From Pawn to Player? Rereading Sansa III

[childofsummer]

About the unkiss: Sansa seems to be assembling in her head the main components of a Westerosi wedding. She saves Sandor's cloak and she convinces herself that he kissed her. She does not go so far as to think he said, "with this kiss I pledge my love," but she definitely thinks of him in a protective role and wishes he were there. There was even blood involved (Westerosi weddings seem to be unusually dangerous). So even if the wedding she has unconsciously created never happens, I see the unkiss as a strong indicator of what Sansa wants in a husband.

That being the case, the parallel between the Hound and Willas makes her acceptance and anticipation of the Willas option more understandable. I admired the grace and maturity with which she transferred her dreams to Willas, and determined that she would win his love. It shows her taking charge of the marriage which, while infinitely more pleasant a prospect than the one to Joff, is nevertheless pushed on her, and deciding to shape it in the best possible way. Rather than resenting yet another forced action, or deciding to fight it, circumvent it, or otherwise make "them" sorry that they did this to her (Cersei), she sees the reality of her situation and chooses to make it into something positive. Sansa's optimism is not a sign of stupidity or immaturity; rather, it is a strength - a graceful and effective way of dealing with the world.

[Fragile Bird]

:agree: :agree:

Assembling the components of a Westerosi wedding? Brilliant observation!

[brashcandy]

Seriously, Sansa Stark is just a badass :lol:

[brashcandy]

About the unkiss: Sansa seems to be assembling in her head the main components of a Westerosi wedding. She saves Sandor's cloak and she convinces herself that he kissed her. She does not go so far as to think he said, "with this kiss I pledge my love," but she definitely thinks of him in a protective role and wishes he were there. There was even blood involved (Westerosi weddings seem to be unusually dangerous). So even if the wedding she has unconsciously created never happens, I see the unkiss as a strong indicator of what Sansa wants in a husband.

That being the case, the parallel between the Hound and Willas makes her acceptance and anticipation of the Willas option more understandable. I admired the grace and maturity with which she transferred her dreams to Willas, and determined that she would win his love. It shows her taking charge of the marriage which, while infinitely more pleasant a prospect than the one to Joff, is nevertheless pushed on her, and deciding to shape it in the best possible way. Rather than resenting yet another forced action, or deciding to fight it, circumvent it, or otherwise make "them" sorry that they did this to her (Cersei), she sees the reality of her situation and chooses to make it into something positive. Sansa's optimism is not a sign of stupidity or immaturity; rather, it is a strength - a graceful and effective way of dealing with the world.

Wonderfully said COS :) And to add to your great point about her assembling wedding components, to which the unkiss is a big part, there's also elements of the bedding there too. The bloody cloak symbolising lost virginity.

[Maroucia]

About the unkiss: Sansa seems to be assembling in her head the main components of a Westerosi wedding. She saves Sandor's cloak and she convinces herself that he kissed her. She does not go so far as to think he said, "with this kiss I pledge my love," but she definitely thinks of him in a protective role and wishes he were there. There was even blood involved (Westerosi weddings seem to be unusually dangerous). So even if the wedding she has unconsciously created never happens, I see the unkiss as a strong indicator of what Sansa wants in a husband.

That being the case, the parallel between the Hound and Willas makes her acceptance and anticipation of the Willas option more understandable. I admired the grace and maturity with which she transferred her dreams to Willas, and determined that she would win his love. It shows her taking charge of the marriage which, while infinitely more pleasant a prospect than the one to Joff, is nevertheless pushed on her, and deciding to shape it in the best possible way. Rather than resenting yet another forced action, or deciding to fight it, circumvent it, or otherwise make "them" sorry that they did this to her (Cersei), she sees the reality of her situation and chooses to make it into something positive. Sansa's optimism is not a sign of stupidity or immaturity; rather, it is a strength - a graceful and effective way of dealing with the world.

Love that!

The cloak is the only accessories needed for the Westerosi wedding, isn’t? No ring? So apart from the Septon and the prayers, nothing is missing. Well, at least in her memory! :drunk:

[childofsummer]

Love that!

The cloak is the only accessories needed for the Westerosi wedding, isn’t? No ring? So apart from the Septon and the prayers, nothing is missing. Well, at least in her memory! :drunk:

Ah, but she had a prayer, too - her song! :D

[brashcandy]

You never cease to amaze me with your analysis, you are so good! I'll have more to say later, but for now I just wanted to mention I've just come back from seeing the travelling Game of Thrones exhibit (the one with the throne!) and they have a large, clear and crisp picture of Sansa. Seeing her in the series I always thought, yah, she's cute, but this picture has her with her long auburn hair hanging down and let me tell you she's drop dead gorgeous. And of course she's a good 5 or 6 years older than our little Sansa, so she really looks like a future queen, like a young Elizabeth l or Victoria.

