Calling all Direwolf / Dog Lovers / in ASoIaF

[evita mgfs]

I thought a thread on the direwolves of House Stark, and any other dogs in AsoIaF, might be interesting. The direwolves of House Stark are my favorites – but I have many favorites – I also am a big dog lover, so . . .

I came with an idea associating the direwolves of House Stark with an expression from the Shakespearean tragedy Julius Caesar. It may relate to House Stark in a figurative way. When Marc Antony promises bloody vengeance for those who killed Caesar and for all of Rome, he says in his soliloquy over Caesar’s corpse, “Cry Hovoc, and let slip the dogs of war”. The Starks and their direwolves are like the “dogs of war” that will be metaphorically unleashed from their crypts to rise against their enemies.

Famine, Sword, Fire, metaphorically, are the dogs of war: sword (or death), and fire (destroy, kill pillage). Dogs are also associated with battle to scout, to divert, to sniff out, to attack to bring down, and to kill the enemy, etc. Ares, the Greek god of war, is oft depicted in images of sculpture from Ancient Greece with a hell hound at his side and a vulture on his shoulder.

The analogy I am making is with the Starks representing aspects of the Shakespearean elements of war, since Martin does make pointed references to the specific play Julius Caesar throughout the novels of ASoIaF.

The Starks and their direwolf counterparts will "cry havoc" against those who have wronged them.

You do not have to do analyze comparatively as I did. I just used my example to suggest a possible analytical thought many of you may have regarding dogs and wolves in the series.

Please share any observations about the direwolves.

What are the purposes of Summer, Shaggydog, Grey Wind, Nymeria, Lady, and Ghost?

Lots of other “dogs” are mentioned in the books, and I jotted down a few questions that might spur you on in the discussion thread.

• Why does Ramsay violate a fake-Stark with a dog? (Stark related? Direwolf envy? Stark hatred?)
• What is Ramsay’s obsession with hounds? (Stark related? Direwolf envy?)
• Septon Meribald’s Dog? Neither wolf nor outlaw dare molest him when Dog is by his side. Dog has killed a dozen wolves.
• The Hound?
• Loptail, Sniff, and Growler?

Also, feel free to discuss any of the dogs as well as direwolves in the work. I am interested in learning more about them from you fine people.

[scorpionspupil]

I've been thinking about the potential for another Direwolf (if not lots) being out there alot lately

the pups father could still be alive, would be fully grown, and potentially lead a pack of his own out beyond the wall. Could make Summer's story more interesting

[evita mgfs]

Good thought. I never even thought about the father. Hmmm. I know some people believe the direwolves are sent by BR, and that Ghost is, metaphorically, BR himself as a wolf, white fur and red eyes.

[Florina Laufeyson]

Theres a lot of dog/wolf symbolism in this series that makes me think GRRM is actually a dog person. While theres people who really like kitties in the series, the canids seem to have more power in the story.

Direwolves link with the Starks. The Starks are a "pack" just as much as they are a family. The direwolves symbolize (in my eyes) the pack mentality, the fortitude against winter, loyalty, etc. When one member of the pack falls, they all feel it despite the great distances between them. That goes for the human members too. At the start of the series, all the direwolves tend to howl in unison along with the human members. Now they all howl in lament. Its a sad story....

Ill try my best to put down what i feel the direwolves symbolize for each Stark:

Grey Wind: Robb's wolf. Grey Wind is a leader. Hes among the biggest of the wolves and seems to be more alpha orientated. He senses danger many times in Robb's company. Robb is a leader as well. He was thrusted into being the lord of Winterfell and the leader of an army. Later, he becomes King in the North. They both die together.

