Brienne of Tarth

Brienne of Tarth
A Song of Ice and Fire character Game of Thrones character
Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
First appearance	Novel: A Clash of Kings (1998) Television: "What Is Dead May Never Die" (2012)
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by	Gwendoline Christie
Information
Aliases	The Maid of Tarth Brienne the Beauty Brienne the Blue
Gender	Female
Occupation	Former Rainbow Guard (Novels) Former Kingsguard (Television Series) Warrior
Family	House Tarth
Relatives	Selwyn Tarth (father) Galladon Tarth (brother) Arianne Tarth (sister) Alysanne Tarth (sister)
Kingdom	The Stormlands

Brienne of Tarth is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels. She is a prominent point of view character in the fourth novel, A Feast for Crows, and a main character in the television adaptation.

In the series, Brienne is portrayed by British actress Gwendoline Christie, and is introduced in the show's second season. After appearing as a recurring cast member for two seasons, Christie was promoted to the main cast from season four onwards. For her performance in the third season, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television, and was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards alongside the rest of the cast for the third and fourth seasons.

Character

Background

Brienne is the only daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth, Lord of Evenfall Hall, on the island of Tarth. House Tarth is a bannerman to House Baratheon, lords of the Stormlands. Her mother died when she was a child. She had a single older brother, Galladon, who drowned when she was eight, and two younger sisters - both of whom died in infancy. Brienne as a child was under the tutelage of Septa Roelle who found fault in everything about Brienne and destroyed her self-esteem. She told Brienne that though a man would marry her, as she is heir to her father's land, he could never desire her.

Her father tried to find Brienne a suitor to wed, however, this was not easy, owing to Brienne's resistance and her ungainly appearance, but three unsuccessful betrothals were made. The first was when she was seven and her fiance was ten, but he died of an illness. Next a betrothal was brokered by the lord of land poor house Connington to his young newly knighted heir Ronnet, but young Ser Ronnet broke the betrothal the first time he met her. Her father's last attempt was to betroth her at sixteen to Ser Humfrey Wagstaff, a middle aged friend of his, who was castellan of another house. He informed Brienne that she was expected to give up her training and become more feminine after their wedding. Brienne stated she would acquiesce, but only if he could beat her in combat. Their fight resulted in three broken bones and a broken betrothal.

Brienne's had begged Tarth's master-at-arms Ser Goodwin to teach her skill at arms. As her skills grew, this restored her confidence. He made her get over her inability to inflict pain by slaughtering pigs. At one point in her history, Brienne met Renly Baratheon when he visited her island on a coming of age tour. He treated Brienne with courtesy and respect and danced with her, as a result she fell in unrequited love with him.^[1] When the War of Five Kings begins, with Stannis and Renly Baratheon both claiming the crown, Tarth remains neutral, but Brienne gets her father's permission to go independently and declare for Renly.

Appearance

Brienne is described as unfeminine in appearance, and is considered unattractive. She is very tall, muscular, flat-chested and ungainly, with straw-colored hair and broad, coarse features that are covered in freckles. Her teeth are prominent and crooked, her mouth is wide, her lips are swollen, and her nose has been broken more than once. However, her large blue eyes are described as beautiful.^[2]

Personality and development

In the books

In the novel A Feast for Crows, Brienne describes herself as "the only child the gods let [my father] keep. The freakish one, one not fit to be son or daughter."^[3] In "Beyond The Wall", a collection of essays, Caroline Spector describes Brienne as a "study in heartbreaking contradictions. She embraces the romantic ideals of her culture, both emotionally and through her actions, but is continually betrayed by the real world simply because she cannot turn herself into the woman the Westerosi legends tell her she should be."^[4]

In the TV adaptation

Charlie Harwood of HBOwatch describes Brienne as "loyal, stubborn, headstrong, and judgmental. Despite the repeated insults from knights, who mockingly call her "Brienne the Beauty", she holds a simple idea of knighthood, believing that knights should be chivalrous and always honor their vows."^[5] In an Interview for SFX magazine, Gwendoline Christie described her as an outsider who has had to develop "outer strength that often matches or supersedes that of any man in order to be treated with equality. She doesn't want to get married...yet she's internally romantic...she has an overriding sense of honour and what is right, and that's what makes her such a brilliant character to play: that her outer is so stable and masculine, but inside she's so fragile."^[6]

In the show Brienne is quite different in personality, being more ready to kill and even taking glee in it, while in the books she has only ever killed in self-defense and doesn't take pleasure in it.

