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Similarities between Arya and Aegon the Unlikely (Hedge Knight series spoilers)


Ice Turtle

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There are some very specific plot points which occur in both Egg's and Arya's stories and almost nowhere else:

1, Both are made to chase small animals to make them quicker (Arya cats by Syrio, Egg chickens by Dunk)

2, Both regularly shave their heads during certain period of their life.

3, Both are being repeatedly mistaken for stable boys.

4, Both live for some time among smallfolk.

5, Both are last in line to inherit among their sibling.

6, Both serve as cupbearers at some point.

7, Both are disinterested in any romance at least until the age of eleven.

Can you think of anything else? Do you think that it has any plot relevance?

 

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Great! Nice that you started the topic :)

There is also both "squiring" for non-knights, with some nice, inverse parallels in their stories. Arya & the Hound is much like a dark reflection of Dunk and Egg.

And, they share the "...if I wanted to" attitude: (quotes from The Hedge Knight)

The boy looked at him brazenly. "I could. If I wanted." 

"I would if I wanted," the boy said, but he turned the fish.

Both are insolent and witty in their responses.

Both are adventure seekers.

Both are implicated in an incident of "assaulting" a member of the royal family, though Arya does the deed herself while Egg calls for Dunk's intervention.

There are more...

 

I can't say if there will be a plot relevance (although there might be), well except of "Arya" (the unlikely) currently inheriting Winterfell (sort of - that would be a really dark twist of a similarity) but I am very confident that GRRM modelled Egg's personality on Arya's when he was in the proccess of writting the D&E stories.

 

(I've often thought to do a listing of parallels and similarities with quotes, like the one you did for the Jon & Arya relationship, but it takes a lot of time which I don't have...)

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Both use pseudonyms based on their real name, but carry an item that hints at their true identity. Both receive an unorthodox education for highborn children. Both have a deeply ingrained sense of justice.

I doubt there is any real plot significance, however.

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There is also both "squiring" for non-knights, with some nice, inverse parallels in their stories. Arya & the Hound is much like a dark reflection of Dunk and Egg.

Unlike Sandor, Duncan is a knight. He was knighted by Ser Arstan just before the old man died.

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"He always said he meant for me to be a knight, as he was. When he was dying he called for his longsword and bade me kneel. He touched me once on my right shoulder and once on my left, and said some words, and when i got up he said I was a knight."

It may be that Duncan lied, but I find it more plausible that what he says is true.

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"He always said he meant for me to be a knight, as he was. When he was dying he called for his longsword and bade me kneel. He touched me once on my right shoulder and once on my left, and said some words, and when i got up he said I was a knight."

It may be that Duncan lied, but I find it more plausible that what he says is true.

"He always said he meant for me to be a knight, as he was." 

What if Ser Arlan wasn't a true knight?

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I never meant to turn this into a discussion about Dunk's legitimacy as a knight... the thing (and all we know) is, his knighthood is questioned in-story and he's (rightly) paralleled with two characters of the main series, Brienne and Sandor, who both are not knights but strongly connected to the knightly ideal; one wishing to be one, not being allowed to it because of her sex but adhering to the ethical code of knighthood, and the other who refuses to take the vows (even though he becomes a KG too, that's another potential similarity) because of disillusion about what (most) knights really are. Both these characters also have a "Dunk and Egg" relationship with a younger character, the latter with Arya.

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They both carry secret coins.

Egg's is a ring, I think, but you're right about secretly holding objects that are connected to their identity.

Which is also a big connection, both hiding identities and what revealing it would mean for each of them, in terms of getting in/out of trouble.

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Egg's is a ring, I think, but you're right about secretly holding objects that are connected to their identity.

Which is also a big connection, both hiding identities and what revealing it would mean for each of them, in terms of getting in/out of trouble.

Yes, Egg had a ring, you're right!

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