The Princes of Dragonstone: Parallels between Rhaegar and Stannis

[lAPPYc]

Throughout the story, there are two characters that start their journey from Dragonstone and have a huge impact on the events of ASoIaF. But there are so many more parallels between Rhaegar and Stannis than just the starting point. IMO, the entirety of Stannis' story is supposed to mirror that of Rhaegar's, and that these two stories are going to be used to reinforce each other and give legitimacy to the choices made by these two characters. For both of these arcs run along the same theme: Rulers making hard choices for the good of their kingdom.

Quote

"Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded..."

This quote has Ser Barristan describing Rhaegar to his sister. But it could easily be describing Stannis. And before you use Stannis' running away to Dragonstone in anger after Ned Stark was appointed Hand to call him not-dutiful, remember when Rhaegar was working against his father? The parallel between the two is that they are dutiful to the Kingdom.

Quote

...but born of the same incest. Another monster in the making. Another leech upon the land... (Davos VI, ASoS)

 

But this is only the start. As I said, both were the Princes of Dragonstone. Both were politically active and against the establishment. Both dabbled in prophecy and sorcery. Both had most likely had a supernatural mentor; Stannis has Melisandre, and Rhaegar probably was influenced by the Ghost of High Heart, according to a theory by /u/cautuse on reddit. Both were thought to be prophecized figures; Stannis the AA, and Rhaegar the Prince that was Promised. And both were later considered wrong; Rhaegar decides the prophecy talks about his children, and Stannis' lie is supposed to be slain by Dany (Slayer lies = slays the lie that says Stannis is AA, that is to say, proves that someone else is AA). For both of them, the majority of their life struggle was political, against the backdrop of the supernatural; the Rhaegar-Aerys divide in KL that reminded Pycelle about the days of Viserys I, and Stannis' quest for his throne. And for both of them, this political struggle gets supplanted by the supernatural; for Rhaegar it is getting Lyanna pregnant to extract Jon, and for Stannis, it will be burning Shireen to get... god knows what.

As I said, I believe that the stories of Stannis and Rhaegar are supposed to reinforce the understanding of each other's stories. So if Stannis burns Shireen to get a win over the Others, what does it tell us about what Rhaegar did to Lyanna? Previously, I made a post about the political reasons why the 'love story' scenario is improbable. But that was the political part, and this is the supernatural part: Given the parallels between Stannis and Rhaegar, Rhaegar made a sacrifice mirroring that of Stannis'. The love story scenario also has Lyanna die, but that is not a sacrifice. That's a birth gone wrong. Shireen is going to be sacrificed, and for Lyanna's death to be a sacrifice, it needs to be against Lyanna's wishes. Now Lyanna probably never knew that she will die in childbirth, so the death wasn't a sacrifice. The sacrifice was the rape. As I outlined in the aforementioned post, Lyanna said no to carrying Rhaegar's child, and Rhaegar made the difficult choice for the good of his realm.

This was the case of Stannis' choice reinforcing that of Rhaegar's. The reverse happens when we consider the outcome of these sacrifices. Many in the fandom think that Stannis' sacrifice won't work, and that he will die in the backlash that follows the burning of his daughter (the Northmen and King's Men vs. Queen's men divide?). But what happened when Rhaegar's actions generated a backlash? Despite whether Rhaegar did really rape Lyanna Stark or not, he got accused of it all the same and lost his kingdom, half his family, and his life. And yet, something emerged from this sacrifice, like, literally emerged, from Lyanna Stark's womb: A direct link to the endgame. And so it will be for Stannis' sacrifice.

Quote

"This is Stannis Baratheon. The man will fight to the bitter end and then some." (Jaime IX, ASoS)

Burning Shireen will be the 'bitter end', and the 'then some' will be Stannis making riding to his doom in his last fight, whatever that may be, just like Rhaegar rode to his doom after his sacrifice was complete. But just as Rhaegar's sacrificed worked, something will emerge from Stannis' sacrifice. In the end, both the Princes of Dragonstone will have lost everything and died, their houses nearly destroyed (or living through a bastard or two) and both will have made a brutal sacrifice that will affect the endgame, but won't be looked upon by the majority of characters, and indeed, by many in the fandom. (Only GRRM can create parallels outside the books. Rhaegar and Stannis both have a fan base that thinks the sun shines out of their every orifice, and a hater base that thinks they are both entitled assholes obsessed with prophecies).

