Art imitates life, and vice versa – can we do better with the stories we tell?
House of the Dragon is back, and this year we'll likely see the most horrifying politics to ever grace television – I assume the show will be pretty brutal too.
The Dance of Dragons depicts a conflict between the two halves of the ruling Targaryen family, where victory will come in the form of the Iron Throne and defeat will mean extermination. It also extends to the ramification and enforcement of laws: a victory by Alicent's "greens" will doom the future of female inheritance in the realm, and a victory by Rhaenyra's "blacks" will see every royal decision made by Aegon II questioned.
The Iron Throne in the books, art by Marc Simonetti
The future of America looks eerily similar as the 2024 election looms. Trump's Republicans have made it abundantly clear that they will attempt to erase the existence of transgender Americans – legally, if not violently – and retribution at all levels against anyone who failed to support Trump in the past decade. I recommend watching John Oliver's Last Week Tonight piece on it from June 16, 2024 – or you can read about potential actions here.
I'm terrified of the real threat ahead, and I can't help but ask whether there is a better story we should be reflecting on than endless "fire and blood."
Robin Hobb is a fantasy author who started her Realm of the Elderlings series just a year before George R.R. Martin began A Song of Ice and Fire, and has since completed hers with sixteen novels to George's five and 'counting'. There are frankly a ton of similarities between the series, but that's a topic for another time.
Rhaenyra, Daenerys or Kettricken; she's a Sad Queen
Where Martin's series is at all times focused on who will capture the Iron Throne, Hobb's asks about the nature and morality of actual rulership. Despite dozens of contenders, Martin never actually shows a decent ruler (arguably Ned comes the closest for his thirty seconds as regent).
Most of Hobb's are pretty good, on the other hand. King Shrewd Farseer is old and stuck in his ways, but gets things done. Verity and Dutiful have their flaws, but are damn good when the chips are down. It is horrifying when Regal shows up to play the game of thrones, backstabbing, embezzling and partying in a time of absolute crisis. The parallels to Trump are uncanny despite her writing in 1997, and I can't imagine how much further Hobb might have gone with his brutal characterization had she first experienced the real thing.
But Hobb's philosophy can be boiled down even further. Kettricken is the heir of the Mountain Kingdom in the books, where the cultural understanding of royalty is inverted. What foreigners call the King or Queen, their people call the Sacrifice. It is the role of the Mountain Kingdom's ruler to serve their people in all things, ensuring a brighter future for their people. They are humble, cautious and wise.
Princess Kettricken, by Magali Villeneuve
When Kettricken comes to the Six Duchies as the betrothed of Prince Verity Farseer, she is deeply uncomfortable with the royal treatment she receives. For the sake of appearances, she is repeatedly stopped from doing her own chores – let alone helping her subjects, as she was raised to be proud of doing. Although we mostly hear about her second-hand, her arc feels like a tragedy of necessary political maneuvering.
Until actual tragedy strikes, and an invading force lands near the unprotected capital. Fitz, our POV character, is in the port town of Neatbay preparing to die fighting off the horde (the theme of sacrifice is a big one). All is doomed, but at least he can serve his King to the last breath.
Then Kettricken comes in with her personal guard, dressed for battle and giving a pep talk that would make Théoden proud. While Regal pulls back his armies to defend his vineyards and opulent palaces, Kettricken personally rallies the terrified soldiers of this unfamiliar kingdom and saves more or less everything (turns out as the main character of a huge fantasy series, Fitz is kinda important later on).
This is one of those sublime moments in fiction for me which instantly break my heart and reknit it. Even though she never quite reaches the same peak in the rest of the 16-book series, this moment cemented Kettricken as one of my favourite characters, full stop.
Many people (myself very much included) take a lot of their worldly understanding from the media they consume these days. So do we really need the brutality and hate of House of the Dragon to repeat today's real life politics? Or can we talk about better alternatives, where instead of fighting for a jagged throne we work for a brighter future?
At the end of today's playlist is Nightwish's "Weak Fantasy" – give it a listen or check out the lyrics, which include: "every child [is] worthy of a better tale."
--
Thanks for reading! I highly recommend Hobb's work, so don't worry: the main story is actually only a quick and breezy nine books long.
Until next week <3
Comments