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badbedforbedding · 1 year

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Beauty standards in Westeros: wild beauty is beautiful?

Beauty is a huge topic in this fandom, specially in relation to some female characters. And different from the male characters, their physical traits are often put on higher ground than other aspects.

I know that we live in a society obsessed with ~aesthetics~ and with an ideal of beauty that is Eurocentric, ableist, and youthful; so it makes sense that the people (and their opinions) in this fandom reflects these ideals too.

(sigh) Anyway… Westeros is a fictional fantastical world set in a medieval era and this world too holds its sets of standards and ideals regarding beauty, and we can see how they affect the story/journey of some important characters; here I want to focus on the idea of the wild beauty associated with Arya and Lyanna Stark because it's a subjective enough word to cause a lot of confusion.

Now; suppose we all know how detrimental to women these beauty standards are, we cannot ignore that fact that they matter, they were made for a reason, and they serve a purpose in westerosi society:

First, it separates noble from commoners;

A Feast for Crows - Cersei III, Cersei compares Margaerys features to those of common people.

"Even peasant girls are pretty at a certain age, when they are still fresh and innocent and unspoiled, and most of them have the same brown hair and brown eyes as she does."

A Storm of Swords - Jon II, Jon's first impression of Ygritte.

"At a lord's court the girl would never have been considered anything but common, he knew. She had a round peasant face, a pug nose, and slightly crooked teeth, and her eyes were too far apart. Jon had noticed all that the first time he'd seen her, when his dirk had been at her throat."

By these recollections only, it seems like peasants have a certain look that is recognizable and sets them apart from noble people.

Without a deep analyses, we can already conclude that no Stark woman is common looking or plain. Their looks can be set apart from peasants and from among most other houses such as the Tyrell, its pretty signifying of their old noble blood:

Arya Stark - long face, gray eyes, brown hair, skinny and athletic body. Arya has the "wolf blood".

Sansa Stark - high cheekbones, blue eyes and "auburn hair lighter than her mother's".

Catelyn Stark - fair skin, blue eyes and auburn hair.

Lyanna Stark - Long face, gray eyes and brown hair. Slim body and tomboyish. Lyanna had too much of the wolf blood.

Edited: I’m not saying that peasants and common people are ugly, what I’m saying (what I deduced from reading the excerpts) is that compared to noble woman, common women are considered plain by noble people standards.

And the fact that most of these ladies are tied to one of the most traditional and old lineages in Westeros means that they don’t fit the common or plain category by Westeros beauty standards.

Second, it increases women's chance at a good marriage;

A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VI - Edmure and Catelyn talk about his betrothal to Roslin Frey.

"She's prettier than I dared hope." Edmure raised a hand before she could speak. "I know there are more important things, spare me the sermon, septa. Even so . . . did you see some of those other maids Frey trotted out? The one with the twitch? Was that the shaking sickness? And those twins had more craters and eruptions on their faces than Petyr Pimple. When I saw that lot, I knew Roslin would be bald and one-eyed, with Jinglebell's wits and Black Walder's temper. But she seems gentle as well as fair." He looked perplexed. "Why would the old weasel refuse to let me choose unless he meant to foist off someone hideous?"

"Your fondness for a pretty face is well known," Catelyn reminded him.

During the entire ordeal of a betrothal between a Frey daughter and Lord Edmure Tully, the latter complained about being denied of choice.

This is important because it shows exactly how it works for them: High lords who inherit castles and land can choose whichever lady they want, while ladies need to compete among themselves to try and get a good proposal, from where they can find security.

Robert Baratheon was to be Warden of the Stormlands at the time he was entertaining a marriage to Lyanna. Let's be honest now; do you think this asshole, the guy who fucks any pretty thing with a pair of tits without thinking, would settle for anything but a comely lady for a wife?

Of course there is the matter of her name and noble blood at play but just like Edmure, "his fondness for a pretty face was well known" and his feelings for Lyanna too:

"You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert," Ned told him. "You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath."

A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII

Edited: I’m not even questioning the physical characteristics that women need to have to be seen as beautiful. I think Edmure Tully’s speech at the quote I picked says a lot already, but in short: the preference that these privileged men show towards certain ladies is enough to know what is the standard held by Westeros society as a whole.

