So many people love Victarion and I just don't understand it. He seems pretty rigid to me--if I had to pick an older Greyjoy to read about it would be Euron. He's kind of nuts and I have a feeling his character is just there to make Westeros more chaotic and mess up everyone's plans, haha.
Honestly, my dislike of Catelyn stems more from her attitudes about Jon than anything else. I think her feelings toward him come from her pride, not her feelings for Ned. Cat was embarrassed when her husband she didn't know very well came back from a war with another woman's child, and Jon's continued presence only embarrassed her further. In my opinion, a real lady would have been kind to an innocent child and decided to put the whole business behind her, even if she wasn't required to. I. e. rising above the situation. Instead, Jon grows up without any kind of mother figure and his existence continues to be an issue in her relationship with Ned over ten years after the fact. Some people counter this by saying, she's being realistic, characters aren't meant to be perfect, etc., but that doesn't cut it for me. Cat is one of the adults here. Deep down, I'm sure her character knows she isn't being kind and that, if it were Robb or Sansa or any of her other kids in Jon's situation, she wouldn't want them treated that way, but she carries this chip on her shoulder for years because of her pride.
However, I want to like Cat. She's a strong female character who's portrayed as intelligent and capable, even if she makes mistakes sometimes (i. e. Jaime). But it's almost impossible for me to completely get past her treatment of Jon. It's obvious that she loves her kids and has tried her best to raise them well--a pretty rare thing in Martin's books--which would ordinarily be enough to make me like someone. Eh. I'm sure other people have come to different conclusions about her character but that is just my reaction to her. Nothing against the people who are major Cat fans, it's just not my thing.
As for Robb I just feel like we don't know him very well. We never get his POV, though I'm glad of that, because I feel like Robb (and the war of the five kings) was never the point of the story. Robb is supposed to be a good character, but that doesn't necessarily make him interesting to me. I like what he represents--independence for the Starks, a possible happy future for his siblings once the war is over, etc.--even if his character doesn't wow me. I think Richard Madden has really created a lot of Robb fans via the show, but book!Robb doesn't give us very much to work with.
Honestly, my dislike of Catelyn stems more from her attitudes about Jon than anything else. I think her feelings toward him come from her pride, not her feelings for Ned. Cat was embarrassed when her husband she didn't know very well came back from a war with another woman's child, and Jon's continued presence only embarrassed her further. In my opinion, a real lady would have been kind to an innocent child and decided to put the whole business behind her, even if she wasn't required to. I. e. rising above the situation. Instead, Jon grows up without any kind of mother figure and his existence continues to be an issue in her relationship with Ned over ten years after the fact. Some people counter this by saying, she's being realistic, characters aren't meant to be perfect, etc., but that doesn't cut it for me. Cat is one of the adults here. Deep down, I'm sure her character knows she isn't being kind and that, if it were Robb or Sansa or any of her other kids in Jon's situation, she wouldn't want them treated that way, but she carries this chip on her shoulder for years because of her pride.
However, I want to like Cat. She's a strong female character who's portrayed as intelligent and capable, even if she makes mistakes sometimes (i. e. Jaime). But it's almost impossible for me to completely get past her treatment of Jon. It's obvious that she loves her kids and has tried her best to raise them well--a pretty rare thing in Martin's books--which would ordinarily be enough to make me like someone. Eh. I'm sure other people have come to different conclusions about her character but that is just my reaction to her. Nothing against the people who are major Cat fans, it's just not my thing.
As for Robb I just feel like we don't know him very well. We never get his POV, though I'm glad of that, because I feel like Robb (and the war of the five kings) was never the point of the story. Robb is supposed to be a good character, but that doesn't necessarily make him interesting to me. I like what he represents--independence for the Starks, a possible happy future for his siblings once the war is over, etc.--even if his character doesn't wow me. I think Richard Madden has really created a lot of Robb fans via the show, but book!Robb doesn't give us very much to work with.
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