Storylines

In the books

A Clash of Kings

Brienne joins Renly Baratheon's army when he marches on King's Landing. She wins the Melee at Bitterbridge, held by Renly, and is permitted to join Renly's Rainbow Guard as her prize. When it becomes apparent that Renly will be forced to battle his brother Stannis, Brienne is assigned as his standard bearer. However, before the battle Renly is assassinated by a shadow. Brienne is accused of the murder before Catelyn Stark is able to convince those present of her innocence, and Brienne accompanies Catelyn back to Riverrun. Though Brienne wishes to have revenge on Stannis for Renly's death, Catelyn persuades Brienne to serve her instead.^[7] Catelyn later goes to visit the captive Jaime Lannister in the dungeons; when Jaime begins to mock Catelyn's husband Ned's infidelity, Catelyn calls for Brienne's sword.

A Storm of Swords

Catelyn has Jaime sent to King's Landing to exchange him for her captive daughters Sansa and Arya, escorted by Brienne and Jaime's cousin Ser Cleos Frey. They are attacked by outlaws who kill Cleos and Jaime tries to escape in the commotion. Brienne restrains Jaime, but they are captured by the mercenary company the Brave Companions, allied to House Bolton. When their leader, Vargo Hoat, cuts off Jaime's hand, Brienne convinces him to live to have revenge on Hoat. In return, Jaime stops the Brave Companions from raping Brienne. The two are taken to Harrenhal, where Jaime reveals that he killed the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen to stop him burning King's Landing. Roose Bolton allows Jaime to return to King's Landing but allows Hoat to keep Brienne as his prize. Hoat attempts to rape Brienne, but she bites off his ear, and Hoat throws her into a bear pit before Jaime returns to have her released.

Brienne and Jaime arrive in King's Landing to find that King Joffrey Baratheon has been poisoned, Catelyn Stark has been murdered by the Freys, and that both Arya and Sansa have fled the city. Renly's lover Ser Loras Tyrell accuses Brienne of Renly's murder and Jaime has Brienne imprisoned for her own safety. Jaime allows Loras to speak to Brienne, and he is convinced of her innocence. Jaime releases Brienne and gives her a sword forged from Ned Stark's Valyrian steel sword Ice; Jaime asks her to name the sword "Oathkeeper". Jaime asks Brienne to find Sansa and fulfill his oath to Catelyn.

A Feast for Crows

At Duskendale Brienne encounters Tyrion Lannister's squire Podrick Payne, and allows him to join her. During her journey through the Riverlands she finds Ser Hyle Hunt who she knew from Renly's camp and hires Nimble Dick Crabb as a guide (he is killed when Brienne encounters some of the Brave Companions). Brienne eventually arrives at the inn at the crossroads, where she meets Arya's former traveling companion Gendry, now helping shelter a group of orphans. The inn is attacked by another group of Brave Companions and Brienne is forced to intervene to protect the children. She is grievously wounded by the outlaw Biter before the Brotherhood Without Banners arrives to kill the Companions. The Brotherhood takes Brienne, Podrick, and Ser Hyle Hunt (who had been following them) captive and presents them to their leader Lady Stoneheart, whom Brienne is horrified to realise is a reanimated Catelyn Stark. Stoneheart accuses Brienne of serving the Lannisters and forces her to choose between killing Jaime or being hanged. When Brienne refuses to choose Stoneheart orders her and her group hanged. Seeing Podrick dying, Brienne agrees to kill Jaime in order to spare their lives.

A Dance with Dragons

Brienne confronts Jaime at the Lannister camp at Pennytree and entreats him to come with her and save Sansa from Sandor "The Hound" Clegane.^[8][9]

In the show

Gwendoline Christie plays the role of Brienne of Tarth in the television series.

