Why did Dany walk into pyre?

[Knight Of Winter]

Something's been nagging me about Daenerys in AGOT, and since search function has yielded no useful results, I'll ask it here. If this has already been discussed and agreed upon, a brief answer or link to previous thread would be appreciated.

The question being: why did Dany decide to walk into giant fire at the end of AGOT?

In recent chapters, Dany has been through lot: her son died, her sun was reduced to vegetative state, her khalasaar disbanded and Mirri Maaz Duur betrayed her. She also learned that only death can pay for life, a lesson she put to good use in her last AGOT chapter.

So, she builds a fire, and decides to pay for dragon's lives with deaths of Drogo, her son and MMD – which is all fine and well – but why exactly did she walk into pyre herself? What was her reason? How could she believe she wouldn't burn and die as well? Couldn't she just light the fire and watch the dragons hatch while standing safely out of flames' reach? I just can't see how Dany walking into the fire makes any sense at all.

I re-read the chapter recently, and text gives us no clear answer to this. When Jorah begs her not to do it, she calmly replies I must. It's almost as if she had come into important, ominous and „divine“ realization why she must do it, but the text doesn't tell us. After all, in 99% cases, walking into fire is completely absurd decision with absolutely no benefits and great risks. I don't know how did Dany think she would benefit from this action, unless she somehow knew she won't burn (AFAIK, text doesn't say so).

In the end, the result is very convenient for her – she survives unwounded, gets her dragons and unwavering loyalty from her khalasaar, who had just witnessed a miracle. They've now seen who's Dany and what's she capable of, and they're ready to follow her to hell. As Dany notes in last chapter - They're mine, today, tomorrow and forever, in a way they've never been Drogo's.

To conclude, it just seems too convenient she got such benefits from completely illogical action that should have killed her.

[Mrs.Grumpy]

I have a question. Drogo and Rhaego were already dead before the pyre. So how did she pay the price ?

[Mladen]

I think, and I might be completely wrong about this, that she thought she needed herself in that pyre. Every Targaryen that tried to hatch a dragon used himself to do that. The difference is that they all died, and Dany survived. I think she thought of herself as female dragon, a mother whose warmth will hatch the eggs. And the thing is no egg is hatched without a mother... Perhaps that was her logic.

ETA: For all the answers about this, the smartest thing I can do is to adress you to people who are far better in this than I am. I recommend reading this thread

[Mrs.Grumpy]

I think because of her dragon dream.

[Groat]

This is has been something I have always wondered as well, and is quite literally the linchpin of Dany's entire story arc. The way I see it, there are 3 options

1) Dany was actually trying to commit suicide. Though unlikely, I don't think there is sufficient evidence to rule this out entirely.

2) She for some reason thought her blood, the blood of the dragon, would be needed to hatch a dragon. It was only when she couldn't feel the fire burning her, that she at the last moment decided to make the plunge.

3) There was something truly magical going on that we will never have the answer to. No one knows how birds know where to migrate, or how salmon return to the same exact spot they were born to lay their eggs, or turtles, etc...

The other dragons hatched before Dany went into the fire, but Drogon, Balerion reborn, only hatched when Dany jumped into the fire.

[Lord Damian]

This is has been something I have always wondered as well, and is quite literally the linchpin of Dany's entire story arc. The way I see it, there are 3 options

1) Dany was actually trying to commit suicide. Though unlikely, I don't think there is sufficient evidence to rule this out entirely.

2) She for some reason thought her blood, the blood of the dragon, would be needed to hatch a dragon. It was only when she couldn't feel the fire burning her, that she at the last moment decided to make the plunge.

3) There was something truly magical going on that we will never have the answer to. No one knows how birds know where to migrate, or how salmon return to the same exact spot they were born to lay their eggs, or turtles, etc...

The other dragons hatched before Dany went into the fire, but Drogon, Balerion reborn, only hatched when Dany jumped into the fire.

#3 she was entranced with those eggs and held them like babies since she received them. It was like the eggs were "calling" to her. I think it was a one time thing.

[TheMysteriousOne]

The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon’s tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign.

She had sensed the truth of it long ago, Dany thought as she took a step closer to the conflagration, but the brazier had not been hot enough.

The fire is mine. I am Daenerys Stormborn, daughter of dragons, bride of dragons, mother of dragons, don’t you see?

Her decision to walk into the pyre was based on her Targaryen heritage, her dragon dreams and the red comet.

IMO, the red comet was for Daenerys and no one else.

[Groat]

#3 she was entranced with those eggs and held them like babies since she received them. It was like the eggs were "calling" to her. I think it was a one time thing.

This is what I am inclined to believe as well. Based on her interactions with the eggs, her dreams, and the apparent link between her and the dragons, leads me to believe that the whole thing was magical, and that her Targaryen blood played some role.

People like to overlook it, but there is a lot of evidence that Dany developes a very close link to her dragons similar to the Starks and the dire wolves. The dragons sense her emotions, and she can sense theirs. When Drogon gets stabbed with a spear in the fighting pit, Dany screams out like she actually feels the pain.

[TheMysteriousOne]

It was something arcane and magical that led her to walk into that pyre, not madness.

[Albertine]

Because...

fire AND blood.