Lady: Sansa's wolf. She is demure and calm. She obeys commands without a second thought. However, she is not without intuition and pride. There was one moment in AGoT where Lady just sort of trots up to (i think its Joff and Sandor) some people and goes "merrrrrrr........D:<" This reflects on Sansa quite a bit. Sansa is rather quiet, calm, and obedient. But when she is wronged, she harbors that wrong and it sort of festers... Lady is the first wolf to die. This is in parallel with Sansa's decisions at that point in the story. (leaning toward another "pack")

Nymeria: Arya's wolf. Hooo boy. Nymeria follows Arya without abandon and while Arya can get her to do things, she doesnt always obey. *cue adorable Nymeria gif from the show with cocked head* But she is loyal and was very reluctant to flee when Arya pushed her away. She is also fiercely protective and fights when Joff attacks Arya. Nymeria later goes on to form a new pack that seems to grow with each day. Arya herself splits off from the pack via force. (Yoren and Ned's death) She is on her own for a good while, but later on she forms a "pack" of her own. In fact, Arya does this nearly everywhere she ends up. Arya is also very fierce and loyal to her "pack" and will not hesitate to put the hurt on people threatening her and hers.

Summer: Bran's wolf. Hes a more mellow guy, that Summer. But he is strong and willing to defend his pack. (Laying the smack down on that assassin protecting Bran AND Cat!) He is the first wolf to be warged which shows that Summer is more open and intuitive. He also is close to Shaggydog, his brother. But Summer cant quite seem to grasp Shaggy's feral nature and neurosis. Summer's favorite thing appears to be running. Bran WANTS to be able to protect his pack but the loss of his legs make that very difficult to nigh impossible at times. Bran's favorite thing was climbing. Bran feels stronger with Summer around. I cant see those two parting anytime soon. Summer runs with a new pack he took while Bran learns about how to greensee with a new "pack".

Shaggydog: Rickon's wolf. Shaggy is very aggressive, feral, neurotic, and confused. These traits dont become apparent until after Ned and Cat leave Winterfell. Hes left to his own devices and often looks to Summer for some guidance, but Summer cannot offer much. This reflects Rickon quite loudly. Hes so young, hes confused by everything thats going on around him. He doesnt know or understand why his parents are gone and why Winterfell is in a bit of upheaval. So Rickon hides in the crypts and acts rather savage. Lack of discipline reflects on how Rickon becomes more aggressive and imbalanced.

Ghost: Jon's wolf. Hes an interesting guy, that Ghost. He is separate from the pack in a way. Set aside it seems. Hes also albino, but his eyes are open before the others'. He also silent. Interacting only with motion and touch. Ghost seems to go off on his own more often than the other wolves. It seems Ghost works more or less alone and a bit less conventionally than the others. Jon is a bastard of Ned's (or so we are told...) and is, in essence, "outside" the pack. But near it. He loves his siblings but feels he cant really be one of them. While Jon makes a little noise about it, he mostly keeps it bottled up. Later on after he joins the Night's Watch, Jon keeps more of his feelings to himself. While he finds a "pack" with the Watch and Sam, Pyp and Grenn (and later Edd), he still feels a bit alone. Even amongst the wildlings and Ygritte, he feels alone often. When he becomes Lord Commander (an "alpha"), that loneliness increases and he speaks little about it. He thinks outside the box though and works in a less conventional manner than other Lord Commanders.

Ill get to dogs a bit later on.

[evita mgfs]

:bowdown: Florina Stark, what an awesome post. You covered all the dirwolves in with info from the books. I am enjoying the read very much. Thank you for responding.

I agree that Martin must be a dog lover - actually, an animal lover. He does a great job with other "pets' in the series, like Mormon't raven. One scene that moved me to tears, aside from Lady and Grey Wind's deaths was the reunion of Ghost and Jon after they were separated during the Wildling invasion. I should have been happy for Jon and Ghost being back together, yet tears leaked from my eyes. That moved me. Martin made it real through words that Jon and Ghost are part of each other! :thumbsup:

[Florina Laufeyson]

Thanks! <3

I also feel that the direwolves are a link between all the Stark siblings with each other. Summer feels very acutely that Lady is gone. "His tail drooped at the thought of her." And he helps keep an eye on Shaggy which is keeping an eye on Rickon. This is Bran and Summer both feeling the distance and loss of their siblings. Perhaps Bran felt that Sansa was lost to him? (now im getting a sad!) Summer also interacts with Jon after he leaves for the Wall. During Jon's stint near Queenscrown, Summer aided him in an attack. Jon sees Bran through Ghost in ACoK. Bran appears as a weirwood and they even seem to speak for a brief moment. (god i love that scene...the chills...)