Second season

Brienne defeats Ser Loras Tyrell to win the tournament held by the Renly Baratheon, who has treacherously declared himself King, and is rewarded with a place in his kingsguard. Catelyn Stark arrives at Renly's camp soon after and successfully negotiates an alliance between Robb Stark and Renly, but Renly is promptly killed by a shadow demon with the face of Renly's brother and rival Stannis, who has discovered he is the rightful heir to House Baratheon, but who Renly intended to kill the next day. Brienne kills two of Renly's kingsguard when she is accused of the murder, and Catelyn counsels her to flee with her back to Robb's camp in the Westerlands, with Brienne swearing allegiance to Catelyn. At Robb's camp, Catelyn releases the captive Ser Jaime Lannister and tasks Brienne with taking him to King's Landing, forcing Jaime to vow to return Sansa and Arya Stark to Catelyn in exchange for his return.

Third season

In the Riverlands, Brienne and Jaime are captured by a squad of Bolton soldiers. Jaime dissuades the soldiers from raping Brienne by claiming that her father will handsomely reward them for returning Brienne unharmed, but their leader Locke cuts off Jaime's sword hand when he tries to bargain for his own release. Brienne and Jaime are taken to Harrenhal, where Jaime reveals to Brienne that he killed the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen to stop him from burning King's Landing. Roose Bolton has Jaime released, but keeps Brienne prisoner for abetting treason. Locke tries to ransom Brienne but is offended by Selwyn Tarth's paltry ransom and instead throws Brienne into a pit with a bear and only a wooden sword to defend herself. When Jaime learns that Brienne has been left at Locke's mercy, he returns to Harrenhal and forces Locke to release her. They then complete their journey to King's Landing.

Fourth season

Brienne cannot return Sansa to Catelyn Stark, as she has been murdered by the Freys, and Jaime argues that Sansa (now married to Tyrion) is safer staying in King's Landing. Brienne speaks with Margaery Tyrell and explains that she did not kill Renly, then attends King Joffrey Baratheon's wedding to Margaery Tyrell, and witnesses his death by poisoning. Cersei confronts Brienne and implies that Brienne loves Jaime. After Jaime's brother Tyrion is accused of the murder, Jaime gives Brienne a Valyrian steel sword, which Brienne names "Oathkeeper", in order to find Sansa and take her to safety. He also gives her Tyrion's former squire Podrick Payne, whose life is in danger after being coerced to offer false testimony against Tyrion.

On their way through the Riverlands, the two meet Arya Stark's former travelling companion Hot Pie; after learning from him that Arya is alive, they decide to travel to the Vale, as they suspect she is being sheltered by her aunt Lysa Arryn. Brienne encounters Arya in the Vale, being escorted by Sandor "The Hound" Clegane. When Arya refuses to go with Brienne, she and the Hound fight, culminating in Brienne forcing him off a cliff and apparently dealing him a mortal wound, though Arya escapes in the confusion.

Fifth season

After searching fruitlessly for Arya, a dispirited Brienne and Podrick spot Sansa Stark in a tavern in the company of Lord Petyr Baelish, and Brienne offers Sansa her services. Sansa refuses and Brienne, realizing that she is in danger from Baelish, flees with his guards in pursuit, but undeterred she follows Sansa to the ancestral Stark stronghold of Winterfell, where she has been wed to Roose's sadistic son Ramsay. Staying in the nearby town, Brienne manages to have a message smuggled into Winterfell instructing Sansa how to signal if she is in need of help. Though the woman who relays this message is tortured, she dies before revealing who sent it. Sansa eventually manages to escape the room where Ramsay has kept her captive, while the Boltons are preparing to battle Stannis' approaching forces. However, Brienne has left to find and kill Stannis (having sworn to avenge his brother Renly's death) before she can see Sansa's signal. Brienne finds Stannis gravely wounded in the aftermath of the battle and, after he confesses to his role in Renly's death, she murders him, spitefully telling him she is doing so in the name of the rightful king Renly, overlooking that Renly intended to kill Stannis.

