Monday, May 13, 2013

Across the Narrow Sea


In Pentos, across the Narrow Sea, we meet Daenerys of House Targaryen. Dany, as many call her, is one of the last known living Targaryens. Her father, "The Mad King" was stabbed in the back by Jaime Lannister and killed. Robert Baratheon took the throne and since then, Dany and her brother Viserys have been running and hiding to stay alive. 

When we meet her, she is a meek girl but as we know, she develops into a strong character.

At this point in they story she is a poor child at the mercy of her older brother Viserys. Through Dany's eyes we see the monster in Viserys. He touches her inappropriately; he plans to marry her off for an army and doesn't even seem to feel an ounce of
guilt or shame about it. 

Viserys remembers everything they went through since their family was butchered. Unfortunately, he seems like a sick twisted boy who is incapable of ruling a kingdom. He controls Dany, while he is controlled by Illyrio Mopatis. Illyrio is an obese man of many talents and business endeavors. As Dany mentions, they have lived in his home for a year, yet Illyrio has never asked anything of them. 

In this chapter Martin certainly emphasizes that Daenerys mistrusts Illyrio. We already know Illyrio has some schemes brewing. What we know now really makes me question why he had this plot with Dany, Viserys and the Dothraki. Obviously, raising a kid to be Aegon or raising Aegon in secret isn't exactly a plan B. 

Daenerys mistrusts him for a reason. It seems like he possibly planned to betray her and her brother all along. Dany notices the words he speaks to Viserys. For example, he tells Viserys that "in holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to [his] health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of his return." Those words seem very empty and Dany senses that Illyrio is misguiding her brother. 

Daenerys at this point just yearns for a home. Not necessarily in Westeros but she is definitely curious about her "homeland". She doesn't share her brother's rage or need to conquer. We can see that she is controlled by her brother. The poor girl is upset that she is going to marry a rich and powerful horse-lord because she always assumed she would marry her brother.  

Dany is extremely worried about meeting Khal Drogo, and she gives protest to her brother despite the fact that she is very afraid of Viserys. Her protest does nothing but anger Viserys. The chapter ends with Dany in tears, right before she is about to meet the ruthless horselord that will be her husband and give her brother an army to conquer Westeros and reclaim the Targaryen throne. 

1 comment:

  1. I think, at the end of the day, Aegon was supposed to save Westeros from Viserys too. Viserys would have been hated and despised, especially after leading an army of Dothraki through the Kingdoms.

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