Becoming No One: Rereading Arya II

[Ice Turtle]

I don't have my book with me at the moment, so sadly I'm only able to comment on Cat's dream:

When I read the section you quoted, I leant towards a more negative reading of Cat's dream (although both are plausible). It seems to me that Cat is yearning for impossible things - Bran not being crippled, Robb not being a king - and it is rather troubling that Arya and Sansa's unity is placed on the same level as these obvious impossibilities. I felt that GRRM was suggesting that the emnity between the two sisters does indeed run deep. I've said earlier in the re-read that I don't like the way he sets up the rivalry between the two in GoT, that it seems over-exaggerated and unrealistic, but nevertheless I do wonder if this is what he is aiming for.

Wow, I thought exactly the same thing, when I read it. All the other things she mentions are impossible. And then there is also that promise to Eddard not to stick Sansa with Needle and Jon's and Arya's saying about not telling Sansa. As it is now, they would be glad that other is alive, but there may be some serious conflict in future.

[Fire Eater]

I don't have much to say but here goes.

Arya's chapter and Rapsie' analysis reminds me of something my mother once said: Fear is a learned emotion. Arya sees those who act brave are the firsts ones to die. This goes along the line of picking your battles, and picking when to wait and when to strike.

[Lummel]

A couple of things I noticed.

This chapter in which Arya arrives in Harrenhall - the greatest castle ever known is followed by Daenerys arriving in Quarth - the greatest city ever known.

The picture of the Lannister system. There's a heirarchy of Tywins like Russian dolls each smaller than the last but the same shape as the original. There are rewards for those who serve well and ready recourse to violence for those who don't, because a Lannister always pays their debts. There is immense pride in serving the Lannister cause.

[Elaena Targaryen]

From the comments on this last chapter I think we are beginning to see Arya start to go through an identity crisis that will continue through Dance. Arya has changed names already but it’s what she has lost that may be what matters. Is Arya Underfoot dead and gone now? I think so, changing from playful to serious and impulsive to calm control, and this is something she probably would have grown out of anyway but maybe the way she losses this part of herself, as in being broken, will only add to her identity issues. There was an interview with Martin that I’m reminded of where he was asked two questions concerning identity issues in the overall story and both answers included Arya and the latter part can be concerning. (link)

It's been pointed out that a lot of characters in A Dance With Dragons are losing their names, and their very identities, as a result of intense circumstances. What's that about?

Arya has been doing it for some time, actually. Arya has gone through a dozen different identities, even getting to Braavos — where the ultimate goal of the Faceless Men is to become no-one, and to be able to assume identities as one assumes a suit of clothes. But yes, identity is one of the things that I'm playing with in this series as a whole, and in this particular book — what is it that makes us who we are? Is it our birth, our blood, our position in the world? Or something more integral to us? Our values our memories, et cetera.

Usually in a heroic fantasy series when someone loses their identity, you expect that to be followed by them regaining their selfhood in some dramatic way, or taking some heroic action that reasserts who they really are. Do you feel a responsibility to subvert that? Or play with that trope?

I'm certainly playing with it. There are different ways of assuming identities. Some of them I try to get at in books, and it's a little bit reflected in the chapter titles. In some cases, it's just someone putting on a mask. I mean Qwentyn Martell and his companions assume false names at several points during their journey from Dorne to Meereen. They assume different roles and different identities, but it never really affects who they are. When they're in private, they're still the people that they have always been. When you're dealing with Arya and what she's going through, or you're dealing with Theon... you're dealing with something much, much deeper there, where the original identity is being threatened or kind of broken down by one means or another, and maybe is in danger of being lost entirely.

