“BUT WE ARE NOT MEN” The Development of Victimized Women to Leading Ladies in the Patriarchal World of Game of Thrones (2011-2019) MASTERARBEIT zur Erlangung des Mastergrades an der Kultur- und Gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Salzburg Fachbereich Anglistik und Amerikanistik Gutachter: Univ.-Prof. Dr. MA. Ralph J. Poole Eingereicht von Ninna Fiia Mimosa Pohjola, BA BA MSc Salzburg, Oktober 2019 Eidesstattliche Erklärung Ich erkläre hiermit eidesstattlich [durch meine eigenhändige Unterschrift], dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet habe. Alle Stellen, die wörtlich oder inhaltlich den angegebenen Quellen entnommen wurden, sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde bisher in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form noch nicht als Bachelor-/ Master-/ Diplomarbeit/ Dissertation eingereicht. _________________________________ Datum, Unterschrift Abstract Fictional characters in film can present femininity and masculinity in exaggerated ways. Such characterisations lead to rigid concepts which women and men are expected to follow. Challenging gender narratives is a concern shared by feminist film theorists. The fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011-2019) sets an example on how female characters develop from objectified, erotic spectacles to authoritative queens of Westeros. Ruling independently without a man by their side, they reflect aspects of the second-wave feminist ideal. This thesis focuses on the three characters: Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, and Sansa Stark. Combining aspects of feminist theories, film analysis, and heroines in film, this paper analyses how the three women escape patriarchal values and refuse to adhere to gender roles, which is their key to becoming the leading ladies of Westeros. Key Words: Game of Thrones, feminism, film analysis, women in film Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my thesis advisor Professor Poole, for his expertise and guidance throughout the seven years of my studies. It has been the greatest pleasure to attend his inspirational lectures and seminars. For two years, I have been carrying around the idea for this work, and I have Professor Poole to thank for helping me bring it to paper. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my mother. She has made me the person I am today. Without her and the constant supply of snacks, this thesis would not have been finished. Thank you for the incredible life you have made possible for me. I am thankful to my partner, who has been a tower of strength through all the ups and downs the last years have brought me. He allowed me to make my dreams come true and has opened doors I could not have imagined existed. Without you I would not be me. Lastly, but definitely not least, my gratitude goes to my girls. Their constant support and help throughout the years have been the best encouragement. I will be forever grateful for the countless conversations we have had in the library. You are definitely worth melting for. This one was pure joy. Table of Content Introduction 1 1. Feminism 5 1.1. Second-Wave Feminism 5 1.2. Women in Medieval Times 10 2. Film Analysis 14 2.1. Characterisation 14 2.2. Cinematography 17 3. Women in Film 21 3.1. The Heroine 21 3.2. Women in Game of Thrones 26 4. Daenerys Targaryen 30 4.1. Season 1: Dragons 30 4.2. Season 2: Ships 34 4.3. Season 3: The Unsullied 37 4.4. Season 4: Freeing Slaves 39 4.5. Season 5: Ruling Mereen 41 4.6. Season 6: The Dothraki 45 4.7. Season 7: Finding Allies 48 4.8. Season 8: Conquering Westeros 52 5. Cersei Lannister 58 5.1. Season 1: Robert’s Death 58 5.2. Season 2: Queen Regent 61 5.3. Season 3: A New Queen 64 5.4. Season 4: Joffrey’s Death 66 5.5. Season 5: Walk of Atonement 69 5.6. Season 6: Queen of the Seven Kingdoms 71 5.7. Season 7: Finding Allies 74 5.8. Season 8: Defending King’s Landing 77 6. Sansa Stark 81 6.1. Season 1: Betrothal to the Prince 81 6.2. Season 2: Hostage 84 6.3. Season 3: Key to the North 88 6.4. Season 4: Escape 91 6.5. Season 5: Lady Bolton 94 6.6. Season 6: Lady of Winterfell 97 6.7. Season 7: Ruling Winterfell 102 6.8. Season 8: Queen in the North 105 7. Discussion and Conclusion 109 Bibliography 114 1 Introduction “I don’t believe in rigid positions or categories, or oppositions. I don’t think that women are sheerly women and men, men.” (Cixous 23) Cixous’ statement lays the foundation on which the idea of this thesis has been built upon. Media culture, amongst others, constructs different identities, one of them being gender. As media are ubiquitous in everyday life, they are, to some extent, responsible for setting social norms. Therefore, they draw attention to themselves as scholars are interested in the social production of gender (Kearney 3). Not only real persons presented in media set norms for society but also fictional characters, and [t]he fact