Why did GRRM choose to portray Cersei significantly more evil than other greyer characters?

[Jon of the Dead]

I never understood that Cersei killed her friend

Did I miss something?

And Maggy told Melara that Cersei was going to kill her

[TheMysteriousOne]

I never understood that Cersei killed her friend

Did I miss something?

Not Jaime, nor any other man, Worms will have your maidenhead. Your death is here tonight, little one. Can you smell her [Cersei] breath? She is very close.

[Éadaoin]

I never understood that Cersei killed her friend

Did I miss something?

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Maggy

Cersei probably pushed her friend, Melara, into a well.

[N/A]

Yes, if we see things chronologically, then yes, Cersei has been evil since she killed Melara. But from a narrative point of view, GRRM chose to add the Melara backstory until aFfC, to conveniently explain and justify her descent into madness.

but that's the point. she was designed to be an evil character, her actions and behavior in AGOT wouldn't be realistic if she hadn't been bad before

[Lord_Tyrell]

is this a conclusion from the readers or it's actually in the text?

I'd say it's implied, but Cersei's mindset would not provide us a definite answer. She's batshit crazy and thinks that anyone who does a remote slight to her, real or imagined, must be eliminated. That was certainly a slight towards her.

[TheMysteriousOne]

but that's the point. she was designed to be an evil character, her actions and behavior in AGOT wouldn't be realistic if she hadn't been bad before

She was a bad person in AGOT, but I would argue that she's even worse now.

[Queen Elsa]

Link?

Really? See, I think that's a shame, because she could've been made more sympathetic. I don't think she would've become a fan favorite, but maybe she could've been a bit more balanced.

Okay here's the link. Not actually "sympathetic" but a "saint." Sorry for the wrong info :P

Small chance of that.

Here's another one.

[intentions behind making Cersei a POV, whether to make her sympathetic or not?]

I don't concern myself over whether my characters are "likeable" or "sympathetic." (I had my fill of that in television). My interest is in trying to make them real and human. If I can create a fully-fleshed three-dimensional character, some of my readers will like him/ her, or some won't, and that's fine with me. That's the way real people react to real people in the real world, after all. Look at the range of opinions we get on politicans and movie stars. If EVERYONE likes a certain character, or hates him, that probably means he's made of cardboard. So I will let my readers decide who they like, admire, hate, pity, sympathize with, etc. The fact that characters like Sansa, Catelyn, Jaime, and Theon provoke such a wide range of reactions suggests to me that I hav

...too bad the quote is incomplete!

[Jon of the Dead]

Her behaviors in aGoT (and Jaime's too, for that matter) are realistic because they can be justified. She conspired to kill Robert to protect herself, her brother and her children. Melara's bit wasn't needed to make Robert's murder look more realistic.

[Four-Eyed Crow]

:ack:

I jest!

[Bright Blue Eyes]

It does not bother me that GRRM has made Cersei greyer over time, it does bother me that she has become more and more inept. GRRMs ruler types seem to be crazy, evil, cruel, and/or inept - he must be trying to tell us something.

Cersei was inept from the very start. She just had Varys, Littlefinger, Tyrion and Tywin looking out for her, as well as a healthy helping of plot armor. But her actions in Winterfell, Castle Darry and when she had Robert poisoned were at least as much a gamble as her arming the High Septon.

From the very start, Cersei couldn't imagine anything not going according to her plans. But it was only in Feast when the Lannisters started to loose their plot armor.

is this a conclusion from the readers or it's actually in the text?

One as solid as R+L=J.

[NorthRemembers10]

I wouldn't say she is evil. Ramsay is pure evil, but I think tha she is just head strong. She is trying to make herself out to be more of a player in the game of thrones then she actually is. She thinks that but showing that she can be cruel that people will fear her the way they feared her father.

[Targed&Feathered]

I can't say I have ever felt a great deal of anything approaching sympathy for book - Cersei, but HBO-Cersei, in the added scene between her & Robert in S1,regarding their relationship ("Did you EVER love me?" - "No.") just really broke my heart for her, as undeserving as she perhaps was of his love. Would the directorial team have added this scene without GRRM's approval? I'm thinking not. In any case, it's the one & only time I bled inside for Cersei, just a bit.

[Prince DragonFly]

I do not think Cersei is evil at all. I think she is a bit mentally unstable and she overcompensates for the fact she thinks it is so much harder for females to be respected. She is her own worst enemy, but far from all out evil.

[Logen]

I've been wondering this for a long time and the only 2 explanations that I can think of (besides the obvious "because it's his own story, so he can do anything he likes" argument) are these:

1) With Joff and Tywin dead in KL he needed a clear-cut, obvious villain to take their place, so he turned Cersei's evilness up to eleven.

