Symbolism at the Tower of Joy.

[three-eyed monkey]

Part I. Introduction.

This is not really a theory of any sort but merely an examination of some of the symbolism associated with one of the pivotal scenes in the series - the Tower of Joy. Symbols are used to express universal concepts. Most readers are familiar with the use of symbolism in literature, even if many readers never stop to consider, or sometimes even notice, the symbolism that they are being presented with. Writers often use symbols to tell an allegorical story, George Orwells Animal Farm being a prime example.

A Song of Ice and Fire is brimming with symbolism, some of it quite obvious, some more subtle. Wolves are symbolic of winter, family, and loyalty, amongst other things, so we can see why they are a good fit for the Starks. The crown stag was a northern European symbol of Royalty, and we opened the series with a Baratheon king. That symbol was largely supplanted in Europe by the Lion as the regal symbol, as indeed Robert was replaced by Lannisters. Another example of fitting symbolism is Beric Dondarrions lightning bolt sigil, symbolic of being touched by the gods. As I said, the books are packed with symbolism, so lets take a look at the Tower of Joy.

Ned finds the tower in the Red Mountains of Dorne. When in the background, as is the case in Neds dream, mountains are symbolic of obstacles and hindrance in the achieving of ones goals. When viewed through the lense of biblical prophecy, such as the Book of Revelation, a mountain represents a kingdom. Red is the colour of love, passion, blood, and war.

Then there is the tower itself. Everyone is familiar with the princess in the tower trope. Here a tower can represent imprisonment, the restriction of horizons or the limiting, usually self-imposed, of dreams. One well-known symbol is the Tower card of the Major Arcana. The meaning of Tarot cards can vary, depending on the other cards drawn, but in general the Tower represents the coming of great change and upheaval. The Long Night would certainly fit that category.

The tower is guarded by three members of the Kingsguard, Lord Commander Gerold Hightower, Ser Oswell Whent, and Ser Arthur Dayne.

House Hightowers sigil is a lighthouse and their words, We light the way. A lighthouse stands alone in darkness, reminiscent of Azor Ahai perhaps, and is a symbol of guidance and safety in the storm. Its beacon is the all-seeing eye of enlightenment, a guiding light to those who seek higher purpose. There is also the White Bull aspect associated with Ser Gerold. White is widely recognised as the colour of purity, innocence, and good; but perhaps more relevant to the story, white is symbolic of noble sacrifice and new beginnings, while bulls symbolize virility, fertility, and the power to procreate.

House Whents sigil is a black bat. The bat emerges from its cave, a symbol of the womb, at dusk and is symbolic of rebirth. Here we see another parallel with the prophecy of Azor Ahai, who will be born again when darkness gathers.

House Daynes sigil displays a sword and a falling star, which clearly ties in with the in-universe legend of their ancestral greatsword, Dawn. Swords are symbols of power, strength, justice, liberty, while in biblical terms a sword represents the truth. Stars represent hope, which is why people wish upon a star, while falling or shooting stars are symbolic of a new birth. House Daynes colours are described as lavender or lilac, which are shades of purple. Purple is the colour of royalty, but there is more to it than that. Purple is obtained by mixing blue and red, symbolizing a balance between cold and hot energies, like ice and fire.

Ser Arthur wields his greatsword, Dawn, in both hands and declares, And now it begins. Dawn is universally symbolic of new beginnings. In the Catholic tradition, dawn is symbolic of the Blood of Christ, who died so that the darkness of sin could be overcome.

Dayne would have killed Ned if it werent for Howland Reed. House Reeds sigil is a lizard-lion, which we can take to be a crocodile. In ancient Egypt the crocodile was a symbol of protection for the king or pharaoh, and the crocodile cartouche was often used to express the concept of sovereignty. As crocodiles could see in murky waters, some cultures considered them, interestingly, to symbolize clarity in dreams.

And finally the Blue Rose. Of course there are a lot of in-universe associations, but in general the rose is symbolic of secrets. In Rome, when a rose was suspended above a meeting table or above the door of a room, the understanding was that the discussion in that room or around that table was to be kept secret, and hence we get the term sub rosa. As true blue roses do not occur in nature, they symbolize the unattainable and the mysterious. In some cultures they are also symbolic of royal blood.

One caveat, symbols can mean different things in different traditions, especially when it come to the symbolism of numbers or colours, and many symbols have dualistic associations, so there can be a wide scope of interpretation at times. I hope to narrow that scope in Part II, simply by applying the widely held assumption, R+L=J.

Part II, How the symbolism relates to Jon, is available at post #7.

