Becoming No One: Re-reading Arya

[Milady of York]

Milady’s always been curious about Syrio Forel’s approach to sword-fighting as a “dance” and was wondering where GRRM got his inspiration from, and then, thank the Old Gods, remembered some lessons in Ancient History that might hopefully help enlighten us about this method of fighting.

The Braavosi style of sword fighting is Eastern in its methodology, because it focuses on relaxation and flexibility, while the Westerosi style is typical Medieval European in its conception, for it focuses on speed and strength. In the ancient Chinese Empire, there was a tradition of stage swordfights that were practically just dancing with swords, and these evolved into martial training. Two of the most known ones were the wushu and the Tai chi chuan, which now are sports but weren’t then. The water dance has elements of them both, as we will see.

These styles associated the five basic movements of swordplay with the five elements of the universe; in a fight, all the five elements become a unique fusion: adopt a posture of central equilibrium (earth), advance or lunge (metal), strike right (fire) or strike left (water), retreat (wood).

Each element had its assortment of peculiarities; the decision to train a pupil in a particular style could have something to do with the element the pupil belonged in. The objects and emotions in the Water category are:

- Posture: left––Arya is left-handed, she strikes to the left.

- Direction: north––Arya is from the North.

- Color: black––Arya “plunges into darkness” in this chapter, and her warging powers emerge in the night. Plus, it’s one of the two colours she wears as a FM trainee.

- Emotion: fear––Arya must learn to overcome this (“fear cuts deeper than swords”).

- Season: winter––Again, she’s a northerner and her House’s words are Winter is coming.

- Metal: mercury––This symbolises mainly transformation , and Arya is currently undergoing a transforming process. It also symbolises fluidity and volatility, which would apply to her temper. Besides, there are again allusions to the Moon and water, because the metal, whose name in Chinese literally means “liquid silver,” is the element of the Moon, and the literal planet Mercury is called the Water Star.

- Sense: hearing––After she was left blind, it was the sense she developed more.

- Arms/Style of fighting: sword – She has Needle and is trained in swordsmanship.

Therefore, Arya’s a natural water dancer, as her element is water.

The training method is in some ways similar to the one Syrio designed for the Stark girl: relax the body and learn to perform the basic postures (present only one side to the opponent, handle the sword correctly), learn to use these postures (basic fight/defence movements), then learn to use your hands (improve reflexes, that’s why she’s to catch the cat), improve your equilibrium to maintain your footing in the midst of a fight (she’s to stand on a foot, walk on her hands), then develop all of your five senses (she’s told “Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose,” and she’s blindfolded to learn to find her way guided by hearing, smell and tact), and once you’ve mastered it all, you can begin the real training with a real sword (a stage she didn’t reach, thanks to Cersei).

And now let’s take a look at Arya’s mantra:

Swift as a deer. Quiet as a shadow. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Quick as a snake. Calm as still water. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Strong as a bear. Fierce as a wolverine. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The man who fears losing has already lost. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords. Fear cuts deeper than swords.

And we’ll find parallels to some of the techniques of fighting known as Animal Forms (number and description varies from one style to another). Each form emulates the physical movements and tactics of a certain animal, which require the fighter to be acrobatic and flexible, and these skills were developed through dance, or choreographed and repetitive exercises that look like dancing; as dance is an act of physical grace, resistance , strength and coordination, and sword-fighting is a contest of all these, so they are not dissimilar.

- Use small, swift movements alternating between soft and hard, while relying on balanced footwork––“Swift as a deer.”

- Your body should follow the mind as a shadow follows an object––“Quiet as a shadow.”

- Use internal movements interspersed with sudden, quick attacks ––“Quick as a snake.”

- Be like a river––“Calm as still water.”

- When you defend, you should be like a bear standing up––“Strong as a bear.”

- Use large, hard, and quick, very powerful movements like those of a tiger––“Fierce like a wolverine.”

Milady thinks Confucius was right, after all. “Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.”

Or a woman ;)

[LordBloodraven]

It's not only Syrio's approach that is referred as a dance, I think it's all the swordfighting. Barristan thinks that he would give anything for a chance to "dance" with Bloodbeard and in many instances, the metaphor "steel song" is used for swordfighting.

