possible reason why The Hound feels protective of Sansa

[Crown]

Everyone likes Arya more than Sansa.

I disagree.

[TheBull]

so how can you terrify the person who you wanna "protect"? isn't it a bit like what Viserys did to Dany? and he offers to take her with him after sneaking into her room, frightening her, threatening her and trying to kiss her!!!! oh, what a jolly situation :D :D :D

Because he's not someone who will sit Sansa down and sweetly try to get her to see how untrustworthy and cruel people really are? No, he's the type of man who will be brutally honest and shove it in her face so she can't run away from it. Why try to prepare her if he doesn't want to protect her from her own naivete?

Unless Sandor emotionally and physically abused Sansa, no it isn't like Viserys with Dany.

Except that night in her room where he put a knife to her throat and forced her to sing. There is no excuse for that and even he later regrets it.

[Serie]

Because he's not someone who will sit Sansa down and sweetly try to get her to see how untrustworthy and cruel people really are? No, he's the type of man who will be brutally honest and shove it in her face so she can't run away from it. Why try to prepare her if he doesn't want to protect her from her own naivete?

Sansa is a kid, lets not forget that. When you terrify a kid there's no noble cause to justify this. BUT this is my personal opinion.

Unless Sandor emotionally and physically abused Sansa, no it isn't like Viserys with Dany.

he didn't abused her physically but yes, that's my argumentation, that he bullied her emotionally, except this instance you're also mentioning...

Except that night in her room where he put a knife to her throat and forced her to sing. There is no excuse for that and even he later regrets it.

He treats Sansa more like a violent, potential lover rather than a protective figure. That's all I'm saying.

[Lyeder]

I always thought that he wanted her to look at his face because he wanted that she could bear his look. I think that he really likes Sansa almost from the start, but certainly at the tournament when he tells her his story. He wants to be looked at by her - that she see that there is a person behind the scars and that she can see his true face. In a way, confronting her with his uglyness is a way of torturing himself, because she shrugs away from him which is not what he hopes for.

Also, when he makes her sing in that night in the room, I think that he looses patience. He has tried to show her another side of him, to move her to being sort of kind towards him and fears it will never happen. So, he makes it happen: rather a travesty of a song by Sansa than no song at all ever.

[The Taupe Grace]

Agree with Lyeder. He's horribly disfigured and seen by all to be a towering brute - hardly a dashing knight in shining armour that Sansa imagines. Thus, also it's evident that he genuinely cares for her, he also knows that she doesn't see him in the same way, and will always fear him, finally intimidating her with the knife - he wants the appearance of a returned affection, knowing it can never be genuine.

Probably one of the most subtle and complex relationships of the series.

[Serie]

I always thought that he wanted her to look at his face because he wanted that she could bear his look. I think that he really likes Sansa almost from the start, but certainly at the tournament when he tells her his story. He wants to be looked at by her - that she see that there is a person behind the scars and that she can see his true face. In a way, confronting her with his uglyness is a way of torturing himself, because she shrugs away from him which is not what he hopes for.

Also, when he makes her sing in that night in the room, I think that he looses patience. He has tried to show her another side of him, to move her to being sort of kind towards him and fears it will never happen. So, he makes it happen: rather a travesty of a song by Sansa than no song at all ever.

that's an excellent comment!

Yes, I believe what Sandor (partly maybe) wants from Sansa is comfort. But he's a grown up man and she's a little girl, even "in the context" of Westeros. Isn't he aware she's afraid? doesn't he care? is he so obsessed with her and her opinion about him that scaring her doesn't seem important????? and that's exactly I'm saying he doesn't seem protective to me.

He does care for her in his own weird way, no one argues that, but not like an adult man who would care to protect a small girl (remember how OP talked about Rhaenys???) Otherwise he'd care not to cause her discomfort.

[bbqq]

(just like to note, beforehand, that Sandor is one of my favourite characters in the series, which may skew my perception somewhat. :P )

I think that Sandor evidently has feelings for Sansa, due to the fact he's willing to protect her at all. He clearly doesn't have any qualms against harming innocents when ordered to if it doesn't affect him (Mycah), so the only logical conclusion is that he was protecting Sansa because it will affect him. However, I don't think that Sandor is even aware of these feelings himself, and probably isn't able to rationalize why he keeps involving himself with her, due to the fact he doesn't seem to have been shown any affection (platonic or romantic) throughout his entire life, and maybe this explains why his actions towards her vary between pragmatic acts of kindness, drunken boasting, and violent, creepy behaviour. His actions seem to me to be very predictable for an individual who has never had any romantic involvement, in a culture where his reputation (and therefore credibility) is only upheld because he is seen as a brutal, manly type of man.

I'm not in any way excusing any of Sandor's more abusive actions towards Sansa, but I think its his way of trying to express feelings he has absolutely no clue how to express, because he's never had the chance to learn how.

[Nausicaä]

I thought this thread would be about what the Mountain did to their sister/mother. I don't see how Rhaenys and Sansa have similar situations or why the Hound would care for the former.

[Serie]

I thought this thread would be about what the Mountain did to their sister/mother. I don't see how Rhaenys and Sansa have similar situations or why the Hound would care for the former.

that would make sense. But obviously Sandor is not THAT emotional :P

[Torben]

Given the wide-spread disdain for Sansa (apparently mostly because she is a teenage girl that behaves like a teenage girl) and the wide-spread admiration for Arya (because she is a cool tomboy that becomes a badass killer) it would be an interesting subversion if Sansa became a "hero" in the later books based on her growth as a character while Arya descended into being an amoral killer (she is already well on the way). Alas, this is unlikely to happen, as GRRM will have to please his fanbase, which evidently consists mostly of adolescent fanboys.

[romantic]

I think Sandor is very aware of how emotionally immature Sansa is (typical for an 11 yo) and he knows about the GoT and realises she's going to be eaten alive unless she toughens up. All the Starks (including Eddard) are like lambs to the slaughter in King's Landing because they truly believe in honour and honesty so are at a huge disadvantage amongst the sharks. She can't even look at Sandor's face, either because she's shallow and truly revolted by it or because she's kind and sorry for the little boy it happened to (I'm opting for the latter because her kindness is shown again and again but I think Sandor thinks the former).

Remember she was sent off to be married after her flowering (at about 13) to her ideal of a prince. Sandor must know what Joffrey is like and she has to grow up fast and hard to survive, particularly after her father is killed and she is isolated. I think Sandor does have sexual feelings for her but in the context of Westeros, where 11yos are engaged and 13yos are married, then it's not eeww (only in our world it is). Sandor is the only one on her side for most of her time in Kings Landing and, regardless of how he acted on the last night, Sansa feels safe with him and has some feelings for him. IMO out of all the males in the south, Sandor has treated her best because she's a person and not a pawn to him.

I think Sandor also both empathises with, and respects Arya who has grown up faster and more brutally than Sansa. I think he has more paternal feelings towards Arya and would have stayed with her and protected her if he hadn't been so badly injured. Whereas I think he would like her to trust him, IMO he understands why she doesn't trust him and almost everyone else. I think he knows what it is like being on your own at a young age and he tries to toughen her as well.

Sandor is a fascinating character and one of my favourites (no surprise there!) and IMO is one of the few honest (brutally so) and honourable men in Westeros.

[romantic]

Lord Littlefinger's Lash posted Posted Today (8th May) at 07:51

Get the fuck out. Sansa isn't anyone's hope of anything. When did she get beat, threatened and almost raped? And I believe you mean "improbably." There's nothing admirable about her ridiculous "politeness", it's the main reason I hate her.

I think her politeness is like a suit of armour for her as it reduces the likelihood of Joffrey talking offence and getting someone to hit her. She tried honesty in GoT with Joffrey and got hit.

Joffrey said "...After my name-day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your's brother's head."

A kind of madness took over her then , and she heard herself say "Maybe my brother will give me your head."

Then he gets Ser Meryn to hit her twice (my paraphrase).

'Her lip split and blood rained down her chin, to mingle with the salt of her tears.

"You shouldn't be crying all the time," Joffrey told her. "You're more pretty when you smile and laugh."

Joffrey's obviously a psycho and she's got no way to defend herself and no-one to defend her.

Earlier when Ser Meryn is sent to get her, she realises-

Ser Meryn '...did not hate her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all. She was only a ...a thing to him.'

IMO many people, particularly many children, in that position would start to doubt their own sanity. I mean, if no-one else thinks this behaviour is strange, wouldn't anyone start to think there was something wrong with them. Sandor keeps her grounded. Okay he's harsh and not a touch-feely person but she's not a thing to Sandor and he gives her advice and support when he can.

How could she survive without her armour of politeness? If Arya was there, Arya would not have been polite and Arya would not longer be alive or at least whole. I think Sansa does well to survive around a psychopath and she still has the guts to leave after the wedding.

If only she was 5 years older then the thing with Sandor would be pretty intense but then if she was 5 years older she wouldn't be understandably naive but kinda stupid.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

(just like to note, beforehand, that Sandor is one of my favourite characters in the series, which may skew my perception somewhat. :P )

I think that Sandor evidently has feelings for Sansa, due to the fact he's willing to protect her at all. He clearly doesn't have any qualms against harming innocents when ordered to if it doesn't affect him (Mycah), so the only logical conclusion is that he was protecting Sansa because it will affect him. However, I don't think that Sandor is even aware of these feelings himself, and probably isn't able to rationalize why he keeps involving himself with her, due to the fact he doesn't seem to have been shown any affection (platonic or romantic) throughout his entire life, and maybe this explains why his actions towards her vary between pragmatic acts of kindness, drunken boasting, and violent, creepy behaviour. His actions seem to me to be very predictable for an individual who has never had any romantic involvement, in a culture where his reputation (and therefore credibility) is only upheld because he is seen as a brutal, manly type of man.

