Arya + Survival and Adaptability
Since making this post which illustrates how Arya has gone through a great deal, much of which is very similar to what Sansa survived, I’ve gotten a lot of responses both positive and negative. The negative ones criticize the post for comparing the sisters and then follow it up with comparing the sisters but in a way that props one up while bashing Arya.
This all proves that the insistence that Arya couldn’t survive in her sister’s place, despite going through the exact same thing but without the protection of being a valuable hostage who can’t be killed on a whim, is rooted in Arya hate. Many blame the show for this, but in this case D&D are only parroting certain corners of the fandom. If people aren’t insisting that Arya is too stupid or too focused on violence to survive, they’re saying things like this:
First off, everyone can have their own opinion on this. Personally, I think Sansa is right and that Arya would not have survived King’s Landing. But NOT because she is weaker or stupid (or whatever people want to interpret into Sansa’s words here) but because Arya is IMPULSIVE. That doesn’t have anything to do with stupidity, only with her direct and impulsive personality. She has a quick temper and doesn’t give a shit that she gets in trouble for it. How can people deny this when it’s one of the traits people usually love about her? Did no one pay attention to how she had to learn to control her impulsive nature in order to become an assassin in Braavos? It’s not just about blind sword fighting and wearing masks. It’s about self-control. And Arya had very little self-control when it came to Joffrey and his bullshit. And if Cersei could not prevent Joffrey from killing Ned, no one could have prevented Joffrey from killing Arya. And that’s what Sansa is referring to. Joffrey remained No 1 on Aryas death list and she would have gotten herself killed trying to kill him sooner or later if she had stayed in KL at the court like Sansa. I mean, could you imagine Arya just quietly suffering all the abuse she got from Joffrey and Cersei? Seriously? It doesn’t negate Arya’s own suffering, she had a totally different arc (which both sisters discussed ffs down in the crypts when thei reunited) but Sansa is right here in saying that the shit she had to put up with were not the kind of situation Arya would have voluntarily suffered through. The fact that she cannot understand Sansa’s point at all confirms that she would have acted very differently in KL and it would have been her death.
Secondly, I don’t get how people feel they need to compare and weigh one sister’s suffering against the other. Thank you, D&D for ruining each and every part of the fandom and for having fans that used to be halfway decent to one another now feel they need to aggressively bash the other.
Anyone who has read the novels, Arya’s chapters in particular, would be able to shoot enough holes through this to sink a ship. Usually I just suggest that people read the novels when I see such canonically incorrect character bashing or I direct them to this post on my old blog where I thoroughly discussed the issue. But it seems that parts of it need to be reposted here:
It’s true that Arya has a temper and can be impulsive, especially early on in the series. But even in AGOT, she shows that she does have self-control and isn’t guided purely by impulse. For example:
“It was the scariest thing she’d ever done. She wanted to run and hide, but she made herself walk across the yard, slowly, putting one foot in front of the other as if she had all the time in the world and no reason to be afraid of anyone. She thought she could feel their eyes, like bugs crawling on her skin under her clothes. Arya never looked up. If she saw them watching, all her courage would desert her, she knew, and she would drop the bundle of clothes and run and cry like a baby, and then they would have her. She kept her gaze on the ground.”
“It was all Arya could do not to bolt and run, but she knew that if she did, they would be after her at once. She made herself walk closer.”
In both of these situations, Arya is able to fight her natural impulses, force herself to stay calm, and thinks through the situations rationally. If she had no self-control or if she was half as wild as some claim she is, she wouldn’t have made it out of the Red Keep to begin with.
There are far more examples of Arya controlling her behavior and showing that she has self-control. I chose early examples specifically because even those who concede that Arya is able to learn to control herself usually follow it up with some variation of, “She didn’t have any self-control at all at the beginning, so she would have been killed off before she had a chance to learn!” But, as you can see, this is something she is capable of early on.
Self-control is a quality in Arya that grows through necessity during her journey. It would be the same if she were somehow taken prisoner by the Lannisters.
Common criticism: Arya doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut!