Thanks, FB :) Yeah, Sophie Turner is really beautiful. I can't wait to see how she blossoms on later seasons.

[Yvonesan]

Going back a number of pages initially, hope no one will mind...

If Willas is the man that his sister and grandmother say he is (and I don't think they lied, at least not completely), then he could at least give Sansa a good life. And love could blossom, it did between Sansa's parents.

This could be the case but the issue I have with it is that it's just a chance that love might develop for Sansa with a man she doesn't yet know. And really, love is the place that a marriage should start with, not just a hope that it might become the reality. If we don't meet Willas very soon (haven't read ADWD yet but I don't think he has appeared already... even if he has, it may already be too late for me to believe he's the right man), then I don't want to accept him for Sansa since her thoughts of him so far have only been brief (naturally, since she hasn't met him).

I'm thinking Sansa may also be quite content to stay Alayne and live a nice quiet life OUTSIDE of the game.

I'd be quite happy with this for Sansa, if it means that she finds happiness and freedom in doing so. Though I'm not fond of the idea that she remains as Alayne since LF created it for her and she currently remains as his captive. Another alias instead perhaps, if need be.

Yvonessen - thanks for the offer to do an avatar for me. That's so nice. I think I am going to try and see what I can come up with on my own now that I have some ideas of how to do it, and if I have trouble I'll let you know.

:thumbsup: No problem Elba.

Interestingly, we have been told that GRRM thinks of all the Stark children as wargs, but with various degrees of skill at it. This means that even Sansa is to a degree a warg. It's interesting to note that Sandor is either referred to directly as "Dog" or as a rabid animal. I doubt Sansa's warging will ever be as prominent as Bran's or Jon's, but it raises interesting questions regarding mental/spiritual connections and what is possible in that realm. The Stark children seem to have prophetic dreams all of them (well, we don't get a Robb or Rickon POV, but the rest do), perhaps linked to their warging abilities? Sansa's abilities seem to be the weakest so far, which is only natural since she lost Lady, but Sandor does appear in her dreams, in the capability or advisor/protector.

It's also possible that we don't yet know what Sansa'a capabilities are as a warg. Perhaps she's been warging already but doesn't realize it herself and as a result, we don't get the full picture as readers yet.

I like the thought about the Starks' prophetic dreams, considering what Sansa has already dreamed about. ;)

We also see her reflect on the UnKiss with Sandor.

However rather than just mention the kiss as a passing thought, she expands on it and almost romanticizes what was actually quite a traumatic encounter. It is especially important as the kiss didn’t happen in the first place. Now this is a major mis-memory and a purposeful one by the author. Is the reason for it to illustrate that Sansa is an unreliable narrator or does it signify Sansa and Sandor meeting again and the unkiss having some fallout at that point, or does it signify something else entirely?

Also it is interesting that Sandor asks for a song. For a grown man to request a song is in and of itself is more akin to Sansa’s songs and stories than real life. In real life men do not request songs. Knights do not care about songs.

That's true. The more I think about it, the more I feel that we don't really know what happened. It feels as if there's something missing from that episode, something that occurred that we haven't been told about yet. Sandor asking for a song may even be part of Sansa's mis-memory? Or is it something that Sandor needed for reasons we don't fully understand yet?

3. Are we sure that this is Sansa's first kiss? I mean has not Joff demanded a kiss from her? Hasn't her Florian? I really think there is little evidence that she has fantasized this kiss from what she desired to happen. At the time, she is very put off by Sandor's stench, and she's quite afraid. This doesn't seem to promote unconscious wishes, but maybe this is just my own conclusion.

First unkiss or kiss? :P I think you make a good point. There's no doubt that there's a connection between the two but it isn't until later on that Sansa starts fantasizing about him. Was the unkiss a part of her warging abilities? And if so, why?

[Grail King]

Catching up on the thread, here. I have three areas of reflection.

1. Is Sansa a weak warg? Her connection to Lady was very strong, and what's more, Lady's behavior was less wolffish than her fellows'. Can we not infer then that Sansa actually had a great deal of control over her? Tamed wolves are not completely unknown, but they are not domestic animals. It would not be so easy for a girl with no training experience to affect such a complete transformation without a little help, I'm thinking. Maybe she has vast warging potential.