At last and most important, it reinforces the gender roles assigned to woman:

This is not supposed to be a critic to any of the women mentioned or their ways, but a critic of the people who praise certain traits and vilify others less soft ones.

About Elia:

"...the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia's delicate beauty."

"Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit."

About Margaery:

"The girl no older than Robb, very pretty, with a doe's soft eyes and a mane of curling brown hair that fell about her shoulders in lazy ringlets. Her smile was shy and sweet."

About Sansa:

"Soft-spoken sweet-smelling Sansa, who loved silks, songs, chivalry and tall gallant knights with handsome faces."

Gentle, delicate, sweet, soft-spoken and other variants of these adjectives are used to describe these ladies in particular when mentioning their beauty. All these adjectives are found at the appearance section of their pages on Wiki of westeros.

Westerosy woman have little to no say in the decisions regarding their own lives, noble women are always at the mercy of a father, husband, or another man. They are raised to become two things only: a wife and a mother and again gentle, delicate, sweet, soft-spoken are words often related to motherhood and romance.

Wild, willful, stubborn and outspoken are completely different things from gentle, delicate, sweet and soft-spoken. In fact, they are opposite, and that's where the concept of "Wild beauty" draws so much confusion.

Edited: I’ve seen people interpret wild as unkept, savage, plain and/or ugly. The word in itself is not typically used to refer to one’s appearance, but to landscape or actions. But when the wild beauty idea come in George’s text is always to highlight Lyanna/Arya’s different look as well as character compared to southern ladies.

To use someone else’s perspective that is not their loving brother/father (since this means he is biased and unreliable as a narrator, *sarcasm*):

In The World of Ice and Fire - The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring

“The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia's delicate beauty, could only have been meant to win the allegiance of Winterfell to Prince Rhaegar's cause, Symond Staunton suggested to the king.”

The juxtaposition of the descriptors Wild x Delicate makes the case stronger when we remember that the delicate quality that Elia had comes from her frail and fragile health.

In conclusion:

Lyanna Stark was a beautiful woman with beautiful attributes, her beauty was well known and no one could deny. On the other hand, she lacked the womanly shape desired from most men and had too much force of will to be accepted by the southern court.

Arya Stark is a girl still growing into her features, her looks, and personality are similar to her aunt's even as a young girl. It's not hard to see that she will become as beautiful as Lyanna was said to be.

The wild beauty is in their physical traits but something else too, more ethereal and impalpable, the wolf blood.

Their wild beauty it's a set of all that Westeros holds as beautiful, added to what they fear the most: a strong, willed mind.

That's it, if anyone read so far: thank you for your patience. I am incapable of being brief. I wrote this with my own memory and research, so if I missed something, feel free to add to it. Also, if you are one of those stans who complain about others calling Arya beautiful: fuck you.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #my meta #beauty standards #beauty #arya stark #lyanna stark #I had to add more things to make it clearer i guess #I look like a peasant #:))))

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allthefandomloveandimagines · 5 years

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Edmure tulley

Hello Lindsay! I ship you with Edmure! Though people may not be your thing you don’t have to be outgoing and loud to attract Edmure’s eye. He needs someone to love and someone to love him back. He’s often pushed into situations where his opinion won’t matter and he knows there’s not much he can do. He’d be loving though you may not see it on his exterior. He’d be interested in hearing about what you’ve read and what you’ve learned. He’d try to impress you but picking up and novel and sharing with you what he found. He’d try to bring you a new book home every time he was out and would tell you about where he’s been. I imagine he’d want to unload all of the family baggage he deals with. You’d be absolutely precious to him though he would be big on PDA in public. He’d always step forward to protect you from harm.

❤️story time❤️SORRY THIS ONE HAS SOME GRAPHIC VIOLENCE—-DO NOT READ IF YOU CANT HANDLE IT PLS

Edmure traveled home after a long month with the starks planning funerals and making preparations for Robb’s battle plans

He was tired and worn and not looking forward to the lost of things he would have to do when he went back to leading his house

On his way the first time he had stopped at a quaint little town full of lively people and rich music

Everyone there was friendly and talkative and it was a place he hadn’t thought to visit before

He looked forward to returning to it now that he was headed home

But when he arrived.....