Nice post btw Milady, very interesting

[idler]

Since this may be the last opportunity, some thoughts on Syrio Forel.

When Syrio Forel tells Arya the story about the Sealord's cat, he made it clear he wasn't named First Sword for his abilities as a swordsman but for his good common sense.

We know from later books Ferrego Antaryon is listed as "sickly and failing", the guests of the "Foghouse" are arguing wether or not the Sealord is a fool. This seemed to be the state of affairs for a long time, since the KM tells us:

"That is not a new thing. The Sealord was sick yesterday, and he will still be sick upon the morrow....When he is dead, that will be a new thing."

Antaryon seems to be the Braavosi version of Walder Frey, so I take it already Syrio Forel had to deal with that situation.

The present First Sword of Braavos, Qarro Volentin, is listed as "protector" of the Sealord the same way Ser Barristan Selmy is listed as "protector" of Daenerys Targaryen. Both have to do the Hand of the King job wether they like it or not, for their Heads of State are either unfit for duty or simply disappeared. The Sealord shits, and the First Sword wipes: somebody has to run the Braavosi government.

- so we may fairly assume Syrio Forel was running the government of a first rate power like Braavos for nine years. He seemingly quit for good, cause nobody is going after him. As a matter of fact, he doesn't make it clear why he retired at all.

- he suddenly pops up in Kl right next to the Hand of the King of Westeros - "just so" - to teach Arya swordplay. Ned must have met him by chance on the street in the 3 days when looking for a teacher. No doubt the Sealord or his own successor cut his pension for budgetary reasons, and he had to make a living. Believe it or not!

Is he a swordfighter who had to deal with politics for a decade? Or a politician who happens to be an excellent swordfighter? Is he one of the Braavosi agents intruding into Westeros (Iron Bank, FM etc.)? He is prepared to follow the Starks to Winterfell, so I wonder wether his mission is already accomplished or his target is in the North.

When leaving Syrio, Arya uses the "true seeing" to check the situation and sees the armour of Ser Meryn Trant. But she forgets to do the true hearing:

Wether Syrio Forel picks up a sword and teaches Meryn Trant some Braavosi waterdancing or not doesn't really matter. He makes damn sure Trant knows who his opponent is - "The First Sword of Braavos does not run". That may not only be meant for Arya, but for Trant, too. He even "forgets" to add that he's retired. He might as well tell Trant: "Cersei will shorten you by a head if you touch me!" Trant may need a moment to get this in, but he knows Cersei well enough. If Syrio is overwhelmed, Cersei doesn't have much choice but to send him on to the next ship to Braavos. If she is still in her mind, that is.

Can you imagine a coup d'etat in Moscow, Tony Blair is killed defending Putin's younger daughter, and no questions asked? Somebody always talks. Last thing Cersei needs right now is a major intercontinental conflict.

No, Ser, for the sake of Meryn Trant and Cersei Baratheon, I don't think anything did happen to Syrio Forel. FM or not. And whatever his mission was. Hmm... :idea:

[brashcandy]

Great review Rapsie :)

Is Bloodraven directly helping Arya in the chapter, or am I just seeing him everywhere lately? :) When she's down in the dragon dungeon she hears a voice whispering Syrio's advice in her ear, and she's no longer simply unafraid of the dragon skulls, but notes that they seemed almost like old friends now. What was intriguing though is the Bloodraven image we get at the beginning of the chapter when she's training with Syrio:

A strand of hair dangled in her eyes, limp with sweat. She pushed it away with the back of her hand.

Moving on, I agree with Just an Other that it will be useful to track Arya's kills as we go through these chapters, tracking her methods, and the impact each one has on her. It's interesting that in killing the stable boy she reverts not to Syrio's teachings, but to her first ever lesson from Jon. It's simple, deadly advice, and quite appropriate considering the ones who are being killed are Winterfell men and women. Arya may have killed the stable boy in blind panic, but in the method she uses, and the person who was responsible for supplying this advice, we see her connection to the North, and to home. Needle's first kill is a kind of tribute to its origins.

