Book Review: "Women in Game of Thrones"

On first glance, the show Game of Thrones and the book series it is based off of, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire don't appear to be shining feminist icons in either a metaphorical or literal sense. However, like any great story, there are many layers present between the characters, the plot, the themes and the symbols present. Naturally, the question of whether or not the Game of Thrones show or book series A Song of Ice and Fire can be considered remotely feminist has been hotly debated. Valerie Estelle Frankel jumps into this debate with a candid (and intriguing) pop-culture analysis of both the books and the show in her 2014 book Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance.

Frankel's analysis is on multiple levels:

1. Comparing the presentation of the female characters in the books to their counterparts on the show
2. Comparing both the book characters and their show counterparts with closely related historical figures from the medieval European historical context of the royal conflict the War of Roses that Game of Thrones draws upon
3. Critically examining both the book and the show (through season three) from a modern feminist lens 
4. The examination of these female characters as fitting (or transcending) common literary tropes and archetypes using a blend of psychological, feminist, and literary theories

Thus, her critical examination of the female characters of a Game of Thrones is an ambitious one, considering that the book (subtracting the character appendices and index) is 184 pages. However, Frankel does a good job with providing a good overview for her readers to counter the book length limitation, first by introducing the both major and minor characters in Game of Thrones: Daenerys, Arya, Cersei, Brienne, Osha, Asha, Catelyn, Sansa, Margaery, Shae, Ros, Lady Olenna, Old Nan (and many more). What helps readers to keep track of these characters as Frankel progresses through her four levels of anlaysis is the common thread of the fact that these female characters all manage to find ways to subvert or challenge the patriarchal and misogynist culture present in fictional Westeros in both obvious (i.e. military conquest or fighting as Daenerys, Arya, and Brienne notably engage in) to more subtle ways (such as Lady Olenna and Sansa Stark). However, there is a catch: while engaged in expressions of feminine power in a society that very much distrusts female autonomy and agency, it is these portrayals in both the books and the show that can be problematic. In other words, while the women characters all advance somewhat (despite their varying places on a spectrum of engaging in subtle to overt challenges to patriarchal structures and ideas), what is most important is how they advance.

For example, the most cited examples by Frankel of problematic assertions of female power and advancement in Game of Thrones can be seen in the Stockholm-like love story of Daenerys Targaryen with the Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo (their relationship in the show begins with a rape, and both in the books and show, Daenerys is sold in marriage like property to Drogo by her power-hungry brother Viserys in exchange for an army that could reconquer Westeros for him) and the sorceress Melisandre of Asshai, who seduces men and practices a perverse form of dark birthing magic to kill in the service of her liege lord (and claimant to the Iron Throne) Stannis Baratheon. In addition, while doing anything to protect her child (including engaging in occasional physical fights and other escapades), minor character Gilly seems mostly to be a one-note character, that is the devoted mother submissive to male characters in exchange for her (and her child's) protection. Lastly, in the vein of postcolonial feminist theory, Frankel gives voice to critiques that Daenerys's story as a conqueror started off primarily from the troubling vantage point of being a white messiah figure to the darker skinned slaves she frees (who call her their mother) in the east before going west back to Westeros.

The big take-away from Franke's archetype/trope and historical and feminist analyses for me is that the diverse cast of Game of Thrones female characters (and their feminist potential) are the most limited when these characters are shoved into one strict role (i.e. warrior versus mother verus widow versus helpless maiden) and many of the "strong" female characters (Arya, Brienne, Daenerys) seem to reject their femininity and take on the "normal" masculine standard (use of physical force, contempt for "stupid" and submissive girls and women). Also, I wouldn't be doing a true Game of Thrones analysis without mentioning the fact that these women characters are severely limited and their character growth stunted when they seem primarily to be involved in the books and the show as sexual objects, with no self-worth or their own identities as people in exception to their relations with men. (As someone who's read the books and watched the show, sex is used too much as a plot device to service men than as something that the women characters consent to or enjoy as they live their lives. Yet, it seems to have gotten better as the books and show progresses.)

So, is Game of Thrones feminist? Frankel's conclusion (one which I agree with) is that it is in some ways and is more problematic than others. We'll have to wait and see for the final season of the show and the last two books of the A Song of Ice and Fire series to provide a more updated conclusion.


Works Cited:

Frankel, Valerie Estelle. (2014). Women in Game of Thrones: Power, Conformity and Resistance. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers.