HBO’s Game Of Thrones is widely praised for its many powerful female characters. The television adaptation of George RR Martin’s series A Song Of Ice And Fire features a host of amazing women, such as the young, fearless assassin Arya, the morally-upright protector Brienne, the scheming and secretly insecure Cersei, and the powerful political strategist Sansa, to name a few. All of these women hold immense power in their own right, while having serious flaws of their own, making it hard to be absolutely for or against any of them.
However, there is one amazing character who is beloved by avid readers, but unfortunately not on the show. She is Arianne Martell, daughter of Doran Martell, a.k.a. the Prince of Dorne. A favourite among fanfiction writers, her exclusion has left many to give her fantasy castings instead of writing her off as “only a book character”.
Hopefully this post will illustrate her appeal.
Dorne is the most progressive of the seven kingdoms, and unlike the other six kingdoms, their laws allow women to inherit seats and titles of leadership. As such, she is the heir to her father’s royal seat in Sunspear, and will inherit the title of Princess of Dorne.
At first glance, Arianne seems to embody every stereotype about Dornish women. She is sexually liberated, lustful, and fully aware of her desirability and uses it to her advantage. However, as her chapters progress, we learn that she is far more complex and nuanced, and most importantly, easy to empathise with.
By giving her these layers, George effectively destroys the stereotypes levelled against Dornish women, and indeed, women like them in real life. These women are more than just lustful creatures to be sought out only for pleasure and remain hidden in bedrooms and brothels, and Arianne’s chapters prove just that.What catapulted Arianne into the position of a key player in the stories, was her plot to seat Myrcella Baratheon on the Iron Throne, thereby usurping Myrcella’s younger brother, King Tommen. Her reasons are too complicated to go into details in this post, but overall, she wanted to start a conflict with House Lannister, which would force Doran, who she viewed as a weak leader, to take action.
Most of the realm was at war with the Crown, and she could not understand why House Martell, who suffered heavy losses at the hands of House Lannister, remained faithful and quiet, instead of fighting back. While her plans are eventually thwarted, the prince took notice of her fiery drive.
What I found most interesting about Arianne is her emotional and caring side, and how George chooses to write those aspects of her.
We find out about her close friendship with her cousins, collectively referred to as the Sand Snakes by the Dornish locals. Of the Snakes, she is closest in age to Tyene, and the two grew up like sisters. Most of her thoughts throughout her chapters revolve around childhood memories of her many misadventures with Tyene.
When the Sand Snakes are captured and held at Sunspear, in addition to being inspired to rebel as they had, she constantly worries for their safety.
While she does seduce Ser Arys Oakheart to make him complicit in her schemes, it is revealed that she did like, if not love, him and struggles with feelings of guilt over leading him on and putting his life in danger. When her schemes come undone, and is declared to be acts of treason, Arys ends up getting killed by her father’s personal guard, and Arianne grieves for him.
We’re also introduced to her childhood friends besides Tyene: Sylva Santagar, Drey Dalt and Garin, an orphan of the Greenblood. They were the first to know of her plans for Myrcella, and is devastated when they are captured by her father’s men.
During the fight that cost Arys his life, Gerold Dayne had taken the opportunity to attack Myrcella. While Arianne had placed Dayne in her schemes, she did not wholly trust him, though she couldn’t explain why. She eventually, though unwittingly, gave him the perfect opportunity to harm the child. Even though her original plans would have placed Myrcella in danger anyway, seeing her harmed in front of her badly shook Arianne; a reaction she had not expected from herself.
Ultimately, the overwhelming guilt of leading all of these people into harms way leads Arianne to become more cautious and caring. This personal growth is impressive, since we’ve seen that it’s the stagnant people who suffer the most in Westeros.
Her relationship with her brother, Quentyn, is also quite interesting. Quentyn is about five years younger than her, and was fostered at House Yronwood, the second most powerful house in Dorne. For the longest time, she had been led to believe their father had skipped over her and chose him to be his heir. During this time, not only did she accidentally come across a letter from the prince to Quentyn stating that the latter was intended to be his heir, she also had several disappointing matches presented to her from her father (including the old and ghastly Walder Frey), all of which she turned down. Though the reasons behind her father’s are later explained to her, and certain truths were brough to light, these were major factors that fuelled Arianne determination to not lose her birthright.
All in all, Arianne Martell is much like the many other character in A Song Of Ice And Fire: intricately written and difficult to stereotype and judge. She has her strengths and weaknesses, and has much to learn as the story progresses. And like many of her fellow female characters, her powers will be played out subtly, as she leaves Dorne and enters that part of the realm where women are criminally underestimated.
Salma. 