Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Catelyn V, ASOS (Part II)

“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories of the death of kings.”

Synopsis: Robb bids farewell to Jeyne, quarrels with Catelyn about Jon, and makes plans for the future. 

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

(Beginning to think I should rename these to Fortnightly Roundups, but I feel like that would be an SEO problem…) Hey folks! So with Part I of Catelyn V in the can, work now begins on Part II, and I’m already up to 1,000 words, so with any luck you’ll all get to see the second half very shortly.

In the mean-time though, we’ve got some really good stuff on the Tumblrs.

ASOIAF;

• Could Robb have gotten the Vale on his side?
• Impact of economic development on peasant living standards?
• Why did Catelyn Stark come back wrong?
• Can someone be stripped of their knighthood?
• Did Jorah leave Longclaw behind out of guilt?
• How does Young Grift riding a dragon work with the burning of KL?
  • Part II
• Why Young Grift is a Blackfyre.
  • Part II
• Series of asks about Lannistet gold.
• Series of questions about the Burgundian State:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Why did Catherine Parr get almost arrested for heresy?
• What’s the deal with Thomas Wriothesly? (Seinfield riff.)
• Why were religious conflicts during the Reformation so intense?
• Long annoying debate about Shavepate and the locusts.
• Why keep a pretender to another kingdom’s throne at your court?
• Slave societies, Slavers’ Bay, Volantis, and Byzantium:
  • Part I
  • Part II
  • Part III
• Jon Snow is not named Aemon, and definitely not for that reason.

Non-ASOiAF:

• Thoughts on Garth Ennis.
• Etymology of “royalties.”
• Long debate about Richard, Duke of York’s claim to the throne.
• Thoughts on Geoff Johns.
• The story of Two-Gun Cohen.
• Don’t give your kids obvious fandom names.
• What’s the military difference between bronze and steel?
• Why I think the Witcher novels don’t deal well with racial tensions.
• Book recommendations on the French Revolution.

 

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Catelyn V, ASOS (Part I)

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“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories of the death of kings.”

Synopsis: Robb bids farewell to Jeyne, quarrels with Catelyn about Jon, and makes plans for the future. 

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup (Part II)

Had a wee bit of an overspill when it came to tumblr asks, so here’s me clearing out my backlog. Welcome to Tumblr Roundup: Tammany Hall Edition!

ASOIAF:

• Best strategy for a Stark army at the Battle of the Green Fork.
• Why some people in the ASOiAF fandom dislike anons.
• Why did it take so long to shift from the plug bayonet to the socket bayonet?
• Where was House Bywater located in the Crownloads?
• Effect of economic development on typical peasants.
• Impact of Robb’s chevauchee in the Westerlands.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Favorite X-Men and favorite arcs.
• How to find People Must Live By Work in libraries.
• Recommendations for books on economics.
• Academic Columbusing.
  • Part II
• Definitions of “modern history.”
• Definitions of “antebellum.”
• The historiography of Howard Zinn
• Chester A. Arthur fall down.
• Krakoan culture vs. Mister Sinister re: cloning.
• Is Krakoan tree-meat kosher?
• Specific Captain America issues to read.
• Tammany Hall Week:
  • Part I (Burr)
  • Part II and III (Vidal on Burr)
  • Part III (Tammany from 1800 to 1961)
  • Part IV (Collector of the Port of New York)
  • Part V (Boss Tweed, Part I)
  • Part VI (Anti-Tammany nativism/classism)
  • Part VII (Boss Tweed, Part II)

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup (Part I)

Hello everyone! Now that the behemoth of that PHOMU essay is done, I’m looking forwards to getting back into ASOIAF. My plan is to do nothing but ASOS chapters until I hit the Red Wedding with Catelyn VI, at which point I’ll take a quick break with Dunk & Egg III.

However, in the two weeks that PHOMU #18 took to complete – I actually started writing it in 2018, and it ended up being PHOMU #15 and a future essay as well b/c I was originally trying to do too much in one go – I’ve built up a LOT of good stuff on the Tumblrs.

So much so that I’m splitting it into two posts!

ASOIAF:

• Is Tywin a sociopath? Surprisingly, no.
• Cane sugar in Westeros.
• Is Littlefinger debasing the currency?
• Is the Land of Always Winter connected to Essos? No.
• Dowries, dowers, and bride prices.
• The Free Cities as city-states vs. nation-states.
• Why is building canals so dangerous?
• Balon’s plan for the North was bad and he should feel bad.
• The end of the pikeman.
• Medieval incest taboos and cousin marriage.

