The Actual "Honorable" Stark

            When watching Game of Thrones, who is one strong female character that comes to mind? If you answered that question with Daenarys Targaryen then you would be correct; however, this blog is not about the fabulous Daenarys. This blog post is going to focus on the role and impact of... wait for it…Sansa Stark, (ooooooo ahhhhhh) as well as the reaction to her character. 

            Sansa Stark is the daughter of Eddard Stark, who happens to be the Lord of Winterfell, aka Sansa is a big deal. When readers first meet Sansa Stark in George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, she is an eleven-year-old child; however, fans (including myself) judged her decision making like she was the stupidest and most dimwitted human to ever walk the planet. I feel that most viewers seem to forget, especially when watching the show that SANSA IS ELEVEN. This can mostly be blamed due to a casting confusion for the television series. When Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, was cast for that role, she was fourteen years old. In the show, this gave Sansa a much older appearance, making viewers judge Sansa’s decisions as if she was older. However, with that being said she was able to perfect the role of an honorable pre-teen girl who did exactly as she was told and was merely focused on a woman’s role of the time. Sansa was a little girl in the beginning and she acted as little girls do; she believed in songs, fairytales, and happy endings. Early in the novel, A Game of Thrones, when Prince Joffrey rescues her from the Hound, Sansa compares it to when Princess Daeryss was saved from the giants. Sansa is most definitely, as Mekishana Pierre would say, “naïve, lost in dreams of perfect princes, and undeniably spoiled. Basically, she’s every little girl who had the fortune to live a sheltered, idealistic life with no real concerns aside from being a proper lady.” The fact that “fans” judge her for acting like the little girl she is, is… well, sexist. The most disappointing thing I have read was in Rhiannon’s article that stated some “fans” wished that Sansa would be raped because viewers and readers hated her character so much. So, riddle me this, why is Sansa acting like a female frowned upon by viewers and readers, but Arya displaying male tendencies is applauded?

            Speaking of Arya, let’s go ahead and discuss why people love her so much in comparison to her sister, Sansa. Arya Stark is somewhat immature and bratty (just like her sister). Arya is also, only two years younger than her sister making her nine in the first book of the series. However, (for some ungodly reason) critics, readers, and viewers seem to put Sansa on a much higher pedestal with more strict expectations, simply because she demonstrates feminine qualities and characteristics. Arya is allowed to stab whoever, and it is okay, but according to the societal views of the show, Arya should be the outcast instead of Sansa. Now, please, do not get me wrong, I am all in favor of some female empowerment; especially, when a nine-year-old girl is stabbing grown-ass men, but why is my girl Sansa treated so poorly in comparison? Well I am not the only one who feels this way because according to Rhiannon, she feels that Arya is a strong female character, however, she discusses what makes a strong female character and that in order to be considered a strong female character, society suggests that these “strong FEMALE characters” must demonstrate male characteristics, which she and I both feel is a load of shit.

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            Moving on. I am on season five episode two and the character development that Sansa has underwent since the beginning of Game of Thrones is remarkable. During season one of Game of Thrones, Sansa felt that she was going to marry Prince Joffrey, she would spend her days giving birth to “little princes and princesses,” and they would live happily ever after. Yea, not gonna happen. Once Sansa moves to King’s Landing with Arya and their father, she soon figures out that Joffrey is out of his freaking mind (like he’s an actual psychopath); however, she never spoke ill of him despite everything he did to her family. Example one of Joffrey being deranged, he beheaded Sansa’s father in front of her after Joffrey promised Sansa he would show Lord Eddard mercy. Example two, Joffrey has his guards strip and beat Sansa in front of the entire King’s Court. However, despite that being said, Joffrey is not the only character who made Sansa grow up way to fast when she should have been able to enjoy song and fairytales for a little bit longer. Mekishana Pierre discussed how Cercei Lannister and Lord Baelish “helped open her eyes to the truth of what being a woman in Westeros is like and led the charge that ripped away Sansa’s naïveté.” Her mother and father taught her lessons as a girl, however, Peytr and Cercei taught Sansa lessons that made her a woman. In just four short seasons, Sansa has lost both parents, her direwolf, and her older brother. Oh, and her aunt Lysa flew to the Vale, abandoning her extended family. However, despite all of this, Sansa is still able to maintain her femininity and she quickly learns that she has to take care of herself because no one is going to do it for her. Drea Letamendi described Sansa the best when she states that Sansa “has suffered through some of the darkest traumas but has emerged a strong and mentally resilient woman.” Through all of the trauma she endures, Sansa learns to use her femininity as a shield and manipulates her words of courtesy – like her insistence that she continues to “love” Joffrey – in order to function to protect herself instead of reverting to masculine modes of behavior like taking up sword fighting. Sansa also never exploits her sexuality as other female characters in the show/book have been seen doing, such as Cercei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell. In a world in which women have few tools at their disposal other than their bodies in order to gain power, it is notable that Sansa never uses her sexuality to achieve her goals. Cercei can be seen on various occasions shaking what her mama gave her in order to get what she wants. For example, in the first book, Cercei is seen trying to seduce Ned Stark in King’s Landing after he found out she had been SLEEPING WITH HER TWIN BROTHER. Margaery, like Cercei, is seen in numerous circumstances in the television series using her good looks and sexuality to try to seduce multiple people in the capital including Joffrey and his little brother Tommen. However, from what I have read and viewed Sansa has never used her sexuality in order to gain power or recognition. With that being said, go Sansa!

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            Although, I started off feeling the same hatred for Sansa as most fans have in the television series and book, I began to pity her following the death of her father. In addition, this death, the way that Joffrey began to treat her as a toy once he became King brought a tear to my eye. Sansa has grown, and I am assuming will continue to grow throughout the rest of this series. While she is only in her early teenage years at this point in the show, she has shown more strength and perseverance than any other female character in the show. I did not like Sansa at all at the beginning of the show, but Sansa has grown to be one of my favorite characters. Sansa Stark is the definition of a proper lady; however, she shows that she can be as colder than the North when she wants to be. The moral to this story, do not mess with the Queen of the North!