The two times that Dany is immune to fire -- at the pyre, and at the fighting pits -- there is fresh blood on the ground. At the pyre, Mirri Maz dies, and other corpses burn. At the fighting pits, Drogon arrives to eat one of the gladiators, who dies, and the sand is soaked in the blood of other fighters.

I popped over to the thread linked above & read a theory involving a botched spell from Mirri Maz Duur, but I think this is one of those 'keep it simple, stupid' moments. The Targaryen motto is FIRE AND BLOOD. The Targaryen symbol is a dragon. Dany can birth dragons, and step into fire, only when...fire AND blood are present.

[TheMysteriousOne]

This is what I am inclined to believe as well. Based on her interactions with the eggs, her dreams, and the apparent link between her and the dragons, leads me to believe that the whole thing was magical, and that her Targaryen blood played some role.

People like to overlook it, but there is a lot of evidence that Dany developes a very close link to her dragons similar to the Starks and the dire wolves. The dragons sense her emotions, and she can sense theirs. When Drogon gets stabbed with a spear in the fighting pit, Dany screams out like she actually feels the pain.

I agree, the only reason IMO that Dany's relationship with her dragons seems weaker than that of the Starks with their direwolves is because Dany has not spent as much time with her dragons as they have with their direwolves. Daenerys has not spent much time 'training' her dragons.

[James Sucellus]

She dreamt it.

[jons nissa]

i know this is going to sound ultra cheesy - it already does in my head but - she did it because she believed in herself. she bought all the stories about the specialness between targaryens and dragons and believed she needed to be completely involved in the birthing of dragons since she is the blood of the dragon.

can't believe i said it....

[Albertine]

I agree, the only reason IMO that Dany's relationship with her dragons seems weaker than that of the Starks with their direwolves is because Dany has not spent as much time with her dragons as they have with their direwolves. Daenerys has not spent much time 'training' her dragons.

This is one of the things that bothers me most about the books. Because in Storm of Swords, Dany spends 24/7 with her dragons and she appears to have a pretty intensive training program for them -- after she burns Kraznys, we learn that she teaches her dragons commands in High Valyrian, which is something that really dedicated dog trainers I know do, they teach their pets commands in foreign languages so they don't overhear command words in ordinary conversation and feel confused.

So in book #3 theres a situation where Dany is dedicated to her most valuable asset, where we have evidence of intensive training, and further evidence that the dragons will obey her commands in a prompt, precise manner...

Only to find out, when we next meet her, that none of that was true, and actually, the dragons are totally out of control.

I really feel like GRRM retconned Dany at that moment. He wanted to make her life more difficult so he undid the progress she'd made & invented a conflict that I never, ever bought. It just didn't make sense to me that Dany, the Mother of Dragons, would pop all her babies in prison and visit them once a day for a minute or two.

[N/A]

This is one of the things that bothers me most about the books. Because in Storm of Swords, Dany spends 24/7 with her dragons and she appears to have a pretty intensive training program for them -- after she burns Kraznys, we learn that she teaches her dragons commands in High Valyrian, which is something that really dedicated dog trainers I know do, they teach their pets commands in foreign languages so they don't overhear command words in ordinary conversation and feel confused.

So in book #3 theres a situation where Dany is dedicated to her most valuable asset, where we have evidence of intensive training, and further evidence that the dragons will obey her commands in a prompt, precise manner...

Only to find out, when we next meet her, that none of that was true, and actually, the dragons are totally out of control.

I really feel like GRRM retconned Dany at that moment. He wanted to make her life more difficult so he undid the progress she'd made & invented a conflict that I never, ever bought. It just didn't make sense to me that Dany, the Mother of Dragons, would pop all her babies in prison and visit them once a day for a minute or two.

i kind of thought about it like they were normal children you know in ASOS they were kids and loved their so called mother and were kinda cute

in dance they became teenagers who don't listen to anyone and just want to do what they want

edit: spelling

[TheMysteriousOne]

<snip>

I agree, it confused me as well, and I think part of the reason is what you said. But it's also possible for animals in real life to become feral, and Dany's dragons might have begun the process of becoming somewhat wild, as she was so occupied with ruling that she almost neglected them.

[KingInTheCave]

A better question is why did she not die when she walked into the pyre? I know it's a magical event, but why did this magical event occur to her of all people?

[TheMysteriousOne]

A better question is why did she not die when she walked into the pyre? I know it's a magical event, but why did this magical event occur to her of all people?

It was her destiny.

However, some believe that most of the magic that went on in the pyre was caused by Mirri Maz Duur, but I don't believe that.

[Albertine]

Yes, I'd expect to see her have trouble with the dragons as they age. And when the farmer comes in to explain that the dragons have eaten his daughter...I totally believed that. GRRM had done a good job of setting it up as the inevitable, horrible progression of the dragons' appetites.

What I didn't buy is that Dany's training had vanished. Or that Dany decided to neglect what she and everyone around her knew to be her most valuable asset. GRRM does try to explain it--she's so busy being a Queen!--but then what he SHOWS us is that Dany spends the morning/early afternoon in Court and then has plenty of time to take long baths & swan about town.

The shift in Dany's attitude toward her dragons & her continuing neglect through ADWD, struck me as forced, nonsensical, a total 180 from the person Dany had been growing into. I didn't buy it.

[Albertine]

A better question is why did she not die when she walked into the pyre? I know it's a magical event, but why did this magical event occur to her of all people?

Fire and blood.