Grey Wind and Nymeria is unclear though on how they interact with the others. I may be misremembering but in one of Bran's POVs as hes warging Summer, he mentions Nymeria? Im not sure... Also when Grey Wind is dead, Summer feels it? Like i said in my other post, Summer appears to be the most intuitive wolf as Bran is the most intuitive and open Stark, due to his "third eye" opening after his fall.

Oh yes. I love the Jon/Ghost reunion! Its like a piece of Jon came back!

[Dark Heart]

Nymeria never forget Arya.

Not only do Arya dreams of Nym's life but Nym understand what Arya needs.

When she escaped Harrenhal Arya feared pursuit. And we see that there are Bloody Mummers sent to find them.

It's likely that Arya&co would have been caught and killed if Nym and her pack hadn't killed the Mummers.

I loved "They thought they were hunting her. But she was hunting them." line.

It shows that Stark kids and their wolf are, in a way, one.

The distance between them is not important.

And I also like how connected all the wolfs (and be extension the kids) are.

The can feel and know what their brothers and sisters are doing. And never forget even the dead members of their pack.

the pups father could still be alive, would be fully grown, and potentially lead a pack of his own out beyond the wall. Could make Summer's story more interesting

I think that there are more Direwolves for sure.

Leaf (CotF) tells Bran that "direwolves will outlive as all" so that implies there are more dw out there.

[Florina Laufeyson]

Nymeria never forget Arya.

Not only do Arya dreams of Nym's life but Nym understand what Arya needs.

Thats a cool observation and has some weight to it. Why else would Nymeria show Arya via warg dreams, her mother? It almost felt like it was Nymeria acting here and not so much Arya's consciousness when Catelyn was found in the river.

Get up. Get up! Come, run with us! Eat with us! That scene brings me to tears. Nymeria guarding the body from the rest of the pack to keep them from eating it.

[Dark Heart]

Thats a cool observation and has some weight to it. Why else would Nymeria show Arya via warg dreams, her mother? It almost felt like it was Nymeria acting here and not so much Arya's consciousness when Catelyn was found in the river.

Get up. Get up! Come, run with us! Eat with us! That scene brings me to tears. Nymeria guarding the body from the rest of the pack to keep them from eating it.

Thanks.

I do think that either Arya is projecting to Nymeria or Nymeria is picking things from Arya's brain.

- Arya's afraid of being hunted = Nym find, stalks and kills the hunters,

- Arya desperately wants to find and save her mother = Nym finds, tries to make her get up, and (even when she herself is hungry) protects her body,

- Arya's feeling alone = Nym shows her her pack,

- Arya is blind = Every night she sees thing while running with Nym.

Arya's fears, desires, needs everything she can Nymeria tries to help with.

[evita mgfs]

:thumbsup: Florina, I like the use of the word "alpha" to depict both Ghost and LC Jon Snow. Appropriate observation. I also like this description in ASoS, "Red eyes . . . but not like Melesandre’s. He has a weirwood’s eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, red fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one.”

Martin validates Ghost's association with BR and the old gods. Interesting word choice with "blood and bone, like a heart tree." To me Ghost even parallels BR himself, only he has one glowing red eye. Jon also observes that Ghost is Ghost - like for he is a white dog in a white world, and this is an advantage on the Wall. Silent, he can creep up on a foe unnoticed in a snow storm. I wonder if this might foreshadow an event to come with Jon warged in Ghost in WoW.

