An Aristotelian Analysis of Bran Stark, and his Supernatural Relationship with Animals

The Journal of Supernatural Literature, Volume One (2013) An Aristotelian Analysis of Bran Stark, and his Supernatural Relationship with Animals -Antoinette Hulsen George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel A Game of Thrones contains many references to supernatural characters, animals and events. Protagonist and narrator Bran Stark is not one of the most referenced characters in this novel, but he provides an interesting character to analyse in a supernatural context. While his character's narration does not feature prominently, his journey of self-discovery is crucial to the events in the novel. Fitting in to the Aristotelian theories of Ethos and Mythos, it is made clear that Bran Stark is a supernatural character. His character's morals and plotline form a story at the junction of the Marvellous (Ethos) and Quest-Romance (Mythos), a place where supernatural literature is often located. There is also a strong theme of fate running through the novel. Bran Stark's supernatural element comes through in his close, and engaging, relationship with his direwolf Summer, and the three-eyed crow he dreams about. These creatures often seem to predict his future, or help him realise what events will soon be prominent in his life, as well as form a reference point to his close relationship with his bastard brother Jon. The character of Bran Stark, one of the lesser narrated characters in the novel, can be described as belonging to the Ethos of the Marvellous and the Mythos of Quest-Romance. Aristotle defined Ethos as something which indicates a moral choice and confers moral qualities (Belfiore 1983-1984, p. 112). Considering Frye's (cited in Finlayson 1999, p. 363) view that a Marvellous hero shows the qualities of courage and endurance, combined with Everett's (cited in Finlayson) view that the protagonist should have an air of 216

glamour and mystery, we can see that Bran's character fits well into the Marvellous. We see these qualities many times in Bran; courage when he climbs the castle towers (Martin 2011, pp. 74-81), endurance when he continues to assert his independence after losing the ability to walk (Martin, p. 236), and glamour and mystery through his strange connection to animals (Martin 2011, pp. 154-158). The Marvellous, as defined by Heinrich Bosse (1975, p. 213), is a deviation 'from what one takes for granted (Bosse 1975, p. 213)', but in a positive way. Through this, an obvious opening is formed to introduce the idea that Bran's relationship to animals is somewhat supernatural. In a response to Aristotle's Thought, James E. Ford (1978, p. 592) explains that when referring to the Mythos, Aristotle is referring to a plot structure which implies a specific character type based on an 'ethically determinate human experience (Ford 1978, p. 592). In the case of Bran Stark, this Mythos is Quest-Romance. In Aristotle's Poetics, Quest-Romance is understood as a genre whereby the character moves from fortune to fortune. Often, such as in A Game of Thrones, supernatural literature comes at the junction of the Marvellous and Adventure. This junction provides a plot line where there are a series of marvellous adventures leading to the recognition of identity of the protagonist (Aristotle 1967). Bran's character follows this 'fortune to fortune' plot structure. His character is introduced as the son of the Warden of the North, a fortunate position for the era (Martin, p. 11). He and his brothers discover a litter of direwolves, their house sigil, and are allowed to choose one wolf each to raise. Jon Snow, Bran's bastard brother, says about this that your children were meant to have these pups, my Lord (Martin 2011, pp. 14-19). Bran's adventure begins when he climbs the castle tower and is pushed to the ground by Jaime Lannister (Martin, p. 81). He does recover from the fall, but due to him losing the use of his legs, he has more time to explore himself and his relationship with the animals around him. There are hints of this supernatural relationship found before his fall, such as when he feeds the crows that Old Nan told him would pluck his eyes out (Martin, p.76), but it is not until he 217

discovers his limitations of movement that he can truly explore the power of his mind, and his supernatural abilities with animals. Bran's supernatural ability with animals becomes evident in his relationship to the direwolves he and his brothers discovered. He noticed the dead wolf 'was bigger than his pony, twice the size of the largest hound in his father's kennel (Martin 2011, p. 15). That was not the only unusual thing about the wolf. Theon Greyjoy explained to Bran that 'There's not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years (Martin, 2011 p. 15). Bran formed a tight bond with the wolf he adopted, and it seemed to predict his fall from the tower; 'The howling chased him all the way up the tree (Martin, 2011 p. 74). While Bran was in a coma, his relationship with the as-yet-unnamed wolf seemed to strengthen, and began to be noticed by the people around him. Tyrion Lannister spoke about the bond with his sister Cersei, saying 'I would swear that wolf of his is keeping the boy alive...the maester said they closed the window once, to shut out the noise, and Bran seemed to weaken but when they opened it again, his heart beat stronger (Martin, 2011 p. 86). When Cersei agreed with this observation, saying 'there is something unnatural about those animals (Martin 2011, p. 86), it seems to indicate a more widespread belief in a supernatural element to the animals. There are also many indicators of fate, defined by Robert C. Solomon (2003, p. 435) as the idea that at certain times in our lives we will find ourselves in particular predetermined circumstances. Considering the direwolf is the family sigil and there are five wolves, one for every Stark child, it was fate that they found them. Repeated twice is a quote from Jon Snow; 'Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord (Martin 2011, pp. 17, 192). Fate can also be interpreted through Jon's relationship with his wolf. When Jon finds the albino wolf, different from all the others, and the runt of the litter, it suits him well as he is a bastard who doesn't really fit in to the rest of the family. This difference is summed up by Bran; 'Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind (Martin 2011, p. 18). This quote also shows a 218

