Post by shymaid on Nov 22, 2017 7:04:55 GMT
Ok, I've struggled a bit with this chapter, as I started to see connections and parallells to other parts of the story that I couldn't unsee. So focusing on parentage became difficult. But making another attempt I think I managed it, at least to a degree.
Rereading this I was struck how similar this sounds like the wildlings gathering in all their strength at the Wall. But this is the road I'm not going down here... Focus!
As we see in that last paragraph, Dany feels like she was sold to Drogo and honestly I can't see her being wrong here. The marriage takes place only for Viserys to get enough swords to take Westeros.
In the days before the wedding Dany, Viserys and Jorah stays at the manse Drogo had. Discussing what to do next to keep Drogo to his promise of taking Westeros for Viserys Dany thinks there are no more dragons, yet that night she has her first dragondream.
The bolded parts makes me think of pregnancy, together with “You woke the dragon” and the ripping sound makes me think of giving birth even if the dream doesn't have Dany giving birth herself. Could anything be more death by baby than being ripped apart inside? Viserys calls himself the last dragon, Ser Jorah will later call Rhaegar the last dragon; so did Rhaegar sow the seed that will wake the dragons from stone by the end of the book?
Describing the Dothraki as a seething sea is interesting, as Dany herself is called stormborn. Seething is close to boiling, and she will make fire flesh. Not really sure how to connect it to parentage, though. And again I'm struck with the similarities between the Dothraki and the wildlings.
Her seating away from and above Viserys, and his anger of her being above him here makes me wonder if that is also a metaphorical picture of their family ties. This could be because I recently reread Alys' arc at the Wall in Dance, where both her and Jon informs us that a daughter inherits before an uncle. So if Dany is Rhaegar's daughter, she naturally comes before Viserys. Not to say I think she's legitimate – I don't if her parentage is different than what we officially know. So this is just a mental image of a family tree that got stuck in my head.
This makes me think of reverse skinchanging. Not sure what to make of it. Me and stdaga had a short contemplation about the rules of skinchanging we learn from Varamyr, the abominations and the reasons behind them, not long ago. There we wondered if breaking these could make the animal the stronger part in the relationship between animal and man. But I stray from the narrow path again...
Now to her wedding gifts. He recieves three handmaids, three eggs and three weapons (fittingly a dragonbone bow is one), in other words 3 x 3. So that makes me wonder if that small stack of books Jorah gives her amounts to seven. (I'm keeping the filly separate here, as that is a special gift from her new husband.)
As many has noted, Dany's relationship with her filly is reminicent of a skinchanging relationship. Of course we are reminded of Lyanna and Brandon, the two centaurs of the north. The wolves gives the Stark children courage and strength when they need it, and this seems very similar. Add to that the color of the horse: grey, which is the color of the Starks direwolf on their banner. “The silver horse leapt the flames as if she had wings.“ → the Winged Wolf? Also calling the filly the wind reminds me of Grey Wind. So there is Stark reminders here.
But there is also another: a stallion with black dragon wings, on a golden field, snorting fire. The personal arms of Bittersteel. In a way I find this more fitting than a connection to the wolves and the Starks, even if I'm not sure how to fit the pieces together nicely. After all, it's Drogo's stallion that is red, and not Dany's filly. Searching for information on Bittersteel I also found this little tidbit:
Which in an odd way reminded me of both Viserys and this feast, even if this is a wedding feast for Dany. It's taking place primarily for Viserys' benefit as a means to win back his father's crown. And we all know Viserys' demise with a scull more or less dipped in gold... A thought that just came to me, so I'll just through it out here, is if this is connected to the three heads of the dragon. We know of the Targaryens and the Blackfyres, but there is also speculation of a possible Brightflame line as well. So, could these three lines together form the three heads? There is the possibility that all three lines are connected in the current timeline, depending on theory, and might just work for the same goal.
I have to admit I just skimmed the consumation part, I've only read it once or twice in full. I struggle with this, as we're reminded of her young age just before... But taking it metaphorically, we could get this.
Riding her filly for the first time, Dany forgot to be afraid. Then Viserys pulled her back to her state as a scared little thirteen year old girl, and this feeling stays with her when riding away with Drogo as would be expected. But Drogo manages to make her feel more safe and comfortable in his presence, wanted maybe for the first time in her life. So you could say he's also stripping her of that identity as Viserys' wipping girl.
Daenerys Targaryen wed Khal Drogo with fear and barbaric splendor in a field beyond the walls of Pentos, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man's life must be done beneath the open sky.
