possible reason why The Hound feels protective of Sansa

[TheSpottedCat]

Everyone likes Arya more than Sansa.

Lord Littlefinger's Lash, I think Lord Littlefinger likes Sansa better....

[Lyanna Stark]

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

Isn't that really key to a lot of his behaviour? He expects rejection constantly and assumes people lie when they don't.

Hence why it seems pretty clear that Sansa reaching out to him on three different occasions must be extremely confusing to him as it's probably something that hasn't really happened before.

[Kittykatknits]

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.

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.

He reminds me of a boy trying to deal with his first crush really, except in a more brutish manner.

Sandor had been in a downward spiral for some time. At that point, I think offering Arya protection is one of the few things that was still holding him together but even that was becoming less effective over time. He stopped trying to hide his identity and gave no thought to who may be waiting in the inn. He just didn't care. Then, he finds out the news about Sansa. He's proud that she got away and seems genuinely happy for her in that regard. But the news that she had been married to Tyrion was the final straw. It's quite apparent he's showing suicidal tendencies. He's left speechless, starts drinking but still reflects on Sansa. He's glad when the fight starts, stating he'd been hoping they would do something stupid. He's not afraid of dying and he just does not care at that point. His death bed confession to Arya later in that chapter is one of the most heart-wrenching passages in the entire series, at least for me.

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.

Well stated. I agree about the nature of his sexual attraction. His efforts to communicate and interact with her reflect this.

Isn't that really key to a lot of his behaviour? He expects rejection constantly and assumes people lie when they don't.

Hence why it seems pretty clear that Sansa reaching out to him on three different occasions must be extremely confusing to him as it's probably something that hasn't really happened before.

Agreed. I would guess that the scattered nature of his responses is due at least in part to his confusion over Sansa's behavior towards him. Her reaching out to touch his shoulder during the hand's tourney was truly a life-changing moment for him.

[Lyanna Stark]

Agreed. I would guess that the scattered nature of his responses is due at least in part to his confusion over Sansa's behavior towards him. Her reaching out to touch his shoulder during the hand's tourney was truly a life-changing moment for him.

Considering that his own father tried to cover up the whole face burning thing with Gregor, I wonder how many people have actually acknowlegded that he was wronged and that it wasn't his fault. Sansa comes out and states that fairly clearly that what Gregor did was wrong, but apart from her? It's not like he seems to talk about it with anyone. It must be really rare to have someone on his side, so to speak. (And Sansa changes her view on him from the first to the second day of the tourney as well: the first day she hardly notices him, but the second she roots for him when he's up against Jaime Lannister.)

[Lord Littlefinger's Lash]

Lord Littlefinger's Lash, I think Lord Littlefinger likes Sansa better....

I believe I said no one with a brain less Petyr.

[jarl the climber]

Didn't the Hound have a sister that died maybe at the hands of her brother? Maybe he feels his sisters shade wants him to protect Sansa.

[Xray the Enforcer]

[mod] Please keep it classy. Thank you. [/mod]

[Elba the Intoner]

Yes, he had a sister who died under "suspicious" circumstances, which I take to read as Gregor killed her. Given that and what Gregor did to him it's clear that Sandor cannot stand to see anyone bullied the way Sansa is in King's Landing and that is the basis for his actions towards her and the brutal honesty in trying to get her to see how life really is. The interesting thing is that he seems to take some interest in her right from the outset, before the readers really learn what Joff is like. In her first GOT chapter, Sandor puts his hand on her shoulder, Sansa feels a strong hand and for a moment thinks it is her father. Why did he reach out to her then to talk to her? To me it suggests that he knows what Joff and Cersei are like, he sees that she is this daydreaming girl caught up in songs of chivalry and knightly honor, Kings' Landing is the opposite of that in every way and Sansa is completely oblivious and unprepared for it. He's a perceptive guy, so even from the very beginning he's trying to warn her to get real.

[Lord Littlefinger's Lash]

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

Well that's very insightful, given that she says that repeatedly to herself over and over again

is like a suit of armour for her as it reduces the likelihood of Joffrey talking offence and getting someone to hit her.

If you say so, It would increase the likelihood that some people would hit her. It doesn't endear her much to Sandor or Tyrion either

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.

[Lyanna Stark]

He's a perceptive guy, so even from the very beginning he's trying to warn her to get real.

I don't think almost anyone appreciates that he is though. He warns Tyrion about not mocking Joffrey twice, and Tyrion ignores it because he dislikes the Hound or thinks him a simple brute. As we know, Tyrion of ADWD very much wishes he'd kept his piehole shut more often and been more cautious around Joffrey. Instead he painted a big target on his forehead and got framed for Joffrey's murder since everyone knew Tyrion hated him.

The only ones who have any reason to view him as perceptive are Sansa and Arya who both have personal experience of more profound interactions with him. Almost everyone else seems to think of him as a mean brute only good for killing, with the possible exception of Jaime, who seems to at least differentiate between him and his brother Gregor (Jaime does not believe the Saltpans sack and rapings are Sandor's style, but more like Gregor's).

