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Chapter 36: Daenerys
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
Bran rides with Robb, Theon, Maester Luwin, and several guards. It’s the first time Bran has been outside of Winterfell since his fall. He’s excited to be outside of the castle walls, but his excitement fades when Robb tells him that a raven appeared the night before with a message. Jory had been killed, and their father, Ned, remains unconscious after an attack from the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. Theon tells Robb that he should declare war on the Lannisters, but Robb isn’t sure how he’ll respond.
With Ned unconscious following Jaime’s attack on him, Robb becomes the de facto leader of House Stark. Theon suggests a reactionary response to Jaime’s instigation, while Robb opts to take a more patient and measured response. It remains to be seen, though, whether Robb’s patience is a sign that he is a thoughtful leader or a sign that he becomes paralyzed with doubt when facing difficult decisions.
Themes
Robb and Bran ride up ahead. Robb says that the direwolves have killed something. He goes to see what it is, leaving Bran alone. Five or six people dressed in ragged clothes come out of the woods. They threaten Bran and tell him to give over his valuables and his horse. When they hear that Bran is a Stark, one of the people remarks that he would make a good hostage for Mance Rayder, the king of the wildlings. Another responds that he never wants to go back beyond the Wall because he doesn’t want to face the “white walkers,” or the Others.
The people who accost Bran are wildlings, or free folk, who live beyond the Wall to the north. Bran has been listening to Old Nan’s stories about the Others. One of the wildlings says that he doesn’t want to go home because he doesn’t want to see the Others, which seems, to Bran, to corroborate Nan’s stories and suggest that the Others really could have returned. Following that man’s comments, Bran will continue to entertain the possibility that the Others really have returned, even while other people dismiss the possibility.
Themes
One of the men in the group cuts at Bran’s leg to sever the straps of his specially-made saddle. The knife cuts Bran’s leg, though he can’t feel it. Robb returns. He and the direwolves fight the group until one of the men puts a knife to Bran’s throat and threatens to kill him if Robb doesn’t stop fighting and call off the wolves. Theon finds the group and shoots an arrow, killing the man who holds a knife to Bran’s throat. When Maester Luwin surveys the group, he sees that two of the men wear black, meaning that they’re deserters from the Night’s Watch. One of the women in the group survives. She’s a wildling whose name is Osha. She says she’ll do anything if they spare her life. Robb and Maester Luwin decide to take her back to Winterfell for questioning.
Theon again shows that he is quick to action—he shoots an arrow to kill the man who took Bran hostage—whereas Robb is more reserved. The fact that two of the men traveling with a group of free folk are deserters from the Night’s Watch underlines the issues that the Night’s Watch has had with its dwindling number of recruits. Because one of those people mentioned the Others previously, it also suggests that more and more people are abandoning the Night’s Watch because they do not want to face the Others.
Themes
