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Why do people think that Cersei is one-dimensional?


boltons are sick

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I think that people are confusing likeability with character depth and complexity. Cersei is a actually one of the most complex characters I have ever encountered even though she has almost no redeeming qualities and is a truly disgusting person. I will analyse her character in this post and prove that she doesn`t lack character depth (this doesn`t mean that I will try to whitewash her or claim that she isn`t an evil and ruthless person). This is my own interpretation from the books so not everybody will agree with me. If you feel that I have left out something or don`t agree with my interpretation, please write in the comments:

Personality - She thinks very high of herself and is very proud of her intelligence and her looks. She has dreams of importance and power. She is paranoid and always thinks that someone is plotting against her or her children. She has trouble feeling empathy towards anyone that is not part of her family. She constantly needs a positive feedback (people telling her how smart and beautiful she is). She can`t stand criticism and often lashes out when somebody tries to correct her. She tries to control even the people she loves (Jaime and Tommen), Underneath this facade, however, she is very insecure and has inferiority complex. She has a nihilistic outlook on life. I think she suffers from a severe Narcissistic Personality Disorder and can`t form normal relationships with other people (which is very sad if you think about it).

Relationship with Tywin - Tywin is the most influencial figure in Cersei`s life. Her relationship with her dad is very complex. Her father was cold and distant and this led to Cersei actively trying to impress him and believing that she should hide her emotions like her dad does. Tywin taught his daughter a lot of lessons - that she can`t afford mercy to her enemies, that the Lannister name comes first, that she should be ruthless to survive in the cruel world, that she shouldn`t care about the opinion of the small folk, that she shouldn`t show any sign of weakness etc. Cersei often uses her father to justify her wrongdoings - for example when she tortures the Blue Bard, she is repulsed by the sight and wants to stop but reminds herself that her father wouldn`t stop and wouldn`t look away. I think that part of the reason why Cersei blamed Tyrion for the death of their mother was because she saw Tywin (her role model) do it and copied his attitude. Cersei tries to act like her father but she is too emotional and always makes mistakes. On the other hand, she also fears her father and is afraid of disappointing him. Tywin was emotionally abusive towards Cersei (and her brothers, epecially Tyrion) but she still worships him. When Tywin dies, his daughter is devastated by his death. She worships him so much that she can`t even admit that he is not all-powerful and that he is sleeping with whores (Shae). Her whole relationship with her father has made her associate bullying with power.

Relationship with Tyrion - Cersei despised her little brother from the moment he was born. Cersei always blamed him for 'killing' their mother (she was copying that attitude from Tywin). She also despised him for being a dwarf (physically deformed people are regarded as evil in Westeros), so part of the reason for hating him is ableism. She was verbally, emotionally and physically (twisting his penis, pinching him, slapping him) bullying him. She also hates and fears Tyrion because of the valonqar prophecy. Cersei thinks that Tyrion is an evil person who wants to kill her and her children. This has caused her to become paranoid and even unhinged later in the series. In aCoK there were a few nice moments between them indicating that Cersei was actually starting to like Tyrion for helping her rule King`s Landing. However, any chances of nice relationship between these two were destroyed when Tyrion kidnapped Tommen, when Cersei retaliated by kidnapping Alayaya and when Tyrion threatened her. From that moment on Cersei was entirely convinced that Tyrion is the valonqar. I believe that she was the one who ordered Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion in order to prevent her prophecy. After that, when her son died, Tyrion was the first one she blamed for his death and she tried to execute him. Now, after Tyrion has killed Tywin, Cersei hates him even more and is even more afraid of him. Whenever something goes wrong, it is always Tyrion`s fault.

