Tag: sansa stark

wavelette:

I honestly believe that Sansa Stark will be in some form of power at the end of ASOIAF, and while I’m happy about this from an I-love-Sansa pod (slash, I ship Sansa and agency), I find it pretty interesting on a meta-textual reading on the intersection of power and ethics as well

Sansa (imo) is one of the most ethical characters in the series. I don’t want to go after any character in particular, but most other characters have used whatever power they have–political power, physical violence, magic, etc.–in a way that I would characterize as questionably ethical at the least. But Sansa tends not to do this. She tries to use her voice and her empathy to help people where she can, even though she has the least amount of power of any POV character. In a series where not only those in full power, but also those who fall somewhere in the middle tend to perpetrate their own abuse onto others, we have a character like Sansa who takes her powerlessness and sees the powerlessness of others and actively attempts to help them in the small ways given to her.

Now we combine that with her burgeoning intellect, which is specific to her personality. Sansa is a natural romantic who sees that aspect in others, and sees the way that people tell stories about themselves that may or may not coincide with who they actually are. She grew up loving songs about knights and maidens, about chivalry as an externalized code of morality, and she internalized these stories as the way the world works. This was stripped from her, violently, but what I think is interesting about this is the way she now recognizes the way the stories people tell themselves are in fact more real, more influential, than who the people actually are. Sansa recognizes that stories aren’t real, but also is beginning to recognize that the tangible effect of stories is far more powerful than the factual truth. Look at what happens in the Eyrie with Lyn Corbray. She sees not only that those assembled are seeking power in the guise of honor, but also that the threat of being labeled dishonorable allows Petyr to gain the upper hand. This is not a girl who simply sees the way the world works; this is a girl who personally understands the power of the stories we believe in and why they shape the power structures that govern our lives.

It’s this last growth that separates her most strongly from Ned. Of all his children, I’d say that Sansa is most like him. But Ned never had all his illusions stripped from him (only some), and I think by comparison, Sansa has the potential to be a much better player than her father. Which, combined with her innate goodness that she gets from him, will make her an interesting ruler.

Which brings me to the meta-texutal commentary on power and ethics: the whole series on some level poses the question of what makes a good ruler. In the game of thrones you win or you die. We see characters like Tywin who “get shit done,” whose ruthless victory and stability as a ruler is compelling, though certainly not good for the people; like Ned, who can’t keep power because of their high ideals, even though they were ostensibly good rulers; like Littlefinger, who care nothing for the people and only for power for its own sake. And thus it’s incredibly rich that a character like Sansa, both an embodiment and deconstruction of fairy tale princesses and traditional femininity, could come to power and, more importantly, stay in power. A character who doesn’t reject her femininity but uses the trappings of it–stories, empathy, courtesy–to create a stable (and I would argue, better) place to live. 

(of course there are plenty of assumptions and assertions about the end of the series here, but that’s a different conversation entirely)