Why did Cersei admit that her children were incest-born bastards?

[Angel Eyes]

So in Cersei’s conversation with Ned in AGOT, I was surprised that Cersei straight-up admitted that Robert’s “trueborn” children with her were Jaime’s, for the following reasons:

1. Not all kids favor their fathers in looks and personality. Just look at Ned; of his children with Catelyn, all but one have the Tully coloring (red hair and blue eyes). It’d be like saying that all of Ned’s kids are Catelyn’s bastards with someone else. One could pass off Joffrey’s behavior as trying to emulate Robert Baratheon in all the wrong ways. She could have passed them off as Robert’s without accusing Ned as being monstrous as Ser Gregor Clegane.
2. Cersei has an amazing talent for lying, to Robert, to Ned, to Jaime, and to herself. It’s uncharacteristic of her to straight-up admit something as the truth.
3. Fitting under the latter, she could have easily passed off Stannis’s research as a power grab; since her children would be bastards, it looks terribly convenient that Stannis, a man known for his resentment, would be next in line for the throne.

[Giant Ice Spider]

I reckon she felt confident she would win, so she didn't bother lying. Or maybe she wanted to see his reaction.

[hodorisfaclessman]

15 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

So in Cersei’s conversation with Ned in AGOT, I was surprised that Cersei straight-up admitted that Robert’s “trueborn” children with her were Jaime’s, for the following reasons:

1. Not all kids favor their fathers in looks and personality. Just look at Ned; of his children with Catelyn, all but one have the Tully coloring (red hair and blue eyes). It’d be like saying that all of Ned’s kids are Catelyn’s bastards with someone else. One could pass off Joffrey’s behavior as trying to emulate Robert Baratheon in all the wrong ways. She could have passed them off as Robert’s without accusing Ned as being monstrous as Ser Gregor Clegane.
2. Cersei has an amazing talent for lying, to Robert, to Ned, to Jaime, and to herself. It’s uncharacteristic of her to straight-up admit something as the truth.
3. Fitting under the latter, she could have easily passed off Stannis’s research as a power grab; since her children would be bastards, it looks terribly convenient that Stannis, a man known for his resentment, would be next in line for the throne.

Cersei isnt the smartest player in the game but she knows she has this won, the stark forces at kl are much smaller and she has correctly read ned as too honourable to cut the kind of deal needed to win power i3f it comes to violence

Ned threatens to tell robert when he comes back from the hunt but we know shes already arranged  through lancel that hes not comming back ! She is already moving and ned like a fool has just laid all his cards out on the table 

[Samsaptakas]

Cersei is a Lannister; and a Lannister is naturally better than others(in her view). So, maybe she thought that earthly rules shouldn't apply to her, like incest being considered a sin.

[Geddus]

20 hours ago, hodorisfaclessman said:

Cersei isnt the smartest player in the game but she knows she has this won, the stark forces at kl are much smaller and she has correctly read ned as too honourable to cut the kind of deal needed to win power i3f it comes to violence

Ned threatens to tell robert when he comes back from the hunt but we know shes already arranged  through lancel that hes not comming back ! She is already moving and ned like a fool has just laid all his cards out on the table 

Ned kinda did arrange exactly the kind of deal needed to violently win power; it's just that Littlefinger screwed him over.

As for Robert, Cersei's fabulous plan depended on a boar, I think it speaks volumes (and still the King came back alive, had Ned talked as soon as Robert returned to the capital Cersei would have been toast). She's an idiot with insane luck.

[St Daga]

Quote

Jon said, "My lord father believed no man could tell a lie in front of a heart tree. The old gods know when men are lying." ACOK-Jon II

 

Quote

 

The godswood was empty, as it always was here in this citadel of the southron gods. Ned's leg was screaming as they lowered him to the grass beside the heart tree. "Thank you." He drew a paper from his sleeve, sealed with the sigil of his House. "Kindly deliver this at once."

Tomard looked at the name Ned had written on the paper and licked his lips anxiously. "My lord . . . "

"Do as I bid you, Tom," Ned said.

How long he waited in the quiet of the godswood, he could not say. It was peaceful here. The thick walls shut out the clamor of the castle, and he could hear birds singing, the murmur of crickets, leaves rustling in a gentle wind. The heart tree was an oak, brown and faceless, yet Ned Stark still felt the presence of his gods. His leg did not seem to hurt so much.

She came to him at sunset, as the clouds reddened above the walls and towers. She came alone, as he had bid her. For once she was dressed simply, in leather boots and hunting greens. When she drew back the hood of her brown cloak, he saw the bruise where the king had struck her. The angry plum color had faded to yellow, and the swelling was down, but there was no mistaking it for anything but what it was.

"Why here?" Cersei Lannister asked as she stood over him.

"So the gods can see."
 

She sat beside him on the grass. Her every move was graceful. Her curling blond hair moved in the wind, and her eyes were green as the leaves of summer. It had been a long time since Ned Stark had seen her beauty, but he saw it now. "I know the truth Jon Arryn died for," he told her. AGOT-Eddard XII

 

A couple options with this.

One, we know what Ned's belief was about lying and the heart tree, so perhaps Ned was correct and Cersei was unable to lie in front of the heart tree. She is capable of attempting to lie and act with subterfuge, but in this case, she does not even try. Perhaps she believes the same thing that Ned does?

The other option is that since Ned told her he already knew her secret, she believed him and she felt like there was no reason to lie at this point. If so, that was very unCersei-like behavior.

 

[Sigella]

To throw him off and ruffle his state even more before the kill. Like a cat with prey.

[Dofs]

A combination of pride, confidence and stupidity.

[Angel Eyes]

2 hours ago, St Daga said:

 

A couple options with this.