link to Jon, as he has already decided what is best for his future before he knew what his future was. After Jon went to the wall, he thought about Ghost (his wolf) and how he felt that that wolf suited him. 'He was all alone...apart from the others in the litter. He was different, so they drove him out (Martin 2011, p. 636). There are also several occasions where the wolves can only be controlled by the Starks, the ones who are fated to have them. There are several instances of the wolves attacking people through sensing their owners feeling, rather than being ordered to do it. One such instance is when Ghost attacks Tyrion Lannister without provocation, when Jon is angered by something he says (Martin, p. 119). Bran s supernatural relationship with animals can also be found through his close relationship with crows. He was told by Old Nan that if he fell while climbing, the crows would pick out his eyes. We can see not only his courage, but his supernatural abilities with animals through Bran taking corn for the crows when climbing up to their nests, and having them eat right out of his hand (Martin 2011, p. 76). Bran's relationship with crows is revisited when he has a dream about a three-eyed crow while he is unconscious. He is able to speak with the crow, and it teaches him to fly so he can check up on the ones he loves. The crow also tells him that he must live because 'Winter is coming (Martin 2011, pp.154-158). The Stark house motto is repeated many times throughout the book, as it is one of the only house sigils that carries a warning, or a negative implication. It encourages the Starks to prepare for what is to come, and this is especially important to Bran, as after he wakes up, he must come to terms with the fact that he is no longer able to walk. He also decides, through the message in the dream, to name his wolf Summer. The name Summer seems to indicate that the wolf is a kind of saviour for Bran. Summer will save him from the impending winter, and the wolf will help protect him because he can't walk. Later in the novel, Bran has another dream about the three-eyed crow; He flew into my bedchamber and told me to come with him, so I did. We went down to the crypts. Father was there, and we talked. He was 219

sad (Martin 2011, p. 706). Bran's dream is, again, a premonition of what is to come. The three-eyed crow is showing him that his father will soon be in the crypts. The Maester tells Bran that 'dreams are only dreams (Martin 2011, p. 709), but as Osha explains that beyond the wall she has seen people dreaming more than dreams, the wolves begin to howl. They predict the arrival of a raven, which bears the bad news that Bran knew from his dream would be coming (Martin, p. 715). This also suggests that through Bran, the direwolves can sense the crow's message. Bran's relationship with crows could also be signifying his close relationship with his bastard brother Jon. As mentioned earlier, Jon also has a close relationship with his wolf, Ghost. We see at the beginning of the novel that Bran often takes more notice of what Jon says than any of his other brothers and sisters (Martin, p.12). Bran notices many things about Jon, such as his wolf being the first to open his eyes, and in his dream about the three-eyed crow he checks up on Jon while he is stationed at the Wall, preparing to become a member of the Night's Watch. The Night's Watch are also known as 'crows', because of the black garb they wear. Bran's close relationship with crows also symbolises his close relationship with his bastard brother, as he is a 'crow' too. Aristotle explored the idea of Ethos (moral choices and moral qualities which identify a set character type) and Mythos (a plot structure which implies a specific character type) in his analyses of poetic structure. Analyses of this theory by more modern literary theorists have identified a common junction where supernatural literature often occurs. This junction, between the Ethos of the Marvellous and the Mythos of Quest-Romance, is where we find the character Bran Stark. Bran's story contains a lot of references to fate. His siblings were fated to have the direwolves; there were five pups and five children. His bastard brother Jon, who never felt like part of the family, discovered one more pup after they began to move on. It was the runt of the litter, and had been pushed out by the other pups, and this reflected how Jon felt about himself. Bran's story comes across as supernatural not only to the 220

reader, but to other characters in the novel as well. His close relationship with his direwolf Summer, and his dreams where he speaks to a three-eyed crow, often predict Bran's future, or help him realise certain realities about himself and his situation, as well as show his close link with his bastard brother Jon. This is strange to many characters who often try to deny the link between Bran and the supernatural, however, close analysis in the context of Aristotelian theories combined with information from modern theorists make this link concrete. References: Aristotle 1967, Aristotle: Poetics, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. Belfiore, E 1983-1984, 'Aristotle's Concept of Praxis in the Poetics', The Classical Journal, Vol.79, No. 2, pp. 110-124. Bosse, H 1975, 'The Marvellous and Romantic Semiotics', Studies in Romanticism, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 211-234. Finlayson, J 1999, 'The Marvellous in Middle English Romance', The Chaucer Review, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 363-408. Ford, J.E 1978, 'On Thinking about Aristotle's Thought ', Critical Enquiry, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 589-596. Martin, G.R.R 2011, A Game Of Thrones, Ed. 4, HarperCollins, London. Solomon, R.C 2003, 'On Fate and Fatalism', Philosophy East and West, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 435-454. HOW TO CITE: Antoinette Hulsen, An Aristotelian Analysis of Bran Stark, and his Supernatural Relationship with Animals, The Journal of Supernatural Literature 1 (2013): 216-221. 221