:thumbsup: Also, Dark Heart, good thoughts - Arya calls herself the Night Wolf because of her wolf dreams that come at night, but she also goes into a warging trance while serving the faceless men and priests when the moon is black, another association with Arya and darkness. She and Nymeria may not be together in the literal sense, but their spirits are still joined even though land and sea separate them. This seems to indicate Arya's powers are approaching Bran's advanced level of warging, although she is not a greenseer.

[Dark Heart]

You know, I actually think that Arya's warging powers are stronger then Bran's.

Yes, Bran is a greenseer and thus stronger then warg. But isn't it odd how Bran have truobles warging ravens (who have been "ridden" before and are not fighting) but Arya effortlessly slips into cat's skin?

And (IIRC) Varamy thinks that cats are hard to warg.

[evita mgfs]

You know, I actually think that Arya's warging powers are stronger then Bran's.

Yes, Bran is a greenseer and thus stronger then warg. But isn't it odd how Bran have truobles warging ravens (who have been "ridden" before and are not fighting) but Arya effortlessly slips into cat's skin?

And (IIRC) Varamy thinks that cats are hard to warg.

:bowdown: Good observations. She has a strong connection with her wolf, and a sense of pack. Even in the HoB&/W, she has made friends and formed alliances of some sort. That is why I do not consider her the Lone Wolf, as many people like to argue. She has Nymeria as part of her, so she will never be alone as long as they are telepatically connected. She seems to have powers similar to V6S, who warged how many beasts?

Some people also speculate Arya may die, and she may, but in the way that V6S described his several deaths when he warged into animals that were killed. But I do not think Arya will be anything like V6S - I am just comaring their warging abilities - but even he did not warg over a body of water.

I see her experimenting on other animals in Braavos to perfect her skills. I think she will warg Casso, King of Seals, because Martin mentions the seal many times and Casso has a fondness for Arya, or her fishy smell, and she has a fondness for Casso. V6S used animals; Arya wargs them with respect,if such a thing can occur.

I also grieved for her when she had to chase Nymeria away. She of all the Starks needed her direwolf because she felt so disconnected from her family when they left WF. She had to part with her bastard brother, whom she loved dearly, her direwolf, her other brothers, her mother, and she is alienated from Sansa due to sibling rivalry.

For Arya, the loss of Nymeria seemed doubly heartbreaking. Then she had Syrio, but she lost him; same with Yoren, Gendry, Hot Pie, the Hound, she even attached herself to Roose Bolton, for gripes sake. So, I am happy she is finally in a safe place, at least for now. They may be trying to take her identity, but she has Needle hidden to remind her of Arya of House Stark, and she has her Night Wolf dreams when she connects with Nymeria. So she is no longer totally alone and desperate to cling to anyone like she once did. :dunno:

[Sand Snake No. 9]

Great posts, y'all,

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I firmly believe that warging is a two-way street. The human can reach out for the animal, but the animal can also reach out for the human. I think that's what happens when Jon suddenly experiences Ghost's hunt when they reunited. Ghost was looking for him.

[Dark Heart]

snip

Definitively not a Lone Wolf. Night Wolf yes, but Arya / Nym are never alone.

They form packs and make friend wherever they go.

Waging Casso is interesting, possible and, as far as I'm concerned, foreshadowed.

Damhair thinks of a family (descending from First Man) that supposedly can warg seals and similar animals.

And there's a lot of emphasis on Casso. So, to me that's a big sign.

Don't make me think about it. :crying:

That was horrible. Her only friend killed, she's feeling guilt and (wrongly) thinks it's her fault, she can't talk with her sister, she's faraway from Jon and her other brothers (and Bran fell not long before that), she's going to a place she hates...

I'm depressing myself now.

Great posts, y'all,

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I firmly believe that warging is a two-way street. The human can reach out for the animal, but the animal can also reach out for the human. I think that's what happens when Jon suddenly experiences Ghost's hunt when they reunited. Ghost was looking for him.

:agree:

And warging connection with a wolf is probably the strongest.