Relationship with Jaime - This is her closest person (her twin brother, her childhood friend and her lover). Cersei and Jaime`s relationship is pretty interesting - they love each other but in a way, their love is an expression of their narcissism (they see each other as 'one person', they are both pretty arrogant and they think that Lannisters are above all other people), they are both abusive to each other in different ways (Cersei slaps Jaime when she is displeased with him and doesn`t show any sympathy for his lost hand, Jaime initiates sex without Cersei`s consent even when she had just lost her child, when she complains about something, Jaime just distracts her with kisses and sex and he doesn`t care that Cersei had lost her son). Their relationship is extremely unhealthy but Jaime is still one of the few people that Cersei loves. Tyrion even recounts that Cersei kissed him once only to make Jaime happy. Also, when Cersei kidnapped Alayaya she tells Tyrion that she would like to kill him but won`t do it because this would upset Jaime and he would never forgive her. Cersei is clearly the dominant partner in this relationship and Jaime is the submissive one. It was Cersei`s idea for Jaime to join the King`s Guard so that they may continue their relationship. She had three kids from Jaime because she didn`t want to carry her rapist`s kids. I don`t agree with the people who think that Cersei doesn`t love Jaime and only uses him and sees him as a tool - she slept with him throughout her entire marriage with Robert even though she didn`t get anything from it, she was worried about him when he got captured by the Starks and was angry with Tyrion for not releasing him, she was worried about him when she heard that he searching for Tyrion alone in the dark, she thinks a lot about him in aFFC and she even had a dream about him while imprisoned by the Faith. Cersei was always a little jelous of jaime because he was a male and she was not. Cersei thinks that she deserves to be praised by her father more than her twin. When Jaime came from his jorney changed, she could not get used to his changes and started pushing him away. Now it is too late for her to fix their relationship.

Relationship with Joanna - Cersei was devastated by the death of her mother. She lost her female role model at the age of 7 and this caused a lot of psychological problems later on.

Relationship with Robert - At first Cersei was excited about her marriage and tried to like Robert. However, when he started beating her, raping her and cheating on her, she started resenting him. This went on for 15 years and it ruined her mental health severely. She didn`t want to carry his child and aborted it. Then, when her affair with Jaime was threatened to be exposed, she manipulated Lancel into killing her husband. She didn`t care about his death and was actually glad that her abuser has finally died.

Views on gender - Cersei resents her role as a woman. She recalls that when she and her twin changed clothes, people would treat them differently. Cersei was the eldest daughter of Tywin Lannister and the only reason why she couldn`t inherit the Rock was her gender - this drove her really crazy. She was taught to knit, prey and please by her septa but she wanted to fight with swords like her twin. When Robert started abusing her she had another reason to resent her position as a woman in Medieval society. If Cerseiwere born a male, she would have inherited the Rock and she wouldn`t have to suffer through marital rape and abuse from her husband. However, Cersei is very misogynistic herself - she doesn`t help other women who have it worse than her, she doesn`t care about other women getting raped and even thinks they enjoy it, she always calls other women 'hens', she always judges other women on their appearance, she thinks that Sansa should put up with Joffrey`s teatment etc. Cersei is a classic example of an internalized sexist. She thinks all women (with the exception of her) are stupid and doesn`t care about them. Cersei thinks that she should have been born a male because she lusts for power. However, she still takes advantage of her gender - she manipulates lancel and the Kettleblacks through sex, she rules the Seven Kingdoms as the Queen Regent through her sons etc.

Prophecy - Cersei fears for the lives of her children and for herself because of the valonqar prophecy. Because of it, she is also paranoid about Tyrion, Margery and Sansa. However, I don`t believe that the 'younger, more beautiful queen' will be either Margery or Sansa. And I think that her valonqar will be Jaime because it would be very dramatic and sad - he is one of the few people she has ever loved.

Lust for power - As any narcissist, she has an inferiority complex and needs power in order to feel secure. Cersei wants to prove to her father, to the others and to herself that she is capable of ruling despite being a woman (it is quite tragic if you think about it). However, she is not good at ruling and not because she is a woman but because she is too emotional, makes rash decisions and is too paranoid. She is obviously smart but not as smart as she thinks she is. Cersei doesn`t like feeling weak and despises weakness whenever she sees it. So, she wants to feel secure by acquiring more power. However, her obsession with power is very unhealthy and it will be her downfall.

Relationship with her kids - Despite what many people in this forum say, Cersei genuinely loves her kids. However, she is not a good mother. Joffrey is obviously her favourite child. She spoiled him so much that he turned into an entitled brat who bullies everyone and has sadistic tendencies. When he died, Cersei is devastated by his death. She is becoming more and more paranoid about losing her remaining two kids. Cersei becomes emotionally abusive towards Tommen because she wants to 'toughen him up'. She wants to protect him from their enemies and doesn`t want to see him die like Joffrey. Cersei is not a good mother to Tommen but she genuinely believes that she is helping him. She sees his shyness as a weakness and she doesn`t tolerate weakness. However, with her actions Cersei only further undermines the confidence of her son without even realizing it.

