From Pawn to Player: Rethinking Sansa XIV

[brashcandy]

So far in this Beauty and the Beast project, we have not focused on the figure of the Beast yet. This little essay will try to remedy that. In ASOIAF, there is no Prince Charming hidden in an ugly monster. However, in Sansa’s narrative there are characters made ugly by infirmities or deformities, and this essay is all about them as it will try to explain the hidden symbolism of these afflictions. This essay will focus on Gregor Clegane, Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister and Sandor Clegane, as they are all more or less related to Sansa’s storyline. The aim of this essay is to discover the symbolic meanings of these afflictions and see how they fit these characters.

*snipped for length*

Wow, Mahaut :) Thank you for that stellar contribution to the project. I'll be commenting in detail later on.

[Mahaut]

Oh thank you brashcandy :blush: .

I can't wait to read what you think of it.

[Daenerys is my queen]

Great post Mahaut!

I definitely agree with you about Gregor and Petyr. Even though Petyr isn't a giant in size, he certainly is in personality. Not exactly sure what to say about the Tyrion part except that he certainly does have the characteristics you mentioned. As for the Sandor part, I completely agree. It would be pretty ironic if fire was the thing that healed him. Maybe it would also restore his innocence since this fire would be used for healing instead of hurting.

Not sure if this is exactly on topic but you mentioned heroes. I wonder if Sansa will be the "hero"-or heroine- who will destroy the "giants." Although I doubt that she could destroy Gregor since if he is Robert Strong he's in King's Landing and she's in the Eyrie. However I certainly think that Sandor would love to destroy him. Which would make him a hero as well. :)

[Mahaut]

Hi and welcome Daeneris is my queen,

Like you, I don't think Sansa will destroy Gregor. I just want to clarify a point: killing a giant doesn't turn someone into a hero. So killing Gregor or Littlefinger won't transform Sansa or Sandor into heroes because they already are the heroes of their own story. But slaying (literaly or figuratively) a giant (in that case Littlefinger) would enable Sansa to have her Stark identity back.

[PetitOiseau]

Thanks for everything Milady! So, here is my essay.

Infirmity and Deformity:

A symbolic reading of the beastly figures in ASOIAF

So far in this Beauty and the Beast project, we have not focused on the figure of the Beast yet. This little essay will try to remedy that. In ASOIAF, there is no Prince Charming hidden in an ugly monster. However, in Sansa’s narrative there are characters made ugly by infirmities or deformities, and this essay is all about them as it will try to explain the hidden symbolism of these afflictions. This essay will focus on Gregor Clegane, Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister and Sandor Clegane, as they are all more or less related to Sansa’s storyline. The aim of this essay is to discover the symbolic meanings of these afflictions and see how they fit these characters.

Infirmity

In popular belief, infirmities or deformities are given by gods (positive meaning) or by evil entities (negative meaning). In fact, infirmity is a sign of mysteriousness that can be either good or bad. At first sight, an infirmity is repulsive and may be a difficult condition one has to overcome. This is the case of Hephaestus in Greek mythology. He is a lame one-eyed hunchback god who has to earn his place among the Olympians through his art (smithing). However, in many cultures, infirmity is a “place” to hide a precious knowledge or ability. But this extraordinary power is never gratuitous and the infirmity is always the price to pay. For example, the god Odin had to lose an eye in order to receive the ability to see the invisible. In addition, blind people are often believed to be seers or soothsayers in popular belief. Still in traditional belief, the infirm is protected against magic as he can neither be cursed nor bewitched. For these reasons, the infirm is also considered as an intercessor between this world and the other. He is thus singled out among men, and inspires fear as well as respect in people around him.

There are two types of infirmities:

a. The first type is associated with power (positive meaning) or excessiveness (negative meaning), and includes conditions such as gigantism and dwarfism.

b. The second type is connected to dissymmetry, which either means a loss of balance (negative) or a return to unity (positive).

The giants: Gregor and Petyr

The giants are the symbol of excessiveness. They are the embodiment of the primitive and brutal nature one has to destroy to achieve the civilized state. Their violence and lust for power make up for their stupidity and their ignorance. Their gigantism is also transferred on their personality: giants are gluttonous, greedy, intemperate and lecherous. They are degraded by their passions and their serious lack of moderation. In Greek mythology, giants cannot be killed. It requires a god and a hero–a mortal whose father or mother is a god–to overpower a giant. Zeus needed the help of Heracles to restrain Porphyrion before he was able to throw the giant in Tartarus. A Giant was believed to stand for everything the hero had to defeat to embrace his own true personality.

Gregor Clegane is the first character that pops to mind when giants are mentioned as he is probably the biggest man in all of Westeros. Like his popular Greek counterpart, Gregor is brutal, intemperate, lecherous, and knows no limits as he tortures, kills and rapes without hesitation or remorse. In short, just like his size, his personality is excessive and that leads him to atrocious acts such as the mutilation of his little brother with fire. Gregor also seems impossible to defeat because of his size. In addition, it is probable that, though he was poisoned by Oberyn Martell, he is now back from the dead as ser Robert Strong, which also adds to the myth of his invincibility.

