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most tragic character


lavthelonewolf

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"Catelyn dreamt that Bran was whole again, that Arya and Sansa held hands, that Rickon was still a babe at her breast. Robb, crownless, played with a wooden sword, and when all were safe asleep, she found Ned in her bed, smiling.
Sweet it was, sweet and gone too soon"

."One day, she promised herself as she lay abed, one day she would allow herself to be less than strong.
But not today. It could not be today."

Catelyn stark to me was the most tragic character in the whole story.*sobs*

who was yours?

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I really don't like her, but I have to agree with you that Catelyn is the most tragic character. She died thinking Robb, Arya, Bran, and Rickon where all dead, and Sansa was getting raped by Tyrion Lannister every night. Then she gets resurrected as a shell of her former self, filled with nothing but hatred. 

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I think most characters have suffered tragedy to a certain degree.  While I also dislike Cat, it's obvious she has suffered a lot and I do have sympathy for her. 

However, for me the most tragic is Jeyne Poole.  She had such a wonderful life prior to heading off to KL, only to be torn away from Sansa and thrown into a brothel by LF to be "trained", then forced to pretend to be Arya and married to Ramsey.  Only to be subjected to things I'd rather not get too far into other than they involve both human waste and vicious dogs (and perhaps dog waste, that I'm not clear on). I get that her only real contribution/significance to the story is her becoming the false Arya, so she is by no means a main character, but her story is absolutely horrific. 

   

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1 hour ago, LyrnaSnowBunnyAvenger said:

[Jeyne Poole-Bolton] is by no means a main character, but her story is absolutely horrific. 

I think Jeyne (aka "Arya")'s story still has a long ways to go. I also agree that it's a tragic, sad arc so far. The theory that the Night's Watch (whoever is Lord Commander now) could send her to relative safety in Braavos is intriguing, because if this happens, she could run into No One, the real Arya Stark.

Jeyne might be depressed enough to visit the House of Black & White. This could be one way Jeyne might run into Arya, for example. Or perhaps Cat of the Canals could encounter her.

If Arya were to learn the story of Jon's apparent assassination, the takeover of Winterfell by the Boltons, how the Brotherhood w/o Banners is mopping up the Freys for their actions in the Red Wedding -- well, maybe it could inspire Arya to revert back to Arya Stark and head back to Westeros. Or -- even more interestingly, it could inspire her to direct Nymeria to act on her behalf, remotely. If Bran can pop out of weirwood trees all over the 7 Kingdoms and operate birds, Arya is probably capable of guiding Nymeria's actions from Essos.

 

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Most tragic is hard. I usually don't weigh in on these as I prefer tinfoil exegetical work on the text but I like this question. I think Jamie is the most tragic character. Everyone will have a different answer depending on their own life experiences I am sure and George writes tragic characters as well as anyone so there is no short supply of choices, but jamies natural talents combined with the near sansa like innocent hopefulness, being born correctly, being in the right place and at the right time -- it is all too much. I think his tragedy started outside Areys bedroom and goes on to this day.

 

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On 11/2/2018 at 8:55 PM, zandru said:

I think Jeyne (aka "Arya")'s story still has a long ways to go. I also agree that it's a tragic, sad arc so far. The theory that the Night's Watch (whoever is Lord Commander now) could send her to relative safety in Braavos is intriguing, because if this happens, she could run into No One, the real Arya Stark.

Jeyne might be depressed enough to visit the House of Black & White. This could be one way Jeyne might run into Arya, for example. Or perhaps Cat of the Canals could encounter her.

If Arya were to learn the story of Jon's apparent assassination, the takeover of Winterfell by the Boltons, how the Brotherhood w/o Banners is mopping up the Freys for their actions in the Red Wedding -- well, maybe it could inspire Arya to revert back to Arya Stark and head back to Westeros. Or -- even more interestingly, it could inspire her to direct Nymeria to act on her behalf, remotely. If Bran can pop out of weirwood trees all over the 7 Kingdoms and operate birds, Arya is probably capable of guiding Nymeria's actions from Essos.

 

ok this is interesting. i know arya is going to come to westeros soon,her part there is not over yet, but was wondering how itl happen. now you have given an interesting theory. it can happen via jeyne poole. i don see jeyne going to house of B & W but surely she can encounter cat of the canals.

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With all respect to Dany Tyrion and Victarion, Id say its a toss up between Cat and Theon. 

Not that Jeynes not tragic, but shes pretty much equally tragic as Hornwood or Kyra, unspeakable horrors but thats like every smallfolk too.

Dany Tyrion and Victarion have lost alot and the worst ones were self inflicted but they still want to live. Tyrion played with the idea of suicide, as did Sansa and Jeyne, but chose life.