2. Is Willas's impairment enough to make him less than desirable to the women his parents would accept as his bride? I keep thinking about Elia dismissing that one guy because he broke wind and Tywin insisting Cersei look only at king-material. Maybe the Tyrells have been keeping Willas in reserve for daughters of High lords, but those girls have better fish to fry, like Joff, Robb, Edmure. Maybe his age and limp simply put him at the bottom of their lists, while girls who would be thrilled to have him don't even make his own? I can see Arianne laughing in his face.

3. Are we sure that this is Sansa's first kiss? I mean has not Joff demanded a kiss from her? Hasn't her Florian? I really think there is little evidence that she has fantasized this kiss from what she desired to happen. At the time, she is very put off by Sandor's stench, and she's quite afraid. This doesn't seem to promote unconscious wishes, but maybe this is just my own conclusion.

All the Stark kids are wargs some stronger than others, many consider Sansa the weakest, but if she did have total control of Lady to the extent that Lady would not defend her self then Sansa may be a stronger warg then most of us think.

@Brashcandy- I'm thinking about the animal symbolism, I liked the fruit symbolism from another thread but I think right now, a duck just may be a duck.

[brashcandy]

All the Stark kids are wargs some stronger than others, many consider Sansa the weakest, but if she did have total control of Lady to the extent that Lady would not defend her self then Sansa may be a stronger warg then most of us think.

@Brashcandy- I'm thinking about the animal symbolism, I liked the fruit symbolism from another thread but I think right now, a duck just may be a duck.

You may be right :D

[brashcandy]

This could be the case but the issue I have with it is that it's just a chance that love might develop for Sansa with a man she doesn't yet know. And really, love is the place that a marriage should start with, not just a hope that it might become the reality. If we don't meet Willas very soon (haven't read ADWD yet but I don't think he has appeared already... even if he has, it may already be too late for me to believe he's the right man), then I don't want to accept him for Sansa since her thoughts of him so far have only been brief (naturally, since she hasn't met him).

@Yvonesan - I wholeheartedly agree with this. Whilst she would have been entering the marriage to Willas with a lot more hope and good will, I still don't think this was an ideal situation for Sansa. Her determination to make Willas love her tells us alot about Sansa's nature, but ultimately my hope is that when she marries it will be with someone she is certain already loves her.

[childofsummer]

All the Stark kids are wargs some stronger than others, many consider Sansa the weakest, but if she did have total control of Lady to the extent that Lady would not defend her self then Sansa may be a stronger warg then most of us think.

@Brashcandy- I'm thinking about the animal symbolism, I liked the fruit symbolism from another thread but I think right now, a duck just may be a duck.

Or... a dragon?

[crackpot]Extra, extra, read all about it! Sansa "Dragonslayer" Stark singlehandedly drives the dragons to the North, where they freeze into ice statutes after roasting the Others, thus ending the cycle of messed-up seasons![/crackpot]

[Lyanna Stark]

Well yes she is scared but......she also (like with multiple other scenes) is able to see PAST the situation and see what lies beneath....if that makes sense.

She shows this with her subsequent compassion when she sings him that song and touches his cheek.

So perhaps, later, with time, she is able to fully think back and realise the situation wasn't as "scary and dangerous" as she initially perceived. Just as she reflects on how he wasn't craven, just afraid of the fire.

I think you're right, since a lot of Sansa's character arc is to stop looking at the surface and how things are portrayed, but to penetrate that and see what lies beneath (i.e. "smell the lies" as Sandor tells her).

It's also true that she doesn't look back at the situation with fear, nor does she fear the Hound. She does the opposite, in fact. Her 12-13 year old self doesn't want to see his point of view when he says "I am honest, it's the world that's awful", but I think her older self will come to understand it far better.

That being the case, the parallel between the Hound and Willas makes her acceptance and anticipation of the Willas option more understandable. I admired the grace and maturity with which she transferred her dreams to Willas, and determined that she would win his love. It shows her taking charge of the marriage which, while infinitely more pleasant a prospect than the one to Joff, is nevertheless pushed on her, and deciding to shape it in the best possible way.

This is such a good point, I just felt the need for a :agree:

This could be the case but the issue I have with it is that it's just a chance that love might develop for Sansa with a man she doesn't yet know. And really, love is the place that a marriage should start with, not just a hope that it might become the reality.