Speaking of size, Petyr Baelish has nothing of a giant in him. However, his father’s sigil is a titan and consequently leads some fans to assume that he is the giant from the Ghost of High Heart’s prophesy. In addition, Petyr Baelish seems to share some personality features with the giants from the myths. Firstly, he is excessive in regards to his personal grudge against Brandon Stark, which turned into a real vendetta against House Stark and into a queer obsession for Catelyn Stark that he later transfers on her daughter, Sansa Stark. He is also brutal as he does not hesitate to kill people like Lysa Arryn or Dontos Hollard. Petyr Baelish also seems unable to restrain himself around Sansa Stark once he has “rescued” her from King’s Landing, as exemplified by the scene where he kisses her in sight of his legitimate wife. He also displays rather clearly his sexual desire for Sansa Stark by kissing her repeatedly while pretending to be her father. Finally, Petyr Baelish can be considered the giant Sansa has to defeat to embrace her true personality, as he somehow holds her prisoner in the Alayne Stone persona.

The dwarf: Tyrion

In most mythologies, the dwarf is associated with caves, mountains, gemstones, treasures and smithing. He is playful, friendly and scary at the same time. In royal courts, he is known to speak very freely and is consequently often associated with the figure of the fool who is allowed to say what he wants without being punished as he is–supposedly–not responsible for what he utters. This is why the dwarf is often connected to the unconscious. On the other hand, he also displays deep cunning, perspicacity and logic. As mentioned earlier, the dwarf is an ambiguous and scary figure as well. Traditionally, he is represented as bearded and old, but he is also associated with children because of his small size and his lack of sexual life. In traditional belief, there is no female dwarf and thus dwarves are magically created or are immortal. For this reason, in Snow White’s tale, the dwarves illustrate her emotional immaturity. History has kept record of famous dwarves such as the Roman Licinius Calvus, who was a brilliant orator, and Alypius of Alexandria, who was renowned for his knowledge and his wisdom. Note also that during the Renaissance, it was fashionable to keep dwarves for company.

Interestingly enough, Tyrion shares many of these features with his popular counterpart. Firstly, his name, Lannister, is linked to gold and wealth in Westeros; as we well know: “A Lannister always pays his debts”. Secondly, he is from Casterly Rock, which stands upon vast caves. Then, his personality is also similar to the one described above. At first, he appears as a very friendly character, but as the story goes on, scary aspects of his personality appear. This is the case when he orders Bronn to kill the singer who offended him or when he personally kills his former lover Shae and his father, Tywin. Tyrion is also known to speak very freely, especially to his nephew, which often lands him in trouble, as later on in the saga he is charged with Joffrey’s murder. He is also connected with the figure of the fool on Joffrey’s wedding day, where he is forced to joust on a pig. During his time as Hand, Tyrion displays cleverness, cunning and understanding of the Game of Thrones, qualities he shares with the traditional dwarf. However, there is one aspect in which he differs from the popular tales: sexuality. His affair with Shae is an important feature of his narrative in the first three books. His sexuality takes him out of the fairy tale and grounds him in real life. His desire to be loved also makes him definitely human. Still on the topic of sexuality; Sansa (our Belle figure) refuses to have sex with him for various reasons. Maybe, like the dwarves in Snow White’s tale, his role is to highlight her emotional immaturity at that point in the story. The quality connected with his infirmity is power, that he holds during his time as Hand, but which he can also gain thanks to his cleverness and cunning. The flaw is excessiveness, which is expressed through his very free talk, his delusional relationship with Shae and his jealousy as well as his anger, that led him to kill people himself (the singer, Shae and Tywin).

The burnt and lame gravedigger: Sandor

The symbolic meanings of fire are numerous, so what follows is only a short and incomplete list. Usually, fire means life, energy, power and sexual desire. Fire is also the weapon of the gods, as thunder and lightning belong to Zeus. But fire has a dangerous aspect as well, because it burns and destroys, leaving only ashes, a symbol for mourning, solitude, destitution and renunciation. However, grasses and trees are born again from these ashes, thus connecting fire with rebirth and fertility. Note that fire and water are complete opposites, but both are associated with destruction and fertility. Fire also means purification. It destroys everything and kills germs. On a spiritual level, the soul is purified of its stains and sins. The Inquisition had two reasons for burning people: the first one was to purify the soul. The second one was to ease the passing of the soul by destroying its carnal prison. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus is the god of metals and fire. Now, assuming that Sandor is the gravedigger, this leads us to lameness as Hephaestus is lame as well. In Greek mythology, the god of fire is lame. His infirmity seems to be the price he has to pay for his craft. He is married to his polar opposite, the goddess Aphrodite. To limp is also a sign of weakness, incompleteness and unsteadiness. However, it can be compensated with a cane. In addition, lameness can hold a positive signification as it means new found unity. The foot is also a symbol for the soul: a flaw in the walk is also a flaw or a weakness in the soul. In mythology, the Greek hero Achilles, though he is not lame, has one weak spot: his heel. There is a reason for it being the heel: Achilles’s tendencies to violence and wrath are considered as flaws of the soul by the Ancient Greeks, and wrath is Achilles’s weak spot. Sometimes, lameness means a spiritual wound: in the Bible, Jacob, unbeknownst to him, sees and wrestles with God himself. After his fight, Jacob becomes lame for having seen God.

