Many Motives/ Layered Motives

6 AGOT Jon I: "Take me with you when you go back to the Wall," Jon said in a sudden rush. "Father will give me leave to go if you ask him, I know he will." 53 Benjen says no, and not just because Jon is drunk. He can tell Jon's deeper motive is to compensate for feeling shamed by his exclusion from the Great Hall during the feast. Jon later tells Mance Rayder it's why he wants to join the wildling army. Jon thinks he wants to join the Night's Watch when what he really wants is to feel included at Winterfell.

7 AGOT Catelyn II: What is Catelyn's deepest motive in pressing Ned to accept King Robert's offer? Is it fear related to her interpretation of the omen? Is it her ambition to see Sansa become queen? Did it involve the assumption she'd accompany to King's Landing?

20 AGOT Jon III: Jon takes Tyrion's southron view of the Night's Watch to heart and wonders if Ned knew he sent Jon to a prison camp. Jon's rejection by Catelyn and the related fact of Jon's bastard birth seem to be the root of his personal issues. Jon's bastardy seems proof Ned doesn't have the honor he seems to and even seems to prove to perceptive Jon that Ned isn't really the man he knows him to be.

42 AGOT Jon V: Feeling abandoned and rejected, Jon takes up Sam's cause. Jon is feeling guilt over Benjen's disappearance, since he thinks he wished Benjen dead in the snow when he saw a vision flicker after Benjen refused him. Jon doesn't know that Catelyn has left Winterfell never to return or he would decline to say vows and return home.

45 AGOT Sansa III: Sansa's choice of Cersei and Joffrey over Ned and Arya makes her see the queen and prince as blameless. Though Cersei called for Lady's pelt, Sansa focuses on Ned's having killed her and it being because of Arya. Sansa's motives for her judgment can be guessed at, but are not made specifically clear in the story. It may be/appear that Sansa is ambitious and preserves a false image of Joffrey and Cersei to gain status. Or, it may be be that Sansa's entire childish worldview sees goodness in terms of certain appearances and that being well groomed makes Joffrey and Cersei appear clearly good to her in a way unique to Sansa's values and education. In any case, Sansa's depth is often a matter of guesswork. It may work this way for all characters.

46 AGOT Eddard XII: Despite his true intention to dispense neutral, dispassionate justice, Ned exascerbates a brewing war by seeking vengeance for the men Jaime's killed. "Every time his leg throbbed, he remembered Jaime Lannister's smile and Jory dead in his arms." 480 Though Ned made a point of refusing Marq Piper's petition for vengeance against the Mountain, and Loras's too, saying "we are about justice here, and what you seek is vengeance." 470 Yet, When Ned sends a task force to collect the Mountain's head, it is clearly personal.

55 AGOT Daenerys VI: Suddenly, after Viserys's death, Dany begins to stew with impatience to take Westeros. It's as though his ambition transferred to her when he died. Her deeper motivations become ambiguous.

56 AGOT Catelyn VIII: Catelyn's motivation for going to Moat Cailin instead of Winterfell is not immediately clear. She brings fears and instills them in Robb. When she tries to make him see that the Greatjon is not the man to send against Tywin, "without wounding his fledgling confidence" 605, she undermines Robb's instincts, even plants the idea that Roose Bolton command the foot.

58 AGOT Sansa V: When Sansa approaches the throne to beg mercy for her father, she's eager to test her sway over Joffrey. "Only...that as you love me, you do me this kindness, my prince." 626 There's irony in Sansa's forgetting that Joffrey is king.

61 AGOT Jon VIII: Aemon talks to Jon about inner conflict. Jon is angry. Aemon explains it's anger at the guilt of remaining true to the vow to remain at the Wall when family are in need.

71 AGOT Jon IX: As Jon deserts to join Robb to avenge Ned, he struggles to rationalize his emotions. Mormont gives Jon a talking to that puts everything in perspective.

72 AGOT Catelyn XI: Many of the riverlords gathered at Riverrun prefer anger to grief, so cry for vengeance. They do not want to face the loss they feel, so risk losing more by wading into battle. They can't give in to the Lannisters.

A Clash of Kings

76 ACOK 3 Sansa I: Sansa's anger seethes beneath the surface as she lowers her mask to Tyrion's care. She considers trusting him but decides not to because he's a Lannister. Sansa resumes repressing her upset, though it makes her meaner than she knows.

81 ACOK 8 Catelyn I: Robb is not pliable enough to Catelyn's pressure to trade Jaime for the girls, so she insults him. He suggests she visit the Twins to advise him in a bride. Or, home to Winterfell. Catelyn's stubbornness is related to her relationship with Robb. It's like his crown means he doesn't have to mind her anymore.

82 ACOK 9 Tyrion II: Though Tyrion aims to be a just Hand, his deeper motivation is vengeful. He discovers this after feeling guilty at having ordered the death of Allar Deem.

