On the authorship of the Pink Letter

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

The pink letter authorship is to me the most perplexing mystery in the books. It really bothers me how we weren't given enough info to crack the case.

Like I said ... it's not the authorship that anyone should be that befuddled by. It's what it says and whether it actually happened.

[Chaircat Meow]

On balance, the style seems like Ramsay's. But, the tone is quite wrong for someone who's supposedly won a major battle. The tone is that of an angry child, stamping his feet because he's been denied something; not the gloating triumph of someone who's just won a victory (eg Ramsay's letter to Asha Greyjoy, after taking Moat Cailin).

I don't necessarily disagree. He might think he has won, or being trying to do damage limitation in the event things aren't going so well.

[Fire and Lemoncakes]

I'd guess that the letter is a collaboration of Mance and Roose. Mance wants to draw the Wildlings to Winterfell and rid himself of Jon while Roose is looking to use Ramsay as scapegoat. "Arya's" escape is Roose sanctioned as well, solving the issue of the imposter's lack of credibility. Ned's girl no longer needs saving so the mountain clans have one reason less to support Stannis.

Wildlings and Boltons are both ancient enemies of the Starks. The North remembers.

[Consigliere]

Like I said ... it's not the authorship that anyone should be that befuddled by. It's what it says and whether it actually happened.

Agreed. The more important question should be in regards the actual contents of the letter and not who authored the letter. How much of the letter contains truth, how much half-truths, and how much is blatant lies.

[SeanF]

This is essentially how I think it went down and I also think that this is by far the most logical, plausible and least-dumb explanation.

Didn't Ramsay go out to command the army that was to fight Stannis? I don't see how he could be deceived about the battle's outcome.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Didn't Ramsay go out to command the army that was to fight Stannis? I don't see how he could be deceived about the battle's outcome.

I thought the idea was that the Manderlys and Freys were going out first because they were the most expendable/troublesome.

[thewingedwolf]

I thought the idea was that the Manderlys and Freys were going out first because they were the most expendable/troublesome.

When you think about it, this is typicl Bolton behavior. Throughout the war of the five kings, Roose always kept his own men back and sent others to do the fighting in the front. I would not be surprised that Ramsay would use a similar tactic.

[Chaircat Meow]

I did have the impression Ramsay was going out too though, just behind the Frey-Manderly forces.

[SeanF]

The pink letter authorship is to me the most perplexing mystery in the books. It really bothers me how we weren't given enough info to crack the case.

The probability is that *someone* here has cracked the case. But, the great thing is, no one can be sure of the answer till TWOW comes out.

Martin won't cheat. The answer will be consistent with clues we've been given.

[Little Balerion]

The probability is that *someone* here has cracked the case. But, the great thing is, no one can be sure of the answer till TWOW comes out.

Martin won't cheat. The answer will be consistent with clues we've been given.

Amen

[Consigliere]

Didn't Ramsay go out to command the army that was to fight Stannis? I don't see how he could be deceived about the battle's outcome.

We know that Roose plans on sending out the Frey and Manderly forces. Whether Ramsay joins them is unclear, although I doubt Roose would allow it and I dont think that Ramsay would risk it either. Theon makes an assumption that Ramsay will not be far behind the Frey/Manderly forces.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

We know that Roose plans on sending out the Frey and Manderly forces. Whether Ramsay joins them is unclear, although I doubt Roose would allow it. Theon makes an assumption that Ramsay will not be far behind the Frey/Manderly forces.

And behind is the operative word here.

[redriver]

I'd guess that the letter is a collaboration of Mance and Roose. Mance wants to draw the Wildlings to Winterfell and rid himself of Jon while Roose is looking to use Ramsay as scapegoat. "Arya's" escape is Roose sanctioned as well, solving the issue of the imposter's lack of credibility. Ned's girl no longer needs saving so the mountain clans have one reason less to support Stannis.

Wildlings and Boltons are both ancient enemies of the Starks. The North remembers.

...and the answer is Mance and Stannis.Wildlings aren't enemies of the Starks,read Bael the Bard.The Starks would be extinct if it weren't for Bael.

There are so many Mance-isms in the letter and so many things that only he could know that I was convinced that Mance was the sole author.The Theon gift chapter and some good work by bemused changed my mind.

I think now it's a collaboration between Mance and Stannis.They both want the same thing for different reasons-Jon in Winterfell.

[roxWolfox]

I'd guess that the letter is a collaboration of Mance and Roose. Mance wants to draw the Wildlings to Winterfell and rid himself of Jon while Roose is looking to use Ramsay as scapegoat. "Arya's" escape is Roose sanctioned as well, solving the issue of the imposter's lack of credibility. Ned's girl no longer needs saving so the mountain clans have one reason less to support Stannis.

Wildlings and Boltons are both ancient enemies of the Starks. The North remembers.

Though I find this oddly compelling as a 'theory', after giving it a second thought, it doesn't quite fit.

The Starks have been in existence for so long, that 'The North' and The Stark are almost synonymous. The Boltons are more reviled/feared than the Starks were, from what I recall.

Plus, the wildling woman (Rowan, I believe) told Theon that he wasn't worthy of speaking Lord Eddard's words (when Theon said "Winter is coming."). She was rather put out about him quoting 'The Ned', after all he'd done to Winterfell/the Starks.

[BranBrokeLegs]

Is there any reason to believe that Ramsay didn't write the letter? I think we can all agree that it contains lies or misinformation, but that doesn't preclude Ramsay (actually the mind games in the letter reek of Ramsay's personality). So why think that anyone else wrote it other than to try and force another twist into the book?

[Agamemnon]

Does anyone consider that the Pink Letter is the actual truth?

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Jon's last chapter happens chronologically AFTER the Theon sample chapter, according to Martin. If Stannis did not know about the oncoming host to kill him, the Freys and Manderleys would have killed Stannis' starved and freezing force right away, but he had previous knowledge via Reek about the host's size and disposition, which allowed him to plan a defense and last seven days in the battle before he was killed.

Meanwhile when it looks as though Stannis will lose, Asha steals Reek from the tower and they escape into the Woods maybe heading to the wall. Back at WF when the army returns with the shining sword and no Reek or "Arya" the Bastard of Bolton gets pissed and writes to Jon assuming they all skipped off to the wall together. While the battle is raging, Ramsey is interrogating Mance and learns his real identity.

I see no reason to believe Stannis wrote the letter, or even defeated the forces and sent Manderly back, they are just crackpot IMO thought up by the Stan Fans because they dont want to believe their idol is dead.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Does anyone consider that the Pink Letter is the actual truth?

******************************************************************************SPOILERS*******************************************************************************************************

Jon's last chapter happens chronologically AFTER the Theon sample chapter, according to Martin. If Stannis did not know about the oncoming host to kill him, the Freys and Manderleys would have killed Stannis' starved and freezing force right away, but he had previous knowledge via Reek about the host's size and disposition, which allowed him to plan a defense and last seven days in the battle before he was killed.

Meanwhile when it looks as though Stannis will lose, Asha steals Reek from the tower and they escape into the Woods maybe heading to the wall. Back at WF when the army returns with the shining sword and no Reek or "Arya" the Bastard of Bolton gets pissed and writes to Jon assuming they all skipped off to the wall together. While the battle is raging, Ramsey is interrogating Mance and learns his real identity.

I see no reason to believe Stannis wrote the letter, or even defeated the forces and sent Manderly back, they are just crackpot IMO thought up by the Stan Fans because they dont want to believe their idol is dead.

The problem here is that the Manderlys are not working with either the Freys or the Boltons in good faith. The idea that the Manderlys will work with the Freys against Stannis -- the guy Manderly has already (maybe ...) made a deal with Davos to support -- just doesn't add up. Like, at all. The theory that the Manderlys will turn on the Freys outside the gates and join Stannis makes substantially more sense. The only "crackpot" I see here is the idea that the Freys and Manderlys will actually cooperate.

And even if the preview chapter takes place before the letter,

We're all but told in the WoW preview to be on the lookout for a fake Stannis death.

[roxWolfox]

Does anyone consider that the Pink Letter is the actual truth?

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Just so you know, this link http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/61197-how-to-indicate-spoilers/ shows how to use the spoilers tag. ;)

And to answer your question...since Mr. Martin seems hellbent on shocking us, and I would be shocked if Stannis survives the battle for Winterfell, I'm inclined to believe that he'll survive. Twisted logic, I know, but that's where I'm at at this time.

:cheers:

[Jon of the Dead]

"I want my bride back (...) And I want my Reek. Send them to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your black crows. Keep them from me, and I will cut out your bastard’s heart and eat it."

People, why would Mance, Stannis or Asha ask Jon for Arya and Theon? It makes no sense.

It was Ramsey, and some parts of the letter are true because the only way Ramsey knows that

Stannis sent Jeyne to the Wall

is if he actually attacked Stannis' camp or at least managed to capture and torture some Stannis' men and forced them to tell him where she is.

The real question is, if the other things in the letter are true and how did Theon escaped during the attack?

[MasterJack]

Nah, BR sent it, because he knew it would start a certain chain of events he needed to acheive his goal. :D