I’ve been wondering if Tyrion’s arc in the novels can be seen as following the progression of the song that Tysha used to sing to him, The Seasons of My Love.
I loved a maid as fair as summer
with sunlight in her hair
I loved a maid as red as autumn
with sunset in her hair
I loved a maid as white as winter
with moonglow in her hair
The song begins in the summer and summer is also where we first meet Tyrion. In the summer section of the novels, Tyrion is facing the outcome of his spring dreams being crushed- his past naïveté and hopefulness is examined under the harsh light of day. Because of Tywin's brutal abuse, Tyrion believes that the only way he can have love or friendship is through purchasing it with gold, as he does with Shae and Bronn. He also no longer dreams of dragons, as he tells Jon on the way to the wall. Yet it is still summer, and he is still somewhat optimistic in spite of himself. There is warmth in his relationship with Bronn and he falls in love with Shae in spite of himself. He also believes he is coming into his own as Hand of the King, using his unique talents to accomplish great things for his family.
Then the sun sets dramatically and Tyrion finds himself in a dark place. He is abandoned after the battle of the Blackwater and all his contributions to save the city are forgotten or attributed to others. He loses his nose and his position as Hand of the King. He survives an assassination attempt by Cersei, is forced to marry Sansa Stark, and finally is put on trial for a murder he did not commit. During the trial, Shae betrays and humiliates him (though she didn't really have a choice) and his father was ready to either execute him or exile him to the wall. Though his brother Jaime helps him escape, he also reveals the truth about Tysha.
After all he has recently been through coupled with a lifetime of abuse and trauma and Jaime's revelation, Tyrion murders both Tywin and Shae. Later, after escaping, he buys a sexual slave in Volantis called the Sunset Girl. She is called the Sunset Girl because she is believed to be from “The Sunset Kingdom,” (Westeros) though as it turns out she does not speak the common tongue. She also could be called the “Sunset Girl” because of her curly red hair. The Sunset Girl is very aptly named because she is a symbolic culmination of the sunset portion of Tyrion's arc. Tyrion knows that she is a sex slave and cannot refuse him, but he buys her anyway. It is deeply, deeply disturbing. He has tragically become "the monster" everyone thought he was. He is a rapist. He is a murderer. He is a villain. The end.
Except if Tyrion’s arc is following the song, it is not the end. It is only autumn. It is only sunset. It is only half way through the song.
Winter is still coming for Tyrion and for all the characters. And, there is still the possibility of "a dream of spring" for Tyrion. GRRM doesn't write easy characters and he doesn't write easy wins. He complicates the catharsis of Tyrion killing his lifelong abuser, Tywin, with the murder of Shae and the rape of the Sunset Girl. It is through these acts that the Tyrion we knew, who once defended and protected sex workers and who refused to rape Sansa (as his father instructed him to do) symbolically dies. As he says himself:
There are worse ways to die than drowning. And if truth be told, he had perished long ago, back in King’s Landing. It was only his revenant who remained, the small vengeful ghost who throttled Shae and put a crossbow bolt through the great Lord Tywin’s bowels. No man would mourn the thing that he’d become. (ADWD, Tyrion V)
But, the dead are rising in these novels. Tyrion is rising out of his own long night already the way he cares for and protects Penny, which is reminiscent of Theon Greyjoy's protection of Jeyne Poole. There’s evidence that he will also join forces with Daenerys and her crusade to end slavery. He will see the dragons that he use to dream about as a boy. The spring verse of The Seasons of My Love has not been revealed in the novels. Can this be seen as hopeful? Unlike a straight tragedy, Tyrion's future is not yet written. Just like Jaime's page in the white book: He could write whatever he chose, henceforth. (ASOS, Jaime IX.)
Tyrion's arc mirroring The Seasons of My Love song makes sense, because in spite of the tragedy of his life and the bitterness of his story, he may yet claw his way toward a hopeful ending. After all:
He had been born in the dead of winter, a terrible cruel one that the maesters said had lasted near three years, but Tyrion's earliest memories were of spring. (AGOT, Tyrion III)
The spring verse is likely the first verse of the song. Yet, it's reveal will be the last, ending the books with a beginning.
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