All the buildings had been burned

Damaged

Markets were ripped apart and produce was smashed and covered in mud

Bodies layed across the towns roads and square

Men, women, children

They were all gone or screaming and running about looking for survivors

Edmure flagged his men to assist and in a Second he was racing his horse through the streets

His guards soon met him with news

“Raiders probably, took al the valuables and slaughtered everyone else.” He looked about

Edmure dismounted his horse and walked through the puddles mixed with blood and oil

Rain started to come down hard and the night started to close in

The fires on multiple houses were dying down but nothing was left unturned

Suddenly the grunts and shouts of wild men could be heard from a corner house with seemingly less damage than the rest of the village

Edmure grabbed his sword and trotted off into the house

He ducked under the broken frame of the door and moved a torn curtain away from the enterance

There he met two dirty looking raiders with faded tattoos and torn clothing drenched in blood

And there you were

Pinned against the wall

Tears in your eyes and dirt on your face

Your eyes travelled to edmure who immediately seemed angered by their presence

“Let her go.” He hissed

The two men laughed and one pointed a blade at your neck

“I said-“ edmure cleared his throat “let her go”

“Ey why don’t you come and get her?” You watched edmure very carefully as he creeped forward

The two men didn’t move

But you knew they were ready to

“How many?” Edmure asked

The two men looked at eachother “how many what?”

“How many people have you killed?” His voice was stern and you could tell he was angry

“Like we kept count” they both laughed and shoved eachother playfully

“I said how many people.” Edmure stopped a mere two feet from the man on the left

“Listen here you bastard,” the man stepped forward and raised his blade

But there was no point

Edmure swing his sword and it cut straight into the raiders throat

He dropped to his knees and tried to cover the fresh, bloody wound

But as he did so blood began to fill his throat and it started to spill from his lungs

He fell over

The second man pulled back and got behind you

“Stop!” Edmure shouted

The man held a blade to your neck and gently pulled your hair from your face

“Oh no, I think it is you who should stop.” His breath was hot on your neck and the blade was cold and starting to pinch at your skin

Edmure moved his sword down

“Let her go, and I’ll let you leave” he opened his arms “I won’t fight you”

“You’re stupid” the man spat at him and slowly started to move towards the door

Edmure slowly circled around the room with him making sure he wouldn’t jeopardize your safety

“Let her go.” Edmure insisted, still carefully following the man towards the door at a safe distance

“Just you wait pretty boy” he hissed back

You jerked you head away and his grip on the knife tightened making you wince

All of the sudden you saw Edmures eyes widen

“Stop!” He screamed

You saw him attempt to lunge in your direction and as he did you saw a silver blade piece through the stomach of the man holding you

You screamed and jumped to the floor

The raider fell to the floor-dead

You started to panic

Your hands shook and your eyes fell with tears

Wind started to blow drops of rain into the damaged house as night drew closer

You stayed focused on his body

His dead bleeding body

Edmure rushes to you and newly down at your side

“Are you okay?” He asked

You didn’t answer, you didn’t even look at him

More people like him entered the room and you didn’t even look at them

You were petrified

Where was everyone?

Who survived?

Who’s screams had you heard while you were hiding?

Why didn’t you help them?

Could you have helped them?

You let edmure pull you to your feet and shuffle you out the door

When you looked up your heart sank

Everything you had known was torn down and on fire

Bodies were scattered in the streets

Some of which you thought you recognized

The rain was coming down hard and it started to become more difficult to see

“Search for survivors. Then can stay at the next town over. I’ll take her with me.” Edmure dismissed his men and took off his cloak

He then wrapped it around your figure

“Do you have anyone here?”

Your eyes snapped up to his—filling with tears

“No.” You felt the knot in your throat begin to build “I have no one.”

He looked at you with pity but you could see he was struggling with what he should do

“You can come with me then, I won’t let anyone take you.” He lifted you into the back of his horse

Then mounted it himself

“I would suggest keeping your head down, we will be racing a storm.”