As far as the reader knows at this point in the story, Sandor has only experienced the destructive aspect of fire, for it took away half his face. But the fire did not only take his face, but it seems that it took his innocence, his hopes and his ideals as well. Sandor would then be in a renunciation state symbolized by his ashen grey armour. Earlier, it was mentioned that the fire is purifying and kills the germs. The last time the reader sees Sandor, he is dying because of an infected wound at the leg. There is a medical technique called cauterization, that consists of burning a body part to remove or close off a part of it. The aim of this operation is to mitigate damage or remove infection. The technique was widespread before the discovery of antibiotics and was effective to close amputations and stop loss of blood. Cauterization was also believed to prevent infection as well. So wouldn’t it be quite ironical that the same fire that took Sandor’s face would give him his life back? The Elder Brother is a renowned healer, so it wouldn’t be too improbable to assume that he knows about cauterization. Assuming that Sandor is the gravedigger, he is now lame. Like Hephaestus, he is lame and associated with fire. Will he get a gorgeous wife as well? Sandor also shares a similarity with Achilles: the rage that scares Sansa. The limp could be the mark left by his (former?) wrath, this flaw of the soul according to the Ancient Greeks. The limp could also be interpreted as the mark of a spiritual revelation, a bit like in Jacob’s case. Having just had a near-death experience and living among a community of monks, it would not be too far-fetched to assume so. Finally, Sandor’s burns fit into the category of dissymmetrical infirmities as they break the symmetry of his face. In Sandor’s case, this injury definitely means a loss of balance as it leads him to create the Hound’s persona. Lameness is also a dissymmetrical affliction. So if infirmities work like mathematics, and negation of a negative term is positive, then Sandor is truly at rest and his lameness would be the symbol of his new found unity ^_^ .

Fin ^_^

Wow! Bravo! :bowdown:

[bgona]

Mahaut really good one.

Now I wish read your impression about SR (maybe another "beast") and Joffrey (definitely another Beast).

About Tyrion: he is a dwarf but also can be assoicated to giant. He has the shadow of a giant. And he has his excessivity.

[Mahaut]

Thanks PetitOiseau and bgona.

Mahaut really good one.

Now I wish read your impression about SR (maybe another "beast") and Joffrey (definitely another Beast).

About Tyrion: he is a dwarf but also can be assoicated to giant. He has the shadow of a giant. And he has his excessivity.

The essay focuses on the symbolism of the many shapes the Beast has due to genetic infirmities or acquired disfigurements. So to be completely honest, I wouldn't know what to say about Sweet Robin :laugh: . Yes, Joffrey is definitely another Beast though is body is fine. I think it would be interesting to read an essay about "psychological" Beasts. This could be a job for the psychologists around here ;). I have some notes about one-handed people (Jaime) as well. It's not related with Sansa, but if you'd like to read about it I could post it.

You're absolutely right about Tyrion. On the other hand, Littlefinger could also be associated with the figure of the dwarf as he's not so tall himself.

[Daenerys is my queen]

Hi and welcome Daeneris is my queen,

Like you, I don't think Sansa will destroy Gregor. I just want to clarify a point: killing a giant doesn't turn someone into a hero. So killing Gregor or Littlefinger won't transform Sansa or Sandor into heroes because they already are the heroes of their own story. But slaying (literaly or figuratively) a giant (in that case Littlefinger) would enable Sansa to have her Stark identity back.

Thanks! :)

Sounds hero like to me :P But I don't know a lot about the topic like you do.

And I agree. Slaying Littlefinger would certainly help Sansa to get her identity back.

[Milady of York]

Well, here are my thoughts on the points discussed in Mahaut's excellent essay:

On giants:

Porphyrion was a Giant, the statue in Braavos is a Titan, Baelish’s father’s sigil is a Titan.

Most people mix Giants and Titans or speak of them interchangeably, but there is a difference in Greek mythology between a Giant and a Titan. A Titan –an ancient proto-Hellenic word possibly meaning prince– was a primordial god, the offspring of Heaven (Uranus) and Earth (Gaia), the first generation of gods before the Olympians (second generation of gods), the first ones that existed and therefore are primitive, but not lacking in intelligence. Examples are Prometheus, who stole the fire from the gods to give it to humans, and Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. Zeus’ father, Cronos, was a Titan.

A Giant, on the other hand, was neither totally godlike nor totally humanlike, they were an intermediate race placed between gods and mortals, and often they were the offspring of other primordial gods and, in at least a case, of an Olympian, and they were intrinsically different from a Titan in nature, powers and shape. They were huge, absurdly deformed, like the one-eyed Cyclops from the Odyssey, and had snake-like legs or head, whilst a Titan looked entirely like just an oversized human. Giants weren’t nearly as powerful, for they were defeated by the gods swiftly enough, whilst to defeat the Titans took them a decade. Nor were they immortal. A Titan was. A Titan could be restrained, imprisoned and banished from Olympus, although never by a god alone but with help of human heroes or a coalition of gods, but he never died. However, Giants, though hard to vanquish as well, could be killed, and in fact were completely exterminated by Heracles, as were the Giants born of the union of celestial beings with human females in the Hebrew myth of the Deluge. These, and not the Titans, are the ones that symbolise excessiveness because of their nature: gluttonous, greedy, intemperate and lecherous, primal forces of nature without morality or temperance.