[Lord Littlefinger's Lash]

I don't think almost anyone appreciates that he is though. He warns Tyrion about not mocking Joffrey twice, and Tyrion ignores it because he dislikes the Hound or thinks him a simple brute. As we know, Tyrion of ADWD very much wishes he'd kept his piehole shut more often and been more cautious around Joffrey.

No he doesn't. If he wishes anything. Its that he killed Joffrey himself and sooner.

Same old Tyrion.

“Did you truly expect me to believe you were about the queen’s business in that whorehouse? Defending her from half a world away? Or could it be that you were running, that your dragon queen sent you from her side? But why would she … oh, wait, you were spying on her.” Tyrion made a clucking sound. “You hope to buy your way back into her favor by presenting her with me. An ill-considered scheme, I’d say. One might even say an act of drunken desperation. Perhaps if I were Jaime … but Jaime killed her father, I only killed my own. You think Daenerys will execute me and pardon you, but the reverse is just as likely. Maybe you should hop up on that pig, Ser Jorah. Put on a suit of iron motley, like Florian the—” The blow the big knight gave him cracked his head around and knocked him sideways, so hard that his head bounced off the deck. Blood filled his mouth as he staggered back onto one knee. He spat out a broken tooth. Growing prettier every day, but I do believe I poked a wound. “Did the dwarf say something to offend you, ser?” Tyrion asked innocently, wiping bubbles of blood off his broken lip with the back of his hand.

“I am sick of your mouth, dwarf,”

said Mormont. “You still have a few teeth left. If you want to keep them, stay away from me for the rest of this voyage.”

Instead he painted a big target on his forehead and got framed for Joffrey's murder since everyone knew Tyrion hated him.

The only ones who have any reason to view him as perceptive are Sansa and Arya who both have personal experience of more profound interactions with him. Almost everyone else seems to think of him as a mean brute only good for killing, with the possible exception of Jaime, who seems to at least differentiate between him and his brother Gregor (Jaime does not believe the Saltpans sack and rapings are Sandor's style, but more like Gregor's).

No Tyrion ignores him because the Hound is Joffrey's chief partner in crime from the time we first meet Joffrey at Winterfell.

[WolveseatDragons]

One thing that is important to remember with Sandor is that deep down he has low self esteem and self loathing. He doesn't think of himself as worthy of anyone, much less someone like Sansa. Whenever she shows any affection toward him this self hate is so strong that he rejects her which confuses her but is a self protection device. It is easier for him to be hated and seen as this monster when in truth he is not. He has been abused and mistreated his entire life and has no faith that anyone is truly good. Sansa is the first person that truly cares about him and as much as he wants her he can't bring himself to allow it. He doesn't see himself worthy. Of course at the same time he can't really stand the idea of her being with someone else because deep down he wishes that somehow they could be together and she would be the one person that loves him. There is just no way he can communicate that or allow himself to be exposed. The only thing he knows he can do is protect her and try to help her when he can. When he hears the news of her marriage to Tyrion his dream of someday being with her is shattered and he basically loses the will to live.

As for Arya I think much of his affection to her is because she is Sansa's sister and honestly I think he gets a kick out of her. I don't think he has any attraction to her like he does for Sansa, it's much more like a father/big brother kind of feeling in his own bizarre way.

[deleted01]

I always thought Sandor liked Sansa because she was kind to him, and her bravery in the face of all the shit Joffrey put her through spoke to him. There doesn't have to be anything romantic or sexual between the Hound and Sansa for him to care for her - she's a young girl, being forced into a brutal situation, and she doesn't let it get to her. I think his reaction to her being married off to Tyrion might simply be a 'hasn't she been through enough?' kind of thing. I also think he liked her innocence, and while he tried to protect her and wake her up to the world around her, he also respected her fantasies and dreams, and above all her ability to cling to them. The point about his sister is also interesting.

I love Sandor, I'm not a huge fan of Sansa but I see and admire her strengths, and I absolutely hate people 'shipping' them together. Their relationship in the book is a lovely one, and is one example of how you should never judge a book by its cover. I think Sandor sees in Sansa the same kind of strength that he has, as a victim of a despicable person they thought they could trust.

[Lyanna Stark]

No Tyrion ignores him because the Hound is Joffrey's chief partner in crime from the time we first meet Joffrey at Winterfell.

I think he has a great potential for dickitude all on his own completely without Joffrey. It's not like he needs Joffrey to be a complete arse to people which he shows on several occasions later on. Just because he has depth to his character doesn't make him Garlan the Gallant.

[Lord Littlefinger's Lash]

I think he has a great potential for dickitude all on his own completely without Joffrey. It's not like he needs Joffrey to be a complete arse to people which he shows on several occasions later on. Just because he has depth to his character doesn't make him Garlan the Gallant.

Well I think Sandor is a perfectly nice guy, but he isn't nice to Tyrion, was my point. That's why Tyrion doesn't listen to him.