Relationship with Sansa - Cersei manipulated and used Sansa to try to stop the war. Cersei is also paranoid because she thinks that Sansa might be the 'younger, more beautiful queen' from her prophecy. She thinks that Sansa is too stupid and naive for this world. However, there are two scenes in aCoK when Cersei tries to 'educate' Sansa in her own way (after Sansa got her first moon blood and during the Battle of Blackwater). I think that Cersei felt a little bad for Sansa even if she doesn`t want to admit it. After all, their situations were similar - Sansa was disillusioned of Joffrey just like Cersei was disillusioned of Robert, they were both abused by her husbands etc. However, Cersei doesn`t tell her son to stop abusing Sansa. She simply tells Sansa that she should get used to it because the world is cruel.

All in all, that is my interpretation of Cersei`s character. If you feel like I have missed something out or you don`t agree with my interpretation, please write in the comments. I really wish that more people would start appreciating Cersei`s complexity. I am not denying that she is an evil person but i think that GRRM wanted his readers to sympathize with Cersei. If this wasn`t the case, he wouldn`t have given her POV chapters. And I am sorry for playing the 'sexist card' again but some of the hate Cersei gets is really sexist. There are many people who don`t hate her for giving people to Qyburn, for ordering the deaths of innocent children, for murdering the high septon etc. but they instead hate her for cheating on Jaime, for cheating on her husband (who raped her), for aborting the child of her rapist, for sleeping around and 'behaving like a whore', for using sex to 'corrupt' the 'noble' and 'pure' Jaime Lannister etc. I am not saying that everyone who hates Cersei is sexist, because there are many legitimate reasons to hate her, but a large part of the people who hate her hate her for very sexist reasons.

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20 hours ago, boltons are sick said:

Relationship with her kids - Despite what many people in this forum say, Cersei genuinely loves her kids. However, she is not a good mother. Joffrey is obviously her favourite child. She spoiled him so much that he turned into an entitled brat who bullies everyone and has sadistic tendencies. When he died, Cersei is devastated by his death. She is becoming more and more paranoid about losing her remaining two kids. Cersei becomes emotionally abusive towards Tommen because she wants to 'toughen him up'. She wants to protect him from their enemies and doesn`t want to see him die like Joffrey. Cersei is not a good mother to Tommen but she genuinely believes that she is helping him. She sees his shyness as a weakness and she doesn`t tolerate weakness. However, with her actions Cersei only further undermines the confidence of her son without even realizing it.

I agree with you that Cersei is a multifaceted character, and her chapters in Feast are definitely some of the best. However, I don't think she loves her children any more than extensions of herself, at least to a very large degree. While of course there is some grief for Joffrey, a good parent does not abuse their child in the same way she does (having a whipping boy, and whatnot).

It seems a view among ASOIAF parents that not tolerating weakness is good -- but how? Cersei doesn't really care about Tommen's wellbeing and happiness, but only him appearing respectable for her to be able to rule through.

And lest we forget Myrcella? She does not think of her daughter at all through AFFC. When she learns Myrcella has been injured, she only thinks "Tyrion", highlighting that her paranoia about her brother is far, far more important than caring about her daughter's safety.

I think people are having very low criteria for what makes a good parent. Having quite natural views of wanting to protect one's children to a degree and being upset at their deaths does not mean she is a good mother, neglecting them (except when Joffrey's cruel tendencies were encouraged by her), and generally not regarding them as more than political tools.

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42 minutes ago, Vaith said:

I agree with you that Cersei is a multifaceted character, and her chapters in Feast are definitely some of the best. However, I don't think she loves her children any more than extensions of herself, at least to a very large degree. While of course there is some grief for Joffrey, a good parent does not abuse their child in the same way she does (having a whipping boy, and whatnot).

It seems a view among ASOIAF parents that not tolerating weakness is good -- but how? Cersei doesn't really care about Tommen's wellbeing and happiness, but only him appearing respectable for her to be able to rule through.

And lest we forget Myrcella? She does not think of her daughter at all through AFFC. When she learns Myrcella has been injured, she only thinks "Tyrion", highlighting that her paranoia about her brother is far, far more important than caring about her daughter's safety.

I think people are having very low criteria for what makes a good parent. Having quite natural views of wanting to protect one's children to a degree and being upset at their deaths does not mean she is a good mother, neglecting them (except when Joffrey's cruel tendencies were encouraged by her), and generally not regarding them as more than political tools.

