Part 5 - The Forms of Power Used in GOT

This section deals with questions about different forms of power and power tactics in the series. The questions are presented in the order in which they were dealt with in the interview.

21. Give examples of characters that make use of force to achieve an end

Since this section followed directly after the discussion about the scenes, one participant in the boys’ group immediately answered “Joffrey”. It was then necessary to specify that the questions in this section are not restricted to the scenes. The same participant then added Robb and Theon, and one of the other boys supplied that this goes for most of the kings; they use force to get their way. A third participant elaborated a little more, stating that this counts for those people with the most authority, and that it seems like power grows with your ability to force others to do something. This was further commented: “The kings have high positions, so they do not need to use more subtle ways. They can make it simple”. This is confirmed by Fairholm: such power users may make the hierarchy work for them (117).

In comparison it was recognised that Theon lacked this authority: “When he had taken Winterfell and was standing there giving a speech, [his men] knocked him over the head because they were tired of listening to him.(…) It seemed as though his companions only shared his plan for a while and then they just wanted to leave”. It is interesting to note that the girls pointed to the same earlier in the interview: his power is false. He lacks what Fairholm refers to as legitimate power (69). They boys did not comment on Robb’s use of power specifically, but the reference to the direwolf had already been made in an earlier question.

The girls argued that Daenerys and Joffrey are the two characters who most clearly use force, though mostly they do not exercise this power directly, instead “they decide who will exercise the power”: Daenerys uses her dragons and her soldiers, and Joffrey uses the Hound and his other guards as tools to intimidate others. One of the girls pointed out that Joffrey is presented like a coward since he is afraid to fight in the war and he does not carry out the hitting himself. This relates to the power tactic which Fairholm calls using a surrogate (79). This tactic is often used because the person in power wishes to avoid making himself unpopular. In this case, Joffrey had been told by his mother that hitting girls is not worthy of a king, and so he lets others do the hitting for him. In addition, the girls mentioned Theon and how his power is “false”, and concluded that once you use force, the result very often cannot be changed or redeemed, like in the case of executions. The group clearly agrees, and they seem to focus on major characters, not minor characters.

22. Give examples of situations in which characters act out of fear of aggression and retaliation from powerful characters.

Interestingly, the boys only named female characters in this question, starting with Sansa and her fear of Joffrey, in particular. They also mentioned Arya, without explaining why. Next the group pointed to how Daenerys originally obeys her brother Viserys, because of the way he frightens her: “You don’t want to wake the dragon”. This is typical of coercive power;

compliance is brought on by threats (Fairholm 23). Furthermore, the boys’ group mentioned Cersei by referring to the situation in the tavern, when King Robert hits her. She is immediately silenced, which offers another example of coercion – this time through direct force (Fairholm 12). Finally, the discussion turned to Gilly, who wants to save her baby boy from being murdered by her incestuous father; Caster kills all sons that are born by his daughters/wives, ensuring that he is the only male in his household. This is an example of the most horrid use of force and violence, and the women live in a terror regime (Fairholm 12).

The girls shared the boys’ opinion of Sansa, stating that she is terrified of Joffrey, without pointing to specific actions to illustrate this. Next they turned their focus on a male character:

They pointed out that if Joffrey fears someone, he very quickly strikes and has them removed before they become real threats. The girls identified this as a case of paranoia, concluding that: “He actually fears everyone. If they show any sign of not supporting him they must immediately be eliminated, and that is really the biggest sign of fear”.

23. Give examples of the use of threats and/ or promises to gain control or power.

Here the boys’ group mentioned Tyrion first: From his prison cell, he bribes the turnkey Mord to pass messages, later he pays Bronn to fight for him, and he promises the tribes in the forest land, gold and weapons if they will release him. In connection with this, one participant stated that “[m]oney is yet again in focus”. In a similar vein, they argued that to bend Eddard Stark’s will, Varys threatens to target his family, and finally they pointed out that Robb has to promise to marry Frey’s daughter in order to be allowed to cross the bridge with his army.