I'm doubtful we'll see another major character introduced this late and I think GRRM has confirmed somewhere that the major characters have been introduced early on (AGOT/ACOK). Of course, Sansa may still marry someone else, but I doubt it will be for love in that case, but as a marriage of convenience and hopefully in that case as a husband she can "move" as a piece in the Game of Thrones. But who knows? Happy marriages don't seem too common in Westeros. :(

I still hope that Sansa will be able to marry for love, since she is getting more and more convinced the only reason anyone ever wants to marry her is for her claim to Winterfell without anyone ever having any interest in her as a person (or in loving her). Interestingly again, Sandor doesn't seem to give two sods for her claim, he saw a bullied girl and wanted to keep her safe from harm. So far, he is the only one outside of her immediate family to see her as anything but a pawn in the Game of Thrones. Even Tyrion is too much Tywin's son to not see her as a pawn, even if he does sympathise with her to a degree.

All the Stark kids are wargs some stronger than others, many consider Sansa the weakest, but if she did have total control of Lady to the extent that Lady would not defend her self then Sansa may be a stronger warg then most of us think.

Another really good point. I always got the feelings the Direwolves took on some traits from their masters, i.e. Lady was the gentle wolf, but one wonders what will happen when Sansa comes into her own and hopefully gets a replacement for Lady and what it will say about her change in personality. She's already shown a stronger connection with the North (praying in the Godswood, building a castle of snow, thinking of Winterfell with longing)

[Morte]

Just some things on Sansa's interactions and thoughts with/on the Tyrells:

I think a lot in Sansa's interaction with Marg shows, that they already decided on killing Joff off; maybe they asking Sansa about the truth was just to see if the tales LF had fed them there true?

However, not all of the girls are in the plan, as is shown by Meggas commentary:

Megga comments on Joff’s beautiful lips and how Sansa must have wept when she lost him.

So maybe this is a hint that also not all (if any) of the male Tyrells are told the plan? (IMHO Mace, Loras and most likely Willas have no clue about that is going on)

She thinks that when she told Ser Dontos of the marriage to Willas, she had thought he would be pleased, but he told her that she shouldn’t marry him and that He begs her to forget about the Tyrells and says the escape plans are made for Joffrey’s wedding night and that is not so long to wait. Sansa rebukes him by saying something could go wrong and that when she wanted to escape he wouldn’t take her and now there is no need because Willas will protect her.

Dontos tells her that the Tyrells care nothing for her

He pleads with her again, not to change their plans, but Sansa wrenches free from his grasp and since then had not visited the Godswood.

I think that Dontos warning is indeed serious and no whispering from LF (as I also believe that he truely thought that he will save Sansa with LF's help). I also don't know if Dontos did have to tell LF about the marriage plan; most likely the Tyrells have talked this over with LF, believing him on their side (or at least not completely on Lannister's side), so he would have known about it sooner than Dontos - this would also explain why the Lannisters are already acting against it, as he would have informed Tywin already (We don't know how much time has past between Sansa telling Dontos and her getting a new dress, but I somehow don't think it was enough for Dontos to tell LF, and then LF somehow telling Cersei or Tywin - isn't he already "on his way to the Vale" at this moment?).

So LF would have doublecrossed the Tyrells the moment he arrived in King's Landing.

Her notions of married life are still slightly whimsical to a degree however unlike the Sansa on AGOT, she is prepared to love a man who is lame, potentially unattractive and one that might not even love her, just what she represents as a claim. She thinks of her children as being like the family she’s lost and he idea of bringing them up to hate Lannisters, underlines why there was a fundamental problem for her and Tyrion as a couple. Her thought that she can maybe make Willas love her for herself, is both pragmatic and sad. Even sadder still is the dress she is having made, that she hopes to woo Willas in, is the very dress that will shatter her dreams of a beautiful wedding and happy marriage or even a happy married life.

Edit: Also I forgot to note that it is evident that the seamstress knows that it is a wedding dress. She has to stop herself from letting something slip. How many people actually knew about the wedding before hand, whilst Sansa was left in the dark?

With that I stated above and that we will learn later about the planing of the RW, I think that Tywin and Cersei planed this wedding for some time now: It's interesting that not only Sansa doesn't know of it, but that Tywin does also inform Tyrion about this plan just a little ahead of Sansa. I think this has two reasons:

1. Tyrion shouldn't have the time to think about it.

2. I will elaborate on this later, then we come to the chapters past the RW, but I think that Tywin did not only meant to chain Sansa forever to the Lannisters, but also to cheat Tyrion into this marriage, while already (and most likely with LF) planing the RW and the Bolton-"Arya"-Coup. This way destroying all plans and dreams Tyrion had in his head, then accepting the marriage.