Drogo had called his khalasar to attend him and they had come, forty thousand Dothraki warriors and uncounted numbers of women, children, and slaves. Outside the city walls they camped with their vast herds, raising palaces of woven grass, eating everything in sight, and making the good folk of Pentos more anxious with every passing day.
Snip
"Best we get Princess Daenerys wedded quickly before they hand half the wealth of Pentos away to sellswords and bravos," Ser Jorah Mormont jested. The exile had offered her brother his sword the night Dany had been sold to Khal Drogo; Viserys had accepted eagerly. Mormont had been their constant companion ever since.
Drogo had called his khalasar to attend him and they had come, forty thousand Dothraki warriors and uncounted numbers of women, children, and slaves. Outside the city walls they camped with their vast herds, raising palaces of woven grass, eating everything in sight, and making the good folk of Pentos more anxious with every passing day.
Snip
"Best we get Princess Daenerys wedded quickly before they hand half the wealth of Pentos away to sellswords and bravos," Ser Jorah Mormont jested. The exile had offered her brother his sword the night Dany had been sold to Khal Drogo; Viserys had accepted eagerly. Mormont had been their constant companion ever since.
Rereading this I was struck how similar this sounds like the wildlings gathering in all their strength at the Wall. But this is the road I'm not going down here... Focus!
As we see in that last paragraph, Dany feels like she was sold to Drogo and honestly I can't see her being wrong here. The marriage takes place only for Viserys to get enough swords to take Westeros.
In the days before the wedding Dany, Viserys and Jorah stays at the manse Drogo had. Discussing what to do next to keep Drogo to his promise of taking Westeros for Viserys Dany thinks there are no more dragons, yet that night she has her first dragondream.
Yet that night she dreamt of one. Viserys was hitting her, hurting her. She was naked, clumsy with fear. She ran from him, but her body seemed thick and ungainly. He struck her again. She stumbled and fell. "You woke the dragon," he screamed as he kicked her. "You woke the dragon, you woke the dragon." Her thighs were slick with blood. She closed her eyes and whimpered. As if in answer, there was a hideous ripping sound and the crackling of some great fire. When she looked again, Viserys was gone, great columns of flame rose all around, and in the midst of them was the dragon. It turned its great head slowly. When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She had never been so afraid …
The bolded parts makes me think of pregnancy, together with “You woke the dragon” and the ripping sound makes me think of giving birth even if the dream doesn't have Dany giving birth herself. Could anything be more death by baby than being ripped apart inside? Viserys calls himself the last dragon, Ser Jorah will later call Rhaegar the last dragon; so did Rhaegar sow the seed that will wake the dragons from stone by the end of the book?
Describing the Dothraki as a seething sea is interesting, as Dany herself is called stormborn. Seething is close to boiling, and she will make fire flesh. Not really sure how to connect it to parentage, though. And again I'm struck with the similarities between the Dothraki and the wildlings.
Her seating away from and above Viserys, and his anger of her being above him here makes me wonder if that is also a metaphorical picture of their family ties. This could be because I recently reread Alys' arc at the Wall in Dance, where both her and Jon informs us that a daughter inherits before an uncle. So if Dany is Rhaegar's daughter, she naturally comes before Viserys. Not to say I think she's legitimate – I don't if her parentage is different than what we officially know. So this is just a mental image of a family tree that got stuck in my head.
She was afraid of the Dothraki, whose ways seemed alien and monstrous, as if they were beasts in human skins and not true men at all.
This makes me think of reverse skinchanging. Not sure what to make of it. Me and stdaga had a short contemplation about the rules of skinchanging we learn from Varamyr, the abominations and the reasons behind them, not long ago. There we wondered if breaking these could make the animal the stronger part in the relationship between animal and man. But I stray from the narrow path again...
Now to her wedding gifts. He recieves three handmaids, three eggs and three weapons (fittingly a dragonbone bow is one), in other words 3 x 3. So that makes me wonder if that small stack of books Jorah gives her amounts to seven. (I'm keeping the filly separate here, as that is a special gift from her new husband.)
She was a young filly, spirited and splendid. Dany knew just enough about horses to know that this was no ordinary animal. There was something about her that took the breath away. She was grey as the winter sea, with a mane like silver smoke.
Snip
Nervously Dany gathered the reins in her hands and slid her feet into the short stirrups. She was only a fair rider; she had spent far more time traveling by ship and wagon and palanquin than by horseback. Praying that she would not fall off and disgrace herself, she gave the filly the lightest and most timid touch with her knees.
And for the first time in hours, she forgot to be afraid. Or perhaps it was for the first time ever.
