Why does Melisandre Bleed?

[yolkboy]

In the Melisandre chapter of aDwD we see her bleeding, down her thigh and presumably from her vagina....

A thousand red eyes floated in the rising flames. He sees me. Beside him, a boy with a wolf’s face threw back his head and howled. The red priestess shuddered. Blood trickled down her thigh, black and smoking. The fire was inside her, an agony, an ecstasy, filling her, searing her, transforming her. Shimmers of heat traced patterns on her skin, insistent as a lover’s hand.

(bloodraven is the '1000 eyes', her ex-lover who makes her sexually aroused by even a glance through the flames.)

I have posted why i think this happens on another thread...

http://asoiaf.wester...and-melisandre/

but unfortunately that thread was dominated by an arguement about Jon Snows' fate, and this conversation was overlooked.

1. I believe Mel is Sheira Seastar, glamouring behind that red ruby.

2. The thousand eyes are her lover, Bloodraven.

3. When she thinks bloodraven is looking at her, she becomes 'aroused'

4. When she becomes aroused, she gets 'wet' (sorry for crassness).

5. When she gets wet, her vagina bleeds instead of what normally happens.

6. She bleeds because she has previously done shadow birthing.

7. Shadow birthing damages the womb and vagina, as a side effect, she bleeds when aroused.

I'm really interesed in whether people agree or have their own ideas. I just CANNOT pass Mel bleeding off, in such a bizarre way, as something insignificant.

What do you think about it??? If you think I'm correct, you can read about it's possible purpose in the above link. If you dont agree, feel free to shoot me down!

EDIT: After some very useful posts, i'm now of the opinion Mel is seeing either the Great Other, Bloodraven or both. There's still some points of contention that i can't nail. I hope the forum hivemind can shed some more light and crack this puzzle. I believe it's an important piece of the jigsaw.

[yolkboy]

Hello. I'm not sure anyone can see this thread. My posts keep going missing in the 'time frame ' issue which i seem to suffer from on theses boards. IF youre reading, PLEASE post a small something, just a hello, so i know it can be seen by otheres.

Thanks in advance!

[Lady Lea]

Maybe Aunt Irma's visiting?

[Brony Stark]

I agree with the shadow baby wounding but other than that I find it unlikely.

[Thunderfist]

Your thread is visible

[The Mother of The Others]

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh, hummmphf.

Doesnt' have to be sexual. I mean the shadowbabies had a sexual component we're assuming. It could just be that her system was being tested against the power on the other end of the magic phone line.

Fire (or any kind of pain) is often described as an ecstasy for those who willingly undergo it. And she's transformed, so who knows what's going on down there. Maybe there's a pilot light between her thighs and locking eyes with Bloodraven sent a surge of energy through her along the connection they momentarily shared, and that surge manifested as a vaginal flare up.

I may not have the answers you seek.

[Associate Maester]

I'd gather either as a reaction to BR seeing her and maybe seeing a bit of her past. Or as part of the ecstatic vision. Those parts of her chapter read very much along the lines of the Medieval mystics that described their visions\encounters with God to the union of lovers.

[StarkWhite]

I'm not sure about this, but let's talk about Jon's fate... :)

You're right, it seems odd and I'm sure there's something to it. I however took it as damage to her womb; not because of the shadowbirthing (physically I mean), but as some sort of reaction because of Bloodraven's "presence".

[Kanon]

I also found that very wierd, maybe its the blood sacrifice she must pay to have those visions

[three-eyed monkey]

I like your theory and can't disagree with you. When I first read the passage what stood out for me was the line; The fire was inside her, an agony, an ecstasy, filling her, searing her, transforming her. This line reminded me of something the Lightning Lord said to Arya in ASoS about his resuscitation by Thoros. Can't remember the quote exactly, sorry, but he told her that sometimes he thought he was born on the hill (where Thoros first revived him) with fire in his lungs and the taste of ash in his mouth. Made me wonder if Mel was in fact UnMel and this was a memory of when she was resuscitated herself by a red priest? Perhaps the he in He sees me was R'hllor?

[Khal Porno]

In the Melisandre chapter of aDwD we see her bleeding, down her thigh and presumably from her vagina....

A thousand red eyes floated in the rising flames. He sees me. Beside him, a boy with a wolf’s face threw back his head and howled. The red priestess shuddered. Blood trickled down her thigh, black and smoking. The fire was inside her, an agony, an ecstasy, filling her, searing her, transforming her. Shimmers of heat traced patterns on her skin, insistent as a lover’s hand.

(bloodraven is the '1000 eyes', her ex-lover who makes her sexually aroused by even a glance through the flames.)

I have posted why i think this happens on another thread...

http://asoiaf.wester...and-melisandre/

but unfortunately that thread was dominated by an arguement about Jon Snows' fate, and this conversation was overlooked.

1. I believe Mel is Sheira Seastar, glamouring behind that red ruby.

2. The thousand eyes are her lover, Bloodraven.

3. When she thinks bloodraven is looking at her, she becomes 'aroused'

4. When she becomes aroused, she gets 'wet' (sorry for crassness).

5. When she gets wet, her vagina bleeds instead of what normally happens.

6. She bleeds because she has previously done shadow birthing.

7. Shadow birthing damages the womb and vagina, as a side effect, she bleeds when aroused.

I'm really interesed in whether people agree or have their own ideas. I just CANNOT pass Mel bleeding off, in such a bizarre way, as something insignificant.