Actually, this plan was very cruel for both of them.

Perhaps it's the warg in her making her "see" her actual brothers and Arya (as they are actually NOT dead and neither is Arya). It seems the other Stark children also have this dream power to see, or feel, eachother remotely, perhaps through the warginess.It also makes sense that Sansa's ability will be fairly weak compared to the more "northern" siblings Jon, Arya and Bran who have more tangible visions and direct interactions.

Someone (on the boards) stated that, according to GRRM, Sansa's weaker warg-abilities manifest themself in being empathic, which would be very fitting IMHO - but I don't know, if the statement is valid.

[Grail King]

I think you're right, since a lot of Sansa's character arc is to stop looking at the surface and how things are portrayed, but to penetrate that and see what lies beneath (i.e. "smell the lies" as Sandor tells her).

It's also true that she doesn't look back at the situation with fear, nor does she fear the Hound. She does the opposite, in fact. Her 12-13 year old self doesn't want to see his point of view when he says "I am honest, it's the world that's awful", but I think her older self will come to understand it far better.

This is such a good point, I just felt the need for a :agree:

I'm doubtful we'll see another major character introduced this late and I think GRRM has confirmed somewhere that the major characters have been introduced early on (AGOT/ACOK). Of course, Sansa may still marry someone else, but I doubt it will be for love in that case, but as a marriage of convenience and hopefully in that case as a husband she can "move" as a piece in the Game of Thrones. But who knows? Happy marriages don't seem too common in Westeros. :(

I still hope that Sansa will be able to marry for love, since she is getting more and more convinced the only reason anyone ever wants to marry her is for her claim to Winterfell without anyone ever having any interest in her as a person (or in loving her). Interestingly again, Sandor doesn't seem to give two sods for her claim, he saw a bullied girl and wanted to keep her safe from harm. So far, he is the only one outside of her immediate family to see her as anything but a pawn in the Game of Thrones. Even Tyrion is too much Tywin's son to not see her as a pawn, even if he does sympathise with her to a degree.

Another really good point. I always got the feelings the Direwolves took on some traits from their masters, i.e. Lady was the gentle wolf, but one wonders what will happen when Sansa comes into her own and hopefully gets a replacement for Lady and what it will say about her change in personality. She's already shown a stronger connection with the North (praying in the Godswood, building a castle of snow, thinking of Winterfell with longing)

You may not want to know who I think will replace Lady but here I go--------------

NYMERIA :leaving: or one of her pack

[Christina Ceriddwynn]

but....but.....who would Arya have, then???? :(

[Grail King]

but....but.....who would Arya have, then???? :(

I don't want to stray from the Sansa thread soooooo you'll have to think it out, though I don't want any more Stark demise there is that possibility :frown5:

[Christina Ceriddwynn]

I vote Sansa already has a dog...hound.....;)

she does always manage to find the dogs wherever she goes.....

[Wouter]

I'd be quite happy with this for Sansa, if it means that she finds happiness and freedom in doing so. Though I'm not fond of the idea that she remains as Alayne since LF created it for her and she currently remains as his captive. Another alias instead perhaps, if need be.

I don't think Sansa could possibly stay Alayne indefinitely (though another alias, with matching identity, would be possible - I think unlikely though). It seems to me that Alayne Stone is, in this thread, generally thought to be a relative anonymous person not on the radar of high ranking nobles. But, Alayne Stone is well known to the upper nobility of the Vale already, is as good as bethroted to the heir of the entire Vale, is very close to the present (young and sickly) lord of the Vale and is the daughter (and no doubt, presumed to be eventual heir through what must seem obvious legitimisation planned) of the lord-protector of the Vale, lord-paramount of the Riverlands and lord of Harrenhal. Even just plain Alayne Stone is already nearly as high ranking as Sansa ever was; she's not comparable with Mya Stone, who wasn't "good enough" for marriage to a middling lord.

Moreover, plenty of people know who she really is, like Lothor Brune and Littlefinger himself. Other people probably suspect it, will come to suspect it or have already guessed it (Shadrich, Randa Royce, maybe Mya Stone or the Eyrie Maester). In what seems like an inevitable eventual conflict with Littlefinger, her identity is very likely to be exposed as a result.