Much to his surprise, you wrapped your arms around his waist and placed your head on his back

You managed to keep the cloak tied around you in fear of freezing to death on the way to his home

Every now and then a shiver would rattle your spine and he would look back at you to make sure you were alright

Once you reached the Tully house you were rushed inside

Once you entered a group of older maids apperared

“Oh my!” Then all rushed at you full force and examined you

They were all quite short and edmure towered above themc but they didn’t really seem to notice

“Ladies, please take care of her. She will need new clothes, a room and food. She’s had a long day so please,” you looked directly up at him, your hood still on “be gentle with her.”

Edmure stalked off and was immediately followed by several old gentleman sqwauking about finances and lists and the stark family

You watched him quietly until he was out of your sight, slightly hoping he would come back

Within an hour the old maids had you clean and redressed in a white nightgown

You were positive that they had scrubbed every inch of you whether you had liked it or not and you had to admit you felt very violated

One of them had spent nearly an hour deciding how she wanted your hair braided for the night

While she tugged at you with the brush she had made little comments like

“I miss sweet little Kaitlyn’s long hair” or “I remember when little kaite used to get twigs and leaves caught in her braids”

You knew she had to be talking about kaitlyn Stark

She was well liked where you were from and so was edmure

For the most part at least

That’s how you were able to recognize him so quickly

He had come in to the pub you worked at late one night and bought everyone drinks

He seemed awfully awkward but genuinely pleased to have such company

He was lucky to have gone late at night

You preferred the night yourself, people who stayed awake that late had better stories

And quicker wits

Fights were always more interesting when they both knew how to dishout insults

The theee maids set you off to bed after bringin you a bowl of soup an some bread for dinner

It was awful kind of them

And you only ate because they sat there and watched you do it

To be honest

You weren’t all that hungry or tired

How could you sleep after everything you had witnessed?

You waited until you couldn’t hear anyone bustling around outside your door

Then you lit a candle and found your way out to the hall

You spent most of the night wandering around the Tully house until you came upon a large library full of dusty old books

You grinned and immediately raced over to a shelf and ran your fingers across the spine of the largest book you could find

And there you sat

For hours

Going from one book to another while the size of the library seemed to swallow you up

When the sun peeked it’s head up the next morning you had fallen asleep on a chusioned chair with your knees over leg and you head down on your chest

It didn’t look very comfortable but you slept nightmare free

It wasn’t until late afternoon that you were found by edmure himself

He had a group of men with him and he immediately chuckled when he noticed you

He dismissed his counsel and closed the library doors behind himself before walking over to you

He squatted down on his knees and looked at you before gently moving you shoulder a bit

“Come on dear, you might want to get up.”

You stirred and moaned before turning in the chair to hide your face from him—then continued to sleep

“I’m sorry but you will have to get up now.” You could hear him try to be gentle but you knew he would eventually move you if you didn’t do it yourself

You looked over and slowly opened your eyes

You didn’t speak, you were still trying to get you pupils to adjust to the light in the room

“Is it morning?” You finally let out a yawn

“Actually, it’s mid afternoon.” He grinned and raised a cocky eyebrow

“It’s what?” You jumped out of the chair and to your feet which almost immediately caused you to fall over

Edmure caught you by your waist and looked down at you

“I imagine your legs might be a bit stiff from sleeping like that.” He was right

Perhaps that position had been a bad idea

You straightened yourself and looked at him

“Thank you for saving me:” you caught him off guard

“Um-er well your welcome.”

You patted your dress down and looked at him. “I should be going now huh?” You looked at the floor and started towards the door when he caught you by your arm

“Or”

You slowly turned back “or?”

“Just how much do you like reading?”

That day you accepted the a role in edmures council advising him on ways he could be fit his house from both past knowledge of finances and political alliances and you maybe had to explain his income sheets to him

Either way

You always found yourself at his side

Most of the decision you found he made himself were quite questionable

He grew to realize that to

And with your help his house and people started to love him more

And he only grew to love you more

Eventually edmure proposed to you and informed you that he couldn’t care less what house you came from

He needed you

And he wouldn’t let an alliance change that

#kwpq imagines #got ship #got imagine #kwpqgotship #game of thrones aesthetic #game of thrones ships #kwpq ships #game of thrones talk #edmure tully #i ship it #house tully

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