A Game of Thrones, Chapter 47, Eddard
Summary
Ned is summoned in the middle of the night. King is back from the hunt and he’s mortally wounded. Robert asks Ned to write his will. He commands that Ned becomes Protector of the Realm until his son Joffrey is of age. Renly tries to convince Ned to strike before Cersei has time to prepare, however Ned refuses. Stark intends to put Stannis on the throne and asks Littlefinger to grant him loyalty of Golden Cloaks.
Quotes
“The milk of the poppy, Your Grace,” he said. “Drink. For your pain.”
Robert knocked the cup away with the back of his hand. “Away with you. I’ll sleep soon enough, old fool. Get out.”
“Wrong, it was wrong, I… only a girl… Varys, Littlefinger, even my brother… worthless… no one to tell me no but you, Ned… only you…”
“Will I dream?”
Ned gave him his answer. “You will, my lord.”
“Good,” he said, smiling. “I will give Lyanna your love, Ned.”
“I know the secret Jon Arryn was murdered to protect. Robert will leave no trueborn son behind him. Joffrey and Tommen are Jaime Lannister’s bastards, born of his incestuous union with the queen.”
Littlefinger lifted an eyebrow. “Shocking,” he said in a tone that suggested he was not shocked at all.
“You wear your honor like a suit of armor, Stark. You think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down and make it hard for you to move.
Commentary
As I’m re-reading the series and digesting everything over and over I find myself liking Robert Baratheon more than any other character in the book, more even than Ned. His story is the story of a man, who has everything except the things that make man’s life worthwhile. The love of his life died. Throne he won was an empty victory. Life in court was more of a burden than reward. And on top of that it turns out that his children are not his own. The only children he made were born on the wrong side of the bed. Being killed by schemes of his own family is a truly tragic ending to the story of his life.
You can call me a cry-baby, but I actually had a tear in my eye when I was reading this chapter. Just as he’s about to die Robert gets a moment of clarity, he starts to see things differently. The vicinity of death gave him new perspective. He *understands* now that killing Dany would be wrong. He sees that the only man true to him, honest no matter what, was Ned. It breaks my heart to see him get to that point hours before his death.
As for Ned, he’s facing a very difficult time and makes a grave mistake. At this stage he knows what Lannisters are capable of doing. He *knows* they are not going to stop at nothing and playing “fair” is not going to cut it. There are two mistakes he makes in this chapter. Turning down Renly’s offer, who had genuine interest in securing the throne, and trusting Littlefinger after he turned down his offer to pretend that Joffrey is the legal heir to the throne. When I was first reading this chapter I wanted to shout: “Ned, you fool, this is no time for honor!” but he would not listen…
Tags: Eddard