[Red Rahloo Connington]

I really wish we knew more about house Dayne. Nice catch on the color of their house being a balance between red and blue. I wonder what it means for them

[Trogdor Targaryen]

After your description of the symbolism in just the daynes sigil is enough for me to see Arthur+Lyanna=Jon.

I mean, no... But it would make Jon a candidate for sword in the morning which may be a title necessary to attain AAR status.

[Trogdor Targaryen]

Double post.

[DigUpHerBones]

i for one am very curious to find out House Dayne's words...

obviously they have been kept from us for a reason.

"what happens in Starfall, stays in Starfall"

[three-eyed monkey]

I really wish we knew more about house Dayne. Nice catch on the color of their house being a balance between red and blue. I wonder what it means for them

The Daynes have certainly been kept on the fringe of the story since the start of the series and I do expect some big reveals over the next couple of books.

After your description of the symbolism in just the daynes sigil is enough for me to see Arthur+Lyanna=Jon.

I mean, no... But it would make Jon a candidate for sword in the morning which may be a title necessary to attain AAR status.

All things considered I think the evidence for R+L=J is fairly overwhelming. Even in terms of the symbolic narrative, like the blue roses representing royal blood, I think the evidence leans that way. But I remember GRRM saying that his mother used to always work out who the killer was whenever they watched murder mysteries on t.v. so he wanted to write something she wouldn't get. So IF George came out tomorrow and announced that Rhaegar was not Jon's father, then yeah, Ser Arthur would top my list of suspects. But that is a very big if.

i for one am very curious to find out House Dayne's words...

obviously they have been kept from us for a reason.

"what happens in Starfall, stays in Starfall"

It would be nice to know their words. According to a non-canon source, (the rpg game or something, I can't fully recall), the words are "fallen and reborn", but this is yet to be confirmed as canon, and indeed may never be.

[three-eyed monkey]

Part II. The sigils and Jon Snow.

If we take the widely held assumption that R+L=J to be true then we make Jon Snow the unseen centrepiece of the events at the Tower of Joy, as remembered in Ned's fevered dream. This allows us to examine whether the symbolism at the tower relates to the story of Jon, and I think the answer is a resounding yes. As you will see, some of the sigils of the characters involved relate to things we already know about Jon, while others seem to hint at things to come.

I'll start with the house sigils of Ned's bannermen.

House Ryswell. A horses head with red eyes. The most famous pair of red eyes in the series is probably Jon's companion, Ghost.

House Cassel. Ten white wolves, arranged 1,2,3,4. Again, Ghost is the white wolf. If you want to know more about the arrangement then you should google the Pythagorean tetractys. But I suggest in the context of the books the formation relates to Jon's growth as a skinchanger. At first he wears only one skin, that of Jon Snow, but judging by his last word he might soon add Ghost to the list, making two. Three and four could broadly represent further growth or alternatively they might be specific third and fourth skins.

House Reed. A lizardlion. In part one I equated the lizardlion to a crocodile, and crocodiles are symbolic of a clarity in dreams. While very fitting for House Reed it is also appropriate to Jon, who it seems has inherited the Targ gift of prophetic dreams. Another interesting connection can be found in ancient Egypt where the crocodile was a symbol of protection for the king.

House Dustin. A pair of crossed longaxes and the rusted crown of the First King. In the Barrowlands lies the Great Barrow, reputed burial place of the First King. The curse of the Great Barrow would allow no living man to rival the First King, which is interesting if you believe Jon might be dead for now.

House Glover. A fist mailed in silver. I couldn't think of any references to silver fists or gauntlets in the books, but the fist is a universal symbol of solidarity. Will the whole realm stand behind Jon?

House Wull. Three buckets. Buckets are symbolic of the womb, and by extension the egg. Three buckets, three eggs.

And of course there is Ned, and indeed Lyanna, with the direwolf of House Stark. Jon's connection to wolves is clear. Wolves are symbolic of winter, and winter is a metaphor for death. Unlike the pack of wolves on the arms of House Cassel, this is the lone wolf... and we know what happens to the lone wolf when winter comes.

To briefly revisit the three Kingsguard, we have:

House Dayne. A sword and a falling star. While a falling star is symbolic of a new birth, it is all about the in-universe symbolism here. Dawn. Forged from the heart of a fallen star. Sword of the Morning. Lightbringer, Bleeding Stars. Nissa Nissa, AAR, TPwwP.

House Hightower. A Lighthouse. The lighthouse is a beacon of hope. It stands alone against the dark, much like Azor Ahai.

House Whent. Nine black bats, arranged 2,3,4. The bat is a symbol of rebirth, which might relate to Azor Ahai being reborn, Jon being resurrected, or maybe even both.

And finally, the blue rose. A symbol of royal blood, something to which both Targaryens and Starks can lay claim.