Glass in ASOIAF as a metaphor for contrast twixt old/new, magic/technology

[Fanless Mace]

Glass, which looks like ice and is born from fire (whether manmade or natural, like obsideon) seems to be used frequently by GRRM in significant literary ways. It is a primary metaphor in ASOIAF, representing the cusp between old and new, between magic and technology.

For example: Dragon glass, a.k.a. Obsidian, seems to be one of the most powerful weapons available. It is ancient, spewed from volcanos, and even the weapons we've seen made from it are ancient. Likewise the glass candles, possessing unknown magic, come from ancient, unknown sources and were made with forgotten skills.

Contrast this with perhaps the newest non-magic technology in all the lands, the Far-eye, made with two Myrish glass lenses. A manmade sort of magic. And a harbinger that shows we are on the cusp of an industrial revolution within a century or two at most.

I think glass is used by GRRM as a symbol for how fire and ice can combine magically and with magic results, but can also be manipulated by modern man without magic. We can see both ways through glass, or we can use it as a mirror. Both metaphoric uses are significant as we experience this end of an ancient age.

I'm sure we've heard descriptions of the Wall, and the ice cells too, as being/appearing as glass. And the Wall itself is metaphorically similar: it lies on this very same border twixt old and new, magic and manmade.

What are some other references to glass throughout the books? C'mon all y'all folks with Kindle copies of the novels, let's see some wicked search results and analysis! Or...other metaphorical interpretations of glass?

[Iona]

Hmm, there were the glass gardens of Winterfell, and Jon planning on setting one up at Castle Black. IIRC he thought clear glass was hellishly expensive, so he thought about getting glassblower slaves from Essos to teach the NW how to make glass to pay for their freedom.

[Fanless Mace]

Hmm, there were the glass gardens of Winterfell, and Jon planning on setting one up at Castle Black. IIRC he thought clear glass was hellishly expensive, so he thought about getting glassblower slaves from Essos to teach the NW how to make glass to pay for their freedom.

Good memory!

ADWD is the only book I have in eFormat...and here's the quote:

"Glass, Jon mused, might be of use here. Castle Black needs its own glass gardens, like the ones at Winterfell. We could grow vegetables even in the deep of winter. The best glass came from Myr, but a good clear pane was worth its weight in spice, and green and yellow glass would not work as well. What we need is gold. With enough coin, we could buy ’prentice glassblowers and glaziers in Myr, bring them north, offer them their freedom for teaching their art to some of our recruits.”

So here we have some good contrasts: glass can help grow veggies in cold climes, bringing fire to lands of ice. And glassblowing slaves can use their skill to earn their freedom, contrasting slavery with the preferred opposite. But even glass needs metal worked with fire to pay for it, in the form of cold coin.