A Storm of Swords discussion

No spoiler, please :)

Brienne is strong, and she's good with swords and Arya, well, she's a strong and brave fighter too, especially for a child of her age.

Do you think she will end up like Brienne (with a prettier face, maybe)?

I think Brienne is more the 'honourable grunt' style of character whereas Arya is likely to become a morally ambiguous assassin

Yeah, I agree with T. Brienne is maybe the most chivalrous character in Westeros. She's a knight in shining armor and one of my favorite characters. Arya....I'm assuming you haven't read 4 and 5 yet?

They both have a strong sense of honor (in different ways) and they are both very capable. Those are the only similarities I see.

Jesse wrote: "Yeah, I agree with T. Brienne is maybe the most chivalrous character in Westeros. She's a knight in shining armor and one of my favorite characters. Arya....I'm assuming you haven't read 4 and 5 yet?"

You're right. I'm still in the first 10 chapter of book 4 :D

Your answer makes me even more curious though.

Tbh, I don't see much similarity between Brienne and Arya, beyond the obvious one that they're both female characters who prefer a masculine way of life in a strongly misogynistic world. Brienne is more like Sansa than Arya in personality: she's idealistic, romantic, and fond of the notions of honour and chivalry. She and Sansa both would like to live in a fairytale of knights and damsels - the only difference being that Brienne would prefer to be the knight, and Sansa the damsel.

Arya, on the other hand, lives very much in reality. Instead of yearning for what she doesn't have, she shapes her own life to her own liking, even if she crosses a number of moral lines in doing so. Even if she had been born a boy, she probably would not have been very interested in being a knight - she would have found it too constricting.

When Arya is older she will be able to have both Brienne and Asha Greyjoy for breakfast. She will be deadly!

James wrote: "A more interesting comparison might be Arya Stark with Asha Greyjoy."

Hmm interesting proposition - I think they both have similarities in slightly cynical worldviews and obviously being tomboys.

I think Asha is more conventionally ambitious whereas Arya seems more counter-culture.

Another similarity is they both have strong loyalty and senses of honour.

Good point James

I don't see Arya turning out much like Brienne. They might be alike in that they can go face to face with men. (Or in Ayra's case, (view spoiler)[someone else's face (hide spoiler)] to face....) However, I don't think Arya is going to turn out the chivalric character that Brienne is, nor do I think she'll become a "mighty warrior" in a similar way. Rather she'll be a (view spoiler)[death priestess/assassin (hide spoiler)] and deal with her opponents that way.

They are similar in terms of being eccentric as women. But they have different personalities.

Brienne is temperamental and has strong moral values. Arya in the other hand will murder, steal or deceive if she has to and also has grown colder.

Mitali wrote: "Tbh, I don't see much similarity between Brienne and Arya, beyond the obvious one that they're both female characters who prefer a masculine way of life in a strongly misogynistic world. Brienne is..."

Very good point. Brienne has often reminded me of Sansa.

Geez, I never thought that Brienne and Sansa has a similar personality, not until you pointed it out, Mitali. Now come to think of it, they are in fact very similar, in their own way.

Nope, in my opinion, Arya will end up becoming one of the Faceless Men (ah, Women?) - the assassins of Braavos.

Not at all. Sansa had more in common with Brienne in terms of holding respect for titles and idealising others.
Arya was always the least idealistic of the Starke clan. She follows her father's strict moral code but she's still morally objectionable at times.
Brienne is loyal to a fault and tended to be more trusting at a later age than Arya.
Arya won't be at all like Brienne when she is her age.

I also wouldn't put too much stock in the claims that Arya is actually ugly. She is said to resemble her Aunt Lyanna, whom we know was a beauty. The jabs were probably used to motivate her to be more groomed and being under Sansa's shadow.

They both share a common trait with Cersei which is desire to step beyond the role of their sex. But neither is much like Cersei.

I don't think so. Brienne is still a lady, she respects the values her family taught her -though she didn't respect tradition-, and Arya is running for her life. Her circumstances are completely different. Arya saw her father as he was being executed, that fact changes everything.

Citra wrote: "No spoiler, please :)

Brienne is strong, and she's good with swords and Arya, well, she's a strong and brave fighter too, especially for a child of her age.

Do you think she will end up like Brie..."

I don't think so. Arya is "ruthless in training". She was forced into it. I think there are greater things ahead for Arya than just a soldier.

No not at all. Brienne operates out of a sense of duty, a sense of chivalry. Arya operates out of a sense of vengeance. She will actually end up being more like Braun. The only similarity they have, really, is the fact that they are women fighting the social norms of what it means to be a woman in Westeross

Christopher Patterson
A Chance Beginning: Book One of the Shadow's Fire Trilogy

I don't see the relation between the two characters. Arya, even at her age, is a murderer; she justifies killing folks with her anger and overwhelming need for vengeance. Brienne has never unjustifiably killed someone.
I'd compare Brienne to Eddard if anyone. Both characters respect and are ruled by the supposed values of the culture in which they live. Both consider respect, honor, and duty to be the best way.
While Arya may have respect for the values and history of the Starks, she couldn't care less for honor or duty. That way of thinking got her father's head chopped off. I rather think she feeds off of rage and vengeance. Given that, I don't think Arya has a suitable comparison; Danaerys in some ways, the Hound in others. She is who she is, and I suspect she's going to kill a lot more folks than Brienne before it's all over.

Arya is more her mother's child than Sansa. Kat is a strong character who will do what needs to be done for her family. Arya is learning some big lessons along the way. She'll carry those lessons through many new adventures. Brienne is a good soldier character and much of her moral righteousness will prove important as the books continue.

Not quite. Brienne is a strong knight who always fights honorably but Arya learned that sometimes you need to be cunning and deceitful in order to survive.

I'm enjoying this discussion! And wow, the comparison between Sansa and Brienne totally makes sense! I really would like to see Brienne and Sansa interact on the page. That would be interesting. As for Arya, there are so many paths for her and I can't wait to see what happens with her next.

I hadn't even thought of Sansa and Brienne being similar, but I definitely see it. And ya I see Arya becoming an assassin or an outlaw, I think that because of what happened to her family (her father especially) she could never be loyal and fight for someone like Brienne. I see her more slowly and silently travelling through the country killing off the people on her list until she meets someone who does not underestimate her because she is a girl and kills her...
I wonder if Brienne makes it back to the Saphire Isles.