A Feast for Crows

Jaime Lannister is Cersei’s twin brother and the leader of the Kingsguard. As Cersei’s incestuous sexual partner, he is the father to Tommen, Myrcella, and the now-deceased Joffrey.

Like Cersei, Jaime’s character is defined by jealousy. While she is jealous of Margaery in relation to Tommen, Jaime’s is jealous of other men in relation to Cersei. This is sparked by something his brother Tyrion tells him about Cersei, when Jaime helps him escape the cell where he is being held for regicide. As Tyrion says, “She’s been f***ing Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and probably Moon Boy, for all I know” (132). She has been unfaithful to Jaime with multiple men, including their cousin. And as with the prophecy Cersei has about being usurped, this unverified suggestion forms the basis for an intrusive, recurring thought which affects his actions throughout the novel.

This is evidenced when he refuses to be Hand to Cersei. Hurt by his sister’s suspected infidelity, Jaime seeks to hurt her back by turning down the offer which would make them a de facto ruling couple. When Cersei claims she will rule alone, he even goes so far as to say, “I don’t know who I pity more […] Tommen, or the Seven Kingdoms” (60). Cersei retaliates by sending him away to fight. This should be an opportunity to forget his sister for a while and rediscover himself as a skilled warrior. Yet he uses it instead to meet Lancel, who confirms his fears, admitting to having slept with Cersei. When he gets the letter from his sister, professing her love and asking for help, Jaime burns it. This could be read as a sign that he has finally broken free from her. More plausible is that Jaime is still in love with Cersei and seeks to punish her for betraying him with Lancel.

Brienne of Tarth is a physically imposing knight who spends the novel searching for Arya and Sansa Stark. Her character also functions as an audience surrogate, as she observes the devastating impact of the war on the countryside.

Much of Brienne’s character arc involves navigating her femininity as a warrior in a medieval-inspired setting. As a teenager, Brienne visited Highgarden. Although she had been betrothed three times “she had never been courted” (237) before. All the knights in Renly Baratheon’s camp there paid her special attention, being kind, courteous and flattering. Brienne could not understand why. It was only later that she discovered that she was the subject of a bet where each man paid “a golden dragon, the whole sum to go to whoever claimed her maidenhead” (238). Thus, she had been the object of a cruel joke, premised on her alleged unattractiveness. This incident seems to epitomize the tragedy of Brienne. On the one hand she is ridiculed for being unfeminine. On the other hand, she is never truly acknowledged as a knight. This is an idea she internalizes when she says about herself, in relation to her father, that she is “not fit to be a son or daughter” (532). Similarly, she never fits in clearly on either “side” in Westeros’s wars. She fights to help Sansa. But she gains no recognition for this, and in the end is executed by Sansa’s mother for being a Lannister.

However, while it is natural to sympathize with Brienne, there is also a dark comedy to her situation. Desperate to prove herself as a chivalrous knight she goes on a quest to find Sansa. Yet her help is not something Sansa ever asked for, nor is it something that Brienne, despite her skill, is truly capable of giving. Further, she does not even know where Sansa is. Her attempts to find her go down a series of dead ends, resembling a quixotic “wild goose chase.” This an idea suggested by the “Stinking Goose” inn where she meets a fool with yet another false lead. The absurdity then reaches a head when she is captured near Saltpans, even further away from Sansa than ever. At this point, rather than agreeing to find and fight Jaime, and thereby save her life, she lets herself be killed. This is for the sake of a man miles away who does not and cannot love her. However, her final moments in the book suggest that she may change her mind on the gallows, as a sound tries to escape her lips.

Sansa Stark is the eldest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, both of whom are deceased at the start of the novel. Suspected of involvement in Joffrey’s murder, Sansa hides out in the Eyrie under the guise of Alayne Stone, Lord Baelish’s fictitious daughter.

Sansa’s arc across Martin’s books involves her transformation from a naive girl eager to become a royal princess to a hardened and ambitious young woman as capable as any man of navigating the politics of Westeros. In this, Baelish becomes something of mentor, teaching her valuable lessons about courtly intrigue as his behavior toward her grows increasingly predatory.

Despite her growing confidence in matters of state, treachery, and diplomacy, Sansa remains a largely passive participant in Baelish’s schemes. The novel leaves her waiting to be married off to the heir of the Vale, at which point Baelish will reveal her true identity as presumably the last surviving Stark daughter and the heir to Winterfell.

Arya Stark is the youngest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. Unlike her sister Sansa, Arya longs to be a warrior and assassin capable of dispatching the many enemies who have wronged House Stark—chief among them, Cersei Lannister. Fueled by vengeance, Arya travels to Braavos to train with the Faceless Men, a religious order of assassins with allegedly mystical qualities, including the ability to change their appearance at will.