I agree that she is not a good mother and lacks essential parenting skills but I don't agree that she loves her kids only as extensions of herself. She worries about Tommen being lonely and wants to bring Merryweather's son to court which shows that she actually cares about his happiness. She thinks about Joffrey being lonely before him too. And having a whipping boy for the crown Prince was considered normal in Medieval England (GRRM based his books on that period). In England no one could strike or punish the Prince and for that reason the royal family had a whipping boy. As modern readers we are expected to be disgusted by this practice but it was considered normal in Medieval England (and in Westeros, I guess). However, forcing the prince to whip the boy himself and threatening to cut out the whipping boy's tongue if he doesn't,  wasn't considered normal even in Medieval England and is very abusive, I will grant you that. And Cersei does worry about Myrcella when she learns she is injured. Before that she even made a complicated plan to kill Trystane and to take Myrcella back to KL because she was worried about her life. The author just wanted to show us that loving your kids doesn't equal good parenting skills and that you can love someone and still be abusive towards him (while thinking that it is for their good). There are many parents like Cersei and I actually know a few (their are emotionally abusive to their kids but in their minds they are 'helping' them). 

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4 minutes ago, boltons are sick said:

I agree that she is not a good mother and lacks essential parenting skills but I don't agree that she loves her kids only as extensions of herself. She worries about Tommen being lonely and wants to bring Merryweather's son to court which shows that she actually cares about his happiness. She thinks about Joffrey being lonely before him too. And having a whipping boy for the crown Prince was considered normal in Medieval England (GRRM based his books on that period). In England no one could strike or punish the Prince and for that reason the royal family had a whipping boy. As modern readers we are expected to be disgusted by this practice but it was considered normal in Medieval England (and in Westeros, I guess). And Cersei does worry about Myrcella when she learns she is injured. Before that she even made a complicated plan to kill Trystane and to take Myrcella back to KL because she was worried about her life. The author just wanted to show us that loving your kids doesn't equal good parenting skills and that you can love someone and still be abusive towards him (while thinking that it is for their good). There are many parents like Cersei and I actually know a few (their are emotionally abusive to their kids but in their minds they are 'helping' them). 

I don't buy that anyone who's emotionally abusive can be considered a good parent, to be honest.

As you've said yourself, GRRM didn't write these books in the medieval period, but rather from 1996 to today. I don't think Cersei's a good parent to force him to watch another child get beaten for minor missteps, any more than Randyll Tarly is a good parent for getting Sam to bathe in goat's blood to try and make him strong. Just because the characters are in that setting, doesn't mean we're supposed to excuse everything we do -- Martin goes to that point in Brienne's chapters, where we obviously symapthise with her more than those who habitually threaten to rape her.

The complicated (or might I say, idiotic) plan to kill Trystane isn't about Myrcella, it's about making Dorne anti-Tyrion by getting people to chant "HALF MAN, HALF MAN!"

Anyhow, from what you've discussed... I don't know how Cersei meets the standards of parental love, other than "not actively hating her kids."

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1 hour ago, Vaith said:

I don't buy that anyone who's emotionally abusive can be considered a good parent, to be honest.

I never said that she is a good parent. I simply said that she genuinely loves her children and not just as extensions of herself.

1 hour ago, Vaith said:

As you've said yourself, GRRM didn't write these books in the medieval period, but rather from 1996 to today. I don't think Cersei's a good parent to force him to watch another child get beaten for minor missteps, any more than Randyll Tarly is a good parent for getting Sam to bathe in goat's blood to try and make him strong. Just because the characters are in that setting, doesn't mean we're supposed to excuse everything we do -- Martin goes to that point in Brienne's chapters, where we obviously symapthise with her more than those who habitually threaten to rape her.

You are right. We are not meant to excuse their actions just because they live in medieval period. However, I believe that GRRM wanted us to understand them and see where they are coming from (understanding why someone does something is not the same as excusing their actions). For example, I can see why the Ironborn pillage villages and reave (this is part of their culture and they were taught from a very young age that it is normal). This doesn`t mean that I excuse their actions. Everyone is a product of their environment. Don`t forget that after 500 years some of the things that you do or think are normal could be considered barbaric or just inappropriate.

I don`t want to excuse Cersei`s treatment of Tommen but there is no indication of her abusing him before aFFC. And by aFFC she had just lost her other son and her father, has arguments with her lover, is paranoid that Tyrion could kill Tommen at any moment, thinks that the family of Tommen`s wife have released Tyrion from his cell and that they had taken part in Joffrey`s death (which is actually true), thinks that Tommen is too weak and trusting to defend himself and needs to though up etc. This doesn`t excuse her abuse, of course, but in her own mind she is helping her son but she can't see that she is only undermining his confidence. GRRM doesn`t want us to excuse Cersei`s behaviour or actions but he wants us to see where she is coming from (he does this with his other characters too). That is my interpretation at least.

