Why did Drogo want to marry Dany?

[Guardian of the Lhazareen]

Dany was not prepubescent when they married; Drogo was not a pedophile, at least where she was concerned. There are a whole mess o' issues where their wedding night and relationship were concerned — i'm sure Winter's Knight would love to discuss them — but strictly speaking, he wasn't a pedophile.

apoligise, I didn't realise you had such a great working knowledge of Essos law reguarding phedophilia.... massive 30 year old barbarian with small 13 year old scared vulnerable white girl who suffers from low self esteeme and family abuse issues. feel free to draw your own conclusions

[TheZone]

Oh yes, the story is full of examples of people (specifically those in leadership positions) who married someone just because they were hot. Nothing at all to do with ulterior purposes. *sarcasm*

Essos is full of families with warriors. It's full of families with hot, silver-haired, purple-eyed girls. The Dothraki don't have any interest in Westeros, but it was Dany specifically that Drogo sought out. Because she was...hot? Not only that, he married her. If he wanted a hottie, he could have just made her a concubine. I guess that makes sense if you want to read the books with a Cosmo lens. Like Apple, I prefer a bit more thought with my reading material.

Again miscommunication has struck, I agree there might have been an ulterior motive, but being who she was and looked the way she did, defiantly helped them to marry her off, if she was ugly or plain looking, for example Brianne, I am not sure if the deal would have went down.

[The Lord's Kiss]

She did say there were other multiple issues at hand, but that Drogo and Dany would not have been considered a pedophile by Westerosi or Essosi standards...

[chris_cam84]

I think it was her lineage he was pumped when she got pregnant and he knew if he maried her and they were victorious in battle like he always was his son would one day be king of the known world remember he was undefeated in combat he was probly very confident in his and his armies abilites to defeat any army they came across he never knew defeat plus it probly didnt hurt that she was a hot blonde virgin

[Dr. Pepper]

Again miscommunication has struck, I agree there might have been an ulterior motive, but being who she was and looked the way she did, defiantly helped them to marry her off, if she was ugly or plain looking, for example Brianne, I am not sure if the deal would have went down.

Possible the deal wouldn't have gone down if she were ugly, though unlikely. It's not like we have examples of the Dothraki only choosing beautiful women to bed. Nor do we have examples of the Dothraki defying the dosh khaleen.

Yes, Dany is very beautiful, but at the time she wasn't any more special than half a million other silver-haired, purple-eyed beauties scattered all over Essos, who can claim descent from Old Valyria, and likely from other Valyrian dragonlords. He could have chosen, or captured, any one of them. But Drogo chooses to give Illyrio a great deal of wealth in exchange for Dany, as though she's such a special and treasured gift. He didn't even show any interest in the outrageously expensive gift (dragon eggs) that Illyrio gave them for their wedding.

Jorah told Dany time and again that the Dothraki do not buy and sell. They give and receive gifts. They'd already given their gifts for her, so there's no reason to give anymore gifts just to go to Westeros to get the crazy boy a crown. It's so blindingly obvious that there was something about Dany specifically that had nothing to do with her hot factor (which I'm not even sure Drogo would have known about, given that she just another poor silver-haired girl in Essos. Do the Dothraki even keep up on politics enough to know who the Beggar King and her sister are?).

But whatever, like you argue, can't rule out the hot/trophy wife factor since the book is just teeming with examples of powerful leaders choosing spouses based solely on that.

[TheZone]

Possible the deal wouldn't have gone down if she were ugly, though unlikely. It's not like we have examples of the Dothraki only choosing beautiful women to bed. Nor do we have examples of the Dothraki defying the dosh khaleen.

Yes, Dany is very beautiful, but at the time she wasn't any more special than half a million other silver-haired, purple-eyed beauties scattered all over Essos, who can claim descent from Old Valyria, and likely from other Valyrian dragonlords. He could have chosen, or captured, any one of them. But Drogo chooses to give Illyrio a great deal of wealth in exchange for Dany, as though she's such a special and treasured gift. He didn't even show any interest in the outrageously expensive gift (dragon eggs) that Illyrio gave them for their wedding.