In the Hero Journey context, a giant –usually in the form of a monstrous creature– was the necessary obstacle that sprouted in the journeyman’s Hero Path in order to prove and establish himself as a transformed/reborn hero. That adds a new meaning to Sansa’s slaying of the giant prophesy, she is destined to slay that Giant, literally or figuratively, in order to regain her identity, her home and her future, thus consolidating her new status. It’s inevitable in her own heroine journey; if she doesn’t achieve that, then it won’t be complete. By refusing to completely surrender to what the giant represents, keeping in herself that part of her that belongs to herself only, she’s already in a good place to overpower her own monster, because most of the mythological monsters could speak and, like Medusa or the Sphinx, tried psychological tricks on their respective hero opponents first before resorting to force.

[Knight]

As always, lots of love and respect for this thread and all the great contributions to it :)

However, I'd love to see some actual references to books or internet pages that support the analyses posted in the thread. I don't want to nitpick or anything, but I like checking how somebody's personal view ties in with bigger debates surrounding literature, classics, symbolism and character discussions. That's just my preference which I express as it is a lot of work to reference, but a short source list of books/pages to conclude an elaborate post would be really helpful!

...Sometimes this thread feels like an extension of one of my courses at uni :)

ETA: With references I mean if you're basing your thoughts on the work of some scholar...It's pretty obvious that references to other tales or books refer well...to those :P I'm also keen on finding out on what ideas the interpretation of symbols is based. The pear Sansa eats while she is with Littlefingers in AFFC for instance carries a very powerful symbolism, but so far I haven't seen any examples brought up of somebody eating a pear with the same meaning. I may have overlooked it as there too much good stuff posted and as always, too little time to read it all :(

[Milady of York]

On dwarves:

There are also two more flaws associated with the excessiveness aspect of dwarfism: selfishness and greed. That’s how people viewed dwarves in ancient times, and that’s why they’re linked to gold, treasures and precious gemstones, which, unlike Tyrion, they never spend but accumulate in jaw-dropping amounts in caves and mountains. Tyrion is certainly a selfish little man, but he’s not stingy and he doesn’t love gold for gold itself.

Only in Nordic and Germanic mythology are dwarves all male. In Greece and Rome, there were dwarves of both sexes, and they were no magical creatures, but they were perceived as abnormal, and they weren’t believed to be smarter than average but less, if we are to believe Aristotle, who declared what many thought of them at that time (“they are less intelligent”), with the peculiarity that Greeks also had this notion that their reproductive organs were… colourful (their own version of the Bulbous Purple Head™), and for that they were famously lustful, like Tyrion is, and that’s why they were associated with the god Dionysus, for being lecherous and so loving of wine that they were prone to getting stone-drunk. As for the Romans, only some dwarves of the nobilitas or rich families, like Licinius Calvus, were able to hold public office and more or less demonstrate that they were intelligent fellows, as is the case with Tyrion, who, if not for his Lannister name, would either be exposed to the elements as a baby to die or suffer the fate of Penny and her brother, as it happened in Rome: they had to be fools, jesters, actors, and even participated in mock gladiatorial fights. The scene GRMM wrote in ADwD wasn’t just an astute plot device he pulled out of thin air to have Tyrion conveniently meet Daenerys, because such things really occurred in Antiquity and very often: we have historical records from both Republican and Imperial Rome of dwarf gladiators entertaining the multitudes at the Circus Maximus and other arenas. In fact, during the reign of infamous emperor Domitian, there was a fight in the arena where a dwarf gladiator was pitted against a female gladiator…

Glad that it was mentioned that dwarves are thought to be bearded, for in some superstitious medieval cities they were thought to be born with a beard... Do you remember that accusation of Tywin Lannister that his younger son had killed his mother? Sad to say, but it was not just out of the coldness of his heart or Cersei’s, as many readers think. It was a common belief in past times. I can quote from memory a paragraph from an old text that states this: “Dwarves are responsible for the death of many a mother.” Brutal and insensitive, yes, and unfortunately real, for many mothers who bore dwarf babies with acrocephaly –as Tyrion has– died in the childbed. In Greece, a father had the legal right to kill or let die a baby that was born with dwarfism, but many survived because not all types of this deformity are apparent at birth, and there were also some parents who did love their children and, besides, not all poleis –city-states– shared the same intolerant ideas, some were more integrative and even had dwarf-like deities; Tywin could have loved his son had he tried, after all Jaime and Gerion Lannister didn’t seem to mind Tyrion’s stature.

The mention of the dwarves in Snow White is also interesting. There’s indeed an interesting parallel to Sansa in this case, because Snow White was a “wife” to all seven of them in everything excepting sexually, like Sansa was Tyrion’s wife in all but in the bed, and therefore it does represent immaturity, psychologically and sexually speaking. In Greece, there are a bunch of dwarves called the Kabeiroi, twin smith gods fathered by Hephaistos and were originally triplets but, like Tyrion, they became kinslayers later in life. Speaking of Hephaistos, he might be the ugliest creature in the Greco-Roman pantheon, but all his amorous partners were gorgeously beautiful, starting with Aphrodite (a Cersei simile in our interpretation of the B&B myth) who hated him and never gave him sons nor wanted to share his bed but her other brother’s, Ares, and he also had a “my sister is mine to rape” moment akin to Tyrion’s when he tried to force himself on his sister Athena, with whom he had a conflicted love-hate relationship, and she barely escaped at the last minute.

[Milady of York]

I’ll elaborate on my thoughts on fire, lameness and such some other time. Thank you, Mahaut, for this essay, I did tell you it gave me lots of ideas…

[brashcandy]

On Mahaut's essay:

I think it helps to cement the idea of Petyr Baelish as the giant Sansa will have to slay, as evidenced by his lecherous and "gluttonous" desires - truly in the sense that he cannot get enough of power and playing the game. We've seen Sansa's connection to the old gods growing stronger throughout the novels, highlighted in the kind of "otherworldly" inspiration which appears to be behind her building snow Winterfell and hearing the ghost wolf. A connection then seems to be forming between the gods and a heroine, which will ultimately lead to Sansa's triumph over Littlefinger.

I also really enjoyed the exploration on Sandor's affliction, and how the fire that marred him, could end up having a restorative effect. Your mentioning of the opposites fire and water naturally brings to mind the central symbols in the novels, fire and ice, and how Martin is using these to construct meaning. In their separate, unchecked conditions, they contribute to dangerous imbalances, which can have destructive consequences for individuals and nature itself. Sandor's quest seems to have been about finding that balance, reconciling the two halves into a whole, and cancelling out the negative.

Interestingly, when the Elder Brother talks of Sandor with Brienne, he states:

Where other men dream of love or wealth, or glory, this man Sandor Clegane dreamed of slaying his own brother, a sin so terrible it makes me shudderto speak of it. Yet that was the bread that nourished him, the fuel that kept his fires burning.

So the fire that burned Sandor's face, was still raging within him, expressed in bitter hate for his brother. For Sandor to heal, he has to put those fires out. The EB then goes on to talk of what he did to help save this tortured soul:

... I bathed his fevered brow with river water, and gave him wine to drink and a poultice for his wound...

There is interesting biblical symbolism connected to these actions, with the focus on baptism, renewal and rebirth. The bringing together of the opposites - fire and water - helping to restore some unity and peace in Sandor's life.

[brashcandy]

As always, lots of love and respect for this thread and all the great contributions to it :)

However, I'd love to see some actual references to books or internet pages that support the analyses posted in the thread. I don't want to nitpick or anything, but I like checking how somebody's personal view ties in with bigger debates surrounding literature, classics, symbolism and character discussions. That's just my preference which I express as it is a lot of work to reference, but a short source list of books/pages to conclude an elaborate post would be really helpful!

...Sometimes this thread feels like an extension of one of my courses at uni :)

ETA: With references I mean if you're basing your thoughts on the work of some scholar...It's pretty obvious that references to other tales or books refer well...to those :P I'm also keen on finding out on what ideas the interpretation of symbols is based. The pear Sansa eats while she is with Littlefingers in AFFC for instance carries a very powerful symbolism, but so far I haven't seen any examples brought up of somebody eating a pear with the same meaning. I may have overlooked it as there too much good stuff posted and as always, too little time to read it all :(

On the pear symbolism, the eating of fruits has always held particular symbolic value in our cultural imagination, given the biblical story of Adam and Eve, and references to classical mythology with Hades and Persephone. When Sansa eats the pear, we read that the juice is running down her chin, symbolizing her sexual awakening/development. LF's offering her the pomegranate can be viewed as his attempt to entrap her (as Hades does to Perspephone), to be in control of her sexual initiation and to bind her to him. That's why it's so important that she doesn't eat the pomegranate :)

With regard to references, I think you'll find that most of us have had years of university and professional experience engaging with different theories and writers which are informing a lot of the analyses we make, so citing a webpage or one particular theorist isn't going to be practical most times. Our personal views do not exist in a vacuum outside of larger debates on literature, sexuality, psychology etc, but are actually informed by them. Certainly, if one writes a paper where one is specifically drawing on a writer's ideas to inform the analysis, then highlighting that source would be expected (see my paper using Audre Lorde's theory on erotic power). In a few of the contributions that have been done so far for this specific B&B project, Milady of York has provided footnotes and Lady Lea included links where we could find the source material for Villeneuve's story. Outside of that, if you're interested in finding out more about the ideas in a presenter's work, I'd suggest sending a PM requesting their assistance.

