The Optimistically-Realistic Representation of Disability in Game of Thrones
When I’ve told my friends that I want to write an article on the representation of disability in Game of Thrones, I often get a blank stare back and the question ‘What does disability have to do with GoT?’
I then take a deep breath and quickly list all the characters off the top of my head that have some form of disability:
- Tyrion Lannister is a little person and has fallen victim to various physical disfigurements (like the huge scar across his face and losing most of his nose in the books)
- Bran Stark is paralyzed below the waist
- Jaime Lannister is missing a hand
- Hodor has a communication disorder and some argue has a developmental disability (although his full story complicates this a bit)
- Shireen Baratheon has greyscale (the equivalent of leprosy)
- Jorah Mormont also has greyscale
- Aerys Targaryen (‘The Mad King’) had some form of mental illness
- Sandor Clegane (‘The Hound’) is a serious burn victim and has some pretty bad PTSD
- Lord Varys and the unsullied army are all eunuchs (they have been castrated… this may or may not be classified as a disability depending on your perspective)
- Arya Stark was blind for a few episodes
- Doran Martell uses a wheelchair due to a severe case of gout.
And… I’m sure I’m missing some. But by this time my friends are nodding along with the realization that George R. R. Martin (GRRM) has managed to surround the viewer/reader with characters with disabilities without them questioning it or honestly really realizing it.
He has given roles of power and roles of honor to characters with disabilities while also not glorifying them for the sole reason of them having a disability. So often the only portrayal of disability in the media is the general ‘Oh, he/she has a disability and is living an awesome life despite it, I’m so inspired’. It basically reduces people with disabilities to objects of inspiration (just Google Inspiration Porn if you want examples of what I’m talking about here). GRRM created a world with a rare and optimistically realistic portrayal of disability where his characters live full and complex (if not short) lives.
The characters of GoT that have disabilities are deep and complicated. They each have their own flaws and motivations and are often conflicted. Take Bran for example, after losing his ability to use his legs, he has Hodor carry him from place to place. This seems to be a relatively mutually beneficial arrangement-Bran can go where he wants to go and Hodor has a job that he seems to enjoy.
This is all fine and good until we come to the issue of Bran warging into Hodor’s body. In the show, they don’t really show Hodor putting up a fight or the idea that being warged into is probably pretty unpleasant, however in the books, they make a pretty big deal of Hodor genuinely not liking being warged into. Bran knows very well that Hodor doesn’t want to be warged into but he does it anyway. Hodor Is scared when Bran wargs into him and retreats to the back corner of his mind. He doesn’t like hurting people or using his strength, however Bran makes Hodor use it anyway.
When you look at it this way, Bran comes off as a selfish little shit. This kind of character development is a great example of how complex GRRM’s characters are. Having this level of complexity in characters with disabilities is refreshing and allows the viewer to see the characters as more than objects of inspirations, but rather as people with flaws and complexities.
Tyrion is another great example of a complicated, central character with a disability in Game of Thrones. Tyrion likes to drink, have sex (another part of life for people with disabilities that is often ignored by the media), and is arguably one of the best strategists in the world of GoT. He has extremely strained relationships with his family and is fiercely independent. Of all of the characters with disabilities in GoT, Tyrion is probably the one who talks about his disability the most. When on trial for the murder of his nephew, Joffery Baratheon, Tyrion exposes the prejudices of the society by claiming that the only crime he is guilty of is being born a dwarf.
Here Tyrion demonstrates that there still exist barriers for an individual with disabilities in Westeros and Essos, however he seems to maneuver these obstacles efficiently.
While generally the representation of disability in GoT is way ahead of the media standard, GRRM also uses disability as a somewhat problematic plot device as a way for his characters to gain skills necessary to overcome other obstacles. This particular method is used with Arya for the few episodes where she loses her sight. The Waif, her ‘companion’ in the House of Black and White, forces Arya to learn how to fight without sight. Eventually Arya uses this ability to fight the Waif by putting out the candles in the room giving Arya a clear advantage over the Waif, ultimately killing her.
Some might argue that this use of disability falls under the ‘supercrip’ model of disability, where a person with a disability is viewed as deviant for being able to produce ‘superhuman’ feats. This model has proven to be more damaging to real individuals with disabilities than good.
Overall, GRRM has created a world with a representation of disability somewhere between dystopia and reality, where while social barriers still exist for his characters with disabilities, these obstacles are navigated with seemingly more ease than they are in reality. He has created characters that are flawed and complex, who each have their own motivations that are not solely tied to the idea that they have a disability and are unapologetically human.
Other writers and producers should consider following the example that GRRM has provided for the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Maybe if there was more of this kind of representation in the main stream media, our society’s representation of disability would change for the better.
If you enjoyed this, or it made you look at GoT from a slightly different perspective, give it a ❤
I’d love to hear other perspectives of how GoT has dealt with disability and what we can learn from it! Feel free to discuss below :)