Arya’s original identity being threatened or broken down to the point of being lost entirely even enough to be compared to Theon shows how extreme and concerning this is and will become as we go through this reread. One thing I think of here is ahead of where we are but I can’t help thinking about the candles at the House of Black and White. Arya smells “Winterfell, she might have said. I smell snow and smoke and pine needles. I smell the stables. I smell Hodor laughing, and Jon and Robb battling in the yard, and Sansa singing about some stupid lady fair. I smell the crypts where the stone kings sit, I smell hot bread baking, I smell the godswood. I smell my wolf, I smell her fur, almost as if she were still beside me.” So you have to wonder if this reinforces Arya subconsciously to trust the Faceless Men and staying at the HoBaW means safety. But forgive me for getting ahead.

There are enough comments on the current chapter to discuss all of this. Like others have mentioned how Arya is not the same person since her escape from Kings Landing. Like others have mentioned Arya is becoming something different, someone who hates herself for becoming a lamb and mouse, someone who lets go of pride, honor, principles, torn from heroic ideas and all of these compromises lead to a progressive transformation while reinforcing certain behaviors like control, observation, sneakiness, vengeance and internalizing rage, fear and despair.

What are the reasons this is happening to Arya? Others have mentioned that Arya’s adventure story is instead really a horror story. Others have mentioned a transformation from being in a war zone, she has been on a death march, she is being broken, she ends up in positions to break her further, she has witnessed and feared being chosen for extreme tortures and they used fear for control of their captives, she has seen the brave ones die first as another form of control and with all of this psychological torment Arya feels the need to create a death list. Now, at Harrenhal in Lannister control, Arya is in an environment where they will reward her for serving her masters well but there will be violence if she does not please them, Weese wants to smell her fear.

So with all of this of course Arya will not be the same person and she will be forever changed. But just how different will Arya be, will she lose the person she was completely, and how with all of this can she hang on to herself? Has or will Arya be as changed and damaged as Theon? Will Arya lose all of her values and memories that make her who she is? Will Martin subvert or play with the losing your identity troupe and leave Arya that damaged?

[Lummel]

I would agree that identity and purpose are central for many of the POV characters

• Arya Stark or no one
  
• Sansa Stark or Alayne Stone
  
• Brandon Prince of Winterfell or a tree wed greenseer
  
• Jon Snow or Lord Commander of the Nights Watch or Jon Stark or even Jon Targaryen
  

Those alternative identities are also largely irreconcilable. They are one or the other choices.

In a different thread we discussed the conflict in Daenerys between being a dragon and a mother. That looks reconcilable, equally with Tyrion there is a conflict over identity and role but for those two characters it is a question of becoming whole that doesn't require the rejection of a viable, separate identity.

Certainly I would link this inner journey of the personality with the outer political journey of house stark. Death and time spent in the underworld is a strong motive for all the stark children, but equally the possibilities of resurrection, literal or spiritual and myths of spring and regeneration flutter about them too. Certainly I think we are meant to feel that this is a risky process, that not all the starks will necessarily complete their journey through the underworld and emerge alive or unscathed into adulthood.

[Errant Bard]

Actually there is.

“He killed the slave?” That did not sound right. “He should have killed the masters!”

“He would bring the gift to them as well . . . but that is a tale for another day, one best shared with no one.”

The gift was given only to those who yearned for it, in the beginning … but one day, the first of us heard a slave praying not for his own death but for his master’s. So fervently did he desire this that he offered all he had, that his prayer might be answered. And it seemed to our first brother that this sacrifice would be pleasing to Him of Many Faces, so that night he granted the prayer. Then he went to the slave and said, ‘You offered all you had for this man’s death, but slaves have nothing but their lives. That is what the god desires of you. For the rest of your days on earth, you will serve him.’ And from that moment, we were two.”

Heh? But we were talking of FM philosophy: the key point here is not the realisation of the wish, it's the offering of everything the supplicant has to the god. That never connects with a kill them all attitude nor with a personal death list. It does not parallel Arya's future recruitment either.

So with all of this of course Arya will not be the same person and she will be forever changed. But just how different will Arya be, will she lose the person she was completely, and how with all of this can she hang on to herself? Has or will Arya be as changed and damaged as Theon? Will Arya lose all of her values and memories that make her who she is? Will Martin subvert or play with the losing your identity troupe and leave Arya that damaged?

