Jump to content

Was Tywin a tiger dad?


mr.archanfel

Recommended Posts

I was reading the book "Tiger mom". Although there's no denying of her love for her children, she was pretty hash. Calling her daughters garbage and force them into "hobbies". I also get a feeling that part of it is selfish. She wanted bragging rights. This behavior is said to be pretty typically of Asian parents, who tend to be authoritarian and extremely hash towards their children with skyhigh expectations (The Asian grading scale: A acceptable. B bad. C can't eat dinner. D don't come home. F find a new family). Carrying the family name is also a big part of it. Yet they are often very proud of their children and speak highly of them behind their back, but never to their faces. They also tend to support their children financially well into adulthood. 

Since we never got into the head of Tywin, could he be a tiger dad behind the unsmiling facet he put up? That he actually love his children (except Tyrion for killing his mother, a common literary trope), but in his own ways. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's something I always thought about Tywin, actually, especially when it came to the twins.

There are many parents that have high hopes for their children and show them little to no affection, never praising them when they do well, but being the first to bring them down if they do badly. Secretly, to themselves, they are proud of their offspring and their achievements; they just choose not to show it.

To an extent, I think it would also apply to Tyrion. Maybe not pride, but despite all the flaws in Tyrion, he entrusted him enough to be Hand to Joffrey in his absence. He didn't give Tyrion much praise for his work at Blackwater, instead taking the plaudits himself, but I would be very shocked if deep in Tywin's own mind he didn't think what Tyrion pulled off was a masterstroke and proof he made a good choice picking Tyrion to be Hand for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nah I would say Hoster was more of a 'tiger dad' than him. Tywin seemed to have been one of those typical high powered busy fathers who spent most of his time at work and thus neglecting the rearing of his children which he delegated to others. To him the children were more like pawns he to further his ambitions. Yet despite their flaws his children do appear to be brilliant own their own. Jaime is a master swordsman because he has a natural talent and likes fighting and training but is also a bit of a layabout and arrogant, Tyrion is a bookworm who on his own is very cunning and intelligent but also doesn't know when not to speak off the cuff and drinks and whores a lot, while Cersei knows how to manipulate folks if she tries hard enough and actually wants power and prestige like her dad but at the same time is rash and reckless. I think a real tiger parent would have paid more attention to their kid's upbringing and find ways to improve their behavior and personalities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Kaibaman said:

Nah I would say Hoster was more of a 'tiger dad' than him. Tywin seemed to have been one of those typical high powered busy fathers who spent most of his time at work and thus neglecting the rearing of his children which he delegated to others. To him the children were more like pawns he to further his ambitions. Yet despite their flaws his children do appear to be brilliant own their own. Jaime is a master swordsman because he has a natural talent and likes fighting and training but is also a bit of a layabout and arrogant, Tyrion is a bookworm who on his own is very cunning and intelligent but also doesn't know when not to speak off the cuff and drinks and whores a lot, while Cersei knows how to manipulate folks if she tries hard enough and actually wants power and prestige like her dad but at the same time is rash and reckless. I think a real tiger parent would have paid more attention to their kid's upbringing and find ways to improve their behavior and personalities.

That's a good point. However, do we have any evidence that Tywin didn't spend much time with his children? (comparing to the typical lord fathers in universe. Ned didn't seem to spent a lot of time with his children either. ).  Also, maybe this is stereotyping, but it's said the best Japanese husband is the one you never see (work really long hours and go out with friends after) whereas the wife stay at home to take care of the children. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, mr.archanfel said:

That's a good point. However, do we have any evidence that Tywin didn't spend much time with his children? (comparing to the typical lord fathers in universe. Ned didn't seem to spent a lot of time with his children either. ).  Also, maybe this is stereotyping, but it's said the best Japanese husband is the one you never see (work really long hours and go out with friends after) whereas the wife stay at home to take care of the children. 

We know that while Tywin was working as Hand to Aerys he spent a lot of time in King's Landing while leaving Joanna and the kids back at Casterly Rock. I assume the time he spent with his family was pretty infrequent since he would be living several hundred miles away. He wasn't even aware of the fact that Jaime and Cersei were humping even as little kids, something which Joanna found out and tried to discourage. Then when Tyrion was born, Joanna died and who knows who exactly took care of them after that as they only came to King's Landing to live with daddy later on as teens. And while he seemed to have been in Tyrion's life the most he also hated him with passion so I doubt he bothered doing much molding with his youngest child either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was just too busy back then to be sure. I don't think he was such a bad dad for the twins as people claim. It wasn't expected of a lord to do much until his kid reached a certain age anyway, and then he was fostered. If the show is to be believed, he did absolutely care for his children, but I'm not sure how much of that is based on Martin's own view of the character.

 

We think of Ned as the rule because he was mostly there for his kids, but we forget that he had the luxury of staying at Winterfell while Tywin was Hand and had to serve in the capital.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...