George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones is the first novel in the immersive fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) explores political intrigue; gender and power; family and lineage: and the conflicting demands of love and duty. 

Martin utilises multiple perspectives within the narrative, giving the reader a broader spectrum of each character and where their motivations lead them. There is a myriad of ‘houses’ within Westeros with a set of noble families that reappear throughout the entire series: House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Arryn, House Tyrell, House Greyjoy, House Tully and House Martell. All the houses battle for the seat of the Iron Throne.

Winning means power over a kingdom, whilst losing means death. Several contenders vie for the seat of power, and most are only intrigued by the idea of power rather than concerned about governing a realm or doing what is just and right. It is a greed for power. However, the honourable Eddard 'Ned' Stark does not win to play the game; the consequence is his death. Ned’s downfall is when he agrees to be the Hand of the King and travels to King’s Landing to assume his newly instated position there. That is the start of the Stark's tragedy.

Westeros is a patriarchal society where women are oppressed yet  still try to assume leadership positions and positions of power. Martin explores the idea of gender, gender politics and how women assume the position of subjugation. 

ASOIAF has a range of female POV characters who convey that their imprisoned into ‘women roles.’ Arya detests ‘femininity’ and ‘feminine’ pastimes yet is resentful that Sansa, her sister masters them; Sansa’s naïvety and her complete acceptance of gendered expectations blinds her from reality and the truth; When her male family members aren’t there to shield her from war and politics, Catelyn finds herself out of her depth when she was raised to rely on them; Since childhood, Cersei has resented being treated differently to her brothers because of her gender, and as a result has internalised her society’s misogyny. Daenerys vies for the throne, yet, she was a bargaining chip in her marriage to Khal Drogo.

Women within Westeros do men’s bidding for their agency and gain somewhat controlled freedom. To gain some sense of agency, they have to bend to the will of men. All and every woman is affected and harmed by Westeros’ gendered expectations of them. 

Now, Martin investigates the role of gender within his novels: the only criticism of his novel series is on racism and race. Many individuals argue that the Middle Ages relies on factual representation of European history and narratives should remain faithful to the history, however, this is an ahistorical assertion as Europe was never homogeneously white. It is a poorly written excuse that people of colour should not be featured within a narrative that is supposed to centre only on white people. Shiloh Carroll states that the majority of the time when people of colour are featured within texts, “they are often portrayed as ‘Other’ and are known as an enemy or barbarians, and the reader is expected to compare them to the dominant, white culture.”1 This is especially prevalent with races in ASOIAF, where the Dothraki are introduced as violent savages who are eager to rape women and plunder white society; or the Dornishmen or Naathi etc.

People of colour should be invested in when writing narratives that are steeped in historical contexts and mind you, that ASOIAF is a medieval fantasy meaning that it is not history, but a reproduction of history and reality of our own world. Villarreal argues, “The West cannot tell itself about itself without the inclusion of race.”2 People of colour should not be subjected to arcs of oppression or savagery. Why can’t a person of colour be someone of power within an inherently fantastical world?

Even with my criticisms of the text, I still thoroughly enjoyed and loved the series.

VALAR MORGHULIS,

Ahrya Reddy

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hello dear reader,

welcome to my newsletter dedicated to my musings and meanderings.

let me formally introduce myself...my name is ahrya. i am a writer and poet whose favourite genre is fantasy, romance and historical fiction. i am an avid reader and spend most of my time day-dreaming of fictional worlds.

on the side, i run a bookstagram over @madwomenread

this blog will host a variety of things! but it will be mostly book reviews, my short stories and collection of poetry. this is a place of subjectivity, escapism, critical thinking...whatever you want it to be.

so! please be on the lookout for posts soon to come.

thank you for reading,

ahrya