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Mummers dragons and manticore mesmerism.


Sandy Clegg

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I was thinking of the prophecy of the Mummer's Dragon, which most people seem happy to resolve as being Aegon (or Faegon) as he may be a 'fake' Tagaryen/Blackfyre pretender (take your pick). 

But Jorah's definition is somewhat more interesting and may give a broader meaning:

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"A dead man in the prow of a ship, a blue rose, a banquet of blood . . . what does any of it mean, Khaleesi? A mummer's dragon, you said. What is a mummer's dragon, pray?"

"A cloth dragon on poles," Dany explained. "Mummers use them in their follies, to give the heroes something to fight."

It seems that just as a dragon can sometimes mean a gold coin, or a comet in the sky, it can also be a general term meaning 'enemy'. Just as we might describe someone with a hidden talent as a 'dark horse' or someone treacherous as a 'snake in the grass', a 'mummer's dragon' in Westeros terms is something akin to an enemy that has been conjured up with the sole purpose of being easily defeated. Or as a distraction from real enemies, perhaps. 

So in this scenario we can say that Dany is the 'hero' and the mummer's dragon is an enemy that she is facing which in fact poses no threat. Immediately after Jorah tells us of this, we get the scene where a Sorrowful Man tries to assassinate Dany with a manticore. It is here that Arstan (Barristan) and Strong Belwas come to her rescue, thereby winning her trust. Could this scene in fact be the 'mummer's dragon' trick been employed? 

Well, I personally found it odd that just before this scene takes place, Jorah leads Dany to the bronze-seller's stall.

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As they made their way toward the next quay, Ser Jorah laid a hand against the small of her back. "Your Grace. You are being followed. No, do not turn." He guided her gently toward a brass-seller's booth. "This is a noble work, my queen," he proclaimed loudly, lifting a large platter for her inspection. "See how it shines in the sun?"

The brass was polished to a high sheen. Dany could see her face in it . . . and when Ser Jorah angled it to the right, she could see behind her. "I see a fat brown man and an older man with a staff. Which is it?"

- ACOK, Daenerys V

The trader is trying to sell her the bronze plate (which Jorah uses as a mirror), and as she refuses to buy it, he reduces the price constantly, starting at 30, then 20, 8, 5, 4, 2 ... and just as he would have reached '1', the Sorrowful Man enters and presents the 'deadly' manticore.

Quote

"Two honors! Two! Two!" The merchant was panting heavily from the effort of running backward.

"Pay him before he kills himself," Dany told Ser Jorah, wondering what she was going to do with a huge brass platter. She turned back as he reached for his coins, intending to put an end to this mummer's farce. The blood of the dragon would not be herded through the bazaar by an old man and a fat eunuch.

A Qartheen stepped into her path. "Mother of Dragons, for you." He knelt and thrust a jewel box into her face.

Notice that the merchant with the brass mirror has been running backwards all this time, trying to maintain Dany's eye contact with the reflection. Dany even reflects that all this is something of a 'mummer's farce'. And then the manticore attack.

Is Dany being subject to some kind of hypnotism in this scene? What is Jorah's part in this? It is he who tells Dany to stare into the polished brass after all, holding her attention on the figures behind her until the countdown can reach its end. 

I'm possibly being overly suspicious, but this scene to me feels very much like subtle manipulation of Dany. 

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