Called Duty / Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

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 back without a clear report. It's aso likely he's feeling the fear Will says he felt on his first ranging beyond the Wall. But Waymar would say it was duty that made him seek out the Others and be killed by them and he would not be wrong. Called Duty

2 AGOT Bran I: Lord Eddard Stark believes it to be his duty to behead Gared for being a Night's Watch deserter. But that's just law enforcment. As a lord, Ned might have taken Gared in as they do the dangerous direwolf puppies. Jon advises Bran not to look away during the execution. Bran's gaze holds steady. but later, when he feels tears welling in his eyes at the thought of the pups being killed, Bran looks away. "He did not want to cry in front of his father." 19 Called Duty, Strong No Tears

4 AGOT Daenerys I: Viserys treats Dany like chattel, but she sees obedience as her duty. Though Dany smiles and agrees to marry Drogo, it is out of fear of Viserys. "Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over and he will not see you crying...She brushed away unfallen tears with the back of her hand." 38 Called Duty, Strong No Tears

8 AGOT Arya I: Arya goes to be alone with her wolf when she cries, not wanting to be seen. Strong No Tears

9 AGOT Bran II: Bran goes to be alone with his wolf when he cries, not wanting to be seen. Strong No Tears

10 AGOT Tyrion I: After Tyrion slaps Joffrey the second time: "The boy looked as though he was going to cry. Instead, he managed a weak nod. Then he turned and fled headlong from the yard, holding his cheek." 88 Strong No Tears

12 AGOT Daenerys II: Dany has been crying all day on her wedding day, smiling. When they reachthe spot where they will consumate their marriage, Dany feels tears on her face and Drogo wipes them away, saying "no." Strong No Tears

18 AGOT Bran III: When Bran wants to cry, the crow tells him "Not cry, fly." 160 Strong No Tears

23 AGOT Arya II: "She could feel tears stinging her eyes. She rubbed them away angrily, determined not to cry." Strong No Tears

24 AGOT Daenerys III: Dany is grateful Drogo always takes her from behind so he can't see her tears of pain. 228 Strong No Tears

25 AGOT Bran IV: "Bran knuckled away the tears before they could fall. His eighth name day had come and gone. He was almost a man grown now, too old to cry." 237 Strong No Tears

30 AGOT Sansa II: Sansa find she has no tears for Ser Hugh 296. Sansa does cry for the Hound, later, when he makes her look at his scars.  Strong No Tears

31 AGOT Eddard VII: Sansa is "moist-eyed" watching the joust. She cries on page 315 when the Mountain strides towards Loras. Strong No Tears

35 AGOT Catelyn VI: "Sometimes it felt as though her heart had turned to stone; six brave men had died to bring her this far, and she could not even find it in her to weep for them. Even their names were fading." 359 Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

41 AGOT Catelyn VII: On page 431, the story of Alyssa's Tears. "Catelyn wondered how large a waterfall her own tears would make when she died." 431 Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

45 AGOT Sansa III: Sansa sobs at the ruin Arya's blood orange has made of her ivory silk engagement dress. Septa mordane says "Stop that weeping, child. I am certain your lord father knows what's best for you." 479 Strong No Tears

47 AGOT Daenerys V: "She must not flinch or look afraid." 489 When eating the heart, or the omen would not be as favorable. Strong No Tears

52 AGOT Sansa IV: Sansa can't feel sympathy for how hard Jeyne is crying. It seems Sansa does not realize Jeyen saw her father cut down, something Sansa will soon be traumatized by seeing, herself. Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

56 AGOT Catelyn VIII: Catelyn decides her duty is at Riverrun, not Winterfell. Or, perhaps her upset is because she knows she will go to her father at Riverrun despite knowing her duty is at Winterfell. Later, when asked to leave Riverrun, Catelyn will clim her duty is to remain with Hoster until he dies. Called Duty

59 AGOT Eddard XV: "When he thought of his daughters, he would have wept gladly, but the tears would not come. Even now, he was a Stark of Winterfell, and his grief and his rage froze hard inside him" 629 Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

62 AGOT Daenerys VII: Daenerys "hardened her heart and rode on toward the gate" when first she heard Eroeh's cries. When Jorah tells her they have taken 10,000 slaves "She wanted to cry, but she told herself that she must be strong. This is war, this is what it looks like, this is the price of the Iron Throne." 667 Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

68 AGOT Sansa VI: "She stood ith her head bowed, fighting to hold back her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it pleased him to call justice" 745 Strong No Tears