84 ACOK 11 Davos I: Though Melisandre's Lightbringer pageant on the beach worries Davos, he remains dedicated in his loyalty to Stannis. Under the surface of what he will think, Davos worries Stannis is going to get him and his killed.

111ACOK 38 Theon III: Theon thinks his motive for taking Winterfell is to impress his father and win his place back as heir. But really, it's to show himself what he can do. He knows it will work. It's his chance to shine. Theon just wants to be proud of himself.

129 ACOK 56 Catelyn VII: Catelyn's intention in seeing Jaime is disguised, in story. It even almost seems she might kill him in insane revenge for Bran & Rickon, though that would gravely endanger Sansa. It seems Catelyn's deepest motive is a hope to free her girls, who she fears for without their wolves. Catelyn's interrogation of Jaime is clearly also done to ascertain the truth about who sent the catspaw for Bran. It seems Catelyn also plies Jaime's tongue with wine to see him more clearly: is this a man who will comply sufficiently to be traded? Does he have a shred of honor? It seems what convinces Cate;yn Jaime does is his jab about Ned's infidelity. Jaime claims to be truer than Ned, suggesting he does value honor, deep down.

136 ACOK 63 Sansa VII: The Hound and Sansa both show layered motives in this major chapter. The Hound wants to be saved but Sansa doesn't. Nor would she be a rescuer. Sansa wants to be safe already. Litlefinger understands how stories can accomplish what actions can't and has secured Sansa by promising her the kind of danger and intrigue she can embrace. What the Hound offers is far more sincere protection, but he is very intense, too drunk and vomitous to believe in and would walk her past horrors, since she would be as much his shield as he her's. Does he know this?

137 ACOK 64 Daenerys V: Dany wants to understand her life's purpose, why following the comet worked, why she alone was able to bring dragons back into the world. However, she prefers epic stories over Occam's razor. The idea the comet is a coincidence is undeniable, yet many adopt it as their banner. It can even look like Dany's motive is to feel important and entitled to accrue power and accolades. I see her as craving office. Dany wanted to be a sailor, she loves the feel of the sea wind and to be on the open water. There is something magically similar about her decision to embrace her destiny.

140 ACOK 67 Theon VI: Theon wants to live like a prince and sees ways to achieve that for himself. When Lewin recommends begging to take the black, Theon thrills at the idea first of being named Lord Commander, then at the idea of captaining a ship, then at the idea of seducing wildlings. It seems Theon's true ambition is tail, but that he feels compelled to seem to have achieved more.

141 ACOK 68 Tyrion XV: Tyrion is in the grips of understandable but delusional paranoia, misunderstands his rage and motives. He thinks he's angry at Tysha for decieving him when it's at Tywin for destroying his life and emasculating him.

A Storm of Swords

144 ASOS 1 Prologue: Chett's primary motive is cowardice but he experiences himself as moivated by intelligence.

145 ASOS 2 Jaime I: Jaime's conscience troubles him, but not enough for him to realize he's wrong. He's wrong about why Ned misjudged him and he's wrong to be treacherous and ignoble. One of Jaime's layered motives is the intention to stay bad and believe himself faultless. It even makes sense that Jaime is confused about this, given that his fighting style acknowledges that it's the man who errs who falls. Jaime's style is all reflex and attack, looking for an error to take advantage of, as we will see in his fight with Brienne, whose style is all defense.

148 ASOS 5 Tyrion I: Tyrion is honest with Tywin when asked what he's come for, saying "a little bloody gratitude would make a nice start." But Tyrion's deeper motive is to be seen up and able to reduce Cersei's likelihood of murdering him in his sickbed. Though fear for his life is his primary motivation, Tyrion expresses irritation. An ironic oversight is that Tyrion does not tell Tywin it was kingsguard who cut him. Tywin, who has been lookinginto Tyrek's whereabouts, would have immediately attended to corruption in the kingsguard. Tywin might even learn the name of the purse who had Tyrion cut. Yet, their dynamic is so toxic Tyrion does not feel he can share this vital information with the person most likely to effectively address it.

149 ASOS 6 Davos I: Davos thinks he wants to live, but seeing a ship on the horizon makes him fear failing to flag it down. He feels he does not deserve salvation because he led his sons onto the Blackwater, knowing it was a bad idea at every step. Weakened by fever and exposure, Davos has one good push left in him before he dies. He must flag this ship. Davos reaches for his lucky fingerbones to give him courage. But it's missing. The pouch was lost on the Blackwater. Thrown into despair, Davos prays to The Mother to save him. Davos hears the Mother condemn him. She says he burned the seven and so they burned him on the Blackwater. Davos feels his guilty conscience in having stood idly by while his gods were burned, in having rowed Melisandre into Storm's End. Davos did not act when he should have, did not walk away when he should have.

