SeanF Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 In AGOT, Dany saves Mirri from rape, when her town is stormed by Khal Drogo's men. Subsequently, Drogo falls ill from a wound that he took, and Dany asks Mirri to treat him. She prepares a poultice, and tells him not to remove it, and to abstain from wine or milk of the poppy.Drogo ignores her instructions, removes the poultice, and drinks heavily. He deteriorates and is on the point of dying. His Bloodriders start to beat Mirri up, notwithstanding that her instructions were ignored, and Dany saves her. She asks him to save Drogo, and she says she can only ease his passing. Dany begs her again, and she says she can use a spell but "death would be cleaner", and only a life can pay for Drogo's life,Dany agrees, and Mirri tells her to sacrifice a horse. She doesn't say outright that sacrificing a horse will save Drogo, but it's implied. Dany subsequently gives birth, and is brought into the tent where Mirri is casting her spell, despite instructions that no one is to enter.Dany wakes to find her child died (indeed, was a monster) and Drogo is in a vegetative state. When she accuses Mirri of betrayal, she doesn't deny it. She simply says that Drogo shouldn't have burned her temple, and that Dany's dead son will burn no cities. She then lists the atrocities that were carried out against her people. It seems clear to me that Mirri betrayed Dany, either by causing the spell to work in the way that it did, or by failing to warn her what its outcome would be.When Dany realises Drogo can't be brought back into sentience, she suffocates him, and prepares his funeral pyre. She then burns Mirri alive, both for revenge, and to make her dragon eggs hatch (as the spell requires a human sacrifice to work).Yet, I find myself sympathising with both characters. Dany is right to feel furious at Mirri's betrayal. Mirri is right to be furious at what Drogo did to her people and to strike him down. Do other posters feel so conflicted, or do you clearly identify with one character rather than the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sullen Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Both, and neither.I'd be more in favor of Mirri though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealbando Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I`m OK with MMD exacting revenge on Drogo (even though he was one of my favorite characters), but killing an unborn child, is unforgivable, so I`ll have to go with Dany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clariana Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Mirri.Drogo was a monster from her people's point of view... Her people were peaceful and did notthing to provoke the sacking, killing and raping that the Dothraki committed against them simply for gain, simply because they could. Mirri has a chance to strike back and she does, first against the leader of the enemy host and then against his wife and his unborn child and she does so corageously, knowing what it will cost her.Mirri is a bloody hero.But we can still sympathise and feel sorry for Dany, that's the power of a literary POV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inquisitor Glokta Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Obv. Mirri was right...It's not her fault that those savages aren't able to follow a few simple instructions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Mirri.Drogo was a monster from her people's point of view... Her people were peaceful and did notthing to provoke the sacking, killing and raping that the Dothraki committed against them simply for gain, simply because they could. Mirri has a chance to strike back and she does, first against the leader of the enemy host and then against his wife and his unborn child and she does so corageously, knowing what it will cost her.Mirri is a bloody hero.But we can still sympathise and feel sorry for Dany, that's the power of a literary POV.I think Martin does a superb job at getting us to sympathise with both of them, Also the way that Mirri compares Drogo's vegetative state with her having nothing left to live for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Winters Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 For killing Khal Drogo, the most badass character ever made, I'll always hate Mirri. Sorry I'm biased so, yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visen Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I'm going to have to stay with conflicted.Mirri is taking revenge for her people, Dany for her Khal and her unborn child.Good job George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterKing Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 As others already said MMD was right in wanting revenge, but I think she "overkilled" when she killed Rhaego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime FTW Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Rhaego supposed to be even more monster than Drogo, so MMD did a great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherAnduin Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Both Dany and Drogo are monsters who were enslaving MMD's people. MMD did the world a favour by killing Drogo. Even Dany blames Jorah for killing her child. MMD is a hero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime FTW Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 For killing Khal Drogo, the most badass character ever made, I'll always hate Mirri. Sorry I'm biased so, yeahseriously? the most badass character ever made? :shocked:why a man who sacks villages, rapes women and takes children in slavery is a badass? he is just stupid barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime FTW Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Both Dany and Drogo are monsters who were enslaving MMD's people. MMD did the world a favour by killing Drogo. Even Dany blames Jorah for killing her child. MMD is a hero. :agree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady m Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Both were wrong, both were right. Depends on which side of the fence you're sitting on. Either can be well argued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Winter Rose Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I am on Dany side. Drogo shouldn't killed Mirri's people, but revenge is never a true answer, never a right answer. Biggest irony is that Dany and her baby didn't do anything, it was all Drogo, yet they suffer for crime they didn't commit. Plus, she did trick Dany when she implied horse is sufficient. And she did implied.We can't be sure if Rhaego might become The Stailion, I always thought crone lied because she feared Drogo. Notice how Dany noticed she was in fear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Blue Eyes Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Mirri. Killing Drogo was a hero's achievement and utterly justified. Killing Rhaego depends on how far you trust into prophecies. If you do believe into them, it was the least bad solution. Not good, but better than Rhaego committing genocide after genocide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 None of them. Mirri didn't kill Drogo (which would've been well justified), he died of an infection. Rhaego was still unborn. Killing him because of a prophecy is not just cruel and wrong, but completely illogical - if you are certain the prophecy will come through, he can't be killed at all, if not - why do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Nan Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I think Martin does a superb job at getting us to sympathise with both of them, Also the way that Mirri compares Drogo's vegetative state with her having nothing left to live for.That is one of my favorite lines in the book "look to your Khal and tell me, what is life worth when all the rest is gone". The whole scene was really emotional and I can see both points of view. Dany isn't blameless- the whole reason Drogo was raiding in the first place was to raise money to get ships and stuff to conquer westeros. Jorah tells that to Dany.Mirri saw herself not only as getting revenge, but as saving countless others from Rhaego, who was prophesied to take over the world. As my mom used to say "two wrongs don't make a right". Both parties did bad stuff. Both were semi-justified. But that didn't mean they should have done it. Either one could have taken the high moral ground, but neither one did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arland Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Mirri.Drogo was a monster from her people's point of view... Her people were peaceful and did notthing to provoke the sacking, killing and raping that the Dothraki committed against them simply for gain, simply because they could. Mirri has a chance to strike back and she does, first against the leader of the enemy host and then against his wife and his unborn child and she does so corageously, knowing what it will cost her.Mirri is a bloody hero.But we can still sympathise and feel sorry for Dany, that's the power of a literary POV.The problem is that the only reason MMD was able to "strike back" against his wife and unborn child, was because that wife went out of her way to save her and other innocent women at no little personal risk. Dany did everything she could within her limited powers to help MMD and other women and was repaid for her kindness with grievous harm.A person who repays kindness with death is no good person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clariana Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 The problem is that the only reason MMD was able to "strike back" against his wife and unborn child, was because that wife went out of her way to save her and other innocent women at no little personal risk. Dany did everything she could within her limited powers to help MMD and other women and was repaid for her kindness with grievous harm.A person who repays kindness with death is no good person.You make a fair point but that still does not undo the rapes and the slaughter... Some redress is owed. I believe Mirri herself points this out to Dani in her response when Dani says she saved her from rape, that she'd already been raped several times by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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