House Words and The Starks

[Pandean]

So, a while back I decided to do this little character study wherein I took the main family of House Stark (Ned, Cat, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon, Jon) and looked at their characters and then at what house words they seemed to embody the most. Some of them I still have some struggle with thinking of due to either lack of material or my own failings so if you have any advice for the bits I miss then that'd be cool. Either way I hope you like what I have to say or at least want to add your own thoughts. Anyway, here it goes.

 

Ned:

Ned is/was Lord Of Winterfell and Warden of the North but he spent a majority of his childhood/adolescence in the Vale. He was the ward of Jon Arryn, whom while we don't get to meet, we know he was at least considered honorable and diligent. House Arryn's words are As High as Honor and I believe those words fit Ned more than Winter is Coming because Ned is considered an incredibly honorable -- if to the point of stupidity -- character. The honorable Lord Stark. I like to think there's a double meaning to As High As Honor hidden in there; Ned doesn't ring himself down to play courtly politics even when it's crucial and he does judge the 'honor' of other characters or their actions.

 

Catelyn:

This one is pretty easy. Family, Duty. Honor. Most of what Catelyn does, no matter how stupid or misguided, is for her family.

 

Robb:
 

As High as Honor. I think he' been the most influenced by Ned in this regard. We really see this with Jeyne Westerling in ASOS. However, he does have an issue when it comes to honor-- when doing one deed meant to be honorable he breaks another honored oath and vow. We don't really get inside his mind very much but I think that the Arryn words fit him best though if anyone has any other ideas, feel free to share them.

 

Sansa:

Ironically, I feel like Sansa is Winter is Coming. She's the least 'Stark-like' out of all the Starks if you're going by her more Southron nature but she also is very much like Ned in her naivity and belief in honor and knights and fair maidens and the right thing -- except for she becomes disillusioned after Ned dies and now has to survive out the so called 'winter' or hardest part of her life. Over the books we see her prepare by learning how to survive in King's Landing and the Eyrie and through situations another character might've made a fatal misstep for a while. Winter is Coming I think suits her the best because it's a warning versus a boast and it also shows the one thing Starks all know -- endurance in harshness. 

 

Arya:

Arya is Family, Duty, Honor all the way to her very core. Her entire arc can be focused around not only her identity but her finding new families in characters like Gendry or The House of Black and White or any real group of people while she's searching for her real family. Arya's 'family' is not a narrow definition by blood either -- you're her family if she cares about you. Her biggest issue with the Hound is not that he killed Mycah but that Mycah was her friend which meant family which meant the Hound killed her family. Throughout her arc we see her trying to get back to her family and when that seems impossible, she goes and tries to forget herself but still ultimately cannot shed the skin of Arya Stark and her obligation and feelings toward her family. Her entire kill list is based on people who have hurt her or who she considers family. And compared to family, she couldn't care less about honor if it meant her family was safe.

 

Bran:

He's the one I'm not entirely sure of so thoughts would be cool

 

Rickon:

 

Not much is really known about Rickon as a character. He's three in the beginning of the books and they split up at the end of ACOK and we don't really hear from him or about him until a bit later -- though we're not entirely sure if what we hear is really true. He's just not defined enough as a character for this analysis thing.

 

So uh yeah. This is my shitty analysis. Thoughts? Opinions? Ideas? Tomatoes you wanna throw at me?