69 AGOT Daenerys IX: " She should weep, she knew, yet her eyes were dry as ash. She had wept in her dream, and the tears hd turned to steam on her cheeks. All the grief has been burned out of me, she told herself. She felt sad, and yet...she could feel Rhaego receding from her, as if he had never been." 755 Strong No Tears / Stoneheart

71 AGOT Jon IX: Jon thinks he'll feel he's doing his duty if he deserts to avenge Ned, but no action he takes feels right. It was obviously his duty not to desert and Ned would have told him that. Called Duty

72 AGOT Catelyn XI: Catelyn angrily wipes away tears at the thought Robb might die before even being kissed. 791  Strong No Tears

A Clash of Kings

75 ACOK 2 Arya I: "She had cried in her sleep the night before, dreaming of her father. Come morning she'd woken red-eyed and dry, and could not have shed another tear if her life had hung on it." 33 "I won't cry..." 35 Strong No Tears

86 ACOK 13 Daenerys I: Leading her new khalasar of those too weak to follow the strong, Daenerys tells herself she must "show no fear, no weakness, no doubt. However frightened my heart, when they look upon my face they must see only Drogo's queen." 189 "If she had ever truly been a girl, that time was done" 189 "I must be strong... I am blood of the dragon" 193 Might Makes Lord, Strong No Tears, Called Duty

88 ACOK 15 Arya IV: Amory Lorch burns down the holdfast for Joffrey, as if that could ever be a sensible order. Called Duty "The stupid crying girl" operates as a symbol for Arya's inner turmoil. Arya first pushes her away but later tries to slap sense into her and drags her through the chaos.  Strong No Tears

91 ACOK 18 Tyrion IV: Pycelle only sends one of the letters to Doran, delivering the other to Cersei, as he feels is his duty. Called Duty

93 ACOK 20 Arya V: "He was going to bring me safe to Winterfell he promised. Part of her wanted to cry. The other part wanted to kick him." 290 Strong No Tears

94 ACOK 21 Tyrion V: Cersei breaks down and weeps when Tyrion tells her Myrcella's head would be mounted beside her own, had Myrcella stayed. 320 Strong No Tears

95 ACOK 22 Bran III: "He looked up and down the benches at all the faces happy and sad and wondered who would be missing next year and the year after. He might have cried then, but he couldn't. He was the Stark in Winterfell." 327 Strong No Tears

96 ACOK 23 Catelyn II: "I want to weep, she thought. I want to be comforted. I'm so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while...One day, she promised herself as she lay abed, one day she would allow herself to be less than strong." 334 "But not today. It could not be today." Strong No Tears, Called Duty

104 ACOK 31 Arya VII: Arya understands that, as a Stark in a war between Starks and Lannisters, it is her job to kill as many Lannisters as possible. Called Duty

105 ACOK 32 Catelyn III: Though eager to finish with Renly so as to return north to Bran &Rickon, Catelyn rode from Bitterbridge to Storm's End with Renly to meet with Stannis. Called Duty

106 ACOK 33 Sansa III: Sansa tells Tyrion, lying, that she can't stay with him in the Tower of the Hand because it would be too upsetting to be where she knows her father's men were slain. Stoneheart

107 ACOK 34 Catelyn IV: Catelyn finally grieves. Stoneheart

114 ACOK 41 Daenerys III: "The blood of the dragon does not weep," she said testily. Xaro sighed. "You ought to have wept." 576 Strong No Tears

115 ACOK 42 Tyrion IX:

Prince Tommen sobbed. "You mew like a suckling babe," his brother hissed at him. "Princes aren't supposed to cry." "Prince Aemon the Dragonknight cried the day Princess Naerys wed his brother Aegon," Sansa Stark said, "and the twins Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk died with tears on their cheeks after each had given the other a mortal wound." "Be quiet or I'll have Ser Meryn give you a mortal wound" 590 Strong No Tears

126 ACOK 53 Sansa IV: Sansa becomes weepy before her period starts and tells herself it's unseemly. Strong No Tears

129 ACOK 56 Catelyn VII: "She managed those terrible words without a sob, and for that much she was glad" 785 But later, after saying more, "Brienne's face was a watery blur" 785 Strong No Tears

134 ACOK 61 Sansa VI: "Tears," she said scornfully to Sansa as the woman was led from the hall. "The woman's weapon, my lady nother used to call them." Sansa weeps at beautiful songs and Cersei sarcastically encourages her to practice crying to Stannis. Strong No Tears