Arya’s training requires her to discard her old personality, but she struggles to do so. Try as she might, Arya continues to have dreams in which she is a wolf, the sacred sigil of her family name. Moreover, her drive to become an assassin remains firmly rooted in her obsessive drive to murder the Lannisters and everyone else responsible for her family’s suffering. Her motivations for murdering Dareon near the end of the novel are patently grounded in personal grievance, and the guild appears to take notice, giving her milk that leaves her blind and—for the moment at least—as ill-equipped as ever to fulfill her ambitions of becoming one of Westeros’s most feared assassins.

Samwell “Sam” Tarly is a member of the Night’s Watch who at the end of the previous novel in the series is sent by newly elected Lord Commander Jon Snow to the Citadel in Oldtown. There, he is to train to replace Aemon as the new maester of the Night’s Watch. His mission is also to escort the Wilding woman Gilly and the infant son of “King-Beyond-the-Wall” Mance Rayder, for the boy’s own protection.

Sam is the son of Randall Tarly, a renowned military commander and the patriarch of one of Westeros’s great houses. Unlike his father, however, Sam was far more interested in books than weaponry as a child. These pursuits, combined with his poor physical fitness, cause Randall to force Sam to renounce his family name and join the Night’s Watch to make room for his younger brother Dickon as heir to House Tarly.

Based in Winterfell, House Stark is traditionally the dominant house in the northern region of Westeros. After the Head of House Stark, Eddard Stark, goes to King’s Landing to become Hand to King Robert Baratheon, he is executed following Robert’s death and the Lannister’s seizure of power. This event triggers the “War of the Five Kings,” with Robb Stark, Eddard’s son, fighting for an independent North. However, Robb and his mother are betrayed and killed by Walder Frey after being lured to the wedding of one of his daughters. This event ends the war and Stark hegemony in the North.

Arya Stark, Eddard’s youngest daughter, escapes King’s Landing when he is killed. She travels to Braavos to become an assassin for the cult of the Many-Faced God and avenge her family. Sansa, Arya’s older sister, is married to King Joffrey Baratheon after Eddard’s death, then to Tyrion Lannister. Lord Baelish arranges for her to escape to the kingdom of the Vale after conspiring to murder Joffrey. Baelish plans for Sansa to remarry the heir to the Vale and, with his forces, take back Winterfell and the North.

Sigil: a grey direwolf racing across a field of white.

Based in Casterly Rock, House Lannister is the dominant power in the mid-west of Westeros and the richest house in the Seven Kingdoms. Cersei Lannister, daughter of Tywin, marries King Robert Baratheon. She then conspires to have him killed in an engineered hunting accident. This is to put her son Joffrey on the throne, whose father is officially Robert but in fact is Cersei’s twin brother Jaime. The Lannisters emerge as victors in the “War of the Five Kings” after conspiring with Walder Frey to organize the “Red Wedding” and murder Robb Stark. King Joffrey’s reign is short lived, as he is poisoned at his own wedding to Margaery Tyrell. His younger brother Tommen then takes the throne, while Tywin, as his Hand, becomes de facto ruler.

Tyrion Lannister, younger brother of Jaime, is wrongly held responsible for Joffrey’s death and is set to be executed by Tywin. Jaime frees Tyrion before this can happen. Tyrion is then able to sneak into Tywin’s chambers and kill him instead, before fleeing Westeros. With Tywin gone, Cersei assumes effective control of King’s Landing. Obsessed with being usurped by Tommen’s new wife Margaery, Cersei becomes increasingly tyrannical in her rule. As part of a bid to prove Margaery’s infidelity and clear crown debt to build a Lannister navy, she empowers a radical religious group, “the sparrows.” Upon discovering that Cersei is guilty of regicide and incest, the sparrows have her imprisoned on charges of immorality.

Sigil: a golden lion rampant on a crimson field.

Based in Highgarden, House Tyrell is the preeminent power in the southwest of Westeros, known as the Reach, and second only to the Lannisters in terms of wealth. During the War of the Five Kings, House Tyrell initially sides with one of Robert Baratheon’s younger brothers, Renly Baratheon, and his claim to the throne. When Renly dies it joins the Lannister forces under King Joffrey Baratheon. After the war, the arms and wealth of House Tyrell are seen by Tywin Lannister as crucial to solidifying Lannister rule. As such, he arranges for Margaery Tyrell, daughter of House Tyrell’s head Mace Tyrell, to marry Joffrey then, following Joffrey’s death, Tommen. However, after Tywin dies and Cersei assumes control, Cersei increasingly sidelines the Tyrells, resentful of Margaery’s influence over Tommen. This culminates in her successfully plot to have Margaery arrested by the sparrows for adultery.

Sigil: a golden rose on a green field.