I take note of what Martin said, and it disturbs me. For me, you never lose "who you are", you just tranform: you always are yourself, like Arya says "names didn't matter, she was herself". So what if the values you have at 20 are not the ones you had at 10? It's normal. Why should one hang to one's child personality? As for memories... I don't believe it is actually possible to lose them.

Meh, I don't know where Martin is going with this but I sure hope he's not thinking of reinforcing the idea that characters personalities in fiction are monolithic and growth is an illusion, something superficial barely encompassing a few skills, but never outlook, values, beliefs and relationships. I loath this trope and would lose a lot of respect for the series, and for GRRM as a writer if he did it.

[Lummel]

...Meh, I don't know where Martin is going with this but I sure hope he's not thinking of reinforcing the idea that characters personalities in fiction are monolithic and growth is an illusion, something superficial barely encompassing a few skills, but never outlook, values, beliefs and relationships. I loath this trope and would lose a lot of respect for the series, and for GRRM as a writer if he did it.

Looks to me to be fairly safe to say that GRRM does not think that growth is an illusion. Outlook, values and beliefs of a few characters are challenged and change, certainly Arya is one of those, Daenerys too, Jon and Sansa as well, maybe some others :dunno:

[Errant Bard]

Looks to me to be fairly safe to say that GRRM does not think that growth is an illusion. Outlook, values and beliefs of a few characters are challenged and change, certainly Arya is one of those, Daenerys too, Jon and Sansa as well, maybe some others :dunno:

The given interview snippet leaves me less than certain, he certainly seems to argue that you can leave who you are behind, which for me is a nonsense. If it is truly his opinion, then any change we see will be either cosmetic or over blown into "being someone else" and more or less vilified and shown as something reversable that should morally be reversed.

[Lyanna Stark]

The next Arya installment will be up later today or tomorrow, somewhat delayed due to family obligations over X-mas/New Years and home renovation projects (+ some emergency calls into work, too).

Anyways, I hope you have all enjoyed the holidays and are all ready to launch into an exciting new 2013. :)

[Lyanna Stark]

It's never an all or nothing thing, exceptional circumstances do a number on anyone, that is why "priority" does not mean "categorical imperative", but I don't think you can deny Arya's distancing herself from heroics, more than about anyone else, including Theon, Cersei, Tywin or Tyrion: those have principles driving them.

I agree that this is an interesting facet of Arya's development. In that, she is just as stripped as Sansa of her beliefs. Arya believes in righteous justice and obviously in heroics before she went through her gruelling journey, but like Sansa experiences a stripping away of "delusions" so does Arya. Arya's development is perhaps less obvious than Sansa's since Sansa is presented in a negative light initially, and as extremely naive and with her head perpetually in the clouds, while Arya is presented as a more sympathetic outsider who is more "realistic" to start with. But as it happens, both Arya and Sansa go through the same process.

As you state though, priority is still there. We've been discussion that topic a bit in the Sansa Pawn to Player thread, of what can be a strong enough imperative to force Sansa out of hiding and into action. As clearly shown here, Arya is learning that being sneaky and invisible is key to surviving in many situations. Sansa has realised something similar, in that she is "hiding" as Alayne Stone. Perhaps Arya's storyline in ACOK and onwards can give us some clues as to what imperative could be strong enough to propel her out of this learned behaviour.

[Milady of York]

Again like the FM, death is innocuous in the face of the Tickler and yet he is a forgettable faced instrument of horror. What he does to people is not really described, but looking at Medieval tortures and narrowing down which could have been performed on the hoof and also might tie into his moniker, I found this. (Grimm and the closest thing I could find to what the Tickler might be).

Interesting, Rapsie. There’s another possibility: the torture method the Tickler may have employed could have been literal tickling.

