memory of what happened in Kingslanding; turning traumatizing memories into more pleasant ones. She changed her memory of the Hound made him less scary and more of a protector (the fierce knight that not only protected her but also kissed her). Which still supports my argument that Sansa's infatuation is based off of his ability to protect her.  

[sweetsunray]

7 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

It's pointless arguing about a risk that he DIDN'T TAKE. 

The potentially greatest risk to himself (for her) and yet he was easily dissuaded from taking it. If he was so desperate to protect Sansa then he should have taken her just like he took Arya. But he didn't because it was EASIER for him to leave her. Again he did not go out of his way for her.

Wel, you're the one who brought it up as an argument. Now that it's clear that Hound taking Sansa would have had far more dire consequences it's suddenly "pointless"?

It was Sansa's song that gentled him against taking her, and respecting her choice. Had he taken her by force,he would have been in the wrong towards her and would have endangered her enormously.

He took Arya while it looked she was running off from the BwB, just as she had tried to storm off on the horse earlier in anger of Ned Dayne's revelation about her father as well. It certainly would have looked to him as if Arya wanted to run away from the BwB twice. That she didn't actually wanted to run away was not something he couldn't have guessed by following and tracker her from a distance.

[sweetsunray]

12 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

“Brave?” His laugh was half a snarl. “A dog doesn't need courage to chase off rats. They had me thirty to one, and not a man of them dared face me.”

Again, the Hound was not scared of the mob. He knew that he could take them. They were made up of weak men that lacked proper discipline, weapons and armor. All which he had. It was a field day for him.

Sandor-speak

[Houseofthedirewolves]

Just now, sweetsunray said:

Wel, you're the one who brought it up as an argument. Now that it's clear that Hound taking Sansa would have had far more dire consequences it's suddenly "pointless"?

It was Sansa's song that gentled him against taking her, and respecting her choice. Had he taken her by force,he would have been in the wrong towards her and would have endangered her enormously.

He took Arya while it looked she was running off from the BwB, just as she had tried to storm off on the horse earlier in anger of Ned Dayne's revelation about her father as well. It certainly would have looked to him as if Arya wanted to run away from the BwB twice. That she didn't actually wanted to run away was not something he couldn't have guessed by following and tracker her from a distance.

It is pointless because he DIDN'T TAKE HER. He DIDN'T GO OUT OF HIS WAY FOR HER. He was EASILY convinced to LEAVE HER BEHIND. So his actions support MY ARGUMENT. He didn't RISK HIMSELF for HER. 

[Houseofthedirewolves]

Just now, sweetsunray said:

Sandor-speak

Your opinion. I'm just going by the text.

[Blue-Eyed Wolf]

I just can't with all this.  The reason she is held as a hostage and kept alive at all is because the Stark camp holds Jaime hostage.  She's the only thing keeping Jaime alive and vice versa.  She's extremely valuable.  But nah, they'd just let her go like "oh well" 

Even when he had Arya and he was returning her to her family at the Twins he went to the trouble of disguising himself to sneak her in.  The Hound is so hated he know he can't just walk in with her.  He'd be captured and killed.

He leaves Sansa at KL for a couple of reasons.  First, she said no.  He's drunk and acting unstable.  She's also got her thing going with Dontos.  Second, he scared the shit out of her.  She snaps him out of it with the song and he's so ashamed of himself he casts off his white cloak.  He wasn't worthy of it.  He didn't leave because he was "dissuaded."  He fucked up and he knew it.

5 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

Again, the Hound was not scared of the mob. He knew that he could take them. They were made up of weak men that lacked proper discipline, weapons and armor. All which he had. It was a field day for him.

He's not Rambo.  George is deconstructing that bullshit of hyper-masculine violent, emotionless, male power fantasy.  What do you think the whole "Broken Man" speech is about?  It's about men's trauma turning outward into violence.  As sweet said, yeah that crowd was dangerous.  Preston Greenfield was hacked to death and he's a King's Guard.  I don't care how skilled you are with a sword, you may kill a few people but you can't hold back an entire crowd pressing in on you from all sides.  

   

[Houseofthedirewolves]

31 minutes ago, Blue-Eyed Wolf said:

I just can't with all this.  The reason she is held as a hostage and kept alive at all is because the Stark camp holds Jaime hostage.  She's the only thing keeping Jaime alive and vice versa.  She's extremely valuable.  But nah, they'd just let her go like "oh well" 

Even when he had Arya and he was returning her to her family at the Twins he went to the trouble of disguising himself to sneak her in.  The Hound is so hated he know he can't just walk in with her.  He'd be captured and killed.