Another passage I found to be important:

Arya knelt in the dirt among the scattered clothes. She found a heavy woolen cloak, a velvet skirt and a silk tunic and some smallclothes, a dress her mother had embroidered for her, a silver baby bracelet she might sell. Shoving the broken lid out of the way, she groped inside the chest for Needle. She had hidden it way down at the bottom, under everything, but her stuff had all been jumbled around when the chest was dropped. For a moment Arya was afraid someone had found the sword and had stolen it. Then her fingers felt the hardness of metal under a satin gown.

Two things to note here: first on the topic of gender, the sword under satin symbolizes Arya's own eschewing of traditional gender norms. Beneath the expected softness, there is in reality a hard, deadly presence that belies the expectations of noble born girls. The stable boy is the first to learn this the hard way. The baby bracelet that Arya thinks of selling also underscores the death of innocence Lummel spoke of upthread. This is the end of Arya's childhood as she knows it, and any sentimental attachment - the bracelet, the dress her mother embroidered - merely becomes another item necessary for survival.

[Lummel]

...The present First Sword of Braavos, Qarro Volentin, is listed as "protector" of the Sealord the same way Ser Barristan Selmy is listed as "protector" of Daenerys Targaryen. Both have to do the Hand of the King job wether they like it or not, for their Heads of State are either unfit for duty or simply disappeared. The Sealord shits, and the First Sword wipes: somebody has to run the Braavosi government...

Both are protectors - ie bodyguards not Hands of the ruler. Barristan and Syrio are the equivalents of Areo Hotah rather than of Davos or The Ned. Barristan acts as chairman of all the vaguely senior people who support Danaerys in Meereen after his coup, but he avoids acting as Hand I would say.

Brashcandy - why does Arya wiping her hair away with the back of her hand remind you of Bloodraven? What have I forgotten?

[brashcandy]

I was thinking of the hair falling into her eye, and Bloodraven wearing his hair brushed forward to cover his missing eye.

[idler]

Both are protectors - ie bodyguards not Hands of the ruler. Barristan and Syrio are the equivalents of Areo Hotah rather than of Davos or The Ned. Barristan acts as chairman of all the vaguely senior people who support Danaerys in Meereen after his coup, but he avoids acting as Hand I would say.

You tell that GRRM. Seven hells, he named the last Barristan Selmy POV "The Queen's Hand"!

[Lummel]

I was thinking of the hair falling into her eye, and Bloodraven wearing his hair brushed forward to cover his missing eye.

OK

You tell that GRRM. Seven hells, he named the last Barristan Selmy POV "The Queen's Hand"!

I'll add it to my list! Barristan's position is pretty unusal, that is I assume that no sealord has so far climbed onto a dragon and flown off in the middle of their term of office. I'm not seeing any reason to think of Syrio as more than a one time captain of his bodyguard.

[brashcandy]

OK

I do realise it's likely me reading too much into it :)

[1234567]

I do realise it's likely me reading too much into it :)

To be fair sifting through what are author favourite phrases and what is foreshadowing is pretty tricky, especially as GRRM has basically said the foreshadowing is there if you can find it.

[The Sleeper]

Is Bloodraven directly helping Arya in the chapter, or am I just seeing him everywhere lately? :) When she's down in the dragon dungeon she hears a voice whispering Syrio's advice in her ear, and she's no longer simply unafraid of the dragon skulls, but notes that they seemed almost like old friends now. What was intriguing though is the Bloodraven image we get at the beginning of the chapter when she's training with Syrio:

I often get the feeling that Arya (and Sansa and Jon for that matter) are acting at times as if they were possessed: Hearing voices out of nowhere, saying things they did not mean to say, losing control and stuff like that. Subtle things, that can be explained otherwise, but I get the feeling there is something more to it.

[1234567]

Edit

[Ragnorak]

Brash, I wondered about Bloodraven too.

She pretended she was chasing cats… except she was the cat now

Calm as still water, a small voice whispered in her ear. Arya was so startled she almost dropped her bundle. She looked around wildly, but there was no one in the stable but her, and the horses, and the dead men.

Quiet as a shadow, she heard. Was it her own voice, or Syrio’s? She could not tell, yet somehow it calmed her fears.

