Kein Land für Kinder? Westeros aus der Kinderperspektive

With its complexity and frequent depiction of violence and sexuality, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series is evidently aimed at an adult readership. Considering its setting in a feudalistic society, it is all the more surprising that many of the point of view characters are children or teenagers who are a priori in a position of powerlessness. This position is even exacerbated for the youngest children of House Stark once the game for the Iron Throne begins. Although they experience violence and have to face dangerous situations, the loss of their home and family is also reminiscent of the step out of the social order which marks the beginning of countless adventure stories and hero’s journeys in literary history. The article shows how Bran, Sansa and Arya Stark are initially subjected to the power and whims of others in a world marked by war, violence and arbitrariness, and how they eventually develop strategies to realise their inherent potential for empowerment in the course of their respective journeys.