The silver-grey filly moved with a smooth and silken gait, and the crowd parted for her, every eye upon them. Dany found herself moving faster than she had intended, yet somehow it was exciting rather than terrifying. The horse broke into a trot, and she smiled. Dothraki scrambled to clear a path. The slightest pressure with her legs, the lightest touch on the reins, and the filly responded. She sent it into a gallop, and now the Dothraki were hooting and laughing and shouting at her as they jumped out of her way. As she turned to ride back, a firepit loomed ahead, directly in her path. They were hemmed in on either side, with no room to stop. A daring she had never known filled Daenerys then, and she gave the filly her head.
The silver horse leapt the flames as if she had wings.
When she pulled up before Magister Illyrio, she said, "Tell Khal Drogo that he has given me the wind." The fat Pentoshi stroked his yellow beard as he repeated her words in Dothraki, and Dany saw her new husband smile for the first time.
Snip
Nervously Dany gathered the reins in her hands and slid her feet into the short stirrups. She was only a fair rider; she had spent far more time traveling by ship and wagon and palanquin than by horseback. Praying that she would not fall off and disgrace herself, she gave the filly the lightest and most timid touch with her knees.
And for the first time in hours, she forgot to be afraid. Or perhaps it was for the first time ever.
The silver-grey filly moved with a smooth and silken gait, and the crowd parted for her, every eye upon them. Dany found herself moving faster than she had intended, yet somehow it was exciting rather than terrifying. The horse broke into a trot, and she smiled. Dothraki scrambled to clear a path. The slightest pressure with her legs, the lightest touch on the reins, and the filly responded. She sent it into a gallop, and now the Dothraki were hooting and laughing and shouting at her as they jumped out of her way. As she turned to ride back, a firepit loomed ahead, directly in her path. They were hemmed in on either side, with no room to stop. A daring she had never known filled Daenerys then, and she gave the filly her head.
The silver horse leapt the flames as if she had wings.
When she pulled up before Magister Illyrio, she said, "Tell Khal Drogo that he has given me the wind." The fat Pentoshi stroked his yellow beard as he repeated her words in Dothraki, and Dany saw her new husband smile for the first time.
As many has noted, Dany's relationship with her filly is reminicent of a skinchanging relationship. Of course we are reminded of Lyanna and Brandon, the two centaurs of the north. The wolves gives the Stark children courage and strength when they need it, and this seems very similar. Add to that the color of the horse: grey, which is the color of the Starks direwolf on their banner. “The silver horse leapt the flames as if she had wings.“ → the Winged Wolf? Also calling the filly the wind reminds me of Grey Wind. So there is Stark reminders here.
But there is also another: a stallion with black dragon wings, on a golden field, snorting fire. The personal arms of Bittersteel. In a way I find this more fitting than a connection to the wolves and the Starks, even if I'm not sure how to fit the pieces together nicely. After all, it's Drogo's stallion that is red, and not Dany's filly. Searching for information on Bittersteel I also found this little tidbit:
The Mystery Knight
A jumble of words came rushing back to him: beggar's feast you've laid before us… is the boy his father's son… Bittersteel… need the sword… Old Milkblood expects… is the boy his father's son… I promise you, Bloodraven is not off dreaming… is the boy his father's son?
A jumble of words came rushing back to him: beggar's feast you've laid before us… is the boy his father's son… Bittersteel… need the sword… Old Milkblood expects… is the boy his father's son… I promise you, Bloodraven is not off dreaming… is the boy his father's son?
Which in an odd way reminded me of both Viserys and this feast, even if this is a wedding feast for Dany. It's taking place primarily for Viserys' benefit as a means to win back his father's crown. And we all know Viserys' demise with a scull more or less dipped in gold... A thought that just came to me, so I'll just through it out here, is if this is connected to the three heads of the dragon. We know of the Targaryens and the Blackfyres, but there is also speculation of a possible Brightflame line as well. So, could these three lines together form the three heads? There is the possibility that all three lines are connected in the current timeline, depending on theory, and might just work for the same goal.
I have to admit I just skimmed the consumation part, I've only read it once or twice in full. I struggle with this, as we're reminded of her young age just before... But taking it metaphorically, we could get this.
Riding her filly for the first time, Dany forgot to be afraid. Then Viserys pulled her back to her state as a scared little thirteen year old girl, and this feeling stays with her when riding away with Drogo as would be expected. But Drogo manages to make her feel more safe and comfortable in his presence, wanted maybe for the first time in her life. So you could say he's also stripping her of that identity as Viserys' wipping girl.