You see, tickles were a method of torturing in ancient Rome. There were two techniques:

a. The first involved just tickling, and was a very creative one, and even somewhat funny to read about in the old Latin texts: the torturer had to dip or cover the victim’s feet with salt or a salty paste, and then a goat or another animal was brought before him to lick his feet. The result wasn’t hilarious, of course, because after some minutes of hysterical laughing the tickling became really horribly painful due to overexcited nerves, and the victim would writhe in agony, and confess. Palms of the hands and soles of the feet were the preferred locations because both are highly sensitive, and prolonged tickling causes anxiety and releases large amounts of stress hormones that can lead to death by heart attack or fatal convulsions.

The Chinese had a similar method of torture, the only difference being that of covering the feet with honey instead of salt.

b. The second method was more gruesome and violent: the torturer had to inflict a certain type of wounds (cuts) on the victim’s abdomen, which is also very sensitive, causing the person to laugh hysterically, which led to greater suffering, as if the wound in itself wasn’t painful enough. It wasn’t very common, though, and sometimes it was a byproduct of other torture methods, such as disemboweling or dismembering.

But this torture wasn’t peculiar of Antiquity only; it was a standard torture method during the Middle Ages––and probably is still in use today. The first technique was the most popular because it doesn’t leave physical marks on the tortured, but causes as much uncomfortable feelings and pain as other techniques, and can kill. The Medieval method was like this: you put the prisoner on the stocks, or tie him to two carts, or chain him to the wall, take his shoes off and leave him or her barefooted, and then proceed to tickle his feet with something soft but firm, like a goose feather or straws. After a time, the victim would confess.

It’s highly probable that the Tickler used one of the methods mentioned above, because the Spanish Tickler appears to be too bulky for a soldier/torturer to carry around during campaigns, though there’s a variation called Cat’s Paw, which is the size of an adult’s arm and is used to rake the victim to death. If applied to the stomach, it could cause the wounds I described in example B.

[brashcandy]

ARYA VII

Summary

The first part of the chapter outlines Arya’s daily life in Harrenhal and the hard work she does in cleaning parts of the castle. She no longer goes hungry, but still lives in terror of the men around her:

If there were ghosts in Harrenhal, they never troubled her. It was the living men she feared, Weese and Ser Gregor Clegane and Lord Tywin Lannister himself, who kept his apartments in Kingspyre Tower, still the tallest and mightiest of them all, though lopsided beneath the weight of the slagged stone that made it look like some giant half-melted black candle.

Weese’s casual and frequent cruelty soon earns him a place on Arya’s prayer list, and she thinks that she must remember the names so she’ll be able to exact her revenge later on. On the road she was a sheep, but in Harrenhal she’s a mouse:

She was grey as a mouse in her scratchy wool shift, and like a mouse she kept to the crannies and crevices and dark holes of the castle, scurrying out of the way of the mighty.

It is via this meek and inconspicuous station that Arya is able to hear a lot of the news, rumors and tall tales concerning the nobles and the state of the war:

King Robert’s brothers Stannis and Renly had joined the fighting, she heard. “And both of them kings now,” Weese said. “Realm’s got more kings than a castle’s got rats.” Even Lannister men questioned how long Joffrey would hold the Iron throne. “The lad’s got no army but them gold cloaks, and he’s ruled by a eunuch, a dwarf, and a woman,” she heard a lordling mutter in his cups. “What good will the like of them be if it comes to battle?” There was always talk of Beric Dondarrion. A fat archer once said that the Bloody Mummers had slain him, but the others only laughed. “Lorch killed the man at Rushing Falls, and the Mountain’s slain him twice. Got me a silver stag says he don’t stay dead this time neither.”

The second part of the chapter marks the arrival of the Bloody Mummers – a queer looking group of men led by Vargo Hoat. Weese warns her that they call themselves the Brave Companions and that they’re in the service of Tywin Lannister. Arya wonders:

How many monsters does Lord Tywin have?