Jorah told Dany time and again that the Dothraki do not buy and sell. They give and receive gifts. They'd already given their gifts for her, so there's no reason to give anymore gifts just to go to Westeros to get the crazy boy a crown. It's so blindingly obvious that there was something about Dany specifically that had nothing to do with her hot factor (which I'm not even sure Drogo would have known about, given that she just another poor silver-haired girl in Essos. Do the Dothraki even keep up on politics enough to know who the Beggar King and her sister are?).

But whatever, like you argue, can't rule out the hot/trophy wife factor since the book is just teeming with examples of powerful leaders choosing spouses based solely on that.

I am not saying he is basing marrying her solely on that, secondly why should he care about the eggs money has no place for a Dothraki,however there have been some examples of men with power marrying beautiful women Robb comes to mind. He might not have known who Viserys was but he defiantly knew who Aegon was and that can feed into the good omen theory, here is this girl who is attractive,comes from a family that is famous and is known for having good and competent fighters, it might be safer and the omens might favor someone who has a proven family lineage, plus she is a virgin, however I am not sure about the whole dosh khaleen scenario being on solely Dany. They might have told him that someone exotic would have made a good mate, that he should not stick to the dothraki way, but them talking about Dany in general would have been unrealistic.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

apoligise, I didn't realise you had such a great working knowledge of Essos law reguarding phedophilia.... massive 30 year old barbarian with small 13 year old scared vulnerable white girl who suffers from low self esteeme and family abuse issues. feel free to draw your own conclusions

It's not about Essos law, it's about what pedophilia actually is. It refers specifically to pre-pubescent children, not girls like Dany who have hit puberty. Is there a lot wrong with Drogo and Dany's relationship, yes. Is he a pedophile? No, because Dany is not a pre-pubescent child. I also don't know what her being white has to do with anything.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

I am not saying he is basing marrying her solely on that, secondly why should he care about the eggs money has no place for a Dothraki,however there have been some examples of men with power marrying beautiful women Robb comes to mind. He might not have known who Viserys was but he defiantly knew who Aegon was and that can feed into the good omen theory, here is this girl who is attractive,comes from a family that is famous and is known for having good and competent fighters, it might be safer and the omens might favor someone who has a proven family lineage, plus she is a virgin, however I am not sure about the whole dosh khaleen scenario being on solely Dany. They might have told him that someone exotic would have made a good mate, that he should not stick to the dothraki way, but them talking about Dany in general would have been unrealistic.

I'm not sure Robb is really the best example here. He married Jeyne because he had sex with her in a weak moment (read: he probably would have had sex with just about anyone in that situation) and wanted to preserve her honor, and while it seems that she is "pretty," depending on whom you ask, that wasn't the motivating factor there.

I think you're overvaluing the Targ thing. The Dothraki despise weakness, and at that point in time, a deposed dynasty with no power base or army or money of its own is the height of weakness. I don't see any evidence that the Dothraki give a fig about the Targ propaganda. You seem to be saying that Drogo married Dany because of Targ awesomness and I see no evidence of that.

[Adar]

firstly I think the general personality of drogo is emotionaly reserved in public, he has a good poker face, aslo it is seen from danys pov so it is hard to say what he realy thought.

we could argue this all night so I have come up with a simple answer that I feel and hope we can both agree on..... he was a massive peodophile :cheers:

"The khal's face did not often betray the thoughts within." (p 473, AGOT) Opposite of poker face.

He was not a pedophile. There was no adolescence in this brutally realistic medieval world that GRRM created. It was normal for girls to get married as soon as they've gone through puberty.

[Dr. Pepper]

I think you're overvaluing the Targ thing. The Dothraki despise weakness, and at that point in time, a deposed dynasty with no power base or army or money of its own is the height of weakness. I don't see any evidence that the Dothraki give a fig about the Targ propaganda. You seem to be saying that Drogo married Dany because of Targ awesomness and I see no evidence of that.

Exactly. One need only look at the way they treated Viserys to realize that there is not a care for Targaryen propaganda. If they thought the blood of Targaryens was so special, surely one of the Dothraki females would have tried to marry/mate with him. Can't say we have evidence of that occurring. Instead he was viewed as a weakling worthy of mockery.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

"The khal's face did not often betray the thoughts within." (p 473, AGOT) Opposite of poker face.

While I agree that Drogo isn't a pedophile, that IS what a "good poker face" is. If Drogo has a face that "doesn't often betray his thoughts," he has a good poker face.