One, we know what Ned's belief was about lying and the heart tree, so perhaps Ned was correct and Cersei was unable to lie in front of the heart tree. She is capable of attempting to lie and act with subterfuge, but in this case, she does not even try. Perhaps she believes the same thing that Ned does?

The other option is that since Ned told her he already knew her secret, she believed him and she felt like there was no reason to lie at this point. If so, that was very unCersei-like behavior.

 

Cersei never struck me as religious.

That’s my point; it’s very unCersei like.

[hodorisfaclessman]

On 8/12/2018 at 10:56 AM, Geddus said:

Ned kinda did arrange exactly the kind of deal needed to violently win power; it's just that Littlefinger screwed him over.

As for Robert, Cersei's fabulous plan depended on a boar, I think it speaks volumes (and still the King came back alive, had Ned talked as soon as Robert returned to the capital Cersei would have been toast). She's an idiot with insane luck.

He didnt though thats the thing..he thought he did ,he rejected lfs actual offer and  assumed lf would just assist him anyway

 

Well yeah we see that in her pov...shes not the player she imagines she is  but as varys says to ned lancel was always gonna get him as ' accidents happen' on hunts and he hunts often

[Geddus]

Yes he thought he had arranged it, which is the same thing as far as what we were discussing: Ned was not above arranging shady deals (he also falsified Robert's will), so if Cersei thought that she would have been wrong.

[John Suburbs]

The only reason I can come up with was that she already knew that Robert was gravely injured, or may even have had reports that he was dead.

From a literary point of view, however, this was the clue we needed to conclude that Cersei did not kill Jon Arryn. Why would she take that risk when one hand finds out her secret, but then openly admit it to another who makes the same accusation based on the same sketchy evidence. Now, instead of simply dismissing it for lack of proof, she now has to counter the sworn word of the king's best friend who has cultivated an aura of honor and honesty about himself.

[dmfn]

22 minutes ago, John Suburbs said:

The only reason I can come up with was that she already knew that Robert was gravely injured, or may even have had reports that he was dead.

*snip

That's gotta be true. Cersei isn't on the top tier of schemers in this tale, but she isn't stupid enough to tell Ned everything while thinking 'the ole fortified wine into the boar...gets'em every time.' Someone came back ahead of the hunting party to report the king had been injured (and only told Cersei...)

[John Suburbs]

2 hours ago, dmfn said:

That's gotta be true. Cersei isn't on the top tier of schemers in this tale, but she isn't stupid enough to tell Ned everything while thinking 'the ole fortified wine into the boar...gets'em every time.' Someone came back ahead of the hunting party to report the king had been injured (and only told Cersei...)

Unusual, don't you think, that only one of Robert's squires would be attending him on the hunt. Mayhaps Tyrek was there and brought word directly to Cersei? And now he is missing...

As Jaime surmises:

Quote

Tyrek had served King Robert as a squire, side by side with Lancel. Knowledge could be more valuable than gold, more deadly than a dagger.

 

[dmfn]

9 hours ago, John Suburbs said:

Unusual, don't you think, that only one of Robert's squires would be attending him on the hunt. Mayhaps Tyrek was there and brought word directly to Cersei? And now he is missing...

As Jaime surmises:

 

Good catch!

[Haus Berlin]

Cersei's talent for lying is based on her embodiment of things others long for in a way which is easy on their eyes. Jaime desires simply to be loved and she gives him that illusion over years, starting it dressed up as a serving wench. Ned wants truth when he meets her in the godswood and his illusion is that of a simply dressed Cersei who sits beside him on the grass, miming the adulteress to his alleged adultery.

Cersei would never truly perceive her own royal offspring as bastards such as Jon is. And Ned may never have been unfaithful at all, and if so then never the way Cersei was and will be. Her embodiment works nonetheless, because it is so close to what Ned sees in her. New certainty about her crimes ends his risky investigation and progresses to his principlal love for children. A princip that makes him protect them at a high personal cost - against his wife and against his best friend who is king now. So Cersei guessed right that her frankness would result in Ned's responsibility for her children. But she was wrong about his motivation to do so - attraction to a woman had no part in Ned's choices, as we know from the way he deals with the Targaryen siblings in Essos.

[bent branch]

Hubris is Cersei's middle name. She already had plans to murder Robert.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 5:14 PM, Angel Eyes said:

So in Cersei’s conversation with Ned in AGOT, I was surprised that Cersei straight-up admitted that Robert’s “trueborn” children with her were Jaime’s, for the following reasons:

1. Not all kids favor their fathers in looks and personality. Just look at Ned; of his children with Catelyn, all but one have the Tully coloring (red hair and blue eyes). It’d be like saying that all of Ned’s kids are Catelyn’s bastards with someone else. One could pass off Joffrey’s behavior as trying to emulate Robert Baratheon in all the wrong ways. She could have passed them off as Robert’s without accusing Ned as being monstrous as Ser Gregor Clegane.
2. Cersei has an amazing talent for lying, to Robert, to Ned, to Jaime, and to herself. It’s uncharacteristic of her to straight-up admit something as the truth.
3. Fitting under the latter, she could have easily passed off Stannis’s research as a power grab; since her children would be bastards, it looks terribly convenient that Stannis, a man known for his resentment, would be next in line for the throne.

Eddard knew almost everything .

[FictionIsntReal]

On 8/12/2018 at 8:13 AM, Angel Eyes said:

Cersei never struck me as religious.

That’s my point; it’s very unCersei like.

And she would have been raised to believe in the Seven, not the Old Gods of the North at any rate.

[Angel Eyes]

Oh, and forgot something: 

Technically, Robert would have an allele for light-colored hair since his paternal grandmother Rhaelle was a Targaryen, who are notable for their silver hair. Tommen’s hair is said to be white-blond, Cersei could have passed that off like that.