Non-ASOIAF:

• What would I talk about on Drunk History:
  • Part I
  • Part II
  • Part III
• Do I like Spike Lee’s work?
• Discourse on statues being pulled down:
  • Part I
  • Part II
  • Part III
  • Part IV

Patrons:

• “What are your thoughts on Rhaegar Targaryen? Wise prince, romantic fool, crazy rapist or fatalistic slave of prophecy?”
• I think GRRM is way too much of a romantic not to have Rhaegar be sincerely in love with Lyanna; that doesn’t mean that their relationship wasn’t incredibly Problematic by modern standards (age gap, power differentials, etc.) but to a certain extent that’s already baked into Arthurian romances. I don’t like the phrase “slave of prophecy,” because it minimizes Rhaegar’s agency and responsibility for his actions. Instead, I think Rhaegar was something like Stannis vis-a-vis prophecy; someone who thought that saving the world would justify any action on his part. 
• “I was wondering, what your thoughts are on the story behind the Black Swan (Lady Johanna Swann)? It seems like GRRM borrowed from stories of the Barbary slave raids, but from what little is out there, I get the impression there’s more to the story; it seems like her kidnapping was the catalyst for Daemon Targaryen’s invasion of the Stepstones, but nobody ever actually seemed to try to ransom or rescue her after the initial request, she somehow rises to control Lys and then the Three Daughters’ alliance winds up falling apart due to jealousy over her. And do you think her story has any relevance to the ongoing plots in the novels?”
• I’m going to try to make this trip back to Fire & Blood a short one. I agree that GRRM is borrowing from the sensationalized accounts of the Barbary Pirates that were quite common in 19th century adventure/Orientalist literature, but also from any number of individuals whose mistreatment was used as a casus belli: Jenkins’ ear, the Black Hole of Calcutta, etc. As to Johanna Swann herserlf, I would say any number of femme fatales from history would work. If there is any relevance for ASOIAF, I’d say maybe the Black Pearl and the Braavosi election, but I’m skeptical.

 

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Non-ASOIAF Content: People’s History of the Marvel Universe, Week 18 (the Social Worker and the Cop)

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When we last left our heroes, Captain America and the Falcon had returned to New York City after liberating a Caribbean island from Nazis and once again foiling the Red Skull’s Cosmic Cube machinations. Upon their return in #120, the question became what the status quo would be for the new partnership in their new environment.

(Pictured: two bros just broing around, casually shirtless.
It’s not like they do this all the time or anything.)

The new status quo would take a few issues to show up, but starting with #139, for almost two years – two years which saw Captain America and the Falcon handed off from Stan Lee[1] to Steve Englehart (by way of Gary Friedrich and Gerry Conway)[2] – Cap writers went back to one of the oldest scenarios in comics.

By night, Captain America and the Falcon would patrol New York City as vigilante superheroes. By day, they would adopt civilian identities that spoke to their ideas of civic engagement: Sam Wilson returned to his job as a social worker, Steve Rogers took up a new job as a cop. Both worked the Harlem beat.[3]

These are their stories.  

Non-ASOIAF Book Update

I just received word from UPenn Press that, because my book is being featured by them at an upcoming academic conference (that was delayed by Covid-19), there is now a 40% discount for my book!

• If you live in North and South America or the Caribbean, you can go to Penn Press’ website and enter the code POLICY40-FM in the shopping cart page to get 40% off and free shipping.
• If you live anywhere else in the world, you can go here and enter the code  CSPENN40 at checkout. Unfortunately, no free shipping. 

So if you’ve been interested in reading my book but the price tag was a bit too steep for you, this might be an option for you.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks! Still not sure what my next project is, now that the Bear Pit extravaganza is done, but it’ll either be Catelyn V or a People’s History of the Marvel Universe essay (b/c I kind of miss writing those).

Regardless, I’ve got some really good stuff on the Tumblrs that has built up while I was working on Jaime VI.