Varamy's teacher describes taking a wolf as "getting married" and "connection for life".

[PetitOiseau]

Great thread! Great post Florina Stark! :)

[evita mgfs]

This was difficult to write, IMO, because of the nasty nature of the person involved, and it contains what I think. IMO, involves rape, child abuse, beyond cruelty to animals, bestiality, and more unpleasantness. But I will attempt to address the “DOG” that is in the bedroom with Ramsay and company – and the ‘DOG’ that Ramsay represents (but dog is too kind for him, IMO). :frown5:

I will try to address the dog Ramsay brings to his bridal bed along with his other pseudo dog, the former Stark ward Theon Greyjoy, aka Reek. Why the dog? I think Ramsay’s choice is symbolic and speaks to his deep-seated resentment of the Starks, who have had, supposedly, a long running rivalry – or dislike for the Starks. Isn’t there a history of Boltons skinning their enemies and wearing their skins for cloaks, which, in a sense relates to the Starks, who also seem to have a long history of warging, which is part of that knowledge the First Men knew now long forgotten in Winterfell. The stone direwolves in the crypts at the feet of the Kings of Winter and the Lord Starks of Winterfell evidence the Stark warging, more a part of the Starks long gone than realized by the novels' Stark parents and their maester.

I think mayhap the Boltons suffer from Stark envy, coveting their gift from the old gods of being able to warg their direwolves. The skinning of enemies and wearing their skins as cloaks is almost like the behavior of a skinchanger. This was the Bolton way of emulating the Stark beastlings, or mocking them.

Thus, with that in mind, consider Ramsay’s like behavior, which Roose attributes to his bad blood; it is impure and corrupt, not the undiluted blood of the First Men which runs in the veins of the Starks, who also share the gifts of the current Stark offspring, Jon the bastard and naturally born children Robb, Bran, Arya, Sansa, and Rickon, all skinchangers and (one greenseers) that apparently marks the legacy of the Starks.

Now the carry-over of Stark Boltons is represented in Ramsay, who hunts women, skins them, and then names his female dogs, or bitches after them. Another conscious or subconscious mockery of the Starks, who are no better than bitches, who Ramsay enjoys dominating in a struggle for power.

Then, with Bolton making a “Stark”, albeit a fake Stark, who is a good symbolic stand in for a real Stark, do nasty sexual things with a dog, (the dog, a direwolf substitute), Ramsay is demonstrating his power and dominion over his Stark rivals,( at least in his generation). Furthermore, Ramsay seemingly takes especial pleasure in torturing Theon and involving him in his wedding night abomination, for Ramsay seemingly resents all the Stark children and Jon Snow especially, because they are competing bastards in the North, (in Ramsay’s thinking). Moreover, Ramsay seemingly perceives Theon as a symbolic brother of the Stark children, honor-bound Ned’s children, and the symbolic son of Ned Stark, his guardian during Theon’s fostering by the wolves, and Ned represents a father figure to Theon as his guardian during his years at WF.

Ramsay sadistically humiliates and abuses both Fake Arya Stark and fake brother/son Theon Greyjoy “Stark” (ironically) by making them do nasty things with the representative direwolf stand in, the poor, maybe not unsuspecting, dog? Ramsay imitates the flaying and skinning traditions from Boltons long past. Martin references that there may be Stark skins and the skins of other enemies flayed at the hands of the Boltons in the dungeons of the Dreadfort.

These skins are like the trophies that present day serial killers like to keep to relive the event of overpowering the helpless.

Ramsay is able to relive having his way sexually with both male and female and dog/direwolve Stark substitutes. (Ramsay holds off on killing them because he needs to relive the pleasure of torturing the Starks in a nightly masquerade of dominance.). He is a sick creature who seemingly enjoys inflicting a long-lasting pain upon others, evident in Jeyne’s crying all day long and Theon’s missing teeth, fingers, and toes.

