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Will Roslin Frey die in childbirth?


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I'm rereading Storm of Swords and I noticed that Catelyn thinks Roslin's frame is too small to be that successful in child-bearing. I know a lot of people, including myself, put a lot of stock in Catelyn's observations about this sort of thing (see also, Westerling, Jeyne).

One of the biggest arguments you can make against wiping out House Frey is that not all Freys were in on the Red Wedding, including Roslin and her unborn child. But does anyone suspect that Martin might solve that problem on his own by having Roslin and the child die during the delivery? We already know the girl's frame isn't robust. I can see a lot of the other families using the deaths as "evidence" that the Freys are cursed. It clears out a pair of "good Freys" without them being killed by UnCat or whatever, and, depending on Edmure's survival and remarriage, it puts Riverrun in play to be inherited by one of the Stark kids.

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I think this is a pretty good theory. I've been arguing for a while that I think Sansa will inherit Riverrun and the title of Lady Tully, and this fits right into that. Edmure is a dead man walking anyway -- especially now that Jaime's gone on to his final rest. I was thinking that Cersei or another Lannister might kill the babe too since Roslin's being sent to Casterly Rock but this works much better.

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One of the biggest arguments you can make against wiping out House Frey is that not all Freys were in on the Red Wedding, including Roslin and her unborn child.

I'm pretty sure Roslin knew what was going to happen. That's why she was in a sulk throughout the wedding ceremony.

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I'm pretty sure Roslin knew what was going to happen. That's why she was in a sulk throughout the wedding ceremony.

Yeah, I'm actually reading the scene now and you're right, she seems like she knew it was coming. All the same though, she's usually lumped into the "Good Frey" pile and I think she genuinely loves or is at least fond of Edmure.

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I'm pretty sure Roslin knew what was going to happen. That's why she was in a sulk throughout the wedding ceremony.

She knew and helped, for sure.

However, many people have speculated that the mothers who die in childbirth give birth to significant children: Tyrion, Jon, Dany. If that's the case and Roslin dies, her child may be very significant.

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I actually think they'd go ahead and kill him.

yeah but aren't they going to kill him if Roslin gives birth to a son? Of course you're right it would be logical to kill Edmure, but I am hopeful that the death of Roslin would be a good impetus for Edmure escaping.

Crack Pot Theory:

Stannis will ask Theon, Asha and Aeron to rescue Edmure from Casterly Rock.

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My own personal theory is that Lady Stoneheart, on her neverending quest to murder all Freys, will eventually hunt Roslin down and have her murdered for her part in the Red Wedding, and kill the child too because she is a cold unfeeling zombie and that's what they do. Edmure, who seems to actually love Roslin despite all reason not to, will hate her forever, and will go on to sire different children by another mother and teach those children to hate the Starks as the bring nothing but death and strife. Thus Houses Tully and Stark, which were once bound by the closest of ties, will in the next generation become the most bitter of enemies.

Since Roslin dying in childbed mucks up my above theory I don't want it to happen. It just seems a little too convenient and cowardly for this serious. We haven't shied away from showing tough moral decisions and their ramifications on characters before, and I would hate to start now by taking an easy out with regards to a good Frey.

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But even if Roslin and the child both died, and Edmure either was killed or never married again, wouldn't Bran or Rickon be heir to Riverrun rather than Sansa?

Personally, I would love to see Sansa inherit the Tully holdings and title; especially since she resembles the Tullys....

Bran's probably never coming south of the Wall again; he's going to be a tree. Holdings are rarely combined and it would be unlikely that Rickon would hold Riverrun and Winterfell. Sansa would be the most likely to inherit it.
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Bran's probably never coming south of the Wall again; he's going to be a tree. Holdings are rarely combined and it would be unlikely that Rickon would hold Riverrun and Winterfell. Sansa would be the most likely to inherit it.

Sansa makes sense to hold it, symbolically, given the Littlefinger connection.

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Catelyn goes and asks the Frey's maester about this, though. He assures Catelyn that Roslin's mother was just as petite as Roslin is herself and she was able to successfully bear five living children. I think that this conversation shows that Roslin will survive childbirth and bear a healthy child, thereby signing her husband's death warrent.

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I had guessed that perhaps the baby would die, and possibly Roslin. It's an interesting and likely theory.

That being said...having Roslin and/or the baby die might seem too easy....I wonder if instead, Roslin has the baby (A boy or girl) and she is secretly taken away by a quiet ally. Brynden Tully is still out and about, who knows what he is cooking up?

The baby *is* the cousin of Sansa, Bran, Robb, Arya and Rickon after all, which might mean something in the long run.

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Catelyn goes and asks the Frey's maester about this, though. He assures Catelyn that Roslin's mother was just as petite as Roslin is herself and she was able to successfully bear five living children. I think that this conversation shows that Roslin will survive childbirth and bear a healthy child, thereby signing her husband's death warrent.

Or it could be the conversation that lets readers think she'll bear living children without trouble, before Martin pulls the rug out.

Remember that Catelyn asked this before the RW but after it had been planned. Who knows if the maester had any ulterior motives. I wouldn't put any stock into that conversation, honestly.

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