ASOIAF:

• Some last bits and pieces on comparative Planetosi GDP:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Why were medieval warhorses so expensive?
• Medieval dental care.
  • Part II
• Why is the Reach so disorganized under the Tyrells?
• Southern France vs. the South of France.
• Why do I respect Barristan Selmy more than other Kingsguard?
• Medieval thinking about democracy.
• How popular were swords in the historical Middle Ages vs. fantasy?
• Medieval dyeing industries.
  • Part II
• Medieval dying industries and Canadian Doritos.
• Is Marwyn a good guy or a bad guy?
• House of Wessex alternate history:
  • Part I
  • Part II

Non-ASOIAF:

• Did the New Deal end the Great Depression?
• Did the New Deal make things worse?
• Summarizing the New Deal for non-Americans.
• Did New Deal reform programs help with later recessions?
• How is the New Deal taught in primary and secondary education?
• How much of the New Deal’s recovery was due to monetary vs. fiscal policy?
• People Must Live By Work and academic book pricing.
• Why is health care tied to employment in the U.S?
• Why did doctors oppose private health insurance?
• Would economic change have ended slavery? No.
• What is Wolverine’s immigration status?
  • Part II
  • Part III

Patrons:

• A non-ASOIAF-question: I just finished the Netflix-Series “The Witcher” starring Henry Cavill, and I was wondering, if you happen to be familiar with the Witcher-franchise (books, games, etc), what are your thoughts on the general themes?
• I am somewhat familiar – I’ve watched Let’s Plays of most of the Witcher III and I’ve read several of the books but stopped partway through. I have to say, I kind of like the Witcher more when it’s doing fantasy noir detective than when it’s doing epic fantasy. There is some interesting stuff going on about the complications of inter-ethnic conflict: Nilfgaard being imperial conquerors but also more tolerant of non-humans, Redania being a center of resistance against imperialism but also an instigator of witch-hunts, etc. As someone who lost patience with the books, I’m not sure the author stuck the landing with pretty charged themes like those.

 

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Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Jaime VI, ASOS

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“What are you doing here?”

“Something stupid. Get behind me….”

“You get behind. I have the sword.”

Synopsis: “A bear there was, a bear, a bear!/All black and brown and covered in hair!”

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks! Now that Dunk & Egg 2 is done, I’m sort of at a crossroads of what to do next, as I don’t have anything outlined. So right now I’m thinking that I’m going to do another People’s History of the Marvel Universe essay, and then bear down on ASOS to get to the Red Wedding.

But in the meantime, we’ve got some good stuff on the Tumblrs.

ASOIAF:

• Where did Starks get their warging genes from?
• How could Cersei have mollified the sparrows?
• Why didn’t Brynden Tully join the Kingsguard?
• Could a peasant get enough land to become a noble?
• Why aren’t the Three Sisters more integrated into the Vale?
  • Does it make sense to build a canal linking the Three Sisters to the Vale?
  • Does it make sense to build a bridge linking the Three SIsters to the Vale?
• Do the Lords of Highgarden own property in Oldtown?
• Why does King’s Landing have such limited port facilities?
• Another discussion of army numbers.
• Overlapping POVs in TWOW?
• Why would a king want to acknowledge a bastard child?
• Ancient and medieval wound care.
• Mercenary pay rates, indentures, and organized looting.
• Paleography and indentures.
• Was Sam out of character during the Night’s Watch election?
• Medieval cursing.
• A discussion on silk production in Dorne.
• Medieval criminal justice systems and their literary suitability.
• A discussion on premodern comparative GDP.

Non-ASOIAF:

• A quick intro to the Venture Brothers.
• A clarification to the quick intro about the Venture Brothers.
• Why isn’t Quicksilver as big a character as the Flash?
• My research methods.
• Giant Days characters as X-Men characters.

Patrons:

• What do you think were the reactions, when Ser Duncan the Tall became commander of the King’s Guard?
• I think Ser Duncan’s elevation was key to cementing the idea that Aegon V was “more than half a peasant.” Here is the more prestigious chivalric office in the kingdom, and he’s handed it to a disreputable hedge knight from Flea Bottom.
• The reader learns in AGOT that the Dothraki think it’s acceptable to kill during a wedding. Is that not a problematic attitude since social norms like “Guest Right” exist, so that strangers can come safely together? I mean, won’t the dead have avenging friends and family?
• The Dothraki don’t really seem to have the same social custom, in part because they live in a highly communal society in which everyone knows everyone else in the khalasar, since everyone is always out in the open and visible to one another, and other khalasars are always threats (until they are defeated and subsumed into your khalasar). The one exception is the taboo on shedding blood in Vaes Dothrak, because of Vaes Dothrak’s religious role in Dothraki identity and eschatology.