that fictional characters are by default categorized as male or female in the reading process as well as the omnipresence of gender-related issues in fictional texts make it desirable for literary and cultural studies to formulate approaches to fictional characters that include the category ›gender‹ in a systematic fashion. Feminist literary criticism and gender studies have paid much attention to the description and interpretation of literary characters, exploring literary and cultural representations of masculinity and femininity in the context of their production and reception. (Gymnich 506 f.) Such fictional characters and their interpretation show that the presented femininity and masculinity are exaggerated and that the characters carry specific characteristics, which result in stereotypes. Assessing the gender roles and concepts in fiction, gives rise to such rigid character traits, which are even more radical than non-fictional ones. This is why media, gender, and in this case, feminist studies pay attention to the constructed dynamics of character construction and thus sometimes stereotype presentation of fictional characters (ibid. 622). Challenging gender narratives in order to call stereotypical and dominant gender constructions into question is a concern shared by feminist theorists. This concern “involves feminists in the tangles of deconstruction, narrative transformations and transgressions between genres and between high and low art” (Humm 143). The fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011-2019) has been criticised for its intersection of race and gender, and objectification of women on one hand. On the other hand, the show has also been praised for its variety of agentic and complex female 2 characters (Naylor 39), the latter forming the core for this thesis. On account of the popularity of the series, its influence on the presentation of women in media has to be looked at. The main plot of Game of Thrones is the battle for the Iron Throne, and whoever sits on the throne in King’s Landing rules over Westeros, a country set in medieval times. Until the beginning of the series, only men have sat on the Iron Throne and ruled over the houses of Westeros. However, not only the male characters want to win the Iron Throne in the game of thrones, but also women present themselves as “ambitious, active, and able as men” (Schubart and Gjelsvik 2). Even though the female characters do not have the physical strength, financial means or right family connection to rise from their secondary positions in the patriarchal society, they navigate to the top. This thesis focuses on how three main female characters develop through the eight seasons. Amongst others, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, and Sansa Stark are portrayed as stereotypical female characters at the beginning and are objectified in the patriarchal society. However, all of them have been crowned queens at the end of the series. Without having a king by their side, they rule over parts of Westeros and Essos independently, which highlights aspects of the second-wave feminist ideal (Frankel 42, 48). As Beaton puts it Since the women of Westeros are not equal to men, those who exert control do so through exceptional strength and tenacity. This type of narrative can provide a kind of feminist pleasure, by showing an exceptional woman’s triumphs and her confrontations with male political or military leaders. (209) As the three main female characters of Game of Thrones embody the ideals of second- wave feminism, the main aspects and concepts of the feminist movement are presented in the next chapter. It has to be noted that second-wave feminists tended to focus on white middle-class educated women in the developed world and did not include topics of ethnicity, race, class or sexual orientation. Even though these have become increasingly prominent topics in the discussion of feminism in the 21st century, the original viewpoint of second-wave feminism is to the fore in this paper as the leading ladies of Game of Thrones are all white, upper class, and educated (Stevens 150). No matter which feminist viewpoint is taken, the underlying belief is that women suffer from social injustices because of their sex. This holds true for the lack of formal education or the domestic incarceration, which were topics at the beginning of the feminist movements, as well as 3 the wage gap issues from the 21st century (Whelehan 25, 30). As Game of Thrones is set in a medieval world, the treatment of women during the Middle Ages, will be focused on in the second subchapter. Women were seen as inferior to men. With the combination of cultural pressure and physical violence, they internalised their position in society and the concept that men had the leading mind and women the objectified body in society, without being able to make decisions for themselves (Tolan 326, Partner 2).