That startled reaction is a bit odd. Her asking herself whose voice it was invites the reader to do the same. Arya thinking of herself as the cat does fit with Bloodraven as it makes her the object of his warging. I wouldn't say I'm 100% sold but it is certainly worth asking. Flag this for follow up when she's in Harrenhal visiting the Godswood.

Also, we know Bloodraven is aware of the Stark/Lannister conflict from Bran's dream

A face swam up at him out of the grey mist, shining with light, golden. “The things I do for love,” it said.

Bran screamed.

The crow took to the air, cawing. Not that, it shrieked at him. Forget that, you do not need it now, put it aside, put it away. It landed on Bran’s shoulder, and pecked at him, and the shining golden face was gone.

And this bit from LF may be some intentional irony regarding Bloodraven's spying.

“It had to be the godswood. No other place in the Red Keep is safe from the eunuch’s little birds… or little rats, as I call them. There are trees in the godswood instead of walls. Sky above instead of ceiling. Roots and dirt and rock in place of floor. The rats have no place to scurry. Rats need to hide, lest men skewer them with swords.”

I have also had a growing notion that Arya's overhearing of Varys and Illyrio is much like Sansa's hearing Lysa confess before she goes out the Moon Door. That is just ripe with possibilities. One that comes to mind is...

This is the bravo’s dance, the water dance, swift and sudden. All men are made of water, do you know this? When you pierce them, the water leaks out and they die.

Poor Illyrio.

From my first read I got a sense that the North and Braavos were very similar but I have never placed where the idea came from. In the LtL reread it became clear that the North had a great deal more in common with the Wildlings than it did with the South. This point was really driven home when Selyse arrived at Castle Black and Tycho, the Braavosi Banker, fit right in but both her and her retinue were so clearly out of place.

Tagganaro summed it up best:

North and South= very different

North and 6'6" dude in triple-tiered felt hat= not that different

North and 14 foot Giant who doesn't speak word of common tongue= right at home

I think Syrio and Arya form the foundation for this connection between the North and Braavos that I still haven't fully placed yet. All of Arya's interactions with Braavosi are so damn enjoyable it actually makes it much harder to analyze.

Syrio's sword fighting betrayal of Arya is not unlike LF's betrayal of Ned. His advice to Arya about "seeing" is actually quite a good defense for the GoT as well. Syrio's attitude about children and his instinct to protect Arya certainly play into that connection between the North and Braavos that I see. Both are very Ned-like. This "seeing" is also an innate rejection of the trappings of power we see in the South and with Tywin in particular. The Braavosi can be flamboyant in ways that you would never see in the North but it seems more on par with a form of entertainment than a "clothes make the man" philosophy of life and power. I wonder if the harsh life in the North and the harsh reality of living off the sea is part of it. Both are dominated by weather that can mean death. Something about the Northern reverence for the Old Gods and the Braavosi respect for the House of Black and White strikes me as quite similar but we aren't there yet.

Syrio is such a wonderful character and is Arya's first real meaningful teacher outside her family. With the exception of a brief education under Sandor (another one who strikes me as so very Northern) almost all of Arya's education will be tied to Braavos. Technically this should be just an awful chapter. Arya is watching the Northmen get slaughtered, she kills at only nine and is watching as her whole world is murdered literally and figuratively. It is Syrio that balances out the horrors Arya witnesses and even adds this powerful and inspiring positive aspect to an otherwise dreadful episode.

As a side note, I suspect all the "dead girl" type references refer to the death of her childhood and not any foreshadowing of her demise. If it does foreshadow anything I would suspect it is her future with the FM.

[Lummel]

Ah, Ragnorak, your post frightens me with it's implicit suggestion that the north is good and the south bad - have you read The Hedge Knight? ;) I don't agree entirely on the dead girl. I see it as metaphorical though rather than foreshadowing. She's dead like Bran and Rickon are later known to be dead and...well some other stuff but that can wait until we get there.

[Lyanna Stark]

Two things to note here: first on the topic of gender, the sword under satin symbolizes Arya's own eschewing of traditional gender norms. Beneath the expected softness, there is in reality a hard, deadly presence that belies the expectations of noble born girls.

