Brother to the Fire

[swiftsnowmane]

Below the cut is a (revised) post that I made on Westeros.org a couple of months ago, that I thought I'd repost here for its Sandor-relevance. I know I'm completely stretching things here, but.....it works for me. :D

From Earth I Rose
by Amorphis

Darkness was my light
Muteness was my tongue
Death was my life
Matter was my spirit

I am a brother to the fire
To fire a brother I am
From breast of maidens three
I drank the black milk*
Devoured the white milk
I swallowed the red milk

Brother to the fire I am
Brother to the fire

I've lain in the dark bowels
Bowels of this Riverland marshland
Dead beneath the soil
Under the waters
Oblivious to all
Devoid of all knowing


So, this is actually quite a lovely song about the origin of iron in Finnish mythology from the perspective of Iron...yes, from the perspective of an element. In the Finnish Kalevala, Iron is called the 'little brother' to Fire. Maybe I am just way too obsessed with Sandor Clegane (*ahem*), but this song makes me think of Sandor and how his identity (or at least, his origin story) is so elemental....and so closely related to fire. And yet, it got me thinking that perhaps Sandor's element is not Fire itself, but rather what the fire (and his older brother) has made him....Iron. Iron is strong but needs to go through an intense process involving fire and water in order to reach it's potential. The Hound dies near the banks of the Trident (Water), and 'death beneath the soil' and 'devoid of all knowing' refer to Sandor and his identity as the Gravedigger, and the unanswered question of his continued existence/non-existence(?) in the story.

*What the three milks represent is ambiguous, but could be black= joy of killing, white = the innocence of a little bird, red = the fear of the fire, and the Red God. Or, it could be seen to represent his three main 'trials by fire' thus far in his arc: 1) his childhood maiming, which shaped him literally and figuratively, and defined his very existence (his quest for vengeance) for so long; 2) the Battle of the Blackwater, in which his questioning of his obedience to his unjust masters, his shifting of loyalty to Sansa, and his fear in the face of wildfire came to a head; and 3) his trial against Beric Dondarrion., in which he was still afraid, but faced his fear and emerged the victor (at least for a moment) but was burned for a second time, and via which he lost whatever was left of his material posessions. This third trial then put him on the path to ending up being left by Arya, bleeding and dying upon the banks of the Trident, and finally being taken in by the EB to the QI where he is now 'dead beneath the soil'.

Perhaps, these three trials by fire have been enough to forge Sandor into another, more 'purified' form (calming the rage)? Or, maybe he will undergo yet another trial by fire, this time willingly, or perhaps with even less fear? If, 'from the earth he arises' once more, and re-enters the story, maybe he will turn/have turned from ore, to iron, to...steel. :)

Sandor says, "Bugger that, I'm already made of steel!" ;)

Comments

[heliotropa.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting. You've outlined one of the primary reasons I love The Hound so much as a character- he's a pseudo-byronic antihero with all kinds of old mythological leanings. I also like how you've drawn a parallel between Sandor & steel and Sansa's iconic porcelain / ivory / steel quote.

[swiftsnowmane]

Yay, heliotropa approves! ;) But seriously, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I'm glad I'm not the only one who appreciates this aspect of Sandor's character. There is something about the rather Byronic antiheroes that make them almost a force of nature, hence why I thought it fitting to bring the elemental side of things into focus.

And I'm glad you appreciated my reference to the Sansa quote. ;)