Landscape as Prison

Opening in A Game of Thrones, Landscape as Prison builds momentum in A Storm of Swords where it figures heavily and poignantly. I predict this theme may figure in The Winds of Winter as roads once casually traveled become seasonally impassable.

24 AGOT Daenerys III: When Viserys's horse is taken to shame him for assaulting Daenerys, she worries he won't find his way back to the khalasar, possibly even too shamed to return. Jorah asks: "Where else should he go?" - 232. It's too dangerous for Viserys to attempt to leave the Dothraki Sea on foot. He needs the khalasar to survive the land. No Desertion

32 AGOT Tyrion IV: Though a captive, Tyrion's hood is removed. "After the second night they no longer bound his hands, and once they had gained the heights they scarecely bothered to guard him at all. It seemed they did not fear his escape. Any why should they? Up here the land was harsh and wild, and the high road little more than a stony track. If he did run, how far could he hope to go, alone and without provisions?" - 329. There are shadowcats and mountain clans, too. Dangerous Wasteland

39 AGOT Tyrion V: "The Arryns kept the only dungeon in the realm where the prisoners were welcome to escape at will." - 412 The sky cells are even torture. Dangerous Wasteland

56 AGOT Catelyn VIII: Moat Cailin's bogs "are impenetrable, full of quicksands and suckholes and teeming with snakes. To assault any of the towers, an army would need to wade through waist-deep black muck while exposing themselves to fire from archers in other towers." - 597 Dangerous Wasteland

58 AGOT Sansa V: Sansa has been given freedom of the castle. But "even if she could leave the castle, where would she go?" - 618 Sansa would require an escort for safety to even close to the castle walls. No Desertion

60 AGOT Catelyn IX: Once Robb realizes the assumed crossing at The Twins might not happen, he can't believe the lack of alternate options. The Green Fork cannot be forded and there are no trees to build rafts. Rivers as Barriers

64 AGOT Catelyn X: The idea of rivers as barriers figures increasingly in this section of the book. Riverrun has natural defenses, forcing Jaime to split his siege into three camps. Rivers as Barriers

65 AGOT Daenerys VIII: Dany promises to free Mirri Maz Duur but, especially with Qotho promising to kill her, the hot part of the Dothraki Sea is no place to find freedom except as a protected member of a khalasar. Dangerous Wasteland

70 AGOT Tyrion IX: Riverrun's natural defenses have been augmented by the castle's design. Rivers as Barriers

71 AGOT Jon IX: A deserter finds the landscape a prison partly because they must avoid any and all civilization. No Desertion

73 AGOT Daenerys X: Though Daenerys tells her khalasar she frees them, those who remain know they must move as a group or die in the inhospitable landscape with stronger khalasars to fear in several direction. Dangerous Wasteland

A Clash of Kings

79 ACOK 6 Arya II: War has made the riverlands dangerous. The roads are thick with refugees enroute to King's Landing. Yoren tells Arya and Gendry they're to ride for the Wall if the party is overtaken by gold cloaks. Yet, with so much distance to cover, it's clear they'd have to leave the road. No Desertion

83 ACOK 10 Arya III: The kingsroad becomes two wheel ruts and the land around is so problematic to move a wagon over that there is not the width for two wagons going opposite ways to pass each other. The landscape is a prison. Dangerous Wasteland

86 ACOK 13 Daenerys I: The red waste hardens those travelers it does not kill. Dangerous Wasteland

90 ACOK 17 Bran II: "The feast makes a pleasant pretext, but a man does not cross a hundred leagues for a sliver of duck and a sip of wine. Only those who have matters of import to set before us are like to make the journey." -244 Dangerous Wasteland

93 ACOK 20 Arya V: Burned land means it's also stripped of food. With nothing to eat, travelers must hurry on or starve. Dangerous Wasteland

112 ACOK 39 Arya VIII: Riverrun is far enough way from Harrnhal that Arya knows she'll have to steal a horse to make the distance. Dangerous Wasteland

125 ACOK 52 Jon VI: The Skirling Pass is so dangerous to cross Jon knows he may lose his life to the elements, just as the wildling scouts they hunt might, even before coming to battle. Dangerous Wasteland

130 ACOK 57 Theon V: Asha explains to Theon that he could never have held Winterfell until the rest of the north was taken because it's too far inland and their supply lines would be vulnerable to attack. Military Occupation

135 ACOK 62 Tyrion XIV: Stannis's army can't cross the Blackwater Rush without his ships. Rivers as Barriers

142 ACOK 69 Jon VIII: counter-example: Qhorin chooses the mouth of a cave as a place to take a stand. "The mouth of the cave shelters us from above and they cannot get behind us without passing through the mountain." - 950

A Storm of Swords

144 ASOS 1 Prologue: When it starts snowing, Chett knows his escape plan will fail. The snow will make it impossible to find their food caches and make their tracks too easy to follow. The Wall has long been mistaken for a prison partly because the surrounding landscape functions as one. No Desertion

145 ASOS 2 Jaime I: Brienne thinks of her task to ferry Jaime to King's Landing in terms of navigating the land and its armies. The landscape is only a prison for Jaime where not occupied by Lannisters or even Tullys, given Brienne's mission is opposed. Military Occupation

147 ASOS 4 Arya I: The roads are the easy path but watched. To escape, you have to cross hard terrain. No Desertion

149 ASOS 6 Davos I: Davos on the Merling King's Spear will be compared to conditions in Stannis's dungeon on Dragonstone. He can't count the days, is feverish etc. Dangerous Wasteland

151 ASOS 8 Jon I: Increasingly, as the theme progresses, the military landscape must be recognized as a layer of an emprisoning set of options and non-options. Jon, among the wildlings, is even more emprisoned by his wildling brothers than he had been by his black brothers in the Night's Watch. If he tries to leave, he'll be hunted and killed. The threat is supposed to be there with the Night's Watch, but Jon received guidance and incentive from Mormont when he attempted desertion. He dare not try the same now. No Desertion

152 ASOS 9 Daenerys I: The wind has died and Dany's three ships are becalmed. Dangerous Wasteland

153 ASOS 10 Bran I: Meera argues they should not attempt to travel beyond the Wall without horses because of how far it is, how exposed they'll be and (unspoken) that they'll be dependent on game for food, which is scarcer the further north they go. Dangerous Wasteland

154 ASOS 11 Davos II: Davos sees Melisandre superimposed over the landscape as he nears Dragonstone. He conceives of her as a monster holding Stannis hostage. Yet, it is as if Davos is emprisoned in the murderous intent he refuses to admit he is not strong enough to act on successfully. It lands him in the dungeon of Dragonstone.

155 ASOS 12 Jaime II: Some roads are watched. Some are even trapped. No Desertion

157 ASOS 14 Arya II: Bands of brigands are the law in some parts. Military Occupation

174 ASOS 31 Jon IV: counter-example: Jarl's elite team die attempting to climb the Wall. Dangerous Wasteland

The theme progression Landscape as Prison seems to have ended.