Ramsay invites to his bedding the symbol and sigil for House Stark, the direwolf, represented by the dog. Again, Ramsay’s role-playing with his stand-in direwolf is another way to show his supremacy over the Starks, for he engages in malicious animal cruelty, and probably rape of all the Stark-stand-in victims. Ramsay shows his omnipotence through his malicious cruelty. In his mind, he is raping a Stark daughter and Stark brother, and giving it to Ned and his powerful Stark blood, blessed with the blood of the First Men, the blood of at least one greenseer and six Stark children who are marked by the old gods with the gift of warging..

Ramsay envies this precious blood of Stark Kings for his is tainted as a bastard. He masterminds a mummer’s farce in his wedding bed casting his victims as Stark players in an evil mummer’s game of intercourse. (I hope this makes sense, and I know it may be out there, but Ramsay reminds me of psychopaths like Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant psychchiatrist who also is a serial killer and a cannibal in the novel and movie Silence of the Lambs. Buffalo Bill is a serial killer who shares some character traits of Dr. Lecter but Buffalo Bill skins his victims to make a cloak of female skins so that he can transform into a woman. (Ramsay is similar to Buffalo Bill, and he wants to wear the skins of Starks or their wolves so that he can transform himself into a Stark and a warg.

Ramsay takes his anger at being unabe to attain his goal of Starkness by taking it out on the closest he will ever get to the Starks,( I hope): his victims Jeyne Poole, Theon Greyjoy, and a dog.

Likewise, Roose's obsession with leeching, (for he indicates that he and his son have the bad blood, which figuratively and symbolically is tainted when compared to the superior blood of the Stark line, which both Boltons covet. This is no doubt why Roose leeches. He is trying to siphon out the tainted blood running in his veins in order to be more Stark-like. Perhaps if Ramsay leeched as well he would be less sadistic, but I doubt it.

Lastly, Roose may be fulfilling a fantasy come to life when he has the opportunity to kill the Stark King Robb at the Red Wedding, spilling that precious Stark blood onto the floor. The Stark woman, Cat, also sheds her precious blood and is sullied by the conspirators. Her body is tossed in the river like a piece of trash, where her warg daughter Arya in her wolf Nymeria (through one of Arya’s Night Wolf dreams) pulls her from the waters onto shore.

In the Red Wedding-like mummery that Ramsay engages in when he involves the dog, who is abused but spared, unlike Grey Wind, who is also “tortured” and “brutalized” like the dog in a sense for his head is removed and you know the rest. :frown5:

Well, I hope this makes sense. Just trying to explore the psyche that is Ramsay, which is not a happy place to be. :crying:

[Florina Laufeyson]

:thumbsup: Florina, I like the use of the word "alpha" to depict both Ghost and LC Jon Snow. Appropriate observation. I also like this description in ASoS, "Red eyes . . . but not like Melesandre’s. He has a weirwood’s eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, red fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one.”

Martin validates Ghost's association with BR and the old gods. Interesting word choice with "blood and bone, like a heart tree." To me Ghost even parallels BR himself, only he has one glowing red eye. Jon also observes that Ghost is Ghost - like for he is a white dog in a white world, and this is an advantage on the Wall. Silent, he can creep up on a foe unnoticed in a snow storm. I wonder if this might foreshadow an event to come with Jon warged in Ghost in WoW.

:thumbsup: Also, Dark Heart, good thoughts - Arya calls herself the Night Wolf because of her wolf dreams that come at night, but she also goes into a warging trance while serving the faceless men and priests when the moon is black, another association with Arya and darkness. She and Nymeria may not be together in the literal sense, but their spirits are still joined even though land and sea separate them. This seems to indicate Arya's powers are approaching Bran's advanced level of warging, although she is not a greenseer.