2) He was planning to put Cersei on a redemption arc like Jaime and Theon's but miscalculated and her punishment couldn't outweight her evil deeds.

Just a side note on my personal stand on the character of Cersei: She's my 3rd favorite character, but I'm not an apologist of her actions, mainly because I think GRRM has single-handedly wiped off pretty much every redeemable quality from her and replaced it with more and more unhinged evilness. And this is the basis of my question: was it really necessary to do this, to turn her into an evil monster, when other characters like Jaime, Tyrion, Theon and Stannis are grey and complex enough to inspire thoughtful debates amongst readers?

In short, I would've liked to defend Cersei the same way I defend other characters like Theon and Stannis, but I think GRRM didn't want that. So, why?

I don't think he made her especially evil, I think she's just a product of her circumstances. Think about everything that's happened in her life. First of all, her mother dies at a very young age. She's then raised by her overbearing father, who is neither loving, nor caring, nor kind. Her best friend is killed in a gruesome accident, which still haunts her to this day. Her brother, the person that she's closest to, is named to the kingsgaurd, and consequently has to leave her behind in Casterly Rock, as he goes to live in King's Landing. After that, she sets her sights on Rhaegar, who she is almost certain that she's going to be married to. Then, Robert kills Rhaegar, and she gets forced to marry Robert instead. She spends the next many years trying her best to avoid his sexual advances, and growing more and more repulsed by him, given his alcoholism, penchant for glutony, promiscuity and abusive/disprespectful nature. All the while, she is secretly sleeping with her brother, who gets her pregnant 3 times, causing her to have to convince Robert that he got her pregnant, otherwise she would most likely be killed or exiled. Then, she has to do her best to make sure nobody finds out that Jaime is the father of the children, because her and her children's and her family's reputation all rely on it. This, of course, is very difficult, given that Littlefinger and Vary's are roaming about, and that the kids look just like Jaime. Keeping such a secret under these circumstances can be very taxing, and potentially overwhelming. She also has to deal with the fact that one of those kids is a sociopath, which for a parent must be devastating. Then, her secret almost gets outed twice, which leads to her hatching a plan to murder her husband, so that she doesn't have to face his wrath. Not long after that, one of her kids is taken against her will and sent to live in another country. Her eldest child is poisoned, presumably by her younger brother, who has threatened her in the past. The younger brother is sentenced to death, but eventually escapes, and kills her father. This obviously causes her much fear and paranoia. Then, she ends up getting imprisoned, and eventually, publicly humiliated. Her other brother, the father of her kids and the love of her life, has his hand chopped off, and all but abandons her. Her cousin, who she was close to in her own way, turns on her completely in support of her jailers. Then her uncle, the only family member left that she has any sort of a relationship with, is murdered. Meanwhile, the family that she is most afraid of is doing their best to manipulate her last remaining son, and seems primed to assume the majority of the power in Westeros. She is left, more or less, without family, without friends, and without her pride,virtually imprisoned in the Red Keep, surrounded by enemies, terrified, paranoid, alone, humiliated, broken hearted, and as close as she has ever come to being powerless. That being said, she did bring a lot of the hardships on herself, but she's still been through a lot, and it makes sense that she's not the kindest spirit in the world.

[Logen]

Sorry, accidentally posted twice. Edited to apologize.

[Florina Laufeyson]

I know, personal opinions and all that, but Cersei in Feast doesn't really strike me as very realistic.

You dont know many narcissistic people do you? While Cersei's POVs seem pretty ridiculous, its not exactly unheard of for narcissistic sociopathic people to have similar trains of thought.

Cersei isnt "evil" as much as shes incredibly self-absorbed, selfish, needy, hypocritical, and vapid. Shes significantly less evil than Roose Bolton, among others.

(also the third page of this thread is borked. D: )

[Nami]

Damn, is this page loading all weird for you guys?

[tormund's beard]

Damn, is this page loading all weird for you guys?

yes can't even click the links unless i switch page styles.

[Broken Fox]

It's meant to reflect Cersei's disjointed view of the world.

[HoboJed]

To me, the whole reason for us seeing her become more and more evil is to act as a balance to Jaime's redemption. We start off having the same view of both of them, and then by bringing him up and her down, we get a big emphasis on how they are changing and drifting apart. If only one changed, it would be far less dramatic.

I still think she has always been evil, and it is only our perception that has changed. Also, she has always been short sighted in her schemes, but we are only now seeing the effect of it as she is now wielding more power than she can handle (not to mention she now has the ability to get rid of people that try to protect her from her mistakes)