What do you think about it??? If you think I'm correct, you can read about it's possible purpose in the above link. If you dont agree, feel free to shoot me down!

I think you could have made 4 and 5 part of 3, haha.

I don't think she was aroused (especially since blood dries quickly....ugh dude why do have to make me think about this stuff??), I think it's just the strain of what she's doing.

[The Bastard of Summer]

Oh wow umm okay.

Well maybe the use of magic is costing her? (Maybe I've been watching too much Camelot)

But maybe she has never used a glamor this long? (if she is Shiera Seastar) and bleeding is a side effect.

Other than that her vagina is smoking! And the blood dripping out is black. No bueno. :ack:

[yolkboy]

I don't think she was aroused (especially since blood dries quickly....ugh dude why do have to make me think about this stuff??), I think it's just the strain of what she's doing.

but you know Seastar is HOT HOT HOT for Bloodraven right? "He sees me" - then all kind of manic happenings and emotions. Reminds me of a teenager in love. Not that SS is a teenager though. But BR obviously still presses certain buttons.

Sorry for making you think of gross stuff - but this is ASOIAF where Reeks and rapes are fair game.

[The Mother of The Others]

Perhaps the he in He sees me was R'hllor?

I don't recall the full context but the quote above spoke of a wolf boy (Bran) being there with the 1000 eyed 'him', so that'd pretty much narrow it down to BR, right?

Also, I've wondered if maybe Mel is going outside of her comfort zone when she does the shadowbabies, like maybe that's not an approved part of the fire priest religion? So maybe that's putting undue strain on her, and this weakness shows when Bloodraven 'inspects' her. Like a taunt she's receiving from him. BR is like santa claus saying "I know what you've been up to, I know whether you've been naughty or nice."

but you know Seastar is HOT HOT HOT for Bloodraven right? "He sees me" - then all kind of manic happenings and emotions.

okay. it's as possible as anything. so does this obscure Seastar (whom I've forgotten about) also want revenge or something, or is she just in danger of betraying her whole war effort if the chance to be with BR arises?

[yolkboy]

I don't recall the full context but the quote above spoke of a wolf boy (Bran) being there with the 1000 eyed 'him', so that'd pretty much narrow it down to BR, right?

Also, I've wondered if maybe Mel is going outside of her comfort zone when she does the shadowbabies, like maybe that's not an approved part of the fire priest religion? So maybe that's putting undue strain on her, and this weakness shows when Bloodraven 'inspects' her. Like a taunt she's receiving from him. BR is like santa claus saying "I know what you've been up to, I know whether you've been naughty or nice."

I like your posts very much. Mainly because they give more weigt to what i'm saying, ha!

But really, there HAS to be some price for shadowbirthing, otherwise she could queef out a thousand shadows and kill everyone. Its clear when Mel described the pain she felt through her ruby at 'Mances' killing - that if you use magic there is a price. That premice has been covered several times in the books. Theres one killer quote regarding the 'cost' of magic that escapes me for the time being.

[Swiftraven]

I definitely think it was Bloodraven that she saw, but I don't know about her being Shiera Seastar though, because wasn't Melisandre a slave called 'Melony' (because of that whole "Lot Seven" thing) ?

Not sure why she reacted in such a way to seeing Bloodraven though.

[yolkboy]

I definitely think it was Bloodraven that she saw, but I don't know about her being Shiera Seastar though, because wasn't Melisandre a slave called 'Melony' (because of that whole "Lot Seven" thing) ?

I think the Melony bit was a distraction device. At some point Melony suffered some hardship ( slavery i'd guess). She is now free and calls herself Melisandra, shuddering at the thought of 'Melony'. This doesnt mean under Melisandre and Melony, that she cant/isnt Sheira - hiding under pseudonyms.

BTW i believe in order to become a Red Priest of Asshai, you go through tremendous hardships along the way, and become a 'slave' of R'Hllor. I can't imagine thats a nice journey to take, but Sheira/Melony/Melisandre did it.

Melony of Lot 7 (her slave name), its your turn to burn this child.... or something similar. Thats why she's scarred by it.

[romantic]

We have 2 other instances of 'smoking' blood:-

1. when Jon is stabbed in the stomach

2. during one of the WW encounters (my memory's failing was it Sam's encounter or another time?)

Many posters think the first instance is due to the extreme cold . Personally I think it's more than that but I don't know what exactly (maybe Jon's possible Targ blood?).

[Associate Maester]

I think the Melony bit was a distraction device. At some point Melony suffered some hardship ( slavery i'd guess). She is now free and calls herself Melisandra, shuddering at the thought of 'Melony'. This doesnt mean under Melisandre and Melony, that she cant/isnt Sheira - hiding under pseudonyms.

BTW i believe in order to become a Red Priest of Asshai, you go through tremendous hardships along the way, and become a 'slave' of R'Hllor. I can't imagine thats a nice journey to take, but Sheira/Melony/Melisandre did it.

Melony of Lot 7 (her slave name), its your turn to burn this child.... or something similar. Thats why she's scarred by it.

I think it is pretty safe to say that Melony was Melisandre as a child ergo she can't be this Seastar character.

[StarkWhite]

Would it be indelicate to discuss her literally hot vag?