The girls pointed to how Varys often offers a solution to problems by trading information, but did not elaborate beyond this – perhaps because they did reflect on this in earlier questions.

These are examples of quid pro quo, or negotiating trade-offs (Fairholm 159).

24./25./26. Users and targets of manipulation

The participants were asked to give examples of manipulation and to identify who are easy targets for such power use, and why this is the case. I also wanted to know if the targets learn that they were manipulated at a later point. These three questions were dealt with as one in the interview and will be presented as such here. To make it easier for the participants, some examples of different types of manipulation were listed. These are available in the Interview Guide (appendix 10). Still, the various types of manipulation were difficult to point out, so the answers are centred on manipulation in general and on the characters involved. Disclosing manipulation is admittedly difficult in real life as well, so the result is not unexpected.

One of the participants in the boys’ group mentioned a scene in which Cersei and two of her guards threaten Littlefinger: “That’s when she says: ‘Knowledge isn’t power – power is power!’”. The boys agreed that besides Cersei, the characters who most frequently manipulate others are Varys, Littlefinger and Tyrion, or as one participant commented: “those characters who are a little more subtle”. When asked about which characters they consider are easy victims of manipulation, they immediately named Janos Slynt, who, in the words of one participant “is not entitled a position of authority, and when you want a lot of power and fast,

it is easy to be influenced by that”. Next they pointed to Theon Greyjoy, and the lack of support he experiences from his family. This was further commented: “It is easy to be influenced when you only have things you wish for, but do not consider if you have anything to lose”. Another boy then added that Theon thinks that it is his birth right to be a leader, but that he has never considered if he really deserves it, or if he is able to”. This obviously is in clear contrast to his very able sister, and the rest of his people and family manipulate him and undermine his authority. Again - the character lacks legitimate power, and in this specific environment, that is the most important prerequisite to power (Fairholm 68).

The girls agreed that Tyrion is very good at manipulating others. They pointed out how he uses both his title and his family, and when that does not work, he may use flattery, either directed at the person or at persons surrounding the one he wishes to manipulate, like in the name day scene. It is also mentioned how Sansa flatters Joffrey, to make him do as she wishes, but that the flattery may be rather acidic without his noticing; “he does not really see the context, he only hears the words ‘you’ and ‘intelligent’ and that does it for him”.

The girls considered Varys and Littlefinger good representatives of manipulation as a power tactic, referring to how they both give and withhold information: “It seems like they compete a little. They are actually quite similar, using the same methods”. Last, the girls described Cersei as manipulative, especially in the way she treats Sansa: “Because she is kind to Sansa, somehow, but simultaneously she is giving Sansa the feeling that she does not deserve it, that she must make herself worthy, and that Sansa really is an inferior”. They additionally argued that in season one, when Cersei demands that Sansa’s direwolf be killed, she manipulates a lot of people to get her way.

The girls considered Joffrey as an easy victim for manipulation, given that he is power hungry and blind: “He has only one intention and is blind to the rest!” As a contrast, the girls maintained that Cersei must be very difficult to manipulate, exactly because she is not as single-minded as Joffrey: “There is so much she wants to achieve, that she has to be observant of everything all the time”. The girls seemed generally better at discovering manipulation than the boys did.

27. Give examples of the use of persuasion to gain power

The boys named Tyrion, since he persuades most people to do things for him. Tywin was suggested: “He has a lot of power, but he does not really have to use it. Everybody knows that he has it, so he does not have to do anything”. This type of power, which is referred to as

“authority” by Fairholm, is present when a leader is accepted as such by a group of people (17). Furthermore, Tywin is very clearly a part of a system, an organisation, as head of the Lannister family, so he is given legitimate power and authority simply by his position.

Here the girls referred to Tyrion, Littlefinger and Varys, but found it hard to come up with concrete examples. They commented that Varys is very indirect, that he hints, and they stated that he may provide people with solutions, like in the prison cell scene: “There is a problem and then a consequence, and then he tells them what they must do to avoid that consequence”.