Hi! I've been reading your blog for a while but this is the first time I send you a question. I heard the theory that Sweetrobin is Littlefinger's son and not Jon Arryn's. The timelines when Lysa Tully and Baelish were together in King's Landing match but, on the other hand, it seems like Littlefinger wants to get rid of little Robert. Do you thing it's possible? How this could affect the Vale storyline? (Sorry if there are any mistakes, English is not my mother tonge)
Hey, no worries, this is perfectly understandable. I’ve answered the question of whether Sweetrobin could be Littlefinger’s son before; but let me restate it, since it’s been a while:
Petyr and Lysa were in King’s Landing at the same time, as Lysa was the Hand Jon Arryn’s wife; and after Littlefinger proved himself with a customs position around 289 AC, Jon brought him to court.
Petyr and Lysa probably had a secret sexual affair when he was in KL, as Lysa refers to “all these years of silence and whisperings”, which could imply she had to be quiet while having sex with him before.
It’s possible that Lysa’s difficulty with bringing a child to term could have been due to the strong abortifacient her father made her take, but it might have also been due to Jon’s age or other difficulties (as his previous marriages were childless). Jon may have been simply incapable of producing viable children, and Lysa was pregnant before by Petyr, why not again?
When Lysa arrives at Petyr’s keep and announces that they will be marrying and having sex that very night, she says “I want us to make another child, a brother for Robert or a sweet little daughter.” (However, note that “another” certainly refers to their aborted child, and a half-brother of Robert would still be his brother.)
Robert is a small child, and dark-haired, much like young Petyr was, whereas Lysa has auburn hair and Jon was blond in his youth.
We don’t know when Littlefinger was brought to King’s Landing. If it was in 292 AC or after, there’s no way he could be Robert’s father. (However, it’s unlikely that Petyr held his customs position for that long.)
While Petyr and Lysa certainly had an emotional affair in KL (on her side at least), it’s uncertain if they actually had sex or if he just led her on with promises of their future together. Petyr is very capable of sleeping with a woman he hates in order to mislead her and use her, but teases and promises would work for him as well. And Lysa talks about how hard it was “to see him every day and still be wed to that old cold man”, which could imply that she and Petyr never actually had sexual contact.
Lysa certainly seems to be convinced that Jon Arryn is Robert’s father:
“Isn’t he beautiful? And strong too, don’t you believe the things you hear. Jon knew. The seed is strong, he told me. His last words. He kept saying Robert’s name, and he grabbed my arm so hard he left marks. Tell them, the seed is strong. His seed. He wanted everyone to know what a good strong boy my baby was going to be.” --Lysa, AGOT, Catelyn VI
Note Lysa had no awareness of Jon’s research of Robert Baratheon’s bastards, she genuinely believed her Robert was what Jon was raving about on his deathbed.
Furthermore, when Lysa is talking about all the things she’s done for Petyr, she says “I would have given you a son”, referring to the child that was aborted; which would mean she doesn’t think that Robert is his son, he’s not one of the things she had done to prove her love. (Mind you, Lysa is perfectly capable of lying to herself, so much that she may actually make herself believe it (see the Tyrion trial, for one), so Lysa’s own beliefs are not necessarily true.)
Littlefinger doesn’t remotely act like he knows Robert is his son. I mean, besides his general treatment of the boy, he’s planning on how to keep control of the Vale when he dies, and he’s actually poisoning him to speed up that event. Still, Petyr is also perfectly capable of lying to himself...
But most notably, regarding the hair color question, there is an entirely feasible answer, as Lysa’s father Hoster was brown-haired. (Furthermore, hair color is not from a simple dominant/recessive pair of genes, despite what some people learn in school, especially in cases of auburn hair which is a mix of brown and red.)
Robert’s small size is also not necessarily related to Petyr’s, as he was likely premature (he has “weak eyes” and is “painfully thin”), suffers from epilepsy, and has been medically mistreated with leechings and drugs for much of his life.
But still, even GRRM says there’s really no way to tell:
Q: Was Jon Arryn the father of Robert Arryn?
GRRM: So far as anyone knows. Without blood tests or DNA, establishing paternity was a lot more hit and miss.
As for how it could affect the Vale storyline… it probably won’t. Littlefinger has absolutely no compunctions against poisoning Robert, so even if he thought he was his father, being an “accursed kinslayer” is obviously not something he cares about at all. I mean, Petyr already murdered his wife, for goodness sake, with no regrets or “fear of the gods” whatsoever. Furthermore, everyone believes Robert is Jon Arryn’s son, and if it were somehow proven he wasn’t, the rule of the Vale would go to Harry Hardyng who could revoke Robert’s decrees… but that would also happen if Robert died, so it really doesn’t matter. And as for “somehow proven”, that’s entirely hypothetical, as they literally can’t prove anything in a world without DNA tests. Or even without proof, nobody’s suspicious, nobody’s bringing up the subject, not the Lords Declarant or anyone – it gives nobody any political advantage if Robert is not Jon Arryn’s son.
So ultimately it’s an irrelevant question. No offense to the fans theorizing about it mind you, but it’s not going to mean anything, and GRRM will almost certainly never provide a straight answer anyway. Hope that helps! :)