[Knight]

Thank you Brashcandy :) Good point about the webpages; I had only webpages in mind that may refer to specific original texts of scholars or pages that entail a collection of suggested readings that relate to the issues discussed here. And I had a gut feeling already that my point was not that pressing to bring up in this topic but I had overlooked the posts by Lady Lea and Milday of York :)

*Goes back into lurking mode as I still need to dig through the previous thread as well :)

[Mahaut]

Knight, I edited my post and added my sources :) .

Milady, thanks for pointing out that giants aren't titans. Titans and giants are a bit of a tricky concept in ASOIAF as well. There are so many different giant's figures in the story: the Titan of Braavos, the giants North of the Wall, Gregor (and maybe Petyr) and Hodor...

On Mahaut's essay:

I think it helps to cement the idea of Petyr Baelish as the giant Sansa will have to slay, as evidenced by his lecherous and "gluttonous" desires - truly in the sense that he cannot get enough of power and playing the game. We've seen Sansa's connection to the old gods growing stronger throughout the novels, highlighted in the kind of "otherworldly" inspiration which appears to be behind her building snow Winterfell and hearing the ghost wolf. A connection then seems to be forming between the gods and a heroine, which will ultimately lead to Sansa's triumph over Littlefinger.

I also really enjoyed the exploration on Sandor's affliction, and how the fire that marred him, could end up having a restorative effect. Your mentioning of the opposites fire and water naturally brings to mind the central symbols in the novels, fire and ice, and how Martin is using these to construct meaning. In their separate, unchecked conditions, they contribute to dangerous imbalances, which can have destructive consequences for individuals and nature itself. Sandor's quest seems to have been about finding that balance, reconciling the two halves into a whole, and cancelling out the negative.

Interestingly, when the Elder Brother talks of Sandor with Brienne, he states:

So the fire that burned Sandor's face, was still raging within him, expressed in bitter hate for his brother. For Sandor to heal, he has to put those fires out. The EB then goes on to talk of what he did to help save this tortured soul:

There is interesting biblical symbolism connected to these actions, with the focus on baptism, renewal and rebirth. The bringing together of the opposites - fire and water - helping to restore some unity and peace in Sandor's life.

Great post brashcandy. You pointed out aspects that I hadn't thought of such as Sansa's growing connection to the Old Gods and Sandor's baptism ^_^ .

[Devaki Khanna]

Thanks for everything Milady! So, here is my essay.

Infirmity and Deformity:

A symbolic reading of the beastly figures in ASOIAF

So far in this Beauty and the Beast project, we have not focused on the figure of the Beast yet. This little essay will try to remedy that. In ASOIAF, there is no Prince Charming hidden in an ugly monster. However, in Sansa’s narrative there are characters made ugly by infirmities or deformities, and this essay is all about them as it will try to explain the hidden symbolism of these afflictions. This essay will focus on Gregor Clegane, Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister and Sandor Clegane, as they are all more or less related to Sansa’s storyline. The aim of this essay is to discover the symbolic meanings of these afflictions and see how they fit these characters.

Infirmity

In popular belief, infirmities or deformities are given by gods (positive meaning) or by evil entities (negative meaning). In fact, infirmity is a sign of mysteriousness that can be either good or bad. At first sight, an infirmity is repulsive and may be a difficult condition one has to overcome. This is the case of Hephaestus in Greek mythology. He is a lame one-eyed hunchback god who has to earn his place among the Olympians through his art (smithing). However, in many cultures, infirmity is a “place” to hide a precious knowledge or ability. But this extraordinary power is never gratuitous and the infirmity is always the price to pay. For example, the god Odin had to lose an eye in order to receive the ability to see the invisible. In addition, blind people are often believed to be seers or soothsayers in popular belief. Still in traditional belief, the infirm is protected against magic as he can neither be cursed nor bewitched. For these reasons, the infirm is also considered as an intercessor between this world and the other. He is thus singled out among men, and inspires fear as well as respect in people around him.

There are two types of infirmities:

a. The first type is associated with power (positive meaning) or excessiveness (negative meaning), and includes conditions such as gigantism and dwarfism.

b. The second type is connected to dissymmetry, which either means a loss of balance (negative) or a return to unity (positive).

The giants: Gregor and Petyr

The giants are the symbol of excessiveness. They are the embodiment of the primitive and brutal nature one has to destroy to achieve the civilized state. Their violence and lust for power make up for their stupidity and their ignorance. Their gigantism is also transferred on their personality: giants are gluttonous, greedy, intemperate and lecherous. They are degraded by their passions and their serious lack of moderation. In Greek mythology, giants cannot be killed. It requires a god and a hero–a mortal whose father or mother is a god–to overpower a giant. Zeus needed the help of Heracles to restrain Porphyrion before he was able to throw the giant in Tartarus. A Giant was believed to stand for everything the hero had to defeat to embrace his own true personality.

Gregor Clegane is the first character that pops to mind when giants are mentioned as he is probably the biggest man in all of Westeros. Like his popular Greek counterpart, Gregor is brutal, intemperate, lecherous, and knows no limits as he tortures, kills and rapes without hesitation or remorse. In short, just like his size, his personality is excessive and that leads him to atrocious acts such as the mutilation of his little brother with fire. Gregor also seems impossible to defeat because of his size. In addition, it is probable that, though he was poisoned by Oberyn Martell, he is now back from the dead as ser Robert Strong, which also adds to the myth of his invincibility.

Speaking of size, Petyr Baelish has nothing of a giant in him. However, his father’s sigil is a titan and consequently leads some fans to assume that he is the giant from the Ghost of High Heart’s prophesy. In addition, Petyr Baelish seems to share some personality features with the giants from the myths. Firstly, he is excessive in regards to his personal grudge against Brandon Stark, which turned into a real vendetta against House Stark and into a queer obsession for Catelyn Stark that he later transfers on her daughter, Sansa Stark. He is also brutal as he does not hesitate to kill people like Lysa Arryn or Dontos Hollard. Petyr Baelish also seems unable to restrain himself around Sansa Stark once he has “rescued” her from King’s Landing, as exemplified by the scene where he kisses her in sight of his legitimate wife. He also displays rather clearly his sexual desire for Sansa Stark by kissing her repeatedly while pretending to be her father. Finally, Petyr Baelish can be considered the giant Sansa has to defeat to embrace her true personality, as he somehow holds her prisoner in the Alayne Stone persona.

The dwarf: Tyrion

In most mythologies, the dwarf is associated with caves, mountains, gemstones, treasures and smithing. He is playful, friendly and scary at the same time. In royal courts, he is known to speak very freely and is consequently often associated with the figure of the fool who is allowed to say what he wants without being punished as he is–supposedly–not responsible for what he utters. This is why the dwarf is often connected to the unconscious. On the other hand, he also displays deep cunning, perspicacity and logic. As mentioned earlier, the dwarf is an ambiguous and scary figure as well. Traditionally, he is represented as bearded and old, but he is also associated with children because of his small size and his lack of sexual life. In traditional belief, there is no female dwarf and thus dwarves are magically created or are immortal. For this reason, in Snow White’s tale, the dwarves illustrate her emotional immaturity. History has kept record of famous dwarves such as the Roman Licinius Calvus, who was a brilliant orator, and Alypius of Alexandria, who was renowned for his knowledge and his wisdom. Note also that during the Renaissance, it was fashionable to keep dwarves for company.

Interestingly enough, Tyrion shares many of these features with his popular counterpart. Firstly, his name, Lannister, is linked to gold and wealth in Westeros; as we well know: “A Lannister always pays his debts”. Secondly, he is from Casterly Rock, which stands upon vast caves. Then, his personality is also similar to the one described above. At first, he appears as a very friendly character, but as the story goes on, scary aspects of his personality appear. This is the case when he orders Bronn to kill the singer who offended him or when he personally kills his former lover Shae and his father, Tywin. Tyrion is also known to speak very freely, especially to his nephew, which often lands him in trouble, as later on in the saga he is charged with Joffrey’s murder. He is also connected with the figure of the fool on Joffrey’s wedding day, where he is forced to joust on a pig. During his time as Hand, Tyrion displays cleverness, cunning and understanding of the Game of Thrones, qualities he shares with the traditional dwarf. However, there is one aspect in which he differs from the popular tales: sexuality. His affair with Shae is an important feature of his narrative in the first three books. His sexuality takes him out of the fairy tale and grounds him in real life. His desire to be loved also makes him definitely human. Still on the topic of sexuality; Sansa (our Belle figure) refuses to have sex with him for various reasons. Maybe, like the dwarves in Snow White’s tale, his role is to highlight her emotional immaturity at that point in the story. The quality connected with his infirmity is power, that he holds during his time as Hand, but which he can also gain thanks to his cleverness and cunning. The flaw is excessiveness, which is expressed through his very free talk, his delusional relationship with Shae and his jealousy as well as his anger, that led him to kill people himself (the singer, Shae and Tywin).

The burnt and lame gravedigger: Sandor

The symbolic meanings of fire are numerous, so what follows is only a short and incomplete list. Usually, fire means life, energy, power and sexual desire. Fire is also the weapon of the gods, as thunder and lightning belong to Zeus. But fire has a dangerous aspect as well, because it burns and destroys, leaving only ashes, a symbol for mourning, solitude, destitution and renunciation. However, grasses and trees are born again from these ashes, thus connecting fire with rebirth and fertility. Note that fire and water are complete opposites, but both are associated with destruction and fertility. Fire also means purification. It destroys everything and kills germs. On a spiritual level, the soul is purified of its stains and sins. The Inquisition had two reasons for burning people: the first one was to purify the soul. The second one was to ease the passing of the soul by destroying its carnal prison. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus is the god of metals and fire. Now, assuming that Sandor is the gravedigger, this leads us to lameness as Hephaestus is lame as well. In Greek mythology, the god of fire is lame. His infirmity seems to be the price he has to pay for his craft. He is married to his polar opposite, the goddess Aphrodite. To limp is also a sign of weakness, incompleteness and unsteadiness. However, it can be compensated with a cane. In addition, lameness can hold a positive signification as it means new found unity. The foot is also a symbol for the soul: a flaw in the walk is also a flaw or a weakness in the soul. In mythology, the Greek hero Achilles, though he is not lame, has one weak spot: his heel. There is a reason for it being the heel: Achilles’s tendencies to violence and wrath are considered as flaws of the soul by the Ancient Greeks, and wrath is Achilles’s weak spot. Sometimes, lameness means a spiritual wound: in the Bible, Jacob, unbeknownst to him, sees and wrestles with God himself. After his fight, Jacob becomes lame for having seen God.

