1.41 Jon V

It's been a while since we have had a new post in this parentage reread, so I thought I would attempt to get the reread started in this new year. I think I am just going to go through the chapter in order and see what stands out. Of course, different things stand out to different people, so please join in and toss some idea's out there.

To recap this chapter, we open with Ser Alliser Thorne passing eight of his trainee's from training and into the Night's Watch. Jon is one of those chosen, but Samwell is not. And Jon is quite worried that without the protection of himself and the cadre of friends that have surrounded Sam, that Ser Alliser will continue to bully and cause other trainee's to bully at Sam, until he is hurt or killed.  JOn does take some time to reflect on his Uncle Benjen, as well as his father and his mother, whomever she might be, so Jon's parentage is on his mind in this chapter, or at least the identity of his mother, whom is still a mystery to him. Jon is also caught up wrestling with his decision to take his vows and become a member of the Night's Watch, he thinks a lot about Winterfell and also the world that he will miss seeing if he takes his vows. After a long ride in the darkness while Ghost is out hunting, Jon knows what he has to do. And his realization isn't for himself, but it's in knowing he must try to save Samwell Tarly. Jon goes to Maester Aemon to argue that Sam should be made a brother of the Night's Watch, arguing that time will not make Sam any better of a fighter than he is now, but if he isn't passed from his training now, it would be a huge opportunity for a learned and intelligent brother to be wasted! Jon is rather persuasive in his argument, and I think he certainly displays an ability to maneuver a situation to fit his needs, or in this case, the needs of a friend. We won't find out until the next chapter, but the number of new Night's Watch brother's moves up to nine, saving Sam Tarly from Alliser Thorne's power, but altering Jon's path as well!



I never paid much attention to this idea of Sam standing under a bare and dead tree in the yard, but this time around, I had a few questions. If this tree is dead, why hasn't it been cut down for firewood? It's smack in the middle of Castle Black and serves no purpose, so why let it stand? What kind of tree is it? And is there symbolism involved in Sam standing beneath it? Any one have any thoughts on this?

Pyp, of the large ears, who seems to be something of a stand in for Oswell Whent at times in this story, grabs the wine skin away from Jon and in the meanwhile, Pyp, Jon, Grenn and Sam seem to be involved in a tussle over the wine skin.(I think it was the last Jon chapter were the imagery around Jon, Pyp and Green seemed to mimic Arthur Dayne, Gerald Hightower and Oswell Whent, and in that chapter, the three men are guarding Sam Tarly, while in Eddard's fever dream, the three kingsguard seem to be guarding the toj or something in it. Jon catches a squirt  of red wine in the face, which certainly could be foreshadowing his later stabbing by his brothers, while Sam Tarly slips away and is not seen again in this chapter.

I am trying to stick to parentage, and already failing but could this signify some sort of disagreement at the toj between the kingsguard. In the above scene, Jon get's squirted in the face with wine, and before it's over, has his shirt stained with wine and his hair wet with snow, but Sam has managed to escape the situation.

The imagery around Jon at the end of this tussle reminds me of both Robb and the snowflakes melting in his hair at Winterfell, as well as Jon's remembrance of this, as well as in calls to later in our story, when Sam is leaving the wall for old town and Jon sadly notes the snow melting in Sam's hair. But in this case, it is Jon with the snow in his hair, and I wonder if even for a moment he pauses to think about himself in Robb's situation? Robb remained in his place as Lord of Winterfell and it lead to his death, and Jon is soon to take vows that will lead him down a path that seems to be leading to his own death. And at a quite young age, betrayed by people he should be able to trust, just as Robb is, and just as Daeron the Young Dragon was, a man who serves as Jon's idol!

So, in looking at this idea of Daeron Targaryen and Robb Stark and Jon Snow. We clearly have a Targaryen king, a Stark king and ??? What is Jon exactly? He has Stark blood for certain, but some Targaryen's do play a role in his story and development. Daeron, as we hear mentioned in Jon's first POV and Maester Aemon, a Targaryen price do play a role in Jon's life. So, does this hint at a Stark/Targaryen blending in the genetic's of Jon snow?

This above passage also illustrates that Benjen Stark is on Jon's mind, and while most people have wrote him off for dead, Jon seems to cling to a stubborn belief that Benjen is alive! And is still the First Ranger!