I'm not in any way excusing any of Sandor's more abusive actions towards Sansa, but I think its his way of trying to express feelings he has absolutely no clue how to express, because he's never had the chance to learn how.

You said it better than I could but I agree with everything you've said. People have always treated Sandor Clegane like a rabid hound on account of his ugliness so he acted like one. I know if I were him I would find it hard to express things like love and affection. Every time I see him on the screen or come across him on the page I can't help but play the sad walking away music from the Incredible Hulk in my head (

). He has inner beauty in there but he just has no way to express it.

[Kittykatknits]

@Kitty. He did not try to take her away from KL.

*ahem* what am I chopped liver? Arya is cool, funny, a badass, etc,etc. But Sansa, she is the hope for Tullys and Starks and will probably be the reason for Cersei and LF's death. Besides how do you get beat, threatend, almost raped, etc etc and still be so fucking polite? Sansa's the cool one.

Before leaving KL, Sandor went to her room and offered to take her away. I could keep you safe. They're all afraid of me. No one would ever hurt you again or I'd kill them.

Of course, in typical Sandor fashion, he butchers his rescue attempt. In aSoS, Sansa even states that she would lay awake at night wondering if she should have taken him up on his offer and left with him.

(just like to note, beforehand, that Sandor is one of my favourite characters in the series, which may skew my perception somewhat. :P )

I think that Sandor evidently has feelings for Sansa, due to the fact he's willing to protect her at all. He clearly doesn't have any qualms against harming innocents when ordered to if it doesn't affect him (Mycah), so the only logical conclusion is that he was protecting Sansa because it will affect him. However, I don't think that Sandor is even aware of these feelings himself, and probably isn't able to rationalize why he keeps involving himself with her, due to the fact he doesn't seem to have been shown any affection (platonic or romantic) throughout his entire life, and maybe this explains why his actions towards her vary between pragmatic acts of kindness, drunken boasting, and violent, creepy behaviour. His actions seem to me to be very predictable for an individual who has never had any romantic involvement, in a culture where his reputation (and therefore credibility) is only upheld because he is seen as a brutal, manly type of man.

I'm not in any way excusing any of Sandor's more abusive actions towards Sansa, but I think its his way of trying to express feelings he has absolutely no clue how to express, because he's never had the chance to learn how.

He is one of my favorite characters as well, love the guy. I agree with you. Sandor left home as a young boy after after being victimized by his older brother. He killed his first man at 12 during the sack of KL and spent the next several years building up the Hound persona. He's emotionally stunted and the only way he knows to communicate is through violence.

There are many reasons why he is protective of her. The most obvious is that her treatment by Joffrey reminds him of his brother. And we know how much he hates his brother.

I believe his attraction to Sansa began during the hand's tourney after she put her hand on his shoulder. For someone like Sandor, this would have a very profound impact on him. He mocks her courtesy even as he admires it as he realizes that it is a genuine part of who she is. She's not a liar like those in KL. I believe he also admires the strength that she displays when it comes to Joffrey. She is brutalized by him yet maintains her dignity and sense of self. Sandor realizes this.

After the riot, he brags that they had him 30 to 1 yet they ran like rats. Again, I think he is communicating that he cares for her through violence, as that is the only language he is comfortable with. Sansa is just to young to understand that.

I do believe that his feelings for Sansa are more than platonic and are even sexual in nature to some extent. To what degree, I don't know and I am not sure that he knows either. He is aware that he is attracted to her but doesn't completely understand what that means. For the record, I don't think he is in love with her as I don't think he is in an emotionally healthy state to be in love. Now, post QI, who knows?

[Eejit]

I thought this thread would be about what the Mountain did to their sister/mother. I don't see how Rhaenys and Sansa have similar situations or why the Hound would care for the former.

Ditto, I suspect Sansa reminds him of his sister. It's a less convoluted idea.

[lojzelote]

Maybe she reminds him of his lost sister?

I would certainly prefer it to SanSan.

[Lyanna Stark]

that would make sense. But obviously Sandor is not THAT emotional :P

Oh, I don't know, he may not seem like it at first, but we get quite a lot of Angst and manly tears from him on three different occasions. I think compared to someone like Tyrion who's actually quite calculating, cold and ruthless (especially inside his own head in ADWD), he shows more emotion on those occasions. Plus it's pretty obvious he hasn't got any idea how to act around Sansa since he's all over the scale between heroic rescue during the riot to mocking her about her courtesy, telling her to go away and stop chirping (after he followed her around!!), making inappropriate comments about her breasts, to lying smoothly to cover for her, etc.