As far as the reader knows at this point in the story, Sandor has only experienced the destructive aspect of fire, for it took away half his face. But the fire did not only take his face, but it seems that it took his innocence, his hopes and his ideals as well. Sandor would then be in a renunciation state symbolized by his ashen grey armour. Earlier, it was mentioned that the fire is purifying and kills the germs. The last time the reader sees Sandor, he is dying because of an infected wound at the leg. There is a medical technique called cauterization, that consists of burning a body part to remove or close off a part of it. The aim of this operation is to mitigate damage or remove infection. The technique was widespread before the discovery of antibiotics and was effective to close amputations and stop loss of blood. Cauterization was also believed to prevent infection as well. So wouldn’t it be quite ironical that the same fire that took Sandor’s face would give him his life back? The Elder Brother is a renowned healer, so it wouldn’t be too improbable to assume that he knows about cauterization. Assuming that Sandor is the gravedigger, he is now lame. Like Hephaestus, he is lame and associated with fire. Will he get a gorgeous wife as well? Sandor also shares a similarity with Achilles: the rage that scares Sansa. The limp could be the mark left by his (former?) wrath, this flaw of the soul according to the Ancient Greeks. The limp could also be interpreted as the mark of a spiritual revelation, a bit like in Jacob’s case. Having just had a near-death experience and living among a community of monks, it would not be too far-fetched to assume so. Finally, Sandor’s burns fit into the category of dissymmetrical infirmities as they break the symmetry of his face. In Sandor’s case, this injury definitely means a loss of balance as it leads him to create the Hound’s persona. Lameness is also a dissymmetrical affliction. So if infirmities work like mathematics, and negation of a negative term is positive, then Sandor is truly at rest and his lameness would be the symbol of his new found unity ^_^ .

Fin ^_^

ETA: Sources:

CHEVALIER Jean, GHEERBRANT Alain: Dictionnaire des symboles, mythes, rêves, coutumes, gestes, formes, figures, couleurs, nombres, Laffont, Paris, 1982

MOREL Corinne: Dictionnaire des symboles, mythes et croyances, L'Archipel, Paris, 2004

This is a fascinating essay and analysis of these four important characters who have an impact on Sansa's storyline. However, a minor quibble--Tyrion does NOT joust on the piglet or dog on Joffrey's wedding day, even when his nephew demands it, because he feels he would be demeaning himself. He has tried to show his family that he is a capable person, even though he is a dwarf. It is his self-respect and self-esteem, which he keeps intact, despite his family's and society's low opinion of him, that is so moving about this character, as is Sansa's determination to resist her captors using her words and her wits, despite the beatings, the verbal abuse and the forced marriage. In ADwD, because he has been enslaved, and because Penny's brother, her partner in the jousting act, was murdered by Cersei, he has to joust in the arena in Meereen.

[bgona]

On dwarves:

There are also two more flaws associated with the excessiveness aspect of dwarfism: selfishness and greed. That’s how people viewed dwarves in ancient times, and that’s why they’re linked to gold, treasures and precious gemstones, which, unlike Tyrion, they never spend but accumulate in jaw-dropping amounts in caves and mountains. Tyrion is certainly a selfish little man, but he’s not stingy and he doesn’t love gold for gold itself.

This suggest me more about Petyr Baelish than Tyrion. Petyr is describe as a small man. It is curious that LF and Tyrion, both, are describe as small but also they have references one with the Braavos Titan and the other with giants.

As for the Romans, only some dwarves of the nobilitas or rich families, like Licinius Calvus, were able to hold public office and more or less demonstrate that they were intelligent fellows, as is the case with Tyrion, who, if not for his Lannister name, would either be exposed to the elements as a baby to die or suffer the fate of Penny and her brother, as it happened in Rome: they had to be fools, jesters, actors, and even participated in mock gladiatorial fights. The scene GRMM wrote in ADwD wasn’t just an astute plot device he pulled out of thin air to have Tyrion conveniently meet Daenerys, because such things really occurred in Antiquity and very often: we have historical records from both Republican and Imperial Rome of dwarf gladiators entertaining the multitudes at the Circus Maximus and other arenas. In fact, during the reign of infamous emperor Domitian, there was a fight in the arena where a dwarf gladiator was pitted against a female gladiator…

Not even so far ago. I still remember shows that are portraits at the arena (bullfight arena) where skillful dwarves do a lot of risky approaches to the bull always as comedy. They were riskier when I was younger,

and t

are two sample. I thought that no longer were done, but not, they still existing.

[bgona]

Mahaut: yes, please post the one of one-handed.

[bgona]

Reading here I also feel as I am at a Literature Course. It mekes you think and try to improve your reasonings.