This passage has a bit of the continuation of the idea that Jon clings to the hope of Benjen's return, when other's do not. Interestingly, most everyone thinks that Jon will eventually follow in Benjen's footsteps and become first a ranger, and later First Ranger. Could this be a hint of son following father's footsteps, if Benjen does turn out to be Jon's bio-dad?

The other thing that caught my attention in this passage is the idea of the blueberries. The blueberries are served iced, which to me has some Stark imagery involved. Ice is certainly associated with the Stark's, not just in the family sword, but in the weather. And blueberries are a color that might be very reminiscent of the color of the Stark winter rose.

From an art history perspective, I found this:

Once viewed as the fruit of kings, blueberries have a regal relationship because of their color. Many royal commissioned works of art show a monarch, or even a Madonna, wearing blue. Also, in Renaissance art, blue paint was among the most expensive to produce — a mixture of ground lapis lazuli and pigment binders — so the objects that required this color were held in high regard. You may have noticed that blue is the color reserved for the mantle worn by the Virgin Mary in Renaissance and Baroque art.

So in this we have the idea that blueberries are regal, associated with kings or monarchy, or with the colors surrounding the Madonna. Later in this chapter, we will find Jon thinking upon his mysterious mother, so I don't know if this blue idea is a hint toward Lyanna, who has some other Madonna like imagery in her story, or if it's purely about the idea of kingship. But in this case, it's an icy kingship, and in the end, Jon pushes the berries away, not taking that which was offered to him. Could that signify Jon being offered a kingship but not accepting it? In this case, since the berries are blue and iced, I think this could be a hint that the kingship that might be offered to Jon involves his Stark blood!



Deeply restless, Jon seeks out Ghost. But he allows Ghost to run ahead of him, knowing that a wolf needs to hunt! And while Ghost hunts, Jon thinks. And rides. He wanted only to ride. Something in this phrasing reminds me of what we know of both Lyanna and Brandon. That they were good riders, seemed to enjoy it, both compared to centaurs. Is this a nod to Lyanna and/or Brandon being a parent to Jon Snow?

This passage also lingers on the kingsroad, which is a road that plays into the Bael the Bard Tale, as well as King Jaehaerys I's visit to the north and that during his kingship, the concept of the kingsroad, from Castle Black to Kings Landing was born. So, does this road hint at Jon's parentage as possibly hinted at in the Bael Tale (Rhaegar the bard and Lyanna the Stark Maid being parents to the eventual Lord of Winterfell or Lyanna the Stark maid being impregnated possibly by Mance, a wildling who would later become King Beyond the Wall)

Or is the roads connection to Jaehaerys, a great Targaryen king and how that imagery might foreshadow Jon? Jon thinks of the life that he could lead if he continues down that road, the places he could see, not just Winterfell, but the world. The world was down that road but Jon was here! And he will chose to remain "here"!



Aemon, the son of a Targaryen king who could have become a Targaryen king ... but chose the wall! Does this hint at the same path for Jon? Many people think this is exactly what it means, and while it's not my favorite idea, it certainly has some possibility of being true.

Jon thinks of his brother's at Winterfell, and then a voice in his head corrects him. Your half brothers! What voice is that? An internal voice? Does it sound like Catelyn Tully? I don't think so, because the next line is "And Lady Stark, who will not welcome him", so this hints to me that the internal voice doesn't belong to Cat. Is it another voice that Jon hears? Is it Ned's voice? Somehow I doubt Ned ever separated Jon and his other siblings in this way, but I suppose it's possible. The voice of his mother, who he will think about just after this? 

Even his own mother had not had a place for him. The thought of her made him sad. He wondered who she had been, what she had looked like, why his father had left her. Because she was a whore or an adulteress, fool. Something dark and dishonorable, or else why was Lord Eddard too ashamed to speak of her?


Jon seems to think his mother must be alive, but either could not keep him or would not keep him. He wants to know so much about her, but it's interesting that his first thoughts go to Ned leaving her because of the possibility that she was either a whore or an adulteress? Interesting. Is this something Jon internally senses? Or is it something he has heard whispered at Winterfell? His assumption that the only reason that Ned would not speak of her is because Ned must be ashamed of her, or who she was? Of course, I don't think this is the case, but it does tell us something about how Jon assumes that there is only shame and scandal involved with his mother, if a man as honorable (or that is the perception that surrounds Ned, at least) as Ned Stark would not speak of her.