[a free shadow]

He was just tired of life and of himself and she just was there at a right time. Some blank spot to put in the ideas he kept to himself more or less.

[Patchface12]

Maybe because of what Gregor did to his sister. Its widely believed he murdered her

[genegirl]

I think Sandor sees Sansa as something he could never have. A definite mixture of pushing her away and yet protecting her.

Sandor is an amazing character afraid of nothing but deserted during the Battle of Backwater.

[Kittykatknits]

Considering that his own father tried to cover up the whole face burning thing with Gregor, I wonder how many people have actually acknowlegded that he was wronged and that it wasn't his fault. Sansa comes out and states that fairly clearly that what Gregor did was wrong, but apart from her? It's not like he seems to talk about it with anyone. It must be really rare to have someone on his side, so to speak. (And Sansa changes her view on him from the first to the second day of the tourney as well: the first day she hardly notices him, but the second she roots for him when he's up against Jaime Lannister.)

Other than Sansa and Arya to a lesser extent? No one. Thoros knows that is is a man in torment but not quite the same thing. He's born the second son of a minor house, brother to a monster, with half his face burned off. He lived with his brother up until his father's death so I don't think this was a one-time incident either. So, Sandor went in to the service with the Lannisters and took on the Hound persona. At this point, that is all that people see. From what we saw early in the series, Sandor seems rather isolated and relatively friendless. Sansa is the first person we see him making any sort of connection with at all.

I love reading Sansa's thoughts about him during the tourney.

The interesting thing is that he seems to take some interest in her right from the outset, before the readers really learn what Joff is like. In her first GOT chapter, Sandor puts his hand on her shoulder, Sansa feels a strong hand and for a moment thinks it is her father. Why did he reach out to her then to talk to her? To me it suggests that he knows what Joff and Cersei are like, he sees that she is this daydreaming girl caught up in songs of chivalry and knightly honor, Kings' Landing is the opposite of that in every way and Sansa is completely oblivious and unprepared for it. He's a perceptive guy, so even from the very beginning he's trying to warn her to get real.

I need to go back and re-read that. The nameday tourney is when I first picked it up but I think you may be right.

He's very perceptive but the other characters don't seem to notice it. In Storm he says knights see what they want to see and that applies to him. He's a brutish man, just a sword. We learn through Sansa there is quite a bit more but no one in KL seems to notice. We get some hints from Jaime but that's about it.

Well I think Sandor is a perfectly nice guy, but he isn't nice to Tyrion, was my point. That's why Tyrion doesn't listen to him.

Well, Sandor happens to be one of my favorite characters but I wouldn't call him a perfectly nice guy. Martin also disagrees with that. But you are correct, he isn't nice to Tyrion and in fact, strongly dislikes him. We aren't ever given the reason why but I'm hoping we do find out someday.

[voodooqueen126]

I always thought Sandor liked Sansa because she was kind to him, and her bravery in the face of all the shit Joffrey put her through spoke to him. There doesn't have to be anything romantic or sexual between the Hound and Sansa for him to care for her - she's a young girl, being forced into a brutal situation, and she doesn't let it get to her. I think his reaction to her being married off to Tyrion might simply be a 'hasn't she been through enough?' kind of thing. I also think he liked her innocence, and while he tried to protect her and wake her up to the world around her, he also respected her fantasies and dreams, and above all her ability to cling to them. The point about his sister is also interesting.

I love Sandor, I'm not a huge fan of Sansa but I see and admire her strengths, and I absolutely hate people 'shipping' them together. Their relationship in the book is a lovely one, and is one example of how you should never judge a book by its cover. I think Sandor sees in Sansa the same kind of strength that he has, as a victim of a despicable person they thought they could trust.

It is possible for a man to like a woman's character and be sexually attracted to her.

I think that his behaviour on the serpentine steps was evident of sexul attraction (since he commented inappropriately on her developing body) and his arrival in her room on the night of the blackwater was definitly sexual, not to mention the whole 'f''ck her bloody' thing...

By early ASOS Sansa is herself showing signs of sexual attraction to Sandor and is definitly attracted to him by the end of ASOS.

As to why Sandor is attracted to her: I think Sandor is emotionally stunted (his relationship with Joffrey is more like older brother than responsible adult), so I think he saw himself as an adult at 12 (killed his first man and had his first woman at that age) yet this premature development didn't let him develop beyond that 12 year old boy stage. Thus a part of Sandor saw Sansa as woman at 12 (whilst Tyrion clearly states that she is a child), yet he has sufficient reason/morals to tell himself that this is not so.

So I would say that his feeling for Sansa are boy-girl romance, rather than may-december romance.

However his reason/morals enable him to control his romantic or sexual feelings for her, and thus he is able to move from romance to protection.

Except on the BBB when he was really drunk, very scared and had basically lost hope, though her actions* and mostly his conscience worked together.

*singing a religious hymn would be far more inhibiting for a medieval person than a modern person, even if that person claims to be an atheist.