[Big P]

To me, Rhaegar and Stannis are two differently people in terms of their character. 

1. Stannis is a hard man with little empathy for others.  Rhaegar was a sensitive man who had empathy for other people.  
2. Stannis is steady.  Rhaegar is more erratic and emotional.

Dragonstone was the launch pad for the Targaryen conquest of Westeros.  It has little significance to Rhaegar other than a temporary residence.  The same for Stannis.  These two are not conquerors.  They are simply men who were in the line of succession.  For Rhaegar, this only held true until Aerys chose Viserys to follow him on the throne.  

Rhaegar and dutiful do not belong together.  This is a man who embarrassed his wife in front of the largest gathering and gave the crown of roses to another woman.  What a dickish move.  He sat and hid, doing god only knows what, while the kingdom was at war over his kidnapping of Lyanna.  What a selfish thing to do.  

 

[Minsc]

1 hour ago, The Pink Letter said:

To me, Rhaegar and Stannis are two differently people in terms of their character. 

1. Stannis is a hard man with little empathy for others.  Rhaegar was a sensitive man who had empathy for other people.  
2. Stannis is steady.  Rhaegar is more erratic and emotional.

Dragonstone was the launch pad for the Targaryen conquest of Westeros.  It has little significance to Rhaegar other than a temporary residence.  The same for Stannis.  These two are not conquerors.  They are simply men who were in the line of succession.  For Rhaegar, this only held true until Aerys chose Viserys to follow him on the throne.  

Rhaegar and dutiful do not belong together.  This is a man who embarrassed his wife in front of the largest gathering and gave the crown of roses to another woman.  What a dickish move.  He sat and hid, doing god only knows what, while the kingdom was at war over his kidnapping of Lyanna.  What a selfish thing to do.  

 

Not that I think Stannis and Rhaegar are alike but Stannis is equally quite emotional. 

Moreover, doesn't Stannis equally have his own mistress to side that he has cheated on his wife with?  Didn't Stannis for a better of almost a year rather than tell anyone of his discovery?

[Lucius Lovejoy]

I enjoyed reading this and found it original.  Thanks for sharing.

[lAPPYc]

5 hours ago, The Pink Letter said:

To me, Rhaegar and Stannis are two differently people in terms of their character. 

Parallels don't have to be perfect. Stannis may be hard and Rhaegar may display more empathy, but in the end, what matters is whether he can let go of that empathy when necessary. In that, they both seem the same to me.

This goes against what Barristan said of him being single-minded and deliberate. And Barristan knew him more intimately than you do. Barristan's account is a first-hand account, and yours is the one vastly based on rumors and fan opinions. The reason why GRRM gives seemingly conflicting accounts is reflected here. To cause confusion.

5 hours ago, The Pink Letter said:

Rhaegar and dutiful do not belong together.

I said dutiful to the realm. What are a few marriage vows against all the men in the world. What is the life of a few thousand people that would die in Robert's Rebellion against all the people to come?

5 hours ago, The Pink Letter said:

What a selfish thing to do. 

You clearly subscribe to the Rhaegar is 'an entitled asshole obsessed with prophecy' camp. I belong to the other, 'The sun shines out of Rhaegar's every orifice' one. Regardless, the parallel is that Stannis has a similar fan divide. And when Stannis burns his daughter, I think GRRM is going to reveal that Rhaegar raped Lyanna, and whoever still loves Stannis will then have to love Rhaegar as well, and whoever loves Rhaegar will have to love Stannis, no matter their earlier affiliations. Or they will hate them both and not accept what they did as a good thing.

As I said, I think the reason why the arcs are running parallel is that he is going to help each arc with the help of the other.

5 hours ago, The Pink Letter said:

These two are not conquerors

I never said the two were conquerors. I said the both are going to seemingly fail in their political campaigns and die.

5 hours ago, The Pink Letter said:

For Rhaegar, this only held true until Aerys chose Viserys to follow him on the throne.

Question: Did Aerys choose Viserys as his heir over Rhaegar or Rhaegar son Aegon? I think I read that in AWoIaF, but I can't seem to find that again. Can you clarify? This will put some twists for the Aegon that is currently invading Westeros.

[Ralphis Baratheon]

Had Stannis been born a girl he'd likely would have been married to Rhaegar and have ended at Dragonstone that way. It seemed he was destined for Dragonstone no matter what.