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Chapter 17: Bran
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Game of Thrones, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Politics and Power
Climate Change and Collective Action
Gender and Power
Honor and Integrity
Identity
Summary
Analysis
Catelyn and Ser Rodrik are about a half hour away from King’s Landing. They’re approaching by ship, and the journey has taken a toll on them both. The two devise a plan for what they’ll do once they land. First, they’ll go to an inn and try to remain out of sight. Catelyn will stay there while Ser Rodrik goes alone to the castle, which is called the Red Keep. Ser Rodrik will meet with Ser Aron, the master of arms at the Red Keep, to see if he knows who owns the dagger carried by the assassin who tried to kill Bran.
Catelyn has undertaken a perilous journey to try and get to the bottom of who killed Bran, highlighting again the protectiveness she feels toward her family and her children. Rodrik and Catelyn have a well-conceived plan to try and achieve their goals, but the novel will show that, in the world of politics and power, things rarely go according to plan.
Themes
At the inn, after Ser Rodrik has left for the Red Keep, Catelyn falls asleep for longer than she intended. She’s awakened by a knock at the door. When she opens it, she finds knights who tell her that they’re there to escort her to the Red Keep under orders of Petyr Baelish, who is also known as Littlefinger. Catelyn doesn’t know who would have told Littlefinger that she was in King’s Landing. She knows that even if Rodrik were captured, he would never say anything.
Rodrik and Catelyn’s careful plan quickly goes awry. Littlefinger is the one who interrupts that plan, showing that he tends to be one step ahead of others when it comes to playing the “game of politics.” Notably, Catelyn’s mind goes to the possibility that Rodrik betrayed her, though she quickly dismisses that possibility.
Themes
Catelyn grew up with Littlefinger. He had been her father’s ward, and Catelyn thought of him as a brother. But Littlefinger’s feelings toward her were more than brotherly. When Littlefinger learned that Brandon Stark would marry Catelyn, Littlefinger challenged Brandon to a duel for her hand in marriage. Littlefinger was only 15, while Brandon was 20. Catelyn had to plead with Brandon not to kill Littlefinger. After Littlefinger lost the duel, Catelyn’s father sent him away. Catelyn hasn’t heard from him since then, except for a letter Littlefinger sent when Brandon died, which Catelyn burned unopened.
Catelyn’s past experiences with Littlefinger raise the question of how that past will impact their relationship in the present. Does any of Littlefinger’s past love for Catelyn remain, which could presumably make Littlefinger trustworthy? Or does Littlefinger feel spurned by Catelyn and harmed by Brandon (a Stark) in a way that will make him want to enact revenge on the Stark family? The novel portrays these scenes to show the complex personal motives at the heart of many of the political decisions that occur in the book.
Themes
When Catelyn reaches Littlefinger’s room, he tells her that Lord Varys, the master of whisperers, told him that Catelyn was in King’s Landing. Lord Varys then enters the room and asks Catelyn if she has the dagger. Littlefinger is surprised and doesn’t know what Lord Varys is talking about. Lord Varys explains that a “little bird” overheard Ser Rodrik talking to Ser Aron about trying to find the owner of a particular dagger. Catelyn reluctantly takes the dagger from her belt and shows it to Littlefinger and Lord Varys. Littlefinger says he knows exactly who the dagger belongs to: it’s his. Or at least it had been until he recently lost it in a bet to Tyrion Lannister.
Though Littlefinger gained the upper hand on Rodrik and Catelyn by learning of their presence when they tried to stay hidden, he remains unaware of the reason for their visit. Littlefinger’s assertion that the dagger belonged to Tyrion directly implicates Tyrion in the crime of conspiring to kill Bran. Since Catelyn is predisposed to dislike the Lannisters, Littlefinger’s claim aligns with the picture of the situation that Catelyn has already begun to paint in her mind.
Themes
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