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  • 1 month later...

Cersei is portrayed as having a personality disorder, I would say. When we get to her POV chapters its frightening. Like seeing things from the POV of Cruella de Vil. Its true there is an aweful lot of detail put into her history to explain why she ended up like that, but once you see her as horrible and mad that's all you will really remember. 

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I don't think Cersei's relationship with her children can be condensed down to a simple she 'loves them' / 'doesn't love them'. As in the real world, familial relationships are more complex than that and it's possible for her children to mean more than one thing to her.

Cersei is almost certainly a victim of Tywin's particular brand of parenting. However, as a narcissist she likes the person that it has made her and holds herself up as a role model for both Sansa and her own children.  She seems doomed to follow the same parenting template and teach her children the same harsh life lessons she underwent herself in order to become the perfect creature that she is today. For her male children, this means moulding them to reach their full potential as mini-Tywins (or at least Cersei's own skewed perception of Tywin)  - the role that she would have fulfilled had she not been born the wrong gender.

We don't see much direct interaction between her and Myrcella (nor indeed with Tommen until after Joffrey's death) and we can perhaps infer from this that she only has the capacity to focus on one child at a time and assigns value to her children based on their position in succession. Judging from her conversations with Sansa though, the greatest heights that a female child could reach would be to follow in Cersei's own footsteps. Rather than enabling them to overcome the blockers that she herself faced as a female in a male oriented world, she wants them to suffer the same hardships and obstacles thus perpetuating a mini version of herself and simutaneously preventing them from surpassing her.

I don't think any of this necessarily means that she doesn't love them (in the only way she knows how). For Cersei, the greatest gift that she could bestow upon her children is to mould them in this way. And although her expression of maternal love is warped by most conventional standards, it doesn't preclude there being genuine emotion driving these behaviours.

Of course, Cersei has a self-serving side too and this is what I suspect prompts most readers to question how much genuine love she has for her children. Without a doubt, she uses her children as tools through which she can herself derive power as regent - although using children in this way is hardly unique to Cersei in Westeros. See how Margaery is wielded to give the Tyrell's a step up in power. And of course, once we learn about the prophecy, we also realise that her children form a buffer between her and the valonqar. As long as all 3 children are alive, Cersei is still 3 deaths away from her own fate.

All of this certainly makes for a multi-faceted character with complex motivations, so no argument there. For me though, where some complaints of one-dimensionality come in are within her own POVs. They're undoubtedly entertaining and enjoyable to read, however after building up this complex picture of Cersei through other people's eyes and forming an idea of the person we think she is, once we see into Cersei's own mind it all seems a bit . . . flat . . . somehow. I don't doubt the difficulty of writing from the perspective of a character with Cersei's personality traits, but in this case I just don't think GRRM has pulled it off as well as he has for others. Her thought processes all seem a little predictable and almost comedic at times - lacking some of the realism and relatability that other (even unpleasant) POVs have.

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She's not one-dimensional in design. It's just the way she comes across. Her own thoughts and feelings take full priority no matter what she's told. It's a good job GRRM gave us her POV. Elsewise she really would just be one dimensional. Fortunately we can see how and why she thinks the way she does via her inner monologue.

I actually enjoy her as a character. I'll be sad to see her go.

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For me, all of cersei's decisions boil down to one factor, she thinks she knows better than everyone else and hence should get to do whatever she wants. She cannot go past that, and lacks empathy for anyone who is not her. She is extremely myopic in her thinking and hence feels very one dimensional to me. She just isn't interesting to read for me.

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I agree with your general premise. Regardless of anything else, a lot of work and thought have gone into the characterization of Cersei Lannister. 

I would like to add a few things. Any feeling Cersei has revolves mostly around herself. So the question of whether she loves her children or Jaime might be more of a matter of definition. 

I also think that all the hatred and resentment she spews in all directions is actually born from Tywin. He is the ultimate source of everything she considers having gone wrong with her life, but because she views with almost superstitious reverence she can't hate him. There various turns of the phrase that suggest that in Feast like when she lumps Tywin with the rest of the Hands that have been troublesome for her. So she hates everyone else and in particular, Tyrion. Not only does she hate because of Tywin, she hates him in Tywin's stead. After all Tyrion has been Tywin's proxy and he is the one in her immediately family she can and wants to pour her resentment into.

