In early AGOT, Sansa and Jon seem as different as you can get. They are on opposite sides of the social ladder, her the daughter of a Lord Paramount and bethrothed to the crown prince, him the bastard that goes to the Wall. She is absolutely comfortable with her place in the world, while he has a huge problem with the stigma of bastardy and tries constantly to prove that he is just as good as his trueborn brothers. Yet, both of them share a belief in fairy tales and songs they heard growing up. He believes in the tales of heroic kings and knights, for example Dareon I is said to be his hero, while Sansa loves stories about love and knights saving the innocent lady. They share a naivety that sets them apart to the people they will meet at their destinations. Sansa at court is blinded by the smiles and false friendship, while nobody at the Wall bothers to pretend anything. Jon gets his awakening about the truth of the situation at the Wall much sooner than Sansa. He is surrounded by rough people, not the heroes he thought hed meet. His disillusionment mirrors Sansas later when she sees her father beheaded. Both have to navigate in places that are much different from home. Sansa saving Dontos parallels Jon helping Sam in a way. Dontos and Sam are both people who mean nothing to Jon and Sansa, they dont know them. Both Dontos and Sam arent what is expected of them, a drunken knight and a bookish heir, and both Jon and Sansa help them out of instinct. Both make sure the ones they saved arent harassed further, Jon by bringing his fellow recruits to leave Sam alone and Sansa by suggesting that Dontos should be a fool, thus preventing him from ever being taken serious again, which is a protection of sorts. Both Dontos and Sam feel indebted to Jon and Sansa afterwards, while Sam becomes Jons best friend, Dontos tries to save Sansa. As another parallel stands out the moment were Cersei flees from the room during the Battle of Blackwater, where Sansa calms down the ladies, and Jons They cannot pass moment on the Wall. Both of them act out of instinct again, they dont think about what they say, and it has similar effects on the people that listen. Sansa calms down the women and gives them hope, while Jon too gives the men hope that they can win this battle. Both of them act as leaders here, without realising it, maybe, but Sansa acts as the queen in this moment, while Jon acts as a commander, maybe even the Lord Commander here. Both of them draw strength from the cold and the weirwoods, Jon always has while Sansa learns to during her story. Her becoming Alayne Stone is interesting because she is provided with a whole new world view. She has to take a step back and see how the world is for people who arent the daughter of a high lord, which is a bit like when Jon came to the Wall, because while he has always been a bastard, he does feel superior to the recruits there. Only when he lets go of this superiority feeling he is able to make friends, like Sansa, who eventually accepts that her new, lower status is a protection. I always read her AFFC line about it being the first time in ages that she thought of him a bit like Neds line in the first book that it was the first time in years he thought of Rhaegar, which we know not to be true. I think Sansa has unconciously been basing her Alayne Stone persona on Jon. She thinks of being bastard brave, and the only bastard she knows is Jon. She does not know wether to dance at the feast, but it seems like dancing is something that women of all station like, so why should Alayne Stone be the exception? We know from ADWD, that Jon doesnt like dancing. That could be the answer to why Sansa isnt sure. Also, she makes Alayne Stone 14 years old, conveniently the age Jon was when she last saw him. Both of them wanted the nice aspects of ruling, Jon the prestige (and maybe the finale being equal to Robb) of being Lord Commander as he jokes with Tyrion and Sansa the ability to make Arya be nice to her and the other perks of being queen. Yet, when they face the ugly reality, they step down from their goals. Sansa just wants to go home, while Jon has been forced into command, but only wants to fight the Others and doesnt give two shits about others opinions of him anymore. To me, Sansa and Jon are the two of the Stark kids that are most like Ned with their firm set of morals and that certain naivety they show. Thoughts?
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:43:57 +0000
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