Just a short note before I sort myself out to most more later, but what struck me with the sharp sword under the satin is the trope of the silk hiding steel, i.e. that surface can deceive and there can be deadly danger underneath. Perhaps this is foreshadowing Arya taking on a role more of tempress, like the fabled courtesans of Braavos?

The standard Silk hiding Steel seems to fit more with Sansa's role, but there is a variety of it that may be more up Arya's alley.

These roles can also be adopted without the traditional ladylike role. Arya is learning dicipline, to listen, to blend in and mingle in all sorts of social groups. She's also, like Sansa, put in positions where she learns political secrets even though she herself at the time does not understand them, like for instance in the chapter with Illyrio and Varys, and later on we have other info dumps from various people before she ends up in Braavos. It may be something to keep an eye out for in the later chapters.

There's also the fact that while Arya struggles with the restrictive gender roles in Westeros, she also clearly states from the start that she is a girl, not a boy. When Yoren mistakes her for Ned's son, she does not hesitate in telling him she is female. Hence there doesn't seem to be any wish on her part to "become" a boy, or self identify as more male than female: she only has a problem with how girls are supposed to be.

This is interesting since Arya tends to get a lot of leeway by readers since they interpret it as "she wants to be a boy", and that she completely lacks feminine identity. That is, I think, not so. Arya may disguise herself as a boy to get by, but she does not relish it. She certainly shows traits of more "traditional femininity" (to use a sloppy shorthand) when she is jealous of Sansa escorting Joffrey while she gets plump Tommen, and she also wishes she was pretty like Sansa.

[DrunkSister]

Is Bloodraven directly helping Arya in the chapter, or am I just seeing him everywhere lately? :) When she's down in the dragon dungeon she hears a voice whispering Syrio's advice in her ear, and she's no longer simply unafraid of the dragon skulls, but notes that they seemed almost like old friends now. What was intriguing though is the Bloodraven image we get at the beginning of the chapter when she's training with Syrio:

Hi! I like pretty much every point you raise and agree with most of them.

I am also inclined to see Bloodraven here because of what he said to Bran, how he watched him growing up. I totally believe he warged the "black dread" tomcat to play tag with Arya. :)

But the point I would like to make is that we as Humans are inclined to see Bloodraven as more important than other 'tree people' who are CotF because he is one of us, and because he is the one teaching Bran. Because he is one of us and most directly involved in the plot we might forget that CotF outnumber him and also act as old gods and furthermore we have no idea how long they existed as trees.

It will be interesting to see whether it is always justified to imagine Bloodraven as the "Old God" in future chapters (for example in Harrenhall, when we get there in the reread).

______

I am avidly reading these reread threads because they reveal so much more about the world GRRM wrote than I would ever discover for myself and I am amazed at how awesome it is to see literary analysis done well.

[The Sleeper]

Ah, Ragnorak, your post frightens me with it's implicit suggestion that the north is good and the south bad - have you read The Hedge Knight? ;) I don't agree entirely on the dead girl. I see it as metaphorical though rather than foreshadowing. She's dead like Bran and Rickon are later known to be dead and...well some other stuff but that can wait until we get there.

There is a difference in mentality between North and South. Which one is better or worse is a matter of personal prefference. The South is a much more hospitable environment and it allows some of the people who live there to believe and behave as they are masters of the world. The North knows better. They have to struggle for their very survival each winter. The Stark words say it all. With this knowledge comes stoicism, severity, wild abandon and a sense of accomplishment at just being alive. For me, this makes them, well cooler than the South.

A parallel can be drawn to Braavos in that sense. Though their difficulties were not environmental, it is a city that begun as a sanctuary for slaves and refugee's and one so frail that it's very existence had to be kept a secret. Yet they managed to outlive their bane and thrive.

[1234567]

I am also inclined to see Bloodraven here because of what he said to Bran, how he watched him growing up. I totally believe he warged the "black dread" tomcat to play tag with Arya. :)

Excellent point about Bloodraven having watched Bran. He has also been watching Jon since AGOT through Mormont's Raven. It is therefore highly plausible that Balerion is his eyes and ears in the RK.