And even should that not happen, Sansa could be recognised by a lot of people (Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, the Blackfish, Edmure, Pod, Sandor, all her own siblings, Margeary and many others of the Tyrell group, Ellaria, lots of KL/Lannister guards and servants and maids,...). "Alayne" would have a hard time to avoid all of those people in the coming years. Especially since Sansa is being sought actively by the BWB/Stoneheart and Cersei's bountyhunters already, and Tyrion/Dany and probably Stannis and/or her siblings are likely to look out for her later.

To stay hidden, Sansa would need another new identity alltogether, not a high-profile position as Litlefinger's mysterious "sudden" daughter.

On a meta-level, I don't think the author intents for Sansa to stay hidden. This re-read has illustrated that Sansa seems to be groomed for a role as queen or at least lady of a major keep or a region, and letting Sansa end up in an inn somewhere (as Jaime suggested) would turn all that to naught. If any Stark stays hidden it would be Arya, in my view.

Just some things on Sansa's interactions and thoughts with/on the Tyrells:

I think a lot in Sansa's interaction with Marg shows, that they already decided on killing Joff off; maybe they asking Sansa about the truth was just to see if the tales LF had fed them there true?

The Tyrell women wanted confirmation before they went so far as to have Joffrey murdered; it was prudent to double-check LF's tales. If Sansa had convincingly denied the tales, the plan would presumably not have been carried out. In that sense, Sansa did doom Joffrey with her words.

With that I stated above and that we will learn later about the planing of the RW, I think that Tywin and Cersei planed this wedding for some time now: It's interesting that not only Sansa doesn't know of it, but that Tywin does also inform Tyrion about this plan just a little ahead of Sansa. I think this has two reasons:

1. Tyrion shouldn't have the time to think about it.

2. I will elaborate on this later, then we come to the chapters past the RW, but I think that Tywin did not only meant to chain Sansa forever to the Lannisters, but also to cheat Tyrion into this marriage, while already (and most likely with LF) planing the RW and the Bolton-"Arya"-Coup. This way destroying all plans and dreams Tyrion had in his head, then accepting the marriage.

Actually, this plan was very cruel for both of them.

That's a good point; it had completely missed the point that the seamstress already knew Sansa was to be a bride pretty soon, well before Tyrion did. This re-read is really helpful in uncovering such details that tend to escape notice on less careful reads. It indicates Tywin and Cersei knew about the Willas-Sansa plan very early (not sure if the timeline would still allow Dontos to be the one who talked, or if the Tyrells told LF and he doublecrossed them right away as you think) and they did spring a surprise on Tyrion almost as much as they did on Sansa later.

Regarding Bolton-"Arya", I do think Tywin intended for Tyrion and Sansa to replace them in due time. Tyrion in control of Winterfell is fine for him; it's the seat of his enemies, not of the Lannisters, and the blood band with Casterly Rock would still help.

Someone (on the boards) stated that, according to GRRM, Sansa's weaker warg-abilities manifest themself in being empathic, which would be very fitting IMHO - but I don't know, if the statement is valid.

I think this is a misunderstanding; GRRM did not state this as far as I recall. Only that each Stark kid is a warg.

[Maroucia]

I think that Dontos warning is indeed serious and no whispering from LF (as I also believe that he truely thought that he will save Sansa with LF's help). I also don't know if Dontos did have to tell LF about the marriage plan; most likely the Tyrells have talked this over with LF, believing him on their side (or at least not completely on Lannister's side), so he would have known about it sooner than Dontos - this would also explain why the Lannisters are already acting against it, as he would have informed Tywin already (We don't know how much time has past between Sansa telling Dontos and her getting a new dress, but I somehow don't think it was enough for Dontos to tell LF, and then LF somehow telling Cersei or Tywin - isn't he already "on his way to the Vale" at this moment?).

I’m not too sure about Dontos being all that well intentioned concerning Sansa. He clearly enjoys the feeling he gets from trying to rescue a damsel in distress, but he would have never done it by himself. It’s kind of like a free ride for him, but he would’ve never bought the ticket.

I see him as being a total moppet, ruled by Petyr. He only liked Sansa as a pretty young girl who helped him get a high of knighthood from time to time, but he didn’t care for her truly. To me, the proof of that is his first reaction when he gets on the boat. As soon as Sansa has been safely delivered to Littlefinger, he don’t even waits a minute, he asks for the money right away and don’t even says good bye to her or anything. No explanations either. Didn’t the girl had the right to know what was happening to her?

That don’t strike me as being the way someone who genially care for you would act…