That is because Tywin is the only person she well and truly fears. 

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One problem a lot of fans seemed to have with Cersei’s character was the introduction of the Maggy the Frog prophecy. I think you offer a nice breakdown of why she isnt one dimensional. Tbh i don’t feel the prophecy adds anything to her character and possibly ought to have been left out, have Cersei’s experiences and upbringing shape her paranoia and personality

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On 6/5/2019 at 2:03 AM, HelenaExMachina said:

One problem a lot of fans seemed to have with Cersei’s character was the introduction of the Maggy the Frog prophecy. I think you offer a nice breakdown of why she isnt one dimensional. Tbh i don’t feel the prophecy adds anything to her character and possibly ought to have been left out, have Cersei’s experiences and upbringing shape her paranoia and personality

I consider the prophecy to be equivalent to Littlefinger's Braavosi great grandfather, in narrative terms. What I mean by that, is that Martin had established Baelish to be a well connected individual abroad by having him employing foreigners and in particular having connections in Braavos having served as a merchant authority in Gulltown, which would see the majority of its traffic from Braavos. In terms of plot continuity this is a perfectly reasonable setup for having him interact with Braavosi individuals in the future. This setup however, is something that the casual reader would probably miss, while a shield with the Titan's head as a sigil is much more memorable. In short having a Braavosi sellsword for a great grandfather, on its own, does not justify Baelish having connections in Braavos, his own career does. However the former draws attention to the Braavosi connections that are likely to come into play in Littlefinger's future. 

In a similar fashion, while a lot of consideration has gone into Cersei’s characterization and circumstances in order to have her plausibly act the way she does, she does act irrationally from a third party perspective. So Martin's answer was to take Cersei’s fear and aspirations and have them told to Cersei as prophecy twenty years ago by a hedge witch. Obviously it is not one of his most popular choices. In terms of characterization it is quite unnecessary. Her preoccupation with it can be seen as insight into her frame of mind. Other characters, like Dany and Jon have to deal with prophecies and portents and do not base their actions on them to the exclusion of anything else. In any case it hasn't played out quite just yet. As an element I think it plays more in the dramatic aspect of the story rather than the rational character and plot progression. 

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I don't know about one dimensional, but I think the traits readers find most unpalatable for Cersei are her arrogant selfishness, muderous incompetence and elitism/extreme contempt for anyone who isn't Jaime, her kids or Tywin (especially the smallfolk). Her chapters can be difficult to read because she thinks she is so much smarter and competent than she is in fact. "Loving her children" does not make up for these traits.

What I find confusing about GRRM's writing of Cersei is the rapid decline of Cersei's competence after Game of Thrones. We know Ned was terrible as a political operative but Cersei trounces him with ease yet proves time and time again from ACOK through ADWD her incompetence. You could possibly argue that she has a "low cunning" allowing her to be a good enough tactian to outmanuever the hapless Ned while being a terrible long term strategist. You could also attribute this to a personality disorder or a swift descent into madness and alcoholism. None of these explanations fully satisfy me.

While I agree with previous posters that Robert's abuse and her terrible relationship with him played a role in her decline, I think having Tywin as her primary role model for her entire life is main source of her toxicity, from her arrogance to her paranoid preoccupation with Tyrion. She was toxic before Robert -- I don't think the death of Melara (only other witness to Maggy the Frog's prophecies) drowning in a well was an accident.

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On 6/3/2019 at 5:50 PM, Apoplexy said:

For me, all of cersei's decisions boil down to one factor, she thinks she knows better than everyone else and hence should get to do whatever she wants. She cannot go past that, and lacks empathy for anyone who is not her. She is extremely myopic in her thinking and hence feels very one dimensional to me. She just isn't interesting to read for me.

Basically this.

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I think the short answer to this question is people tend to think that you have to be morally grey to be multidimensional, and since Cersei is definitely on the darkest end of the spectrum, then she cannot be complex. It's faulty logic on all accounts but I feel that's how most people apprehend it.

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1 hour ago, HairGrowsBack said:

I think the short answer to this question is people tend to think that you have to be morally grey to be multidimensional, and since Cersei is definitely on the darkest end of the spectrum, then she cannot be complex. It's faulty logic on all accounts but I feel that's how most people apprehend it.

I agree that one does not have to be grey to be multi dimensional. But that's not the reason for me saying she is one dimensional. All her actions and motivations are very easily explained. One does not need to work too hard to figure her out.

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