Long Summers and Two Long Nights – Extremes of Sand and Snow. Long Nights and Long Winters? How about the reality of Long Summers and their devastating effects on the planet? Are magically induced extremes of Summer the underlying cause of seasonal irregularity in George Martin’s fantasy world? Have there been at least two instances […]
Fertility Themes, the ultimate Key to a Song of Ice and Fire The fertility of the earth is tied to the seasonal cycle, and the latter, we know, is highly irregular in George Martin’s fantasy world. Why the seasons are asynchronous remains an unsolved mystery within the story. Ice and Fire are extreme forms of […]
Welcome to part II of the true significance of the three-headed dragon. In this follow-up, I share my insights on how slavery and the exploitation of the elder races facilitated the harvesting of desirable traits, discuss the pros and cons of recombining the genes of different species and look at how all this is relevant to […]
Five books and six seasons down the line, we should realize that hatching and riding dragons are only a small part of a much larger scenario. I’m personally convinced that many clues within the narrative suggest some ancient cultures in G. Martin’s world practiced a form of primitive genetic engineering, usually disguised as dark magic […]
VIDEO Transcirpt (with additional observations) Signs and Portents – The Symbolism of the Spiral Motif
How did Patchface survive the shipwreck when all others on board drowned? In this updated post, I take a more comprehensive look at the smallfolk’s explanation for his survival regarding the mermaid that taught him to breathe in exchange for his seed. I believe a mermaid did intervene, but not the way we imagine it may […]
This essay deals with Catelyn as the source of the wolf-blood and the greenseeing trait in the youngest generation of Starks. Revised and updated in June 2017.
Several theorists have published analyses dedicated to the symbolism of blue winter roses over the years. While I subscribe to many of them (great stuff), most deal with their significance in respect of Lyanna’s presumed relationship with Rhaegar and by extension, her child Jon. I do not recall reading a theory dealing with their significance […]
In the first instalment of this series, I sought to establish the pearl’s importance to the story by examining its more obvious aspects as seen in the narrative. Its symbolism is predominantly feminine; it often turns up in relation to weddings and encompasses both the fertility of women and that of the land; as the […]
Silvery-white, lustrous and beautiful, the pearl has been a favourite ornamental accessory for centuries. Famous pearls have passed through royal dynasties of Europe and Asia and remain very much in vogue even today. Its symbolism is in rooted in its appearance – it requires no cutting or polishing to enhance its beauty – when it […]