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Chapter 68: 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
A messenger arrives to tell Tywin that Jaime has been captured by the Stark army. Tywin and his men discuss how that could have happened and what they should do now. If Ned were still alive, they could possibly trade him for Jaime. But, Tywin says, Joffrey has proceeded foolishly. He jumps from one folly to the next and has no clue what he’s doing. Now that he’s killed Ned, Tyrion says, there’s no way for them to petition for peace with Robb and the Starks because the Starks will want revenge.
Tywin reveals that it’s not just the Starks and people like Sansa, Barristan, and the Lannisters’ enemies who think Joffrey is out of control. Instead, even Joffrey’s own family thinks his despotic tendencies on the throne are callous and foolish. Killing Ned in particular puts the Lannisters at a strategic disadvantage, showing that Joffrey does not act with the kind of ingenuity and cunning that is a hallmark of the Lannisters.
Themes
Varys has been sending messages to Tywin about Renly. According to Varys, Renly has married Margaery Tyrell and is forming an army of his own. Varys hasn’t heard anything about Stannis, even though Stannis is older and therefore has more of a claim to the throne than Renly. Tywin sends his men away and says he wants to speak to his brother Kevan and Tyrion alone. Tyrion is shocked that his father has asked him to be privy to momentous military decisions. Tywin explains that he plans to go to Harrenhal to face Robb’s army. When Kevan leaves to issue the orders, Tywin tells Tyrion that he’s sending him to King’s Landing to be the Hand of the King and to try and reign in Joffrey. Tywin tells him not to bring Shae, but Tyrion plans to bring her anyway.
Tywin’s decision to promote Tyrion to the role of Hand of the King shows that perhaps he is beginning to recognize Tyrion’s worth after years of diminishing Tyrion’s value and rejecting him as a person. In response, Tyrion displays his trademark individuality by deciding to bring Shae with him to King’s Landing against his father’s wishes. With that in mind, this passage reinforces the characterization of Tyrion as someone who doesn’t fit neatly into the pre-established hierarchies and expectations of Westeros but has instead found a way to become self-empowered outside the constraints of these established hierarchies.
Themes
