giulia-lo-art: My take on the (probably) most tragic characters in a Song of Ice and Fire Sometimes

giulia-lo-art: My take on the (probably) most tragic characters in a Song of Ice and Fire Sometimes this old art of mine has a resurgence in likes, and some people asked me what do I mean with “most tragic chracters in ASOIAF”. Granted, in the saga there are many tragic stories and people in arguably worst situations, but I can’t think of three that are so dooomed and intertwined with each other like Rhaegar, Lyanna and Robert.The first is the Prince of a crumbling dynasty that has shaped his entire life around some grand ancient prophecy, deluding himself over and over again to be one of its main actors (first as the chosen one, then as his father). Despite having the chance to become a decent king (especially compared to his mad father), he destroyed the peace of his kingdoms to follow this profecy, “kidnapping” Lyanna. And, of course, he destroyed also the lives of everyone he cared about: his wife Elia, his sons Rhaenys and Aegon, his mother Rhaella, and Lyanna herself, wheter he really loved her or not. And all for nothing: in the end, he died in battle as any other man, killed by Robert, the leader of the rebellion that he himself caused with his foolishness, who will establish a new dynasty on the ashes of Rhaegar’s.So much for a savior.The second is a young lady doomed from the start by the shitty patriarchal and feudal rules of her world, trying desperately to escape them. A knight at heart that could never be one, often sawonly as a pretty girl. Especially by her betrothed Robert, whom she despised so much (not without motive) that she decided to follow the crazy plan of the much more fascinating (and older) Rhaegar. Maybe for love, maybe for calculation, maybe for desperation, maybe for all of the above. She probably though that becoming the second wife of the prince would save her (naively, and despite the illegality of it). Maybe he promised her she could be whatever she wanted, if she birthed him the last baby he needed for the profecy. We don’t know, for now. What we know is that then she had been kept secluded in a tower for months, during a war in which her family was dying, and in the end she died of childbirth, with the sole consolation that her brother Ned was alive and would have taken care of her son.So much for freedom.The last is a young lord that had already planned his perfect life, and then seen everything crumble. Mind you, he wasn’t a very good guy: selfish, self-entitled, arrogant, more interested in enjoying himself that anything else. But he was a great warrior with good friends and charisma, and really, to be a feudal lord in Westeros there is no much more requirement (sadly). Moreover, he was to marry the girl of his dreams, Lyanna. Until she was kindapped by the prince heir, his king declared him and his protesting allies enemies of the kingdom and a civil war was in order. He became the leader of a rebellion to save his skin and his “lady love”. He even succeded in killing Rhaegar, but Lyanna died nontheless, and he became the new King despite not really wanting to be one, hating every form of responsibility. He spent the rest of his life wasting away, treating horribly his wife Cersei (no saint, but no one deserves being abused), ignoring most of his duties and being consumed by the memory of a girl who didn’t love him and of glorious battles long gone.So much for a dream life.To sum it up: all of this, all for nothing. If this isn’t tragic, I don’t know what is. -- source link

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