Ive seen the Bloodraven/Ghost parallels pointed out before too but i am unclear on just what exactly that means. Yeah Ghost does belong to the Old Gods and he seems to be the living embodiment of a weirwood. Red eyes, red face, white skin/bark and ever silent. Ghost communicates with Bran and Bran appears as the weirwood...Does this mean that Bran will be able to communicate directly with Ghost warged by Jon, through the weirwoods themselves? Are we gonna see another encounter between WeirBran and GhostJon? I havent quite figured out what Ghost resembling a weirwood exactly means yet. Ghost's albino nature could also indicate that Jon is part Targaryen. :idea: Omg! Maybe thats the Bloodraven connection!!!! Bloodraven is Brynden Rivers. A Targaryen bastard! Jon is theorized (with mindbogglingly strong evidence) to be half Targaryen as well! Most likely, a bastard!!!

You know, I actually think that Arya's warging powers are stronger then Bran's.

Yes, Bran is a greenseer and thus stronger then warg. But isn't it odd how Bran have truobles warging ravens (who have been "ridden" before and are not fighting) but Arya effortlessly slips into cat's skin?

And (IIRC) Varamy thinks that cats are hard to warg.

m unsure about Arya actually being a stronger warg than Bran. Bran has trouble warging those ravens because those ravens already have a piece of a skinchanger spirit in them through Bloodraven and the Children. Thats probably why. As for Varamir's assessment of cats, wasnt it mostly shadowcats that were particularly difficult to warg? Or was it all cats? I dont remember. But since the cat on Arya's lap was tame and seemed to accept her presence in general, i assumed thats why it allowed her to see through it.

evita....dueagh! I never thought of Ramsay's....deal like that.. Its possible and...freakin' creepy. I could imagine wandering into the mind of Ramsay being very unpleasant indeed. There could be Stark envy.

[ARYa_Nym]

There are definitely more direwolves beyond the Wall. They're just going to go extinct according to Leaf. She blamed the arrival of humans for that. Apparently the two inhabitants can't coincide.

I'll repost the similarities I found b/w Nymera, Arya, and Queen Nymeria.

1. Queen Nymeria was a warrior queen. GRRM said that she was more of a commander than a combatant. Nymeria the wolf is the queen of her pack and they could be used as an army of sorts. Arya isn't really a combatant either in the way that Asha or Brienne are but she could command Nymeria's army through warging which could explain why Catelyn saw Arya as a Warrior in ACoK.

2. Queen Nymeria gathered people from different city-states along the river Rhoyne. Nymeria gathered her pack along the Trident.

3. Queen Nymeria had to flee from the Valyrians. Nymeria and Arya had to flee from the Lannisters.

4. Bran called Queen Nymeria a witch queen. Arya could be called a sorceress in the same way BR was-warging. With the FM Arya is also learning about poisons and potions.

5. Queen Nymeria didn't have a home for her people. Nymeria doesn't either. Arya went to the FM in part because she felt that she had no where else to go.

6. Queen Nymeria was a Rhoynar. They were associated with ships. Arya in Braavos prefers to hang around sailors the most and her favorite place is the Ragman's Harbor. According to wiki the Rhoynar are:

The Rhoynar are a culture of river-faring people who dwelt on the banks of the immense River Rhoyne

Nymeria is currently living in the Riverlands.

7. The story of Queen Nymeria is one of breaking ties with the past and starting anew. She burned her ships so she could not go back. Queen Nymeria never returned home. Arya is trying to become No One. There will be a point where she can't go back to her past. Nymeria has acquired a new pack. It's unlikely that she will go back to being a domesticated wolf again since she's become so wild and feral.

8. Nymeria and Arya have become ruthless killers.

9. This quote highlights the similarities well:

Nymeria is not only a warrior queen, she's a leader of a people without a home. Arya has a pack. Despite her self-sufficient nature, despite always forging her own path forward, she makes friends wherever she goes, and always has people there protecting her. She's also always moving forward. The longest she's stayed in one place is Braavos, but even her situation kept changing. She'd live with a clam-seller, or in the house of the faceless men, or on the streets...