119 ACOK 46 Catelyn VI: Pages 650-651 reveal Catelyn believes she has a duty to be Lady of Riverrun, since Hoster tasked her with this when her mother died. Her duties involved waiting and being seen at dinner. In the sept, Catelyn asks "How can I do my duty if I do not know where it lies?" 651 Called Duty

123 ACOK 50 Tyrion XI: Tyrion defends King's Landing from Stannis for the Lannisters out of a sense of duty, but also as a Lannister. Called Duty

129 ACOK 56 Catelyn VII: Catelyn refuses a sleeping drought, saying it is her duty to grieve Bran & Rickon. But then, it's revealed "I must do my duty" 788 means freeing Jaime. Called Duty

130 ACOK 57 Theon V: When Asha calls Theon stupid for having killed Bran & Rickon, he scramblingly claims it was his duty to avenge Rodrik and Maron. Called Duty

134 ACOK 61 Sansa VI: Cersei tells Sansa it is a duty to host ladies in Maegor's during the attack. Sansa will understand Cersei neglects her duty to soothe the assembled women. Called Duty

135 ACOK 62 Tyrion XIV: Tyrion rides onto the bridge of ships, something that could never be called his duty. Called Duty

139 ACOK 66 Sansa VIII: Cersei has made Sansa look distraught at being set aside. Sansa may rejoice inside herself but, publicly, she must appear miserable. Strong No Tears

141 ACOK 68 Tyrion XV: "The smoke in the air made his eyes water. Am I Crying? He must not let his father see. He was a Lannister of Casterly Rock. A lion, I must be a lion." 931

A Storm of Swords

146 ASOS 3 Catelyn I: Hoster thought it was his duty to press the tansy on Lysa, if Catelyn's interpretation of his upset is correct. Edmure thinks it is his duty to recapture Jaime. Called Duty

164 ASOS 21 Catelyn III: Robb thinks it is his duty to execute Lord Rickard Karstark for the war crime of murdering hostages. They were even squires. He considered holding Karstark hostage, but decides he must tell the Lannisters their sons's killer has been brought to justice though this hurts him and must create friction with the Karstark heir. Called Duty

175 ASOS 32 Jaime IV: When he expects she'll be raped, Jaime thinks of how he had gone away inside when Aerys killed the Starks and advises Brienne to go away inside. Strong No Tears

215 ASOS 72 Daenerys VI: After exiling Jorah: "I must not weep. I must not. If I weep I will forgive him." 990 Strong No Tears

229 AFFC 4 Cersei I: Cersei wonders if Tywin would have wanted her to tear her hair for him. "Did you weep for your own father?...If he wept when they brought him word of his father's death, he did it where no one could see the tears." 71 Strong No Tears

234 AFFC 9 Jaime I:

"Father," he told the corpse, "it was you who told me that tears were a mark of weakness in a man, so you should not expect that I should cry for you." 169 Strong No Tears

238 AFFC 13 Cersei III: "A woman may weep, but not a queen" 255 Cersei thinks this when she runs into the hall at Tommen's wedding to avoid being seen in her panic. Strong No Tears

239 AFFC 14 The Soiled Knight: "Tommen was a good hearted little man who always tried his best, but the last time Ser Arys saw him he had been weeping on the quay. Myrcella never shed a tear, though it was she who was leaving hearth and home to seal an alliance with her maidenhood." 276 Strong No Tears

241 AFFC 16 Samwell II: Below decks, Gilly weeps and sobs in turns. Above deck, Sam hears crew muttering that the seasonal storms are due to having a woman on board.   Strong No Tears

250 AFFC 25 Cersei V: "Dry those tears, little one. Have you ever seen a lion weep?" 515  Strong No Tears

269 AFFC 44 Cersei X: "A lion never cries." 922  Strong No Tears

A Dance With Dragons

274 ADWD 3 Daenerys I: "The blood of the dragon does not weep." 36 Strong No Tears

306 ADWD 35 Bran III: "He was almost a man grown and he did not want Meera to think he was some weepy babe." 492 Strong No Tears

The Winds of Winter Sample Chapters

Sansa 25: After Harold Hardyng calls her Littlefinger's bastard, Alayne feels the blood rush to her face. "No tears, she prayed. Please, please, I must not cry." Strong No Tears