152 ASOS 9 Daenerys I: Jorah thinks he's motivated by love of Daenerys but he's egotistically drawn to play hero (dragon rider) in her historic campaign on Westeros. That he proposes marriage reminds that Dany looks like his second wife, Lynesse, implying an unconscious motive to repair his pride and dignity which were casualties of that marriage.

154 ASOS 11 Davos II: Davos thinks he's on a divine mission, sent by The Mother to save Stannis. But his irrationality belies his true motive: to displace guilt for leading his sons into the fire.

157 ASOS 14 Arya II: The kingsmen offer friendship and food both in earnest and as a pretext for stealing their horses.

170 ASOS 27 Jon III: Underneath his certainty that he must hide his loyalty to the Night's Watch, Jon feels a concern Ygritte will seduce him away from the Night's Watch. Under that, there is the simple desire for his love life to continue. Jon wants Ygritte and to hold his head high. In a chapter that focses on stories being skewed, Jon struggles to be honest with himself.

171 ASOS 28 Daenerys III: Daenerys has many motives related to her treacherous purchase of the Unsullied. She is motivated most obviously by extreme compassion for the Unsullied and a desire to end the practice of their being made. Another motive relates to Dany's own identification as a slave and as a king, saying "kings are for justice." The night before Dany's Trojan Horse purchase of he Unsullied, she has a dragon dream of being Rhaegar and defeating an army reminscent of the Others. 375

172 ASOS 29 Sansa III: Both Sansa and Tyrion have different motives that they know in agreeing to their arranged marriage. Tyrion thinks he's obeying Tywin, but is also aware that is backfiring badly both in his agreement to wed Sansa, despite his inital objections, "I would prefer a wife who wants me in her bed" 270 and in his being forced into the Master of Coin position. Sansa's motive in marrying Tyrion over Lancel is that of a paralyzed abuse victim responding to a threat of force. Sansa chooses Tyrion because he has protected her repeatedly and she does feel safe with him, whereas selecting Lancel would have been the savier choice, given it would stall things and give her a chance to talk to Dontos about her rescue and maybe escape. With Cersei threatening to have her struck, Sansa is motivated largely by sheer terror.

174 ASOS 31 Jon IV: Upset and with tears in her eyes, Ygritte tells Jon she almost fell and more than once while climbing the Wall. Jon says it's over and not to be frightened but she lashes out at him insisting she wasn't frightened: "I'm crying because we never found the Horn of Winter...to bring this cold thing down!" Ygritte responds to her terror at nearly falling to her death with viscious fury at her attacker, The Wall.

175 ASOS 32 Jaime IV: When Brienne asks Jaime why he intervened with the Bloody Mummers to save her from rape, he says: "A Lannister always pays his debts. That was for the river and those rocks you dropped on Robin Ryger." 418 This is only his third reason, though. He gives two other dismissive phony reasons first: that he had to yell "sapphires" because no one would have cared if he'd yelled "rape," and that he'd saved her to keep Rorge from cutting her nose off because she was hard enough to look at. His deeper reason is revealed in the thoughts he has about building an inner fortress to vanish into, like he did when Aerys burned the Starks. "They will leave her a cripple too, but inside where it does not show" 417 Jaime identifies with Brinne's plight and counsels her on how to emotionally survive the likely gang rape about to ensue. He is protecting her from what he knows to be too much to suffer, out of compassion and sincere care.

178 ASOS 35 Arya VI: When, found innocent but burned badly by his trial, the Hound is confronted with Arya at dagger point, commanding him to confess to the murder of Mycah, he brings up having watched Sansa beaten and Ned beheaded. It seems he might want to provoke her to kill him or perhaps is simply sick of her attitude. "You want me dead that bad? Then do it, wolf girl" 472

185 ASOS 42 Jon V: Jon's relationship with Ygritte looks different to him when he's past the Wall. His plan has always been to escape and "fly back to Castle Black" as Ygritte said she was afraid he would do. While she's talking about settling down, maybe in a stone roundhouse, he's thinking that would mean the Wall had been breached and that he had betrayed every vow he ever held dear. "Two hearts that beat as one...Ygritte set the trap and Mance Rayder pushed me into it." 562

196 ASOS 53 Arya XI: The Hound is in the habit of giving people devil's choices. In an earlier Arya chapter, the ferryman says the fare will be exorbitant or they can ride his horse over the water. The Hound negotitates until it's clear they're at an impasse, then says: "Gold on the north bank or steel on the south." The ferryman knows the Hound can kill many of his men and that he does want the fare, so he rlents when the Hound says "Knight's Honor." He tries something similar with Arya at the Twins, but she isn't remotely reasonable or aware of how overpowered she is. When she wants him to help her rescue her family in the castle, he knows she can only get herself killed but says: "Maybe you can. I'm not done living yet...Stay or go, she-wolf. Live or die. Your--" She runs toward the castle but he doesn't let her have the choice he pretended to.

