![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreOk, almost 800 pages into A Storm of Swords(and %^&#%^*&*&*$^ to that wedding feast...), and I have to ask..does Martin hate the Starks? Does he have it in for them? It seems that those poor people never get a break(yeah, I know, it's to make them stronger...)
But I mean, really...can't they at least get a teensy reunion? Even one of them managing to spot another far away and not even getting to talk to them would be a plus...I was teased once this book, dare I hope?
Anyway, main point of the post is the Stark kids and their wolves...
In the first book, Ned thought that maybe the wolves were sent to his children...2 females, 3 males, and a white runt who should have died but didn't...one perfectly matched for each child(and, while Jon may not be Ned's son in truth, he is in all trhe ways that matter, and is very much a Stark), and when he killed Lady, he feared he was acting against the will of the gods. Personally, I think he had a point. Just look at them.
First of all, we have Robb. Robb got caught up in what he was supposed to do and ignored the warnings of his wolf(whose name escapes me) Everyone who betrayed him, the wolf warned him against, and when Cat asked him to listen, he told her he couldn't base his judgements on what his wolf thought of people. As a result, he and Cat both died(rather traumatized by that, actually...and if this world has ghosts, then Cat's ghost is going to have some ideas at what the man who stabbed Robb yelled, I fear)
Then there's Jon and Ghost. Sometimes, they seem to be sharing a mind, and they definately fight as a unit. Also, Jon himself seems to be picking up on the attributes of a wolf, and the way Ghost is described sometimes sounds human to me. It's hard to really pinpoint something specific as an example, but it's how it feels.
Then there's Arya, who chased Nymeria off to save her. As Arya travels, we hear stories of a savage dire wolf leading a huge, savage pack, and as Arya's path becomes more bloody, the wolf seems to become more savage, as well. And really, it often seems that the only thing that keeps Arya from turning savage is her intense need for revenge and the focus it gives her. Arya is also the only one only ones(besides Sansa) who's separated from her wolf, and the one with the least peace.
Next up is Bran. Bran and Summer are a unit more than even Jon and Ghost, and Bran has embraced and clung to Summer more than any of his siblings have and, as a result(IMO, it's the cause) he's gained supernatural powers his siblings don't posses, and neither does anyone else that I know of, with the possible exception of Mellisandre.
Rickon I have nothing on, what with his only being four. I suspect, though, that he'll have changed a lot when we see him again(I've been fretting over him the whole book...)
Finally, there's poor Sansa, whose wolf was murdered to appease the She-Devil and her little monster. On the outside, Sansa is weak, and, except for Rickon(who doesn't count) she is the weakest, but she's a Stark, so she's far stronger than she seems, and stronger than she thinks. Of all of them, though, she's the only one completely adrift...she has no focus, goals or purpose, and no prayer of escape, all she can do is hope to live one more day and hope no new horror will be visited on her. If we view the wolves as being a part of the Stark brood, then Sansa has lost a part of herself, and unlike Arya, who will likely find the peace she lacks when reunited with Nymeria, Sansa will never be completely whole, and there will always be a gaping hole inside of her.
So, 1 who ignored his wolf and died, 2 whose growth seems to mirror that of their wolves, 1 who doesn't count(yet,) 1 who has fully embraced his wolf and is becoming something new because of it, and 1 who has lost her wolf and has become utterly alone and adrift.
Anyone else have any opinions and on the Stark brood and their wolves?