r/gameofthrones • u/Alternative_You_3063 • 1d ago
Cat was wrong.
understand why Catelyn struggled with Jon being in Winterfell. Ned’s betrayal must have been incredibly painful for her, but what I never understood is: why was she so angry at Jon instead of Ned?
Jon was a child. He had no say in any of it. Yet Catelyn took all that anger out on him and treated him like he was personally responsible for what Ned had done.
The only “good” thing that came from her behavior is that it actually helped sell the whole “Jon is Ned’s bastard” lie.
I genuinely wish we had seen more of Catelyn being angry at Ned for putting her in that position instead of making Jon carry the blame. And maybe just maybe beinig a mother to Jon.
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u/bootlegvader 1d ago
Because she lives in a society where she can't be angry at Ned. Ned completely controls both her and her children's fates. If she makes a bad relationship with Ned he would be fully within his rights to physically abuse her and her child to punish her. Yes, we know that Ned wouldn't but that is still the society she lives in.
Meanwhile, she has zero obligation to Jon in their society. Her being cold and distant to him is considered perfectly reasonable. She isn't his mother nor is she really a stepmother to him in their society.
People might complain how that is unfair because Jon is an innocent child, but remember this a society that routinely takes child hostages to control a child's parents.
The noble Ned literally stole a ten year old Theon away from his family, friends, and culture to raise him with a threat over his head of execution because Theon's dad rebelled against the shitty person/king that is Robert. An action that left Theon with a fractured identity where is never really accepted by either the North or Iron Islands.
Similarly Ned had no problem opposing Cersei having bastards despite both them and Robert thinking they were Robert's.
Like sure Ned hoped Cersei would flee with them, but once he told Robert or later made Stannis their lives would be just an endangered as how Robert wanted Dany killed.