The Symbolism of the Nine Family Words in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire is written by George R.R. Martin， a famous American novelist， and is hailed as a seminal milestone in the history of contemporary fantasy literature. Nowadays， this novel has been highly favored by the literary world and has attracted the attention of countless readers. There is no doubt that every noble house has its own words. Family mottoes， touchstones， prayers of sorts， they boasted of honor and glory， promised loyalty and truth， swore faith and courage （A Game of Thrones， 21）.

“Winter is coming” is the family words of House Stark. This symbolizes a sense of hardship and preparations ahead of schedule. In north， the weather is very bad， but the House Stark of Winterfell always survived when the winter came. Eddard Stark led the whole nation through one dilemma after another. When his two little girls quarreled with each other， he reminded them of the family words in order to make his children realize the significance of the unity. “A Lannister always pays his debts” is the family words of House Lannister， which manifests affluence， shrewdness and arbitrariness. Cersei was a terrible woman that she had done whatever she could to secure her ends. Her family totem was a lion. They were lions not good at forgiving.

Then， House Targaryen， “Fire and Blood” is their family words， which represents nobleness and gorgeousness. Dany， the heroine in the novel had a gentle spirit. At first， she was timid and not confident. It was the words “Fire and Blood” that made her have the courage to undertake family responsibility. Like their bold colors， the Targaryens were ruthless. Their motto “Fire and Blood” evokes powerful， threatening and violent imagery. Blood reminds us of bloodshed； fire is likewise a symbol of vitality and survival.“Growing Strong” is the family words of House Tyrell. House Tyrell with a long history was a family who adored the spirit of chivalry in the seven kingdoms. Their sigil is a golden rose on a green field. The whole character of their family is adequately represented by their rose symbols： the beauty of the rose often hides the fact that it has thorns. Throughout history， the Tyrells strategy had followed a certain path and stood with those who were most likely to win in any battle.

“As High as Honor”， said the Arryn words， standing for toughness， courage， wisdom， perseverance， and strength. House Arryn was the senior and purest line of Andal nobility. The sigil of House Arryn was a falcon， which was a bird of prey hard to tame. It was the highest and fastest bird in the world with the meaning of “The God of all Eagles”. So the Arryns were supposed to be pioneering， enterprising. House Tully， their words are “Family， Duty， Honor”. Catelyn was a woman who possessed a high sense of duty， attempted to live up to expectation of her house in many ways and always stood by their words ‘Family， Duty， Honor， but she oftentimes considered herself to be incompatible with these words. She loved her family so much that even made her reckless， selfish and disregarded for the safety of others.

“We Do Not Sow” is the family words of House Greyjoys， a powerful family in the Islands. They were iron-born， who could not spill the blood of iron-born. Instead of plowing the field or toiling in the mine， they were accustomed to seizing everything of value from common people by force. Prince Theon Greyjoy always wanted to do the right thing and become the right kind of person without knowing what that meant.

“Ours is the Fury” is the family words of House Baratheon of Kings Landing， which is as a token of nimbleness and boldness. Robert， a great champion and remarkably charismatic leader in his youth， took the throne through conquest in the war known as Roberts Rebellion. He was brave and skillful in battle， but it was a real shame that he was dissipated after wielding absolute power.

The Martells words are “Unbowed， Unbent， Unbroken”， which refers to the fact that in their history they had never been successfully conquered by outsiders. It made them unique among all of the Great Houses on account of being independent and chasing for freedom. Oberyn Martell indicated “Unbowed， unbent， unbroken”， which suggests that a promise is to our enemies what a challenge to our lovers.

In brief， these families are not perfect， but they all remember the family mission， the family motto. They provide the cover for each other and always swear by the name of family honor.

【作者簡介】尹狄，湖北工业大学。