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Chapter 49: Eddard
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
Arya trains with Syrio for the final time before she returns to Winterfell. She fails to parry an attack from Syrio, and Syrio asks her if she knows how he became the best swordfighter in Bravos. It wasn’t because he was the most skilled or talented, he said. It was because he could see. He could see exactly what was before his eyes, not what people wanted him to see. Lannister men from the Kingsguard storm into the room. They tell Arya to come with them because her father (Ned) wants to see her. Arya asks them why her father would send Lannister men. One of the men says to seize Arya, and Syrio steps in. Another man says to kill Syrio and take Arya.
Syrio’s statement that his virtuosity as a sword fighter consists of his ability to see clearly provides a commentary on both Sansa and Ned. Sansa avoids seeing what’s right in front of her, as she continues to insist that Joffrey is a decent person despite all evidence to the contrary. Ned is also guilty of not seeing what’s before him. Littlefinger previously told him straightforwardly that Ned was wise to distrust him. Still, Ned trusted him, which led to Ned’s downfall.
Themes
Arya steps away and watches Syrio fight five men from the Kingsguard. As she watches, she realizes that Syrio hasn’t made use of his full ability during their training sessions. He seems to dance as he fights, and he moves faster than Arya has ever seen a person move. Still, after minutes of fighting, it seems like five-on-one might be too much for Syrio to handle. He seems to be on the verge of losing and being killed when he yells to Arya to run. Arya takes off, beginning to cry as she thinks that Syrio might die.
One of the recurring themes of the novel is who inspires loyalty and who doesn’t. In this case, Arya has inspired the kind of loyalty from Syrio that Jon finds in Sam and Ned finds in his men, suggesting that Arya may possess the same kinds of leadership qualities as her father and Jon. In this case, Syrio risks his life to ensure Arya’s safety.
Themes
Arya goes to her father’s (Ned) stables. She finds the master of horses from Winterfell dying at the door to the stable. He tells Arya that she must warn her father. Inside, she finds three more of her father’s men killed. There is also a dead Lannister soldier. Arya takes down a chest filled with her things. She thinks she’ll need clothes for the journey back to Winterfell, and she rummages in the chest until she finds the sword that Jon gave her, named Needle.
As soon as Ned is arrested, the Lannisters begin their scourge of the Starks. This signals that they consider the Starks among their most notable enemies. They attempt to wipe out the Starks, along with those loyal to the Starks, so there won’t be any meaningful competition for the throne or opposition to Joffrey’s inheritance of the Crown.
Themes
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A stable hand who Arya doesn’t recognize comes into the stable wielding a pitchfork. He says he knows who Arya is. Arya asks him to help her saddle a horse and that her father, the Hand of the King, will reward him if he does. The boy says that her father (Ned) is dead. He approaches her with the pitchfork, and Arya stabs him with Needle, killing him. She takes her clothes and walks out of the stable. She has to pass right by Lannister men and tries to remain as calm as possible as she does. She makes her way to the dungeon full of dragons’ skulls that she found when she was chasing cats, where she plans to hide.
The boy who approaches Arya says that Ned is dead, though at this point the reader only knows that Ned has been arrested. That suggests that either Ned is in fact dead, the boy is lying, or that now that Ned has been taken into Lannister custody, he’s as good as dead. Arya finds herself in her own life-or-death situation after her father Ned has played (and apparently lost) the “game of thrones.” This reinforces the far-reaching consequences of playing that game.
Themes
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