A few early examples of Arya keeping her mouth shut:
“Hot Pie took her silence to mean she was scared, or stupid, or deaf.” – ACOK
“She did not answer. It seemed safer not to talk to anyone.” – ACOK
“It mattered to her, but she chewed her lip and kept quiet, listening.” – ACOK
“By the time they marched, Arya knew she was no water dancer. Syrio Forel would never have let them knock him down and take his sword away, nor stood by when they killed Lommy Greenhands. Syrio would never have sat silent in that storehouse nor shuffled along meekly among the other captives.” – ACOK
“A broken lip taught Arya to hold her tongue.” – ACOK
“Arya dropped her gaze and said nothing.” – ACOK
This is by far not a complete list. It’s just a handful of early examples.
I’m not saying that Arya never speaks out of turn. She does. Multiple times. But she isn’t incapable of being quiet and she does learn when to hold her tongue more and more through her experiences. Sansa also shows that not staying quiet doesn’t result in immediate death. She talks back to Joffrey on a number of occasions and is still alive as of the current canon. He often had her beaten afterward. She survived and Arya has survived beatings as well.
Joffrey remained No 1 on Aryas death list and she would have gotten herself killed trying to kill him sooner or later if she had stayed in KL at the court like Sansa.
People have this image of Arya as this impulsive, blood thirsty killer. But remember that had the Lannister’s taken her prisoner, the only person she may or may not have killed at that point (depending on when they took her captive) would have been the stable boy whose death was more of an accident. Arya learns kill on the road during the battle of the holdfast, when Jaqen brings her along when they free the Northmen, and then when she kills the guard to leave Harrenhall.
None of this would happen in an AU where she was in King’s Landing. She would be disarmed if she ever got a weapon, though she knows to hide her weapons, per canon, and is often too frightened to act during much of her captivity. If Wheeze scares Arya to the point where she doesn’t dare misbehave or try to escape when she sees her chance or even look at him the wrong way, wouldn’t her abusers in King’s Landing garner the same response, if not a worse one? She’s seen them murder her father and would undoubtedly be forced to look at his severed head. She would hate herself for not taking action, just as she hates herself in the novels, but she would know enough to control her behavior.
But anyway, the Lannisters wouldn’t kill her regardless of behavior. With Robb rebelling against the crown and holding Jaime prisoner, it was important for the Lannisters to hold onto their own hostages for bargaining and for ensuring Jaime’s safety. That is why Tyrion is disappointed when he finds out that Arya is missing. That’s why he tries so hard to have her found. The importance of finding Arya and keeping their current hostage alive is mentioned repeatedly.
“And if the gods are good, Bywater will find Arya alive, before Robb learns she’s gone missing.” – Tyrion, ACOK
“Why must I suffer accusations every time some Stark stubs his toe? This was Greyjoy’s work, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Let us hope Lady Catelyn believes that.”
Her eyes widened. “She wouldn’t-”
“-kill Jaime? Why not? What would you do if Joffrey and Tommen were murdered?”
“I still hold Sansa!” the queen declared.
“We still hold Sansa,” he corrected her, “and we had best take good care of her.” – Cersei and Tyrion, ACOK
“Tyrion glanced round the yard. “Where’s the Stark girl?”
For a moment no one answered. Finally Joffrey said, “She was riding by me. I don’t know where she went.”
Tyrion pressed blunt fingers into his throbbing temples. If Sansa Stark had come to harm, Jaime was as good as dead.” – Tyrion and Joffrey, ACOK
“One parting request. Kindly make certain no harm comes to Sansa Stark. it would not do to lose both the daughters.” – Tyrion, ACOK
The Lannisters have a vested interest in keeping Sansa alive and finding Arya. It is something even Joffrey seems to understand.
“Frowning, he lowered the crossbow. “I’d shoot you too, but if I do Mother says they’d kill my uncle Jaime.” – Joffrey, ACOK
They would have felt the same about Arya if they had found her. They would have done what they could to keep her alive. They definitely wouldn’t have killed her. Even Joff understands that they can’t kill a Stark girl in this political climate.
Before anyone tries to point out that Ned was murdered, remember that he was not a hostage. Robb hadn’t beaten the Lannisters and he hadn’t taken Jaime prisoner at that point. Besides, the books make it clear that Joff’s decision to kill him was a plot arranged beforehand, likely with Littlefinger pulling the strings. He would have no reason to arrange that sort of plot with Arya.
If you have any further “rebuttals” I suggest you read the novels and/or this post where the scenario is discussed at length.
Now, I would like to “thank” D&D for inciting this wank. It’s been wild. I don’t know why some want to bash them and then agree with them in the next breath, but here we are.