When the group departs the castle she learns that Robb is at Riverrun and entertains hopes of reaching him:

When she thought of seeing Robb’s face again Arya had to bite her lip. I want to see Jon too, and Bran and Rickon, and Mother. Even Sansa … I’ll kiss her and beg her pardons like a proper lady, she’ll like that.

She notices some of the hostages at the castle but can’t identify the Northmen except Lord Cerwyn, who used to visit Winterfell with his son Cley.

For days and days Arya tried to work out how she might steal past the door guards to see him. If he knew her, he would be honor bound to help her.

This hope is dashed when she spies the silent sisters preparing his body for burial one morning.

The final part of the chapter comprises Jaqen’s arrival and his offer to repay her for the three lives that were stolen from the Red God when Arya rescued him in the burning holdfast. He tells her that she shall have three lives of him, no more, no less, and that Arya must not take long deciding. She ponders the names on her list and thinks that she should kill them herself, remembering her father’s words about what is owed to a man whose life you will take. She sets about to avoid Jaqen H’ghar, but when Weese sends her to attend to the recently returned Gregor Clegane and his men, Arya hears Chiswyck tell a horrifying story of the gang rape of an inn keeper’s daughter.

She whispers Chiswyck’s name to Jaqen a couple nights later, and soon afterwards the man is found dead, having broken his neck from a fall. The rumour is that it was Harren’s ghost, but Arya thinks:

It wasn’t Harren … It was me. She had killed Chiswyck with a whisper, and she would kill two more before she was through. I’m the ghost in Harrenhal, she thought. And that night, there was one less name to hate.

Analysis

Character Development: Of Mice and Ghosts

Until the final part of the chapter, Arya is very much in the same mindset we saw in the last chapter; she’s learnt the folly of heroics, and is aware of the need to stay in the shadows and do her work. This is symbolized by her identifying as a mouse, a change from the sheep she was on the road. Even though she’s relatively safer in the castle, and has access to food and shelter, there’s no comfort in this environment. One terror is always replaced by another, as shown by the coming and going of Tywin’s “monsters,” and there’s always someone like Weese who is willing to subject his workers to abuses. As much as Arya has realized her essential helplessness at this point, we see that she still maintains her lust for vengeance and her appreciation for those who are treated unfairly and abused by the ones in power. Hatred has become her religion.

The helplessness is replaced at the end of the chapter with a feeling of power and control. It’s interesting how Arya characterizes herself as the ghost, when in actual fact it would better be suited to Jaqen – the one who’s actually doing the killing. She does have authority in choosing who dies, but the choice to label herself as the ghost in Harrenhal reflects a conscious embodiment of death. Martin has done a good job of highlighting how Arya’s confrontation with evil, and the outrage she feels as a result influences a sinister turn in her character. She has a brief period of trying to cling to her father’s teachings, but in the end succumbs to her hatred for the actions of men like Chiswyck.

Her refusal to learn the names of those around her due to the fear of them dying or disappearing is contrasted with the obsession she’s developed with repeating the names of her enemies. Arya may avoid forming bonds because of her fear of hurting when they’re inevitably broken, but she’s formed her own bonds through the prayer list, only this one offers no hope of healthy attachments or true happiness. The only time Arya experiences a hope for such is when she thinks of reconnecting with her family, and imagines how good it will be to see everyone, even Sansa. Once again, I know a lot has been made of the long standing enmity between the sisters which could make a reunion difficult, but the actual text doesn’t support this reading when we look at Arya’s and Sansa’s thoughts about one another.

Foreshadowing/Symbolism: The North remembers

• Arya notices that everyone in Harrenhal looks like a mouse, as they’re dwarfed by the massive scale of the building, and she remembers Old Nan’s stories which told of giants who lived beyond the Wall.
  
• Arya sleeps in the Wailing Tower at the castle, which we learn only wailed when the wind blew from the North.
  
• The hostage Northmen – Ser Wylis Manderly and Harrion Karstark
  

The Lannisters might be in charge of Harrenhal, but all the symbolism in the chapter reinforces the significance of Northern interests. The threat of the Others will truly reduce the squabbles in the realm to nothing, just like Harrenhal makes everyone appear as mice. The north wind blowing through the tower is a herald that winter is coming, and Wylis Manderly’s haunting of the kitchens is a nice bit of Frey Pies foreshadowing. Harrion’s sister Alys will eventually seek the protection of Jon Snow. Although we get the hints of a coming Northern resurgence, Arya is aligned with a different force in this chapter – the Red God and the Faceless Men in Jaqen. She doesn’t know the names of the captives, and ultimately rejects her father’s wisdom on delivering death, choosing to carry out her justice in the shadows.

Gender:

- Arya thinks of how she would kiss and beg Sansa’s pardons like a proper lady

- Jaqen tells her that a boy becomes a girl, but she insists that she was always a girl

[Daphne23]

Thanks for the brilliant summary brashcandy! I finally have my book back and can comment properly.

Weese’s casual and frequent cruelty soon earns him a place on Arya’s prayer list, and she thinks that she must remember the names so she’ll be able to exact her revenge later on. On the road she was a sheep, but in Harrenhal she’s a mouse

While re-reading this chapter, I spent a lot of time thinking about the popular assumption that Arya would never have survived in Sansa's position and vice versa. I think it's true for Sansa, primarily because she would not have been able to convincingly disguise herself, but Arya's transformation into a 'mouse' in Harrenhal indicates that she is able to exercise self-control and subsume her impulsiveness and outspoken nature when she needs to. I'm still unconvinced this would have worked for her in King's Landing, though, where she would have been known as Arya Stark and subject to more obvious ridicule and humilation than her experiences here, where she can largely stay off the radar. Also, even if Arya had managed to adapt to life as a hostage, I think this chapter shows that she would have found it hard to preserve her essential selfhood without her freedom, whereas Sansa manages to hold onto her key qualities even in captivity. So maybe we could say that Arya would have survived Sansa's situation, but not as 'Arya'. I agree about the ghost symbolism - chilling

On Arya's hit list and Weese, I thought this line was interesting:

It took him [Weese] only three days to earn the place of honour in her nightly prayers.

I never had the impression that Arya's list had any sort of order before (otherwise Joffrey and Cersei would surely not be so far down) and I wondered whether this was simply a trick by GRRM to foreshadow Weese's death later, or if there is any order to the list.

This chapter is very illuminating about Arya's observational skills, and also their limitations. As brashcandy noted, she is extremely observant, and able to find out a great amount of detail about the denizens of the castle. However, in one key respect, her skills are hampered by her lack of knowledge:

One fat lordling haunted the kitchens... the clasp that held his cloak was a silver-and-sapphire trident. He belonged to Lord Tywin, but the fierce, bearded young man who liked to walk the battlements alone in a black cloak patterned by white suns had been taken by some hedge knight... Sansa would have known who he was, and the fat one too, but Arya had never taken much interest in titles and sigils. Whenever Septa Mordane had gone on about the history of this house and that house, she was inclined to drift and dream

Later, we will see how crucially important such knowledge could be to Arya, and I think this marks a key separation between her and Sansa's skill-sets. While both sisters are learning to observe and to interpret what they observe, Sansa's training is much more focused on the bigger political picture, while Arya gathers smaller practical detail about commoners that Sansa would not have access to and builds up a picture of day-to-day life. I also think it's telling that Arya's rejection of ladylike training is not presented as entirely positive - if she had listened to Septa Mordane, she would have been able to interpret these signs, and we know that this is key training for all young nobles and squires, not just women, as Tyrion drills Pod in sigils later.

Finally, in relation to themes of identity, I thought this line was telling, as Arya makes a division between Ned and the Lord of Winterfell, but suggests that she cannot read Lord Tywin behind his mask:

He [Tywin] has a lord's face, that's all... She remembered hearing her lady mother tell father to put on his lord's face and go deal with some matter. Father had laughed at that. She could not imagine Lord Tywin ever laughing at anything.

