Julia Reads A Game of Thrones: Chapter 3 - Daenerys

Well.  This changes things.

I'm not gonna lie, this chapter shook me up a bit.  I'm finally invested in this story, and it's not just because my feuding kingdoms theory was proven correct (well, feuding rulers/usurpers, but close enough).  Everything about this chapter is wrong.  Not the writing or the storytelling, no, this is shaping up to be quite an interesting book indeed, but rather the treatment of this poor girl.  Let me back up for a bit.

Right now, the biggest "crisis" in my life is how good of a graduate school I can get into and which one is best for me.  Am I really meant to go into genetics, or am I suddenly going to find out that science is wrong for me?  Can I eventually become a leader in the field of genetic research and simultaneously become a new generation Bill Nye the Science Guy?  Wouldn't Columbia be a great school because I could both study science and hang out around the stand-up comedy scene in New York City?  These are the dilemmas that stress me out, guys.  These are the problems of a person who is well-fed, in good health, has had great educational opportunities, and most importantly, has always been able to choose her own path in life.  The key word I want to focus in on here is "her", because what this chapter made me realize was exactly how lucky I am to be a woman at this time, in this country.  Gentleman readers of my blog (and from what I can tell, most of you are packing a Y chromosome), please don't wander off at this point, because this is important, and I promise to keep preachiness to a minimum. 

Until recently, I'd never really put much thought into what being a woman means in my life.  The glass ceiling always seemed a long way off, no one ever tried to talk me out of becoming a scientist because I was a girl, and I've generally been lucky enough to not be treated any differently because of my gender.  The truth is that I more often think about my left-handedness as my primary (for lack of a better phrase) "minority status" marker because it more obviously differentiates me in how I relate in the world.  This chapter throws into sharp relief exactly how remarkable it is that I can even think this way. 

Daenerys, the focus of this chapter, is a princess only in name who is used by her brother as a pawn to regain royal power.  At thirteen years old, she is dressed up and perfumed in places that should just not ever be perfumed and paraded around like a fancy painting.  All this so that her hand in marriage can be traded away to a cruel-looking man so that her brother can use his armies to retake his kingdom.  I think the only way I can encapsulate how horrific this all is is to quote what her own brother says to her:

"With Khal Drogo's army, that is how we go home.  And if you must wed him and bed him for that, you will."  He smiled at her.  "I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army.  Be grateful it is only Drogo."

Frak you, sir.  I don't care if you should rightfully be king, no one gets to treat anyone, let alone a thirteen-year-old girl, as a sexual bartering chip and then tell her to be grateful because you didn't subject her to worse.
What saddens me most is that, from what I understand, there were and are many places in the world where women were treated like this in reality.  I am just so grateful right now that I am actually incapable of imagining what it would be like in this situation.  Let's keep it that way, yes?

P.S. It broke my heart a bit when Dany's brother told her to smile and stand up straight in order to sell herself to a man she fears and she did it without hesitation.  What kind of awful brother is he that he could train her like that?

Other thoughts:

• Generations of sibling marriage?  THE ROYAL FAMILY MAKES THE GENETICIST IN ME WEEP.  No wonder Dany's brother seems a bit off.  If you had that many rare recessive genes add up, you'd be a bit cranky too.  Not that this excuses his behavior.
• Usurper king storyline!  Did not see that coming!  I like how this early on in the book we're given an alternate perspective on the family who are initially introduced as apparent protagonists. 
• This Magister Illyrio is clearly a pretty slippery guy, and I don't like him, but I do respect two things about him:
• First, he is really good at handling tricky questions and situations like a politician
• Second, he seems to be plotting against Viserys somehow.  I approve.
• As of right now, Jon Snow and Dany are my favorite characters.  I predict that they will have a romance, because why not?  Actually, I more hope than predict, but close enough.
• Slaves in a "free city"?  There is a storyline here.

I've officially reached a point where I'm writing these reviews so that I can keep reading this book and not the other way around.  Success!