Exactly. One need only look at the way they treated Viserys to realize that there is not a care for Targaryen propaganda. If they thought the blood of Targaryens was so special, surely one of the Dothraki females would have tried to marry/mate with him. Can't say we have evidence of that occurring. Instead he was viewed as a weakling worthy of mockery.

Yep. Also, the Dothraki are all about "What have you done for me lately?" Drogo's reputation and power go immediately out the window as soon he's injured and becomes immobile. You're only as revered as the power you wield now.

[Adar]

While I agree that Drogo isn't a pedophile, that IS what a "good poker face" is. If Drogo has a face that "doesn't often betray his thoughts," he has a good poker face.

Oh.. I thought that meant that you could tell what the khal was thinking most of the time... like his face is easy to read. I thought you are not suppose to let your opponent know what you are thinking in poker. Whatever.. you can have your cookie back.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Oh.. I thought that meant that you could tell what the khal was thinking most of the time... like his face is easy to read. I thought you are not suppose to let your opponent know what you are thinking in poker. Whatever.. you can have your cookie back.

A "good" poker face means someone's emotions are hard to read, and a "bad" poker face means someone's emotions are easy to read. And if Drogo's face doesn't "betray" his thoughts, it means you can't tell what he's thinking, and he has a "good" poker face.

[Adar]

A "good" poker face means someone's emotions are hard to read, and a "bad" poker face means someone's emotions are easy to read. And if Drogo's face doesn't "betray" his thoughts, it means you can't tell what he's thinking, and he has a "good" poker face.

Betray is synonymous to "conflict with". His thoughts and face did not conflict with each other. He was blunt as anything. He had no need to develop a poker face because he could win with his physical prowess.

A character like Little Finger needed a poker face because he was just a little turd and lying is the only way he could win.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Betray is synonymous to "conflict with". His thoughts and face did not conflict with each other. He was blunt as anything. He had no need to develop a poker face because he could win with his physical prowess.

A character like Little Finger needed a poker face because he was just a little turd and lying is the only way he could win.

I have no clue what it is that you're arguing, so I'll just leave it.

[The Drunkard]

Betray is synonymous to "conflict with". His thoughts and face did not conflict with each other. He was blunt as anything. He had no need to develop a poker face because he could win with his physical prowess.

A character like Little Finger needed a poker face because he was just a little turd and lying is the only way he could win.

As to the first part, when the expression 'his [whatever] did not betray his thoughts' is used, it means that you can't read what he's feeling. That's how the expression has always been used, and I'd be surprised if people have used it in the way you thought it was.

And as to the second, I think LF has a rather crummy poker face. People always seem to know what emotion he's feeling, whether it's anger, greed, etc.

[Batman]

Mopatis is a great salesman, probably tossed in a good dowry. On top of that the Dothraki are probably aware that the Valaryians are good looking people.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Mopatis is a great salesman, probably tossed in a good dowry. On top of that the Dothraki are probably aware that the Valaryians are good looking people.

But it was Drogo who paid for Dany, not the other way around. It's not a bride dowry if it's the groom who's paying it.

[Guardian of the Lhazareen]

"The khal's face did not often betray the thoughts within." (p 473, AGOT) Opposite of poker face.

He was not a pedophile. There was no adolescence in this brutally realistic medieval world that GRRM created. It was normal for girls to get married as soon as they've gone through puberty.

the free online dictionary definition of a poker face 'A face lacking any interpretable expression' cheers for backing up my point bro!!!

[PatrickStormborn]

I think so too and I'm glad you brought it up. I was going to suggest something similar, but then I got too lazy and didn't want to insert these types of things into what had become a "Dany is hot" thread.

I find this theory incredibly unlikely. We're told that Illyrio and Varys spent years planning Dany's marriage to the Dothraki -- it would all feel a bit lucky if Drogo only agreed because of a prophecy. Illyrio says that Viserys raping Dany on the night before her wedding would undo years of planning. Why would this be the case? Surely, if Drogo believed that their marriage would result in the Stallion Who Mounts the World, he would have married her anyway?

The dosh khaleen also seemed very shocked that Dany was "carrying" the Stallion. Surely they would not have been surprised if they had already prophesised it?

Sometimes someone smokes a cigar just because it's a cigar, not for any other reason.