It also begs the question, has Bloodraven been keeping people out of the Godswood at the RK. I always found it strange that no one goes there. In the heat of KL, it is a amazing a little pleasant grove, would not be more utilised. In her escape, it is again noted that Arya goes through the Godswood. Both her and Sansa escape via the Godswood, to face the Dragon Skulls in Arya's case and the Hollow Dragon Knight's in Sansa's. Could this foreshadow not only both girls moving back to the Northern Gods (or at least seeking comfort in the North and in Northern Culture as we see them do), but that they may side with different Dragons, be it (f)Aegon, Dany or Jon.

______

I am avidly reading these reread threads because they reveal so much more about the world GRRM wrote than I would ever discover for myself and I am amazed at how awesome it is to see literary analysis done well.

I'm really glad you are enjoying the re-reads. All of them seem to be eye opening in terms of understanding the characters and their motivations, as well as bringing to the fore, new links and possible connections and foreshadowing. Everyone's contributions are fantastic.

[Ragnorak]

Ah, Ragnorak, your post frightens me with it's implicit suggestion that the north is good and the south bad - have you read The Hedge Knight? ;) I don't agree entirely on the dead girl. I see it as metaphorical though rather than foreshadowing. She's dead like Bran and Rickon are later known to be dead and...well some other stuff but that can wait until we get there.

I have read the Hedge Knight. Clearly a Northern father proving my implicit black and white case of North good, South bad. This is the fantasy genre so it has to be black and white-- there is only one God and his is the House of Black and White! You must lack sympathy for poor Ramsay and are reading too much into the protagonist family's House color being grey. ;)

I actually don't have a good explanation for my impression of a similarity between the North and Braavos. When I've tried to analyze it, it seems that Braavos should be closer to the Dornish but it never had that feel for me. Sandor is easier to find examples for with things like a strong sense of honor without knights up North.

I can't find anything specific about the symbolism of the covered bridge and what it connects specifically. Arya chooses to avoid it in a choice she sees as "Up or down?" She chooses "down" which involves a spiraling decent into a "cavernous vaulted cellar" which is a "dead end."

Arya thrust her wooden sword through her belt and began to climb

she pulled herself up

the window a tunnel slanting up and out. Arya wriggled toward daylight

She emerges to see a dead man in her House colors. His lack of identity makes him symbolic of her House as a whole.

This scene is a bit of a decent into the underworld followed by rebirth. If it is foreshadowing of her future path, she does grab her sword before ascending and connects her overheard conversation to this incident once she reaches the top.

I recall darkness being a theme with Bran too, but don't remember it being so clear with Jon or Sansa.

[1234567]

I can't find anything specific about the symbolism of the covered bridge and what it connects specifically. Arya chooses to avoid it in a choice she sees as "Up or down?" She chooses "down" which involves a spiraling decent into a "cavernous vaulted cellar" which is a "dead end."

She emerges to see a dead man in her House colors. His lack of identity makes him symbolic of her House as a whole.

This scene is a bit of a decent into the underworld followed by rebirth. If it is foreshadowing of her future path, she does grab her sword before ascending and connects her overheard conversation to this incident once she reaches the top.

I recall darkness being a theme with Bran too, but don't remember it being so clear with Jon or Sansa.

Ragnorak, that was wonderful. Certainly the choice of Up or Down is important and as you said symbolises her future journey to the FM. It also ties in with Jon talking about the longer you hid the greater the penance will be: in order to escape the cellar she has to climb up over precarious barrels and struggle through the window. Because she choose down, the way up is harder than a set of stairs, which could mean that her way back to who she is will be very hard. Perhaps we can take some hope from the fact that just as she gets through the window, her story will see her getting out of the clutches of the FM.

I think GRRM intended a moment like that for Tyrion from his first appearance in AGOT. GRRM pulls out the stops with Tyrion and Arya, perhaps Bran, maybe some other characters too, to aligne the readers sympathies with them. While feeding our sympathies for the character, he has them doing darker and darker things. It is a kind of game to see how far we will go in waving away the grey and the dark deeds purely because our sympathies have been engaged.

Sorry Lummel, I've stolen this quote of yours from another thread because I thought it was relevant here in connection to what I was trying to say about the depiction of the stable boy Arya kills. Only as usual you said it much better than me!