He leaves Sansa at KL for a couple of reasons.  First, she said no.  He's drunk and acting unstable.  She's also got her thing going with Dontos.  Second, he scared the shit out of her.  She snaps him out of it with the song and he's so ashamed of himself he casts off his white cloak.  He wasn't worthy of it.  He didn't leave because he was "dissuaded."  He fucked up and he knew it.

He's not Rambo.  George is deconstructing that bullshit of hyper-masculine violent, emotionless, male power fantasy.  What do you think the whole "Broken Man" speech is about?  It's about men's trauma turning outward into violence.  As sweet said, yeah that crowd was dangerous.  Preston Greenfield was hacked to death and he's a King's Guard.  I don't care how skilled you are with a sword, you may kill a few people but you can't hold back an entire crowd pressing in on you from all sides.  

   

The argument is not about him being emotionless but how much of a risk that the Hound took for Sansa. (No one was guarding Sansa after she went to her room. The Hound was able to slip in and out of it undetected) that would have been the IDEAL time to leave with her. But Nope.

A great battle is underway, the men are preoccupied fighting for their lives. 1) Sansa's absence would not have been immediately noticed. 2) Even if it was, only a few men if any would be dismissed to find her seeing that they are ENGAGED in a FIERCE BATTLE.

During the mobbing, the men that were attacking Sansa fled as soon as the Hound started swinging his sword, which lets me know they didn't pose any great risk to him.

The Hound leapt at them his sword a blur of steel that trailed a red mist as it swung. When they broke and ran before him he had laughed.

This is not simply a story he is telling to hide his feelings, but what actually happened. Which again lets me know that he was able to easily handle the men that attacked Sansa. They were weak, they were weaponless, they were not a major threat to him.

[sweetsunray]

1 minute ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

Sansa prayed for him and stopped seeing him as a monster when he shared his inner hurt and revealed his vulnerability.

Chemistry? When he threw her on the bed and held a knife to her? She closed her eyes because she thought that he was about to kiss her, causing the Hound to become angry because he thought she was scared to look at his face. (This moment later helped shape her memory of the Unkiss.)

Sansa's infatuation wasn't hinted at until she left Kingslanding. When she was safely away she started repressing and altering her memory of what happened in Kingslanding; turning traumatizing memories into more pleasant ones. She changed her memory of the Hound made him less scary and more of a protector (the fierce knight that not only protected her but also kissed her). Which still supports my argument that Sansa's infatuation is based off of his ability to protect her.  

He didn't throw her on the bed. He makes her sit down on the bed. Knife and swords are ....

I did however stipulate another scene - the first scene between them. I didn't say "infatuation". I said "chemistry". Chemistry comes before infatuation, and certainly in the early stages can be masked by feelings of frustration and trepidation. But the chemistry born out of feeling vulnerable around one another has its roots in the aGoT scene where Sandor tells her his story of how he got burned and huddles at her feet after doing so, and she reaches out for him. You completely ignored the mention of that scene.

Furthermore "infatuation" is exactly the type of word people use when they try to belittle a girl's or young woman's feelings about a guy. It's a way to deny the possibility beforehand that it may be more than "infatuation". It like when I was 5 and scared of the Big Bad Wolf, and told stories about the Little Good Wolf to deal with my child-fears.

What you fail to recognize about Sansa is that she alters and adapts through her fantasy. This is how she preserves her agency to figure out what she wants, rather than settling.

And finally, Sandor is not going to stay on the Isle forever as a gravedigger. Stranger refuses to be gelded and still bites and kicks. He's imo not even on the island anymore, but already very close to Sansa.

[sweetsunray]

15 minutes ago, Houseofthedirewolves said:

It is pointless because he DIDN'T TAKE HER. He DIDN'T GO OUT OF HIS WAY FOR HER. He was EASILY convinced to LEAVE HER BEHIND. So his actions support MY ARGUMENT. He didn't RISK HIMSELF for HER. 

Wrong. He was perfectly willing to risk himself for her. He was simply not doing it against her will.

If you think it was pointless, you shouldn't have brought it up. And just word it the way you do here. You're still wrong though, clearly very biased against Sandor. Hence likely why you speculate that the unkiss will amount to anything, because that's what you hope.