House Greyjoy rules over the Iron Islands, a collection of small islands off the mid-west coast of Westeros. Eight years after Robert Baratheon became King of Westeros following his successful rebellion against King Aerys Targaryen, Head of House Greyjoy, Balon, starts his own rebellion. He secedes from the Seven Kingdoms and declares himself ruler of the independent kingdom of the Iron Islands. However, this rebellion is eventually crushed by forces loyal to Robert, and Balon’s only son Theon is taken as a hostage to Winterfell. Partly in revenge for this, Balon attacks the North during the War of the Five Kings, temporarily taking Winterfell, before being repulsed. After the war, Balon maintains a tenuous hold on some territories in the North. Balon’s death, after falling off a bridge during a storm, provokes a power struggle between Balon’s daughter Asha, his brother Euron, and his other brother Victarion. Euron eventually triumphs by winning the most support in the “kingsmoot,” a process whereby Iron Island lords elect a new king. This is done through Euron’s promise that he will conquer the whole of Westeros for the Iron Islanders through his control of dragons.

Sigil: a golden kraken on black

Based in the city of Sunspear, House Martell is the ruling family of the kingdom of Dorne, in the far south of Westeros. House Martell and its Head, Doran Martell, side with the Targaryens during Robert Baratheon’s rebellion. When King’s Landing is sacked by Lannister forces, Doran’s sister Elia and her two children are murdered by the Lannister knight, Ser Gregor Clegane. After the War of the Five Kings, Doran and Elia’s brother Oberyn fights Clegane in a trial by combat, as part of Tyrion Lannister’s trial, to avenge this. However, Oberyn is killed by Clegane, who is also mortally wounded. In response to his death, Oberyn’s illegitimate daughters, known as “the Sandsnakes,” petition Doran to declare war on the Lannisters. Doran refuses and has the Sandsnakes imprisoned. Doran’s daughter Arianne tries in turn to provoke war and assume control of Dorne herself. She does so by kidnapping and attempting to crown Myrcella Lannister, the daughter of Cersei Lannister who had been married to Doran’s youngest son Prince Trystan in a deal made to secure peace. Arianne’s plot fails when one of her co-conspirators betrays her, and she too is arrested. However, Doran reveals to Arianne that he will gain revenge against the Lannisters by supporting a Targaryen restoration.

Sigil: a gold spear piercing a red sun on an orange field

Based in Storm’s end. House Baratheon is the dominant power in the Stormlands on the eastern coast of Westeros. After head of House Baratheon Robert’s, successful rebellion against King Aerys Targaryen, House Baratheon becomes the ruling royal house of Westeros. Robert then marries Cersei Lannister. She conspires to have him killed in an orchestrated hunting accident, due to frustration with her marriage and to ensure Lannister hegemony. Robert’s murder results in the ascension of Joffrey to the throne. Joffrey is officially the progeny of King Robert, but his real father is Jaime Lannister. Suspicions about Joffrey’s true parentage contributes to Robert’s two brothers, Stannis and Renly, each making a claim for the throne during the War of the Five Kings. The younger and more charismatic of the two, Renly is killed by Lady Melisandre, a sorceress working for Stannis. Stannis tries to take King’s Landing via a sea invasion known as “the Battle of the Blackwater.” This attack is repulsed but Stannis survives, taking his forces north to the Wall to recover.

Sigil: a black crowned stag, on a gold field.

For hundreds of years, House Targaryen was the ruling royal House of the Seven Kingdoms. Its reign commenced following the conquest of Westeros by Aegon Targaryen from Dragonstone, an island to the east of King’s Landing. The last Targaryen king Aerys, known as “the Mad King,” is deposed by a rebel alliance led by Robert Baratheon and including Houses Stark and Lannister. Aerys himself is killed by Jaime Lannister, a member of his Kingsguard, to stop him from setting fire to King’s Landing. Daenerys, Aerys’s daughter and the last surviving member of the Targaryen bloodline, is smuggled out of Westeros after Aerys’s death. Though not featured directly in A Feast for Crows, the novel alludes to a prophecy stating that Daenerys will return to Westeros to claim the Iron Throne with the help of her dragons. This could also be seen as the real meaning behind the prophecy told to Cersei that she would be replaced by another “younger and more beautiful” than herself.

Sigil: a three-headed dragon breathing flames, red on black.

The Night’s Watch is a military order stationed in the far north of Westeros. They man and guard “the Wall,” a huge series of fortifications designed to prevent the wildlings, the people living beyond the wall, from raiding into the Seven Kingdoms. Jon Snow, Eddard Stark’s illegitimate son, rises to become Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He comes to recognize that the real threat is not the wildlings, but the mysterious semi-human creatures found beyond the wall known as “white walkers.” They seem to be moving southward in greater and greater numbers. Jon sends Sam, a soldier in the Night’s Watch, to Old Town to become a maester and investigate ways of defeating the white walkers.