Note: Spoilers as far as A Clash of Kings
Direwolf Symbolism in A Song of Ice and Fire
The direwolf is effectively a very large, very intelligent species of wolf, which are supposedly gone from the Seven Kingdoms (the main place for story) and live only beyond the wall – a huge wall of ice built to prevent the savages (wildlings) and whatever else may be out there out of the seven kingdoms – at least after the Targaryen Dynasty conquered the seven kingdoms (inferred from “There hasn’t been a direwolf south of the wall in two hundred years” – Theon Greyjoy, and the House Targaryen ancestry in Appendix). Lord Eddard Stark, three of his children (two born of his wife, one a bastard), his ward Theon Greyjoy and some of his retainers stumble upon a direwolf killed by a stag (also the sigil for House Baratheon). Specifically it is his eldest son, Robb, who first finds the dead wolf and her pups.
Now, the symbolism surrounding these pups is very strong. Firstly the finding is very symbolic. The direwolf has been the sigil of House Stark since the days when they were known as “King of the North”, before the Targaryen conquest. Robb being the first to find the pups foreshadows him being the first since the Targaryen conquest to go back to his roots by claiming the title again toward the end of the book. This makes even more sense when the fact that this is the first direwolf to have been found south of the wall assumedly since the Targaryen Conquest, suggesting that Robb will be the one who rises up against the south for the north. The pups and wolf are found next to a river, which is linked to Robb’s mother, Catelyn Stark nee Tully, who was once a Tully of Riverrun. In a similar vein, they are found in waist deep snow, not only symbolising the white field of the Stark sigil, but also that the pups are of the North, supporting the foreshadowing of Robb claiming the title King of the North.
Interestingly, in the TV adaptation it is Lord Eddard who finds the dead Direwolf and pups, after finding a dead stag on the road. This is a much richer symbol as with the stag being the sigil of House Baratheon, as Lord Eddard’s actions in King’s Landing contribute to the series of events leading up to his death – the wolf killing the stag. In both the TV show and book the direwolf is found killed by an antler from a stag, presumably the stag seen in the TV adaptation. This again makes sense as King Robert is a major reason that Lord Eddard is killed – in asking Ned to become Hand of the King, he set in motion a series of events which would lead to Ned’s death – hence the stag killing the wolf. In the television show Theon Greyjoy suggests that a mountain lion killed the stag, a lion being the sigil of House Lannister, which is the house actually responsible for the death of the king. Lord Eddard dismisses this by saying there are no lions in these woods, mirroring how Lannisters are not at home or welcome in Winterfell and the North in general.
Theon Greyjoy suggests killing the pups, but is unsuccessful, which foreshadows his failed attack on Winterfell in A Clash of Kings. This is because, as I will explain fully in just a moment, each of the pups is symbolic for one of the Stark children, their master. It is particularly resonant that Theon attempts to kill Bran’s pup, as Bran is the child Theon is the most harm to in A Clash of Kings – when Winterfell is taken by Theon, Bran is supposedly killed by him (although not really) Theon, taking perverse pleasure in the thought that the pups will die, then attempts to torment Jon Snow – “This one will die faster than the others”, which Jon quickly dismisses, pointing out that this is his pup, and won’t be dying any time soon. This mirrors the relationship between Theon and Jon quite well – Theon attempts to degrade Jon as often as possible for being a bastard and different (likely to vent some of Theon’s frustrations at being a ward), Jon being the only person Theon can really have a position over. This is because Theon is at least Balon Greyjoy’s trueborn son, so uses this as a position of power over Jon.
Jon Snow points out, in an effort to let Bran keep the pups, that there are five pups – three male and two female – to match the five Stark children – three male and two female. In excluding himself from the count Jon manages to save the pups in order to not only make Bran happy but to please his other siblings (although there is a hint that it is also to get one over Theon – the rivalry between these two is well established in this scene, especially in the exchange with Theon’s confusion of what the direwolf actually is and also with the finding of Ghost (Jon’s pup) at the end of the scene/chapter. The former is also an interesting point – Theon calls the direwolf a “freak”, hinting to his feelings of bitterness and resentment towards the Starks. Theon and Jon’s rivalry is probably related to them vying for Ned’s attention – neither are his trueborn son, but both see him as their father (albeit this being the truth for Jon).
Note also:
- I have not actually read beyond A Clash of Kings, but sadly am aware of plot spoilers, so if I missed anything this is why
- I intend on extending this with the individual direwolf/owner symbolism and perhaps also just other symbols
- I'm not actually sure whether this is the correct place for this to be posted, as literary analysis hasn't actually had a place anywhere so far - it was a guess between here (I mean it's kind of like an AAR on a book...) or the factual writing section of the Great Library (but the Great Library is more for History, Science, Geography etc). So if an admin has a problem with where I placed it feel free to move it to somewhere more relevant
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) but I think it works reasonably.