A Song of Ice and Fire: Favorite Female Characters.

!SPOILER ALERT!

Edit: I can't get the spoilers that affect the plot fully blacked out; I will continue trying.  I'm going to try not to use too many spoilers, though. I do welcome comments, so if you want to ask or say something specific, please write "S/A" before your comment.  Thanks!

Image from www.fanpop.com.

Perhaps it's just my perception- though I think many would agree with me- but female characters in fantasy novels and movies often seem one-dimensional and sometimes merely there for the "hotness factor."  So I was pleasantly surprised when I read A Song of Ice and Fire and watched the Game of Thrones series.  Yes, many of the actors and actresses are typically good-looking, but then so are their characters, and they play their parts well.  What I love is that George R. R. Martin gave unique personalities (both bad and good) to his female characters in ASoIaF, and I think that is why the story works better on TV than a lot of book-to-film adaptations.  The characters aren't solely defined by their looks, even when/if their looks do play a part, and it lends strength to the narrative.

Below are my top three favorite female characters:

#3: Sansa Stark

I know, I know, many of you are thinking "What?  Sansa's a hateful little spoiled brat."  Most of my thoughts about Sansa, especially about her ultra-femininity, are actually well summed up by the post In Defense of Sansa Stark (S/A) on the blog Feminist Fiction. Yes, she was a brat... at first.  However, in Game of Thrones, she's also a freaking 11 year old girl.  She had little experience dealing with the world beyond Winterfell.  She was fanciful and naive.   I think her growing up, with the rose-colored glasses coming off, is one of the more interesting, nuanced story lines.  Sansa might be capable of lying to protect those to whom she feels she owes something- which unfortunately included Joffrey in GoT- but she thought that was the worst she could expect from others as well.  She couldn't fathom that others would hurt or kill because of lies, because she wouldn't.

"Please tell me I didn't think that."

Sansa's awful mistake was that she gave her loyalty and trusted too freely.  She had the romantic notion that a prince should cater to his betrothed, so when she denounced her father as a traitor to prove herself to Joffrey and Queen Cersei, she likely expected him to be stripped of his title or exiled, not beheaded. She realized her mistake.  She matured.  She knows better.  Now she has learned how to stay alive to fight another day, which in Westeros is quite an achievement in and of itself.

#2: Olenna Tyrell

Ah, the Queen of Thorns.  She might not get much "screen time," (I haven't seen all of the GoT TV series yet(!!)- I just know she didn't in A Storm of Swords), but she is extremely entertaining.  In some places I have seen Olenna Tyrell referred to as the "Dowager Countess of Westeros."

"Deary me.  And possibly Lawks."*

Like Maggie Smith's character on Downton Abbey, she does indeed have a sharp wit and is definitely not someone you want as an enemy.   She tries to protect the innocent and those she loves, but she is not blind to faults, even calling her own son an "oaf" for the way he handles playing the game of thrones. She tries to keep Sansa safe by marrying her off to her grandson to get her away from King's Landing, a plot foiled by the Lannisters marrying her off to Tyrion.   She thinks rulers would be better off listening to their mothers and not constantly bickering.  And of course, if the only thing you know about her is that she had a role in Joffrey's death, you probably like her.

And my favorite female character...

#1:  Brienne of Tarth.

Brienne is a very, very good warrior.  This alone does not make me like her, but the dedication she shows to her chosen profession does.  She tries to live by traditional, honorable knightly standards, even though she is often told that most knights are far from honorable.  In many ways, she is the polar opposite of Sansa's GoT character.  She is considered both unattractive, even ugly, by many. People have to be kind and generous to her to earn her loyalty.  I actually like the fact that she is depicted as insecure and wanting acceptance.  I don't mean that I like it when people have those feelings, but that side of her character makes it extremely easy to relate to her, even if you're not a morningstar-wielding bad-ass.  When she is asked by Catelyn Stark to escort Jaime to King's Landing to free Arya and Sansa, both of whom she thinks are prisoners there, I think Jaime sees in her a better person than he could ever be.  Possibly, he sees the kind of knight that he could have been in another life.

At least, I hope he does.  It's hard to say with a Lannister.

Brienne has the ability to inspire loyalty in others, and you find yourself wanting her to use that ability.  I just hope that she hasn't been influenced by un-Cat.  I know that Brienne was loyal to Catelyn, but Catelyn's zombie's actions have proven that she (it?) doesn't deserve loyalty, and even if I haven't come to like Jaime, I don't want Brienne to kill him on un-Cat's orders.  Brienne has qualities that are so much more valuable than looks: honesty, determination, and unwavering loyalty once gained, and I really want her to continue being a good person.  I also like that when people get to know her, they don't find her ugly anymore.  True ugliness is on the inside.

Do you agree with any of these?  Who are your favorite female characters in ASoIaF?



*The Terry Pratchett reference seemed to fit so well; I didn't want to waste the opportunity.