Anyways, I was looking at a courtesan named Diane de Poitiers who has a a lot in common with Arya and Diane was named for the Roman goddess Diana. Diane wore black and white which also represented the dark and light sides of the moon.

EDIT: To be more specific the black and white can parallel to the House of Black and White and Diana is considered to be a goddess of the moon.

Arya is like her in some ways.

Diana's nature was as varied as her many associations. As goddess of forests and hunting, she was considered to be pure and virginal. Yet she could also be arrogant and vengeful. As goddess of the moon, she had a changeable, unpredictable nature. As goddess of the dark world of the dead, she was unforgiving and bloodthirsty.

Diana is also associated with hunting dogs:

The Romans viewed Diana as a many-sided goddess associated with forests and hunting. Artists usually portrayed her as a virgin hunter, often with a bow and quiver, accompanied by maidens, hunting dogs, or deer.

The night is when Arya hunts with her pack of wolves.

"For the night is dark and full of terrors," they prayed. Not for me. Her nights were bathed in moonlight and filled with songs of her pack., with the taste of red meat torn off the bone, with the warm familiar smells of her grey cousins. Only during the day was she alone and blind."

Diana also associated with Hecate who has a she dog, polecat, and weasel as her familiars. Arya has associations with all 3 animals in the series.

HEKATE (or Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea.

http://www.theoi.com...ios/Hekate.html

Hekate was a torch-bearing goddess of the night, the leader of haunting ghosts and inspirer of the night-time baying of hounds. She may have been a goddess of the moon or rather of moonless starlit nights.

I've theorized that Arya could be like a goddess of the underworld or someone who watches over the dead.

Nymeria was called a bitch from the seventh hell:

“She says there’s this great pack, hundreds of them, mankillers, The one that leads them is a she-wolf, a bitch from the seventh hell.” A she-wolf. Arya sloshed her beer, wondering. Was the Gods Eye near the Trident? She wished she had a map. It had been near the Trident that she’d left Nymeria..."

Oh, and in AGoT the only wolf that Nymeria has shown to listen to was Ghost. She followed his lead many times and at one point she started to follow him when he was leaving the room and only stopped when she saw that Arya was not coming.

[Florina Laufeyson]

So GhostxNymeria OTP?

O_O

lol.

Anyway good post ARYa_Nym! Im pretty sure the Nymeria/Arya parallels with the historical Nymeria are intentional.

[evita mgfs]

There are definitely more direwolves beyond the Wall. They're just going to go extinct according to Leaf. She blamed the arrival of humans for that. Apparently the two inhabitants can't coincide.

snip

Anyways, I was looking at a courtesan named Diane de Poitiers who has a a lot in common with Arya and Diane was named for the Roman goddess Diana. Diane wore black and white which also represented the dark and light sides of the moon.

EDIT: To be more specific the black and white can parallel to the House of Black and White and Diana is considered to be a goddess of the moon.

Arya is like her in some ways.

Diana is also associated with hunting dogs:

The night is when Arya hunts with her pack of wolves.

Diana also associated with Hecate who has a she dog, polecat, and weasel as her familiars. Arya has associations with all 3 animals in the series.

http://www.theoi.com...ios/Hekate.html

I've theorized that Arya could be like a goddess of the underworld or someone who watches over the dead.

Nymeria was called a bitch from the seventh hell:

Oh, and in AGoT the only wolf that Nymeria has shown to listen to was Ghost. She followed his lead many times and at one point she started to follow him when he was leaving the room and only stopped when she saw that Arya was not coming.

I thought Arya very like Hermes, who leads the souls to Hades, delivering them to Charon, personified as the Grim Reaper, who carries the dead across the River Styx.

I love analogies to Greek and Homeric myth. Hermes is a male, though, with his winged ankles and hat, sort of looking like the little postal stamp.

You did such a good job with the comparisons to the different myths.

I hated writing my post about the dog in Ramsay's bedroom. I feel so dirty, I want to delete it because I am embarrassed for even going there. I watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds and shows on the ID network. :frown5: