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Will all of Eddard Stark's children abandon his example?


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I think GRRM is setting the starks up for something huge.  Jon is being trained to be a military commander.  Sansa is being trained in politics. Arya is learning to be an assasin. And Bran is learning spiritual power.  I don't know what Ricken is learning. Maybe how to eat people.  Whatever.  But I believe the Starklings are being prodded and pushed into different paths so they can reconnect and dominate westeros.

 

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Reminds me of:

Quote

"Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died."

Substitute Ned for Rhaegar, of course.  

I think the Stark children have learned their lesson.  Ned's problem wasn't being honorable, it was being honorable past the point of being willing to recognize that he was in a totally new environment and adapting was required if he was to survive.

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This line of thought, concerning Ned, has always bothered me a bit.  I never felt that Ned "lost".  I read somewhere that you may not change the world, just make sure the world does not change you.  Is it better to comprise your beliefs and principles, to do what's wrong instead of right, just to live a while longer?  Would Ned be looked upon more highly had he accepted Renly's offer; and by doing so broken the law, aiding a coup, dishonoring his friends final hours, and frightening innocent children (at least Tommen and Myrcella)?

I am reminded of a line from Gladiator "death smiles upon every man, all a man can do is smile back".

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I doubt they will "abandon" his example, some will simply be neutral about it, but I think others will, somehow, reconnect with him.

For example, Sansa's plot has LF telling her that she must always "keep her hands clean", which is exactly the opposite of what Ned believes: the ones passing the sentence, swing the sword". This is,  imo, a hint of how Sansa will eventually remember that she's Ned Stark's daughter, and not Petyr's daughter Alayne, and will be the one "swinging" the sword for him (specially after she finds out LF betrayed her father and sold her best friend away to marry a monster).

Another one who might have a "Ned Stark" crisis will be Jon as soon as he finds out he's not his real father. Jon has definitely tried to shape himself after Ned, and finding out who he really is, will send him into an identity crisis.

Arya has already had his "Ned" moment when he decided she had to execute Dareon.

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3 hours ago, JCRB's Honeypot said:

I doubt they will "abandon" his example, some will simply be neutral about it, but I think others will, somehow, reconnect with him.

For example, Sansa's plot has LF telling her that she must always "keep her hands clean", which is exactly the opposite of what Ned believes: the ones passing the sentence, swing the sword". This is,  imo, a hint of how Sansa will eventually remember that she's Ned Stark's daughter, and not Petyr's daughter Alayne, and will be the one "swinging" the sword for him (specially after she finds out LF betrayed her father and sold her best friend away to marry a monster).

Another one who might have a "Ned Stark" crisis will be Jon as soon as he finds out he's not his real father. Jon has definitely tried to shape himself after Ned, and finding out who he really is, will send him into an identity crisis.

Arya has already had his "Ned" moment when he decided she had to execute Dareon.

Couldn't agree more than I do re: metaphorical/sometimes literal nature of swinging the sword.

 

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10 hours ago, King Ned Stark said:

I never felt that Ned "lost".  I read somewhere that you may not change the world, just make sure the world does not change you.  Is it better to comprise your beliefs and principles, to do what's wrong instead of right, just to live a while longer?

Ned failed to protect his family.  He failed to protect all the people of the North.  It's not that he died.  It's that his death didn't accomplish anything.

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On 5/26/2016 at 4:40 AM, Free Northman Reborn said:

The discussion on Sansa's future with Harry the Heir got me thinking about Eddard Stark's life philosophy, and how good a father he was compared to so many villains in this series, how hard he tried to instil the importance of living an honourable life in his children.

While Martin has gone to some lengths to show the weaknesses of an honourable approach in the Game of Thrones, is his enduring message going to be that none of Eddard's surviving children will end up following his teachings? How tragic will it be if Eddard's legacy is lost, with Jon being forced to break his vows to save the world, Arya becoming a murderous assassin for hire, and Sansa becoming a Littlefinger 2.0?

Is there still hope that Bran or Rickon will help Eddard's legacy live on? Or is Martin's intention to show that a strong, steadfast and honourable father figure is a weakness to children in this life?

 

Ned for all intents and purposes doesn't follow his own creed either.  As far as a reader goes at this point in the story he was adulterous and fathers a bastard.  If on the flip side you look at R + L = J, and Ned not being an adulterer, then he is a traitor to the crown and his friend along with the whole realm really.  Keeping secret of a Targaryen heir, one in which was conceived at the cost of 1000's of lives.  I think at the end of the day he would not see what his children doing as going against what he taught them.  The entire realm is at war and they all are doing what they are doing in order to survive.  If up to this point they didn't do what they have done, there would be no more Starks. 

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On 5/26/2016 at 2:40 AM, Free Northman Reborn said:

The discussion on Sansa's future with Harry the Heir got me thinking about Eddard Stark's life philosophy, and how good a father he was compared to so many villains in this series, how hard he tried to instil the importance of living an honourable life in his children.

While Martin has gone to some lengths to show the weaknesses of an honourable approach in the Game of Thrones, is his enduring message going to be that none of Eddard's surviving children will end up following his teachings? How tragic will it be if Eddard's legacy is lost, with Jon being forced to break his vows to save the world, Arya becoming a murderous assassin for hire, and Sansa becoming a Littlefinger 2.0?

Is there still hope that Bran or Rickon will help Eddard's legacy live on? Or is Martin's intention to show that a strong, steadfast and honourable father figure is a weakness to children in this life?

 

Arya is not going to become a murderous assassin for hire and Sansa is not going to turn into Littlefinger 2.0.  And the fact that they were raised by Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully is a big reason why.  The FM had to engage in some pretty serious arm-twisting and manipulation to get Arya to kill Insurance Man.  And in the preview chapter it is clear that she is unable to shed her identity as Arya Stark.  I'm thinking she separates from the FM in the near future.

As for Sansa she is still a decent, loving person who still has some belief in the goodness of other people.  This even after her mistreatment by Cersei and Joffrey for months.  Littlefinger ( and the Hound) have given her some grounding in reality, which is tempering her idealism, but she cares too much about others to go the Litlefinger route.  Once she figures out what he has done (and is planning) he is in big trouble.  

13 hours ago, JCRB's Honeypot said:

Arya has already had his "Ned" moment when he decided she had to execute Dareon

Actually, I think she killed Dareon because she didn't like him for his arrogance and abandonment of Sam, who she clearly liked.  She didn't like that he was a deserter, but I think it was more a hook to justify her murder of him than anything else.

On 5/26/2016 at 7:38 AM, the wolf that never was said:

I think Ned's children will follow his example and try to do the right thing in their own ways.Sansa is becoming more shrewd and conniving perhaps but she's not littlefinger she never has been and never will be because even after everything she's gone through one thing she still has and always will is a good heart.

All the stark children will always try to do the right thing

Yes.  Sansa's good heart will prevent Littlefinger from turning her into another version of himself.  She will get a sense of pragmatism and ruthlessness, as well as the ways in which people are subject to influence, but this knowledge will be tempered by her good heart.  Which is, to a large degree, the product of an upbringing by Ned and Catelyn.

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Ned's reputation for being honorable, fair, and decent is his ultimate legacy. But it's also his reputation for being cold, icy, and distant that people remember. His surviving children will exemplify these traits. Which ever Stark lives to rule the North will be fair and just but cold and distant. Ned trying to save Cersei's children, that sort of thing won't happen with the next Stark ruler. After losing so much of their own family due to an act of mercy their enemies can expect none in the future. They'll be said to have ice water in their veins, like their father. 

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Let's all take a moment to remember that Ned was offered to take the Black, which he accepted.

He was executed on the whim of a psychopath. Even Tywin and Cersei thought it was a shit move.

23 hours ago, CJ McLannister said:

Ned failed to protect his family.  He failed to protect all the people of the North.  It's not that he died.  It's that his death didn't accomplish anything.

His death shouldn't have even happened.

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