Re: Game of Thrones (TV Discussion | SPOILERS)
The younger boys were taken to the execution. Not Sansa and Arya.
It's not the specific example of the boys being taken to the execution that matters, it's a demonstration of the type of world that they're living in and the type of family that they are. The Starks are stoic people in a cold land, and that (should) produce a mental toughness and wariness. That she's the aberation in the family, filled with southern stories about colour, puts her in stark contrast. There's also a difference between rearing a child for marriage and sheltering them. Sansa's being taught the skills she'll need to make a good wife, but she's not being protected from the outside world any more than Joffrey or any other child is. At least, there's no actual evidence for it - short of a thought from Ned about how she shouldn't have been in the throne room during the telling of the burning of the Riverlands. I'm not really sure that not wanting your child to hear about women and children being massacred constitutes sheltering them. Furthermore, Arya is undergoing the same nurture and we wouldn't consider her sheltered. We have only Sansa's character at the start of the books, and it's much more plausible that her character is just who she is, and not the result of an imagined sheltering that we can beat Ned and Catelyn with. Quite aside from the fact that her character flaw isn't her naivety at all, but her lack of observation and her own constructed walls of fantasy land (which does get pointed out to her by several characters).
I actually just finished my re-read of Thrones, and Ned being too trusting is supported by the text. He is wary but ends up trusting people in spite of it. He tells Littlefinger that he was wrong to mistrust him (not motivated by Cat, but rather Littlefinger helping him), and continues to trust him, to his sorrow.
Well I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. It's so easy falling into the trap of seeing virtually any action he makes as a mistake with all the hindsight available.
Ned trusts people enough to give even Cersei Lannister the benefit of the doubt. He offer Cersei a chance to escape, explicitly telling her that he will inform Robert of her adultery, which allows her to get her plans in order. Renly suggested a much better plan (taking control of the castle during the night and not allowing the Lannisters time to think) but Ned dismisses it as dishonorable. This huge mistake happens before Sansa's "betrayal".
He doesn't trust Cersei though. His compassion for the lives of innocent children motivates him to warn her to flee and figures that's her only choice. Except that yes, this motivates her to kill King Robert instead, but with hindsight it's so easy to forget how much of a drastic action this is, how huge a risk it was, and how lucky it turns out for her. No-one could have predicted this outcome, and I think too often readers just ignore this.
And I empathize with her behavior because people - especially young people - are selfish and stupid when it comes to what they think is love. That's why Robert fought a war. That's why Robb risked the entire northern rebellion (and Sansa'a life). But Sansa never makes the same mistake twice, while her father chose to give Cersei a chance after her brother slaughtered his men.
I think the difference here is that these other characters were actually in love, Sansa is in love with the idea of being in love, and the object of her affections is so clearly unsuitable, not in that star-crossed lovers way, but in the 'this guy is openly an utter shit' way.
Sansa is meant to demonstrate a different kind of strength: a feminine strength. While some people fight the game of thrones with swords, women (and the subtler political figures) fight with minds. Her courtesy isn't a veneer, it's "armor". And while she is still far from independent, she is using everything she knows and has learned to get herself out of her situation. Her arc also shows how people can be good despite being abused by everyone. She doesn't want people to be scared of her like they're scared of Cersei: "if I were Queen, I'd make them love me". I cannot wait to see her with Harry the Heir, because I think she was born to be the behind the scenes power player that a queen mother is.
Quite surprised to see Sansa described as having feminine strength. She's essentially knocked around by everyone she interacts with, and doesn't really influence them in return. She has had no plan of her own and has required others to get her out of her situation (the Hound, Littlefinger etc.). I think people are vastly overestimated her impact on the story beyond being the 'marriage vector' that brings the Vale into the war on the Stark/Tully side. Maybe I'm just not remembering things well, but she hasn't really shown much political acumen or the kind of cunning that Littlefinger displays which would lead me to predict that that's where she is going, though I confess to being biased! She has shown improvement in terms of observation though.
Also, I meant that at the start of the story, she hides her petty feelings behind courtesy. She thinks of rather mean things, but except with her sister, she hides it and acts the lady. Later, the courtesy becomes her armour, and I suppose that's a great aspect of her character that emerges during her time at Kings Landing. She does show remarkable fortitude.
