Following my wee hiatus on heroines last month, I'm back again for May and rarin' to talk Brienne of Tarth from the Game of Thrones 'verse, Adjunct Tavore (Paran) in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and Asantir from m'own The Wall of Night quartet.
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| Brienne of Tarth, GoT series |
All three are warriors in their respective societies, but not magic wielders as well -- unlike Aerin, Elfrid, and Malian, in my first Heroines post. So that's the first aspect they have in common -- although their disparities, as well as the qualities they share, are equally important in looking at this particular trio together.
Brienne, for example, is very much an outlier in a man's world, where women are largely not accepted as warriors and certainly not knighted -- although in the Game of Thrones TV adaptation, which goes beyond the story arc of the books, Brienne does achieve this distinction.
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Tavore and Asantir, by contrast, inhabit worlds where women are as likely to be warriors as mages, and hold positions of power throughout their societies. Yet Tavore, like Brienne, comes from a noble family, whereas Asantir has risen through the ranks to become first captain of her Earl's honor guard, then overall Commander of the warrior House of Night.
On the other hand, both the honor guard role and loyalty to a leader -- in Brienne's case, Renly Baratheon, and in Asantir's the Earl of Night -- ties these two heroines closer together. Early in the Game of Thrones storyline, Brienne is chosen for Renly's elite Rainbow Guard, although her later path is more that of a knight errant, seeking to find and protect the two Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya.
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| The Wall of Night series (USA) |
When readers first meet Asantir in The Heir of Night (Book One), she is already captain of the Earl's Honor Guard, and unlike Brienne, she stays within her House's chain of command, and advances to command its armies. In this sense, her path is closer to that of Adjunct Tavore, who leads the Malazan Seventh Army throughout most of the ten-book Malazan series.
Tavore and Asantir are also more alike in personality than Brienne. Both are confident in themselves, keen minded, and experienced and successful soldiers. Brienne is equally adept as a warrior, but lacks Tavore and Asantir's confidence -- although, like them, her arc in the HBO shows her not only becoming a knight, i.e. recognized for her fighting prowess, but also commanding a wing of the army that faces the Night King.
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A major difference between Tavore, as opposed to both Brienne and Asantir, is the question mark over the sacrifice of her young sister, Felisin, to further her own rise in the service of the Malazan Empress.
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| Malazan #1 |
Asantir, however, is renowned in Night for her unwavering honor, loyalty, and duty, while Brienne is equally unswerving in her loyalty to Renly and in keeping faith with her pledge to find and protect the Stark sisters.
As a woman following a warrior path, Brienne breaks the conventions of her society, yet in her knightly conduct and service she upholds them. In this sense, she may be something of a paradox, but otherwise, what you see with Brienne of Tarth is unquestionably who and what she is. Conversely, with both Tavore and Asantir there are always hidden depths -- but a diversity of Fantasy heroines just adds more zest to the genre fun.
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| The Wall of Night series (UK) |
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Prior Posts: A Year of Heroines in Fantasy
February: Aerin, Elfrid, & Malian of NightMarch: Yeine Darr & Rowan Birchmoon
About Helen Lowe
Helen Lowe is the award-winning author of Thornspell and The Wall Of Night fantasy series, as well as a poet, blogger, and lover of story. She has recently completed writing the final book in The Wall of Night series, which is now with its publisher.
Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.