Sixth season

Brienne follows a group of Bolton soldiers sent to recapture Sansa, who had fled Winterfell along with Ramsay's slave Theon Greyjoy, and kills the soldiers before offering her services again to Sansa, who accepts. Brienne reveals to Sansa that Arya is still alive, though her whereabouts are unknown. Brienne, Podrick, and Sansa journey on to Castle Black (Theon having returned to the Iron Islands), where Sansa's half-brother Jon Snow has just resigned as Lord Commander. At Castle Black she encounters Stannis' former advisors Davos Seaworth and Melisandre and mockingly informs them that she killed Stannis and still blames them for their part in Renly's death. Brienne escorts Sansa to meet with Littlefinger, who reveals that Sansa's great-uncle Brynden "Blackfish" Tully has captured House Tully's home Riverrun from the Freys. When Jon and Sansa leave Castle Black to gather men to overthrow Ramsay Bolton, Sansa sends Brienne to Riverrun to seek the Blackfish's support. Brienne claims Davos can't be trusted due to his former support for Stannis and then abandoning him, even though Davos only left on Stannis' orders.

Brienne arrives at Riverrun to find it besieged by the Frey and Lannister armies, led by Jaime. Jaime permits Brienne to enter Riverrun to talk to the Blackfish, who is sympathetic to Sansa's cause but refuses to abandon his home. Soon after, the Blackfish's nephew Lord Edmure Tully is coerced into ordering the Tully troops to stand down. As the Lannisters begin pouring into the castle, the Blackfish helps Brienne and Podrick escape. Jaime sees them sailing away, and he and Brienne exchange a mournful farewell.

Reception

Functional weapons and armor, like Brienne of Tarth's (left), were manufactured for the series.

Character in A Song of Ice and Fire series

Brienne has proved to be a popular character with fans of the Ice and Fire series. Her popularity has led to some merchandising and HBO have released a T-shirt with her house sigil on it.^[10] Brent Hartinger writes in his essay, "A Different Kind of Other: The Role of Freaks and Outcasts in A Song of Ice and Fire", that Brienne is a disappointment, even a freak, to her family and culture. He believes her character is a well-written departure from fantasy novels where the main characters are commonly "the slender, the heterosexual, the average-heighted, the conventionally abled and traditionally gendered."^[11] Writing for witandfancy.com, Samantha Mann describes Brienne as an "awesome" character who "sticks to her belief that a knight is an honorable person who always keeps their oaths," even in a story where "good people do bad things (and vice versa)."^[12] Arthur McCulloch, writing for chamberfour.com, states that "Brienne, who while unique as a character, is never really developed. Brienne's issues and struggles remain constant. The reader merely follows her on her quest, which is an unsatisfying one at best."^[13]

Feminist critique

In her essay "Power and Feminism in Westeros," Caroline Spector describes Brienne as a woman who does not conform, and who defies cultural expectations. Her character highlights the perception of women in Westeros in that her fellow warriors assume that her sexuality is "something to be coerced or taken, not something over which she has control... So, too, the consistent rejection Brienne endures for failing to offer the men around her a pleasing countenance." Spector also observes Brienne as a woman who has "taken for herself most of the attributes of male power," and thus provides a "stark lesson how women who dare to take male power for their own are judged and treated not only in Westeros but in all conventionally patriarchal societies."^[4] Rihannon, a feminist writer for feministfiction.com writes that Brienne's story follows "a traditionally male narrative, one that usually sidelines or victimises female characters," in that she goes on a quest to save "the beautiful maiden," however "not to marry her or benefit from the quest in any way, but to return her to her mother." She describes it as a storyline where "the mother, the young girl and the shieldmaiden are all given equal weight and worth.... She uses her strength and her skill to respect and help other women in ways that most men in Westeros would never even think to attempt, because she understands, more than any other knight, that women are truly worth something as individuals." She states Brienne demonstrates "trailblazing feminist badassery," because she refuses to fulfil the traditional female role expected of her.^[14]

Recognition and awards

References