In Defense of Sansa Stark

beautiful fan art borrowed from
http://elia-illustration.deviantart.com

The more that I read A Song of Ice and Fire, the more I grow to love Sansa Stark. Her character was utterly repulsive to me at first, I must confess, in part because of how cruel she could be to Arya for her lack of interest in traditional femininity, and also because of her stubborn, naive fantasies of chivalry and romance. Her character, initially, is the perfect embodiment and reflection of the fantasy of a romantic patriarchal medieval era: she believes fully in chivalry, "true knights," marrying the beautiful, good prince, duty, honor and romance. Watching Sansa move through Westeros allows us to see that same fantasy deconstructed: for while Sansa herself maintains her honor and kindness, it quickly becomes clear that the fantasy itself is opposed to the brutal reality of such a patriarchal world. The knights are neither chivalrous nor true, the prince is a sadist, duty and honor can get you killed, and there is no place for romance.

I would also direct your attention to this Feminist Fiction blog post, In Defense of Sansa Stark, which succinctly describes the heart of the reason why most fans detest Sansa, and how this related entirely to her being a woman and embracing her gender. To quote,

She has spent her life in the cold castle of the North, dreaming of stories of tournaments and beauty in the south. Because people want her to be that way. That is how they think the ideal young woman should be. And it almost destroys her. Worse, it brings the reader’s hatred down on her, because even though women are told they are only “good” if they fit into this role, the role itself is seen as weak, manipulative, stupid and generally inferior. It is the Catch 22 of being a woman, both in Westeros and in our own world: no matter what you do, you are criticized, especially if you don’t act like Arya Stark and fight to become “one of the boys.”

  Indeed, because of her femininity and her fantasies, Sansa Stark is subjected to both the hatred of readers and characters within the novels. She is mockingly called a "pretty little bird" by multiple members of the court, and subjected to torture at the hands of her once-beloved prince. The only characters who have sympathy for Sansa are the ones who have themselves been subjected to ample mockery and treachery, and have an appreciation for her honest kindness—I'm speaking here of the Hound and Tyrion (I wouldn't count Petyr Baelish as sympathetic, because he has other motivations). Fans of the series often despise her because she isn't as masculine and scrappy as her sister Arya (subject to ire in Westeros for not being feminine enough, but admired by fans in our world for her masculinity). Part of the problem with this is love of Arya and hatred of Sansa is that the same fans may fail to see how the sister's stories are very similar in the course that they take, mirroring each other in a sense. Both are taken to court and discover brutal truths (and lies) there, both must learn to arm themselves (Arya with swords, Sansa with words), (SPOILER) both escape King's Landing and must disguise and discard their identities (end spoiler), both dream of returning to Winterfell and of revenge on their enemies. For Sansa, life is rough in Westeros, but she perseveres and continues to grow as a character while maintaining her integrity, which cannot be said of many other characters beloved by fans.


Speaking of desire for revenge on one's enemies, Sansa has a particular and unusual strength in this area, because her enemies are also her captors. What I mean is that Sansa Stark never appears to succumb to Stockholm Syndrome, unlike so many other characters. Some characters who do appear to have Stockholm Syndrome to varying degrees include: Daenerys Targaryen (with Khal Drogo), Osha (with Bran), Jon Snow (with the wildlings), Jaime Lannister (with Brienne), Theon Greyjoy (Ramsay), and innumerable people who were "saved" by Daenerys. Sansa Stark, however she might pretend to love her captors, in her thoughts she never, never feels sympathy for any of them, not even Tyrion, and always dreams of seeing them come to a bitter end. This is not to suggest that victims should be blamed for their psychological problems or that they are weak, only that it is curious that Sansa Stark is considered so weak when she displays such singular strength of character and conviction.

Thus, I feel that Sansa is much deeper and more interesting than she is usually given credit for. Admittedly, in Game of Thrones her character is difficult to sympathize with because so much of Sansa's growth happens through internal thoughts which can't easily be depicted on screen. I'm excited to see what happens in the next book, and I have high hopes for how well she might be depicted in the fourth season of Game of Thrones.


Off topic, but does anyone else ship Sansa and Brienne? Hello damsel in distress, meet your true knight!