Remember she was sent off to be married after her flowering (at about 13) to her ideal of a prince. Sandor must know what Joffrey is like and she has to grow up fast and hard to survive, particularly after her father is killed and she is isolated.

If we had any doubt that Sandor knows exactly what Joffrey is like, he squashes that in the scene with Arya, Polliver and the Tickler. They tell him about Joffrey's death and he doesn't care one bit about it, only mocking the rest of the Kingsguard for failing in their duties, obviously knowing that Joffrey is a little shit. Contrasted with when he hears Sansa got married to the Imp he has to sit down, tries to drink himself into oblivion and keeps talking to himself.

[Maroucia]

I think Sandor just does not know how to deal with his emotions, so he does the exact opposite of what he should do. He’s kind of like the little boys that pull the hairs of the girls they like because they don’t know better.

Anyway, Sandor is expecting rejection, so he certainly sees no point in trying to charm the girl he has an eye on.

[voodooqueen126]

Before leaving KL, Sandor went to her room and offered to take her away. I could keep you safe. They're all afraid of me. No one would ever hurt you again or I'd kill them.

Of course, in typical Sandor fashion, he butchers his rescue attempt. In aSoS, Sansa even states that she would lay awake at night wondering if she should have taken him up on his offer and left with him.

He is one of my favorite characters as well, love the guy. I agree with you. Sandor left home as a young boy after after being victimized by his older brother. He killed his first man at 12 during the sack of KL and spent the next several years building up the Hound persona. He's emotionally stunted and the only way he knows to communicate is through violence.

There are many reasons why he is protective of her. The most obvious is that her treatment by Joffrey reminds him of his brother. And we know how much he hates his brother.

I believe his attraction to Sansa began during the hand's tourney after she put her hand on his shoulder. For someone like Sandor, this would have a very profound impact on him. He mocks her courtesy even as he admires it as he realizes that it is a genuine part of who she is. She's not a liar like those in KL. I believe he also admires the strength that she displays when it comes to Joffrey. She is brutalized by him yet maintains her dignity and sense of self. Sandor realizes this.

After the riot, he brags that they had him 30 to 1 yet they ran like rats. Again, I think he is communicating that he cares for her through violence, as that is the only language he is comfortable with. Sansa is just to young to understand that.

I do believe that his feelings for Sansa are more than platonic and are even sexual in nature to some extent. To what degree, I don't know and I am not sure that he knows either. He is aware that he is attracted to her but doesn't completely understand what that means. For the record, I don't think he is in love with her as I don't think he is in an emotionally healthy state to be in love. Now, post QI, who knows?

I would say that Sandor attraction to her is sexual, but his willingness to find her attractive at such a premature age (11-12 is considered too young in Westeros), does not to me indicate sexual attraction to childishness perse, but rather that he is emotionally/developmentally stunted, and thus finds her character attractive, in the same way a normal man might find a woman with such desirable personality traits attractive, with the caveat that Sansa is a child.

I think Sandor, having grown up in such an abusive environment, finds Sansa's gentleness, politeness and self control extremely attractive...

I mean if we look at dysfunctional families (asides from the alcoholism/drug abuse) then they are often very rude (at my old school we used to joke that the school bullies had a CPM which stood for C---t Per Minute) and cannot control their impulses and thus act upon their animal desires, this leads to over all violence and misery.

So I think Sandor has sufficient intelligence to realise that Sansa (who manages to maintain courtesy, self control and gentleness even after Joffrey beats her) has the strength to come out of that situation and not act like one of Harry Harlow's rhesus monkeys when released from the pit of despair.

A very stupid man would not be able to realise or see this as a strength or virtue, in which case they would be attracted to a woman on some other criteria, and find that she ate their babies face off/severely abused their children.

[TheSpottedCat]

I think it's been established that Amory Lorch killed Rhaegar's daughter Rhaenys -by stabbing her to death(too many times, according to Tywin). Gregor smashed baby Aegon's head and raped (and presumably killed) Rhaegar's wife Elia. The Hound is, I think, one of the most troubled and conflicted characters in the novels. On one hand he kills Mycah, the butcher's boy, in cold blood because he was ordered to, and on the other hand he saves Sansa, and later takes care (in a way) of Arya. I believe he has a lot of rage in him, because of what happened to him, and is rather cynical and disillusioned with the world. However, he sometimes have moments where his "good side" comes through. It also seems to depend on the person he is dealing with. Sansa, soft, innocent, and pretty, probably moves him, and then Arya, with her spirit, her ability to survive through hell, and her own kind of innocence (which she's losing more and more everyday).