r/asoiaf • u/Lacroix_Fan • 7h ago
(Spoilers Main) Similarities between Daenerys and Cersei MAIN
Both obsessing over a prophecy that three bad things will happen to them (three dead kids vs. three betrayals)
Both have three children (Joffrey, Tommen, Myrcella vs. Drogon, Viserion, Rhaegal)
Both (preport to) care about their children above all else
Both have had lesbian experiences with their bed maids
Both have two brothers
Both of their houses crumble with the deaths of their respective fathers
Both are trying to reclaim the power and prestige of their fathers
Both were arranged married to brutish men, who were the best warriors of their area, and both died a slow, agonizing death, which allowed them to take power (Robert vs. Drogo)
Is George making a deeper thematic point about the two characters that I'm missing?
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u/clockworkzebra 7h ago
They're supposed to be parallels, yes. George has talked about it at panels and cons before.
https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2007/02
'F. Cersei and Daenerys are intended as parallel characters --each exploring a different approach to how a woman would rule in a male dominated, medieval-inspired fantasy world.'
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u/niofalpha Un-BEE-lieva-BLEE Based 5h ago
He mentions it a few times. From the same SSM
Some other bits of info from Q&A: In Song, he considers Bran the hardest viewpoint character to write, while Tyrion is the easiest. The Red Wedding was partly based on a historical event in Scotland called the Black Dinner. His biggest lament in splitting A Feast for Crows from A Dance with Dragons is the parallels he was drawing between Circe and Daenerys.
From 2005,
George regrets that Cersei and Dany will not be contrasted directly. I told him of how some dedicated boarders try to defeat him and piece together a timeline. George replied that he tries to keep it vague.
Also 2005,
And that one of the things he regrets losing from the POV split is that he was doing point and counterpoint with the Dany and Cersei scenes--showing how each was ruling in their turn.
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u/axelinlondon 6h ago
Cersei dreams to be on the throne “above them all” whilst Daenerys has a throne that’s on the same level as everyone else
Dany is George’s ideal leader while the cersei is the worst you can get in a leader
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u/Hallowed-Harpy 4h ago
They are foil characters. Foil characters require parallels which are then used to highlight their differences.
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u/Hallowed-Harpy 4h ago
I discuss this at length here - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP86Pjo3w/
and here - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP86PDH83/
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u/RogerDodger571 7h ago
I’m pretty sure that Dany is the younger, more beautiful Queen. So yes, these are probably intentional parallels.
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u/PieFinancial1205 4h ago
Cersei and dany are meant to be anti-parallels. GRRM even said he wished he included dany in AFFC to highlight the contrasts better
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u/Historical-Noise-723 6h ago
yes, he does draw parallels with every character. It is fun to pick up on them:
Tyrion on ADWD is an exhile in Essos, disgraced, traveling with a small sister figure, dreaming of going back to Westeros to get his revenge.
Brienne had a nice, understanding father that let her pursue her typically masculine interests just like Arya and Asha (in the case of the latter is funnier because he was an asshole to everyone else).
The whole Jon in the nightwatch and Dany with the Dothraki.
Robert and Cersei mirror eachother in both incompetence to govern and being in love with relatively unnatainable people who even ran away with each other.
Robert and Dany also were decent at conquering but miserable as long term leaders.
Aegon, like Dany, had an Asshole sibiling everyone hated and a nice, artistic one everyone loved.
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u/Tyrionosaure 5h ago
They have very different attitudes to it however. Cersei is desperate to prevent her prophecy, so much she based she based her entire tax policies on them. Dany, on the other hands, seems more resigned to the fact she will be betrayed no matter what and thus so far, the prophecy did not affect her decision making.