A Storm of Swords

Jon Snow is one of the novel’s major protagonists and point-of-view characters. He is a Night’s Watch ranger tasked with infiltrating the wildlings and gathering intelligence on their leader, King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder. Jon is the son of Eddard “Ned” Stark, the late Lord of Winterfell, and was born out of wedlock. Jon’s lineage defines and shapes his character arc in the series.

Jon joined the Night’s Watch out of resentment for his rejection by the Stark family. He wanted to show Ned that he could be “as good and true a son as Robb” (1011). Subsequently, he must reconcile his commitment to his vows with his emotional attachment to life outside the Wall. In this novel, Jon faces The Challenges of Choosing One’s Own Destiny when he is offered glimpses into two alternate lives: becoming a wildling or being legitimized as a Stark and retaking Winterfell. Either way, Jon would have to desert the Night’s Watch, which is anathema for him. Though Jon wants to prove his nobility, forswearing his vows would directly contradict his identity as a Stark since it would turn him into a coward and traitor—the kind of man Jon remembers Ned executing in Chapter 42. Jon cannot reconcile either alternate life with the sense of honor his father instilled in him.

What complicates Jon’s choice further is his romance with Ygritte, a wildling woman. Jon’s attraction to Ygritte, as well as the need to maintain his cover as a deserter, pressures Jon into breaking his vow of celibacy. Although Jon chooses to return to the Night’s Watch, his relationship with Ygritte has an indelible effect on him, as evidenced by his constant recollection of their time together. Ygritte shows Jon that the wildlings have strong motivations for living as they do. Jon cannot reconcile their imperative to live free without bowing to anyone, however, with their order for him to kill a defenseless old man at Queenscrown.

Though Stannis’s offer to recognize Jon as a Stark promises to liberate Jon from the burdens of his vows and give him a life of comfort, Jon decides to remain with the Night’s Watch when he reunites with Ghost at Castle Black. Ghost’s status as the only white dire wolf among the litter reminds Jon that he doesn’t have to be a Stark to prove his worth. Jon finds value in the decision he made to join the Night’s Watch in the first novel. By refusing Stannis’s offer, he affirms that he is seeking honor in a dishonorable world.

Daenerys Targaryen is a major protagonist and perspective character in the novel. Her story takes place on Essos, a different continent from the main action of the novel. Daenerys’s rising power constitutes a larger threat to the Westerosi status quo: The rulers of Westeros will have to either recognize her claim or set aside their differences and fight her together.

In this novel, Daenerys finds her autonomy as a ruler. The previous novels framed Daenerys as being heavily dependent on her older guardians, including her brother Viserys, her spouse Khal Drogo, and her protector Jorah Mormont. After Viserys and Drogo die and Jorah is revealed to be sending reports about her back to King’s Landing, Daenerys must learn how to depend on her own ideas of leadership.

Daenerys takes Jorah’s advice to travel to Slaver’s Bay, where she witnesses the horrific impact of slavery. Having been sold by Viserys to Drogo for the sake of an alliance, Daenerys sympathizes with the enslaved people and reckons with the morality of buying the Unsullied army to further her cause. Daenerys resolves this by emancipating the enslaved people of the city of Astapor and giving them the choice to serve her; this macro decision is reflected in Daenerys’s employment of the formerly enslaved interpreter Missandei. Following her success in Astapor, Daenerys moves on to liberate Astapor’s sister cities. She is encouraged to continue her campaign when the emancipated people of Yunkai refer to her as “Mhysa,” which means “mother.” This drives her emotional connection to Slaver’s Bay.

However, Daenerys quickly learns that successful conquest is not the same as successful rule: Military victory does not necessarily result in competent nation-building. As soon as her forces leave, Astapor—the economy of which is built on the labor of enslaved people and has no other governing institutions—reinstates its old system. After exiling Jorah, a decision that suggests that she no longer depends on his counsel, Daenerys chooses to remain in the city of Meereen to push forward reforms that will prevent slavery from returning to the city. This way, she hopes to learn how to be a ruler rather than just a conqueror, avoiding the mistakes of her father, King Aerys, and becoming a queen worthy of her people. Daenerys wants her rule to be an example of Using Leadership to Empower Others.