The Direwolves Of Winterfell: Part 1, Lady and Sansa’s Bond
May 31, 2020 18:37:21 GMT
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Post by stdaga on May 31, 2020 18:37:21 GMT
I have always understood it on re-read that she did know, but I can't be certain. I personally am not sure that Mance is not her brother, Arthur Dayne, why else would he choose the less attractive sister?
Is Dalla less attractive than Val? I don't think we are told so. Mance does refer to Val as "a beauty" but that doesn't mean that Dalla isn't also beautiful. And Jon does think of Val as pretty the first time he see's her, but as time passes, he see's her as beautiful. Is she that beautiful or does her attractiveness grow as he get's to know her more, and no doubt falls a bit in love with her. Or is she bewitching him in some way? After all, he see's her eyes change color as well, from grey to blue. He only ever thinks of Dalla as pregnant, which might mean he would not focus on her beauty. We only have Jon's POV to look at Val and Dalla's beauty, and on that first meeting, Jon certainly has plenty on his mind that should not involve pretty women.
However, if Mance and Val are sisters, then this would make a bit of sense of Val and Dalla being "sisters". I had considered they were eaither blood sister's or members of a sisterhood, but if they were sister-in-laws, then that would make them sister's too. But why would Mance just not introduce Val as his sister if she was? It would not be harmful to claim he had a sister, and it would make her prized. And why the extreme age difference, if Mance is in his 40's and Val is probably only around 20, if even that. I guess that could work for Allyria Dayne, such an age difference, but I still suspect that Allyria is younger than Val seems to be.
As to Manderly, I think we are as close to agreement on that issue as we can get... the horse is whipped dead, you get the last word!!
Once I became suspicious of Wyman, it was hard not to see it everywhere I looked in the text. Probably will turn out to be wrong, but his loyalty speech to Davos is quite rousing, and brings Davos over to his side, but we know that Wyman can be manipulative. Time will tell, I guess. Or at least I hope we will get one more book, at least.
I think there is something important in the symbolism revolving around slit throats. Joffrey chokes to death, but by poison, not food, and his throat is slit open to find the truth of it. Wyman's throat seems to be cut, slit or injured at Winterfell, but I guess it's superficial enough to be treated. Ned and Jon are both threatened with slit throats and then they are both betrayed, Ned even asks to have his throat slit. An assassin comes to slit Bran's throat but fails, Tyrion threatens to slit Cersei's throat but doesn't-yet! Renly's death is by a slit throat, Arya kills people with a slit throat (guard at Harrenhal and Dareon), Ygritte kills that old man in Jon's place by slitting his throat. Bran's vision shows a captive having his throat slit before the Winterfell heart tree. Jon thinks Val will slit her husbands throat if she is forced into marriage, tying her actions to Ygritte's and wildling women. Coldhands slit's his elks throat, the Harpy's Son's slit peoples throats, the spearwives sent to Long Barrow are thought to capable of slitting the throat of Night's Watch men if pushed. I have just recently started looking into what this slit throat symbolism could be about, but I haven't yet come up with a good feel. Or the symbolism of success, failure or mere threats. I started down this path by wondering if the choking of Brandon Stark with a garrot contraption is considered a "slit throat" or merely strangled and how that could tie to Bran Stark's assassination attempt, and it turned out to be a much bigger puzzle than I suspected. Just one more idea I am working on, and I don't mean to beat at Wyman Manderly like a dead horse, I swear! I might determine it could mean he is innocent (although I doubt that...)