Theon is activity choosing suicide, Cat is not even allowed to make that choice. For all the loss Catelyn suffered its not over, shes not even allowed to rest in peace

 

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1 hour ago, lavthelonewolf said:

ok this is interesting. i know arya is going to come to westeros soon,her part there is not over yet, but was wondering how itl happen. now you have given an interesting theory. it can happen via jeyne poole. i don see jeyne going to house of B & W but surely she can encounter cat of the canals.

Justin Massey is the other possible messenger.

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Ser Eustace Osgrey.  When the higher lords start playing their game, the lesser lords are forced to take sides and join in.  Like as not, it's the little guys who do the most bleeding.  He lost his sons and his property because he supported the wrong side.  He had to choose.  Just as Walder Frey and Roose Bolton had to choose.  It's bad when your jack ass of a lord paramount decide to rebel against his king and drags you along.   Roose Bolton had no quarrel with the Lannisters and he got dragged into another Stark fuckup.  Roose Bolton is hard to blame for sparing his own men at the expense of the other nutters who loyally followed their rebel lord.   

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Any number of people you could make a case for, and it really is subjective what's tragedy as opposed to just suffering. Theon's tragedy doesn't lay in how much he was tortured as opposed to him literally having a conflicted sense of identity even before the Reek factor. Catelyn's tragedy wasn't that she suffered the pain of loss so much as having her reduced to a zombie she'd probably have been repulsed by with no meaning to her actions. I'd have to place Jaime up there as well though. At his core, Jaime is a romantic, the hero in his own story only to have that corroded by everything from the politics of the realm to literally being in farce of love with the wrong person. Between being forced to live a lie, and being universally hated for what should've been his finest act, it's no wonder he became a jaded individual.

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On 11/2/2018 at 5:38 PM, Starkz said:

Theon is a pretty tragic character. He always makes the wrong decisions and isn’t fully welcomed anywhere.

Agreed, I think Theon is the most tragic character. It's easy to forget who he was and think of the show character, who was kind of a goofy guy who then turned mean, got tortured a bit, and then released but looks mostly physically unharmed (we know what you can't see when he's fully dressed, though).

Book Theon was torn from his family as a little boy, and taken to the lands of the ancestral enemies of his people, to serve as a hostage to be executed if his father dared raise his hand again.

Despite this he prospers, becomes good friends and trusted advisor to the sons of his holder, an attractive young man, master archer, socially skilled, in many ways an example of prime young manhood. Later on he's at a crossroads: choose to serve as a close confidant of the King in the North, or become a prince and later king of his homeland?

He chose the second, but due to the psychological trauma of his early childhood experiences and his father's rejection, tries to prove himself in foolish ways. He ends up falling into the hands of the worst psychopath in Westeros, and his life turns into torture hell. Castrated, teeth shattered, digits flayed and cut off, absolute terror. This Theon's wounds are clearly visible from the outside: his own sister can't even recognize him any more, his hair has gone white, he looks like an old man, can barely eat due to his shattered teeth, has to wear special gloves not to make his missing fingers obvious. One of the last things he hears before he finally manages to escape is that Ramsay is going to cut off his lips as well.

He's the character in the novels I think has suffered the most and survived, and is an absolute ruin of a human being. Considering how he was before he invaded Winterfell, he didn't just fall deep: he fell far, from high above.

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Egg is tragic.  I do not see why many fans consider him a good king.  The circumstances that brought him to power pretty much assured his weakness.  A king who was chosen by the lords is weak.  A king who rules by divine right is more powerful.  Egg deluded himself and thought he was the real dragon.  It's not unlike Aerion the Brightflame.  Egg just went about his attempt in a more "scientific" manner.  His desperation for power is obvious.  The years preceding his time saw the weakening of the Targaryens and their dragons.  They really needed a reboot.  The Targaryens needed someone very strong and smart like Daenerys to come along to start a new generation.  

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2 hours ago, Tour De Force said:

Egg is tragic.  I do not see why many fans consider him a good king.  The circumstances that brought him to power pretty much assured his weakness.  A king who was chosen by the lords is weak.  A king who rules by divine right is more powerful.  Egg deluded himself and thought he was the real dragon.  It's not unlike Aerion the Brightflame.  Egg just went about his attempt in a more "scientific" manner.  His desperation for power is obvious.  The years preceding his time saw the weakening of the Targaryens and their dragons.  They really needed a reboot.  The Targaryens needed someone very strong and smart like Daenerys to come along to start a new generation.  

I have always liked Egg. Mainly because he was more inclined with the smalfolk than any targ we have ever seen. 

Liked that he squired for one of the best H.knights ser duncan. 

Loved his betrothal ideas for his sons and daughters. He was not narrow minded like the other targs,shunned the whole incestuous marriages,planned to branch out his family tree while including other great houses. Pity his children had other ideas. But having said that,if egg had succeeded there wouldnt be a song of ice and fire. What had to happen had to happen. i also love that maester Aemon targ of the wall thinks about egg during his final days. Tat shows how much they both loved and respected each other. 

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