198 ASOS 55 Davos V: While Davos continues to lie to himself about Cressen's death, saying "he ran afoul of Melisandre and died for it." 732 When cressen noticed Davos aware of him drugging the wine in his own cup, he doesn't seem to be plotting to put a dagger in her heart anymore but is gathering support among Stannis's followers of the seven.

When he decides not to show Stannis Aemon's letter, it is actually because he doesn't want Melisandre to see it: "If Melisandre knew of this ltter..." 737 Davpos tells himself he set the letter aside because "What harm if some wildling king conquers the north? It was not as if Stannis held the north. His Grace could scarecely be expected to defend people who refused to acknowledge him as king" and because "only a starving man begs bread from a beggar." 736 But really it's because the letter would give power to Melisandre who he is marshalling men against.

202 ASOS 59 Tyrion VII: Needing to get rid of Shae, he considers arranging a place at Chataya's or marriage to Ser Tallad, who seems interested. Varys says he can't see what Tyrion des in Shae. It seems she makes him feel less inadequate. He has a weakness for her wiles, but knows she's phony with him. Still, she's subtly dominating in a way he seems unable to escape or master.

204 ASOS Tyrion VIII: When Olenna Tyrell straightens Sansa's hairnet, she all but tells her she'll be murdering the groom at his own wedding as revenge for Robb. Without skipping a beat, she says sh's leaving the next day for Highgarden and invites Sansa to join her. The communication is that Sansa is still a candidate for marriage to Willas. Afterall, Margaery was in an unconsummated marriage before this one. And Robb's death makes Sansa heir to Winterfell, as expected. The castle being burnt means nothing. It's her Stark name they want as the Tyrells reach to overthrow the Lannisters as royal family using the same tactic that succeeded for Tywin. Sansa's child by Tyrion will be a Stark though of her husband's name. Cersei may have insisted on a Lannistyer maidencloak, but it was an empty, symbolic erasing of the Baratheon crown. Margaery can arrange the same for the marriage of her children by Tommen.

216 ASOS 73 Jaime IX: Brienne asks Jaime why protect Sansa when he believes she killed Joffrey, who was his son? Jaime thinks "Because Joff was no more to me than a squirt of seed in Cersei's cunt." But he says "I have made kings and unmade them. Sansa Stark is my last chance for honor. Besides, kingslayers should band together. Are you ever going to go?" 1009 The truth is, Jaime's motives are complex. He wants to be rid of the sword Oathkeeper as much to keep from drawing attention to his new lack of swordskill as to reject it as a bribe from his father to leave the kingsguard. he wants Brinne to be happy and think well of him, which all but required he give her her mission back. He wants to be a man of his word and however arbitrary and pointless fulfilling his oath to Lady Catlyn is, it feels better than abandoning the promise. He also thwarts Cersei. Bonus!

223 ASOS 80 Jon XII: Jon is sorely tempted o accept Stannis's offer of Winterfell. He's so angry that Jaons Slynt is trying to get him executed for a turncloak that he trains against Iron Emmett. When he has a memory of Robb telling him he couldn't play at being Lord of Winterfell the way they both played at being The Young Dragon or Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, he attaks so fiercely he doesn't hear the call to ield and has to be restrained. He could restore Winterfell, as Ned and Robb would have wanted, keep Gilly and her baby safe there so Sam wouldn't have to lie...but really what Jon wants is to have family and be accepted, not tohave pulled up the heart tree to gain Winterfell. The anger is at Catelyn's rejection of him, one re-emerging in his life through the bullying of Alliser Thorne and his new toady, Janos Slynt.

A Feast For Crows

238 AFFC 13 Cersei III:

"Liar," the queen thought. "If you had loved him even for an instant, you would not have been in such unseemly haste to wed his brother. His crown was all you ever wanted." 253

Yes, Cersei, it was a marriage arranged for swords, one you helped plan. That Cersei, herself, did not love the king she wed for his crown is front an center in the irony of her disapproval of Margaery.

240 AFFC 15 Brienne III: What are Ser Hyle Hunt's motives in following Brienne? He arranged the pot on her virginity (the maiden pool thought of in Maidenpool). Is it Tarth he wants, or only a nicer lord than Tarly?

255 AFFC 30 The Reaver: Victarion sees Euron promote his rivals' best men so as to strip them. However, this does undermine Euron's own support so obviously it can only be self-sabbotage.

257 AFFC 32 Brienne VI: Brienne thinks she must not fail Jaime, as she failed Renly and Catelyn, but it's really her father she feels she's failed. Brienne wants to give her life to a worthy mission, but keeps being told she should live.