Opening early in Brienne's storyline in A Feast For Crows , Worth More Than Honor may be a major Brienne theme. It figures broadly, as well, and involves the idea of compromising or being compromised, even morally. On inspection, honor is an obstacle and worthless, especially when Treachery Pays. A Game of Thrones 31 AGOT Eddard VII : Feeling alive. Robert would set aside his crown and become a sellsword in Essos. 36 AGOT Eddard IX : Your men's lives. 41 AGOT Catelyn VII :

Originating early in A Clash of Kings , Aerys Come Again will develop into Butcher King and really becomea topic in A Dance With Dragons , with Daenerys. 76 ACOK 3 Sansa I : Sansa mut intervene to keep Joffrey from killing Dontos for being fool drunk at his nameday tourney. Aerys Come Again, Butcher King 83 ACOK 10 Arya III : Tywin has laid waste to the riverlands, burning them by command. Aerys Come Again 84 ACOK 11 Davos I : Stannis has slain and imprisoned those lords wh

Originating in A Game of Thrones , Called Duty covers subthemes: False for Peace , Strong No Tears, Confronted by Opportunity , and Turn on the Hunter. The theme relates to unconscious motives and the dangers of repressed emotions. 1 AGOT Prologue : Young Waymar decides it is his duty to travel the short distance to see the wildling raiders will has reported dead, to confirm they will trouble the realm no longer. As it's his first ranging, he likely feels he must not come

A group of themes around one man's right to call men to die for his rule. This major theme opens in A Game of Thrones with Robert's bringing too many mouths to Winterfell and taking entitlements at Darry castle. We see Joffrey order peasants to serve him and Sansa wine after Robert's example. It is understood the king has the right to take what he likes yet, as is brought up in Robert's guilt, is his lesser evil better enough than Aerys to justify their rebellion. Or is the

Hound vs Mountain, Stannis vs. Renly, Tyrion vs. Cersei, Asha vs Theon... Opening in A Game of Thrones as Becoming Brothers , the theme of Rather Fight Brother reminds readers that those assumed to be in league may in fact be rivals and that old feuds, especially childish ones, can involve clearer action than to countenance real threats. 17 AGOT Eddard III & 4 5 AGOT Sansa III : Sansa vs Arya. Unable to conceive of a world where a queen would wear the pelt of a young girl

12 AGOT Daenerys II : The forty thousand Dothraki outisde Pentos scare the people of the city. Only a wall separartes them. What happens...

1 AGOT Prologue : Gared can't convince Waymar to head back. 3 AGOT Catelyn I : "Maester Luwin will tell you they never lived at all" 25...

Opening in A Dance With Dragons , Godhood may become a more developed theme in The Winds of Winter 18 AGOT Bran III : In his unconscious...

7 AGOT Catelyn II : Catelyn intentionally upsets Ned with the memory of his brother Brandon in order to undermine his confidence in his decision to decline Robert's offer. Ned would reject Joffrey for Sansa: "And Joffrey...Joffrey is..." "...crown prince and heir to the iron throne. And I was only twelve when my father promised me to your brother Brandon." That brought a bitter twist to Ned's mouth. "Brandon. Yes. Brandon would know what to do. He always did. It was all m

12 AGOT Daenerys II : Drogo removes the bells from his hair before their nuptuals. The bells are awarded for victories. 47 AGOT Daenerys...

Opening in A Game of Thrones with Ned's military situation in King's Landing and lightly before that with Robb's military situation in the riverlands, this dynamic theme picks up and develops early in A Clash of Kings and is a theme specific to that book . Before it comes to swords, strength is calculated. 74 ACOK 1 Prologue : "It was said that Stannis knew the strength of every house in the Seven Kingdoms" 18. The ability to calculate strength is basic to any fight. Only

Opening in A Game of Thrones , Landscape as Prison builds momentum in A Storm of Swords where it figures heavily and poignantly. I...

Opening at the beginning of A Storm of Swords , Make It Home is about the difficulty of survival in the wilderness, even traveling. It...

43 AGOT Tyrion 6 : Telling Bronn? After Jaime confessed to having hired Tysha for Tyrion and arranged the whole thing, Tywin gave her to his guards, paying her a silver for each. Tywin made Tyrion watch and go last. "And he gave me a gold coin to pay her because I was a Lannister and worth more." 458 63 AGOT Tyrion 8 : pgs 678-682 introduce Shae. Tyrion means to take her into his service, as he did Bronn, but Shae strips and gets started working on Tyrion without need for neg

A theme that first builds in A Storm of Swords with Daenerys's conquest of Slaver's Bay. A sub-theme of Worse Man and Lord's Take 13...

Originating mid-way through A Game of Thrones , Worse Man carries the idea that the problem with a might makes right philosophy is not rule by brutes but rule by treachery. A sub-theme of Lord's Take 7 AGOT Catelyn II: Catelyn is so sure she's right about what Ned should do she abuses reason, undermining Ned's confidence and gangs up on him with Luwin. But she hadn't considered the consequences and feels punished when she realizes she'll be separated from him when he goes s

Opening in A Feast for Crows around the Kingsmoot and the Night's Watch election of Jon as Lord Commander, focus on elections continues...

A subtheme of Lord's Take 4 AGOT Daenerys I : Powers position in peace time. 5 AGOT Eddard I : Robert experiences politics as a snake...

67 AGOT Bran VII: Luwin watches a comet through his telescope. "The maester was peering through his big Mryish lens tube, measuring...

The errant hero mistakes himself for a loving savior. He uses the idea of serving others to act out unresolved issues, seeking...