The morning dawns and the air is crisp and smells of fall.
Now, quickly, follow the horses, we're on the way to a beheading.
George R.R. Martin introduces us to
Westeros and the Starks of Winterfell in the midst of a procession on
their way to see a man beheaded. So, if the prologue wasn’t enough
of an indication, the reader should now be aware that this book
doesn’t end with hobbits, dwarves and wizards sitting for a meal.
The chapter is told through the point
of view of Bran Stark, second youngest of the Stark children, who at
the age of seven has finally been ruled old enough to see his father,
Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, “deliver the King’s justice.”
Bran assumes that the condemned man must be a wildling based on his
eldest brothers rumors; a man serving Mance Rayder,
the-King-beyond-the-Wall. We learn that wildlings are a sort of
boogie man to the children of Westeros, lawless people living beyond
the Wall, cruel and criminal.
At the execution we meet Robb Stark,
the eldest Stark child and heir to Winterfell and Jon Snow, the Stark
bastard of an age with Robb. We are also introduced to Theon Greyjoy,
Eddard’s ward, and several of the Stark servants and laborers.
The condemned man is not a wildling.
Based on his description we, the readers, recognize Gared, the old
ranger of the Night’s Watch from the prologue. It appears that he
survived the encounter with the Others only to be killed as a
deserter in Winterfell.
His death marks the death of the only
living person in Westeros, that we are aware of, who may know for a
fact that the Others are real and active. Does he manage to deliver a
warning to Eddard Stark before he dies? We don’t know as Bran does
not remember what questions and answers preceded his death. We know
he may have been too far gone to make sense based on Jon Snow’s
observation that his eyes looked like those of one already dead from
fear.
On the ride back to Winterfell, Ned has
a side conversation with Bran which grants us the first look into his
character. First, Bran asks him about the debate Jon and Robb were
having about whether the man died bravely. Bran asks his father if
one can be brave if they are afraid to which Ned replies that that is
the only time one can truly be brave. Ned also explains to Bran why
he had to personally deliver the sentence.
Bran’s initial nervous excitement on
the way to the execution suggests that death is rather commonplace
and cheap in Westeros. Ned explains that the Starks keep to the old
ways and that the one who ordered justice be done must be the one to
deliver it, lest he forget what sentencing a man to death means. Here
we see that Ned is a ruler who is steadfast in his ways and in
keeping with tradition and we get a glimpse of his sense of honor.
The most important event in the chapter
is, of course, the discovery of the dead direwolf and the Stark
children’s adoption of her litter of pups. A defining moment for
all of the children that will carry weight throughout the series.
The symbolism of the direwolf pup’s
is pretty obvious, and basically explained in the text by Jon Snow.
There is a pup of the right gender for each of the Stark children,
including the outcast runt of the litter that Jon finds at the last
second, and the direwolf is their house sigil.
The other hinted at symbolism comes
from the manner in which the mother died, she choked on the horns of
a stag. The stag is the sigil of House Baratheon to which Ned’s old
friend and current King, Robert, belongs. The direwolf choking on the
stag it tried to kill is an inauspicious omen at best. The other
fact, that all of the characters seem to overlook, is that the wolf
pup’s who fate has deemed represent the Stark children have been
orphaned by fate.
In introducing us to Winterfell through
Bran, Martin has used the freshest eyes available. The first time
Bran sees his father behead a man is the first time we see his
father. When Ned opens up to Bran to explain concepts of bravery and
honor Martin is opening his character up to us. We first hear of the
wildlings through Bran’s memories of an old woman’s stories, ones
that meet the expectations of a typical fantasy reader. But those
stories are somewhat shattered by the bleak reality of the matter and
by Ned’s very human explanation of things.
This is a world of honor and blood and
death and like Bran we have just begun to learn that.
One thing that bugs me which the show just reminded me of. This chapter sets up the precedent of "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword" which is returned to repeatedly with people who were raised by Ned Stark - Theon, Robb and Jon all end up beheading someone, with varying success, rather than having them killed, in order to maintain the respect that comes from following this tradition that Ned endorses - or maybe that comes from emulating Ned.
ReplyDeleteBut in the most recent episode in the show, as in the books, Robb has Rickard Karstark's accomplices hanged (even going so far as to make a snarky remark about it when one of them protests), only beheading Karstark himself. But why wouldn't he kill all of them? It's not that the "pass the sentence, swing the sword" principle applies to nobles only - in this first chapter, we see Ned bringing a whole party out to witness the beheading of a lowly Night's Watch deserter. Given how much emphasis there is on these traditions, on honor, and on Ned's example among the Starks, it seems pretty disconcerting to me that Robb casually orders six dudes hanged. Any thoughts on this?
I think there's context to consider. Farlan the kennelmaster says to Theon "M'lord Eddard always did his own killings" which implies to me that Ned Stark personally performed executions for the winter town's murderers as well. However, the Karstark murderer's aren't Robb's men. They aren't Winterfell men, and they swore their swords to Rickard Karstark, not Robb. I always figured that was the reasoning behind it.
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