[Lummel]

...While re-reading this chapter, I spent a lot of time thinking about the popular assumption that Arya would never have survived in Sansa's position and vice versa. I think it's true for Sansa, primarily because she would not have been able to convincingly disguise herself, but Arya's transformation into a 'mouse' in Harrenhal indicates that she is able to exercise self-control and subsume her impulsiveness and outspoken nature when she needs to...

I'd say that Arya doesn't transform into a mouse, she is transformed into a mouse. Her mouseness is a result of her experience in Arya VI. She's been taught how to behave and that violence is reenforced through this chapter. It's Jaqen who opens a window for her that allows her a second life as a ghost.

In other words contrary to the popular admiration of Arya's wildness we see that she can be cowed into submission too. It's a question of circumstance.

Still is this the first example of wolf dreams in this chapter or have we had some already?

[Ice Turtle]

There seems to be some inconsistency in GRRM's writing, because later Arya will recognize Karstark sigil, and I really doubt she gained that knowledge between this chapter and the future one.

Yes this is probably a first chapter where Arya seems to have a wolf dream.

Arya was dreaming of wolves running wild through the wood when a strong hand clamped down over her mouth like smooth warm stone, solid and unyielding.

Arya's mice and sheep statements are the ones that I don't actually believe, Arya sometimes thinks things about herself that are in conflict with her own actions. Two interesting quotes that could relate to Arya's situation.

Jon had once heard Mance Rayder say that most kneelers were sheep. “Now, a dog can herd a flock of sheep,” the King-Beyond-the-Wall had said, “but free folk, well, some are shadowcats and some are stones. One kind prowls where they please and will tear your dogs to pieces. The other will not move at all unless you kick them.”

“Jaime,” Brienne whispered, so faintly he thought he was dreaming it. “Jaime, what are you doing?”

“Dying,” he whispered back.

“No,” she said, “no, you must live.”

He wanted to laugh. “Stop telling me what do, wench. I’ll die if it pleases me.”

“Are you so craven?”

The word shocked him. He was Jaime Lannister, a knight of the Kingsguard, he was the Kingslayer. No man had ever called him craven. Other things they called him, yes; oathbreaker, liar, murderer. They said he was cruel, treacherous, reckless. But never craven. “What else can I do, but die?”

“Live,” she said, “live, and fight, and take revenge.” But she spoke too loudly. Rorge heard her voice, if not her words, and came over to kick her, shouting at her to hold her bloody tongue if she wanted to keep it.

Real mice and sheep don't plan to kill the predators later.

It was the living men she feared, Weese and Ser Gregor Clegane and Lord Tywin Lannister himself, who kept his apartments in Kingspyre Tower, still the tallest and mightiest of all, though lopsided beneath the weight of the slagged stone that made it look like some giant half-melted black candle. - Not sure what it means but the description reminds me a little of obsidian candles.

Order in which Arya recites the names doesn't seem to matter much.

Ser Gregor,” ...“Dunsen, Polliver, Chiswyck, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Amory, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.”

"Weese,” ... “Dunsen, Chiswyck, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Gregor, Ser Amory, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.”

“Weese,” ... “Dunsen, Chiswyck, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Gregor, Ser Amory, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.”

“Weese,” ...“Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling,” ...“The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Gregor, Ser Amory, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.”

“Ser Gregor,” ...“Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling.” ... “The Tickler,” ..., “the Hound,” ...“Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.” ...“Joffrey, Joffrey, Joffrey.”

Ser Gregor, ...Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.

“Ser Gregor, Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei, King Joffrey.”

“Queen Cersei,” ...“King Joffrey, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn. Dunsen, Raff, and Polliver. The Tickler, the Hound, and Ser Gregor the Mountain.” She liked to mix up the order of the names sometimes. It helped her remember who they were and what they’d done.

“Ser Gregor, Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei.”

Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei. Dunsen, Poliver, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Gregor and the Tickler. And the Hound, the Hound, the Hound.

“Ser Gregor...,”... “Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.”

Ser Gregor... Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.

“Ser Gregor,”...“Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.”

“Ser Gregor, Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.”

“Ser Gregor,” ...“Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.”

Ser Gregor, ... Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.

Ser Gregor, ... Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.

Ser Gregor, Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei.

Its stables housed a thousand horses, its godswood covered twenty acres, its kitchens were as large as Winterfell’s Great Hall, and its own great hall, grandly named the Hall of a Hundred Hearths even though it only had thirty and some (Arya had tried to count them, twice, but she came up with thirty-three once and thirty-five the other time) - is those small things I like about Arya the most, for a "broken" person she often finds time to do normal things like try to count the hearts even in very hostile environments.

Arya thinks about begins pardons as a lady when she meets her sister, she is willing to made some sacrifices and compromises in her relationship with Sansa, we have seen that even in their last conversation Arya was trying to end their dispute, while Sansa refused to do so. This is also not the only chapter where Arya reflects on Sansa's abilities, we never see Sansa doing same when it comes to Arya.

“Three lives you shall have of me. No more, no less. Three and we are done. So a girl must ponder.” He kissed her hair softly. “But not too long.” - How much choice did Arya have about the killing? Later she will prove Jaqen wrong, but this doesn't seem as a deal Arya could have so easily refused. Jeqen is actually forcing her into being responsible for three deaths. I disagree that she gave up her father's learning about swinging the sword herself entirely, in the house of BaW she won't ask for those people being killed, she wants to learn to do it herself.

My Layna - No proof there, but for some reason I always thought that girl was actually named Lyanna ( there has to be some famous songs about RR) or Lanna and Chiswyck just remembers the name wrong.

[Errant Bard]

First instance of wolf dream would when she dozes off before Lorch's attack, in my opinion.

[Lummel]

There seems to be some inconsistency in GRRM's writing, because later Arya will recognize Karstark sigil, and I really doubt she gained that knowledge between this chapter and the future one...

Not necessarily.

Knowing sigils isn't a zero-sum business. She just knows some sigils but not others and there is no reason for there to be much rhyme nor reason as to which ones she remembers if they are largely learnt through playing games like 'come into the castle' as Tyrion in ADWD seems to remember.

[Ice Turtle]

First instance of wolf dream would when she dozes off before Lorch's attack, in my opinion.

She must have slept, though she never remembered closing her eyes. She dreamed a wolf was howling, and the sound was so terrible that it woke her at once.

You are probably right, but who is the howling wolf? Nymeria or some other warning her? It's a little strange that these dreams aren't "in first person".

[Ice Turtle]

Not necessarily.

Knowing sigils isn't a zero-sum business. She just knows some sigils but not others and there is no reason for there to be much rhyme nor reason as to which ones she remembers if they are largely learnt through playing games like 'come into the castle' as Tyrion in ADWD seems to remember.

It was more about this part:

He belonged to Lord Tywin, but the fierce, bearded young man who liked to walk the battlements alone in a black cloak patterned with white suns had been taken by some hedge knight who meant to get rich off him.

Arya doesn't think about him as Karstark. But It could be that she knows he is or belongs to Karstarks and it's a deliberate omission that she never thinks about it.

[Errant Bard]

She must have slept, though she never remembered closing her eyes. She dreamed a wolf was howling, and the sound was so terrible that it woke her at once.

You are probably right, but who is the howling wolf? Nymeria or some other warning her? It's a little strange that these dreams aren't "in first person".

But they are in first person, they just are purposefully vague to begin with to leave the ambiguity. Nobody else heard any wolf in that lake town, it's heard through other ears, or not heard at all but how the first warning visions come off as after waking up.

Arya believes her dreams (as Sansa said in AGOT, everyone knows dreams are prophetic, and maybe it's true too) but she never acknowledges that it's more than true" dreams