And this of course does flash back to Robert and Ned's conversation on the kingsroad, the very same road that Jon is right now sitting on and contemplating his future.  "I dishonored myself and I dishonored Catelyn, in the sight of gods and men." AGOT-Eddard II. So, perhaps there is some amount of dishonor involved?

So, Jon's parents do weight on his mind, and perhaps his decision. In Jon's mind there is no reason to doubt that Eddard Stark is his father, and so he doesn't, although the question is almost universal in the fan base. It is Jon's mother who is the mystery to Jon, and the reason that she seems to be a mystery must because to speak of her would bring some sort of shame or dishonor to Ned, or so I think in how Jon's line of thinking works. Perhaps I am wrong about that! 

The thought of her made him sad. This idea of sadness, while not a smile, almost always seems to flair a little Ser Arthur Dayne imagery for me, as we know in Ned's toj fever dream Arthur Dayne is smiling sadly. This sad feeling in Jon somehow triggers a flash of the possibility that it is Arthur Dayne who is Jonno's bio-dad!!!

So far, the Stark's that have raised their hands to be counted in this chapter are Benjen and Eddard, with some possible shadowy imagery for Brandon and Lyanna hidden in Jon's need to ride and ride, with no real direction, but as a need to help him both clear his mind and think on what needs to be decided.

Jon seems to long for Winterfell, even sits on the kingsroad looking toward Winterfell, but then looks back toward the fires of Castle Black and the wall. And while we don't get the decision process play out in his mind, when he has decided, it toward Castle Black that he rides and in his mind he calls it home! I do wonder if Jon had been aware that Catelyn wasn't at Winterfell, if that would have changed his decision at all?

Also, the imagery in that last paragraph of the fires of Castle Black and the Wall was there, pale beneath the moon, vast and cold, made of ice, somehow highlight the duel aspects of Jon Snow, or is in a clear nod as his parentage, that is both fire and ice?



I have wondered if the blood on Ghost's muzzle in some way served as a blood sacrifice that helped Jon to make his decision, either to stay at Castle Black and take his vows, or in the matter of Sam Tarly. Something in this paragraph leads me to believe they are strongly connected! Can a sacrifice of blood, made by your bonded direwolf, help give you the answers you sought?


While most of Jon's interaction with first Chett and later Maester Aemon indicates quite a bit about his personality, his intelligence in being able to steer people to his cause or way of thinking (as with Aemon), or his ability to be flat out stubborn until he wears down an opponents will (Chett) is really interesting, and credit seems to be given to Maester Luwin for educating Jon in such a way that Jon is able to wield his mind as well as a sword, I am trying so very hard (and we know I struggle) to stick to parentage, so I am going to look at just a few passages that might hint at Jon's parents.



Jon starts a fire and has the logs "crackling merrily" very soon. That stands out to be as a possibly nod to the fires of the Targaryen's. Not sure if it's a parentage nod or not, but I can see how people might think so.

I am also wondering about Aemon's body. When last we seen his remains, I think they are stuffed in a bottle of rum. What is that babtism going to do to Aemon's remains once someone puts his body to the torch? What happens when you light a rum-soaked Targaryen on fire? For some reason, I think it might be interesting.



Ah, promises! Jon and this promise make me think of both Ned and Lyanna and the "promise" or "promises" that seem to tie them together, and seems to link to Jon Snow. This is actually the second time promise comes up in this chapter of Jon's, although the first is in regard to the path his ride takes ( ), and not to making an actual promise. This incident above very strongly hints at Ned's promise to Lyanna. What is interesting in this regard, is that Jon's promise is in an effort to save Samwell Tarly from becoming either wounded or sick ... or worse! While I have come to think of the "promise" as linking Ned, Lyanna and Jon together in some way, I was struck this time that perhaps the "promise" is about protecting Sam Tarly!!!

And last but not least, I don't want to mention Jon and Aemon's whole converstation, but I think it's fair to say that Jon is persuasive and effective in his words to Maester Aemon about Sam and he finds a way to fix a situation that he thinks needs to be fixed. And this reminds me quite a bit of the story we get from Jaime's POV about Ser Arthur Dayne and how he used his wits to help defeat the Kingswood Brotherhood. This could be another nod that links Jon and Ser Arthur Dayne!!!


*** I am SO sorry! This turned out much longer than I had planned! Eesh!!! ***