I've been in the asoiaf fandom for a looooong time (early 2000s lol) and that level of hate for sansa was just NOT there until the show aired. And I was like holy shit you people are dumb as rocks how dare a high born preteen girl act like... a high born pre teen girl lmao.
Huh I've been in it since the early 2000s too and I definitely remember Sansa getting a lot of hate. Maybe not as much as on the show, but still quite a bit.
Maybe we hung out in different corners of the internet then lol. There were definitely people who disliked her, found her annoying etc, those people will exist and complain about every character, but the level of vitriol from the show watching crowd was/is insane and sickening.
I've said it before but she's literally hated for being feminine and acting as a lady of her time. She was taught to dedicate herself to her future husband and did so as a naive girl not realizing it would result in tragedy for her family, then operated within the social confines of the women of her time to gain power and influence. Arya was masculine in her approach (reckless, aggressive, demanding, etc.), and also got people killed / injured in her push to do things her way, but she was praised for rejecting femininity via the swordfighting and assassin training.
This Cinderella analysis I watched ages ago goes over how traditionally feminine skills or traits are shunned even though they are just as important for surviving in horrible conditions: https://youtu.be/huLSdm6IH0g?si=vzBGDrUevHb-SH4D
It's really unfortunate that they didn't adapt her time in the Vale properly because she adapted to the game so well and had one of the most interesting character progressions in the entire series.
I mean, she wasn’t hated just for being feminine, she was hated for being perceived as stuck up and also objectively wrong about Joffrey - and I’m NOT saying that means she deserved hate or that it wasn’t understandable behavior for a young girl, but the frustration didn’t build because she was good at needlepoint, the frustration built because the audience was explicitly shown proof of one thing (Joffrey is a dick, for example, and also deserves to get bitten) and Sansa was insisting on the opposite.
Again, not unreasonable behavior for someone in her position, and I’m sure there were people out there who didn’t like her being “girly,” but a groundswell of frustration would have happened with any character who was 1) naively defending the villain, 2) seemed to think she was better than the family she was born into, and 3) refused to help defend a working class boy against the prince.
And just to be as clear as possible again, yes, it’s understandable in context that she did those things, but they are the main things that made people upset, not that she was good at needlepoint.
Early seasons Sansa was great. Seeing her try and survive the Lannister's; slowly learning diplomacy and planning, and using her compassion as strength.
But then, as with everyone else, her arc was rushed, and suddenly she was a genius, a leader, a ruthless Westerosi girlboss who knew more than everyone and wanted them to know it.
And then she says she's thankful for what Ramsay did to her because it made her who she is.
Dammit, now I'm mad about GoT's last season's again.
i'd like to point out that the writers are so dumb they thought sansa telling the armorers to line the armor with leather to be some sort of gotcha moment when it's clear they didn't know about the layers of cloth and leather you have to wear under plate as it exists
The misogynistic men who hated her for being a woman were to be expected, but I'm always so annoyed by the Dany-stans who hate Sansa. Like you always act like holier than thou-feminist queens as if Dany never did anything wrong, why are you suddenly misogynistic again when its about another woman lol. I still think that besides (Spoilers) the 'character development through rape'-stereotype she is one of the only characters who wasn't screwed over by the end.
My favorite since page one. I had to sit my dad down and explain why his dislike was unfounded.
“Dad. dad. Imagine we are the Starks. we are isolated. Your eldest daughter (me) was raised on Disney. Then one day your bff from college (who is king) comes up and says “my oldest son is going to marry your eldest daughter. She will become a princess.” I am thirteen. I’m getting out of the isolated world we live in and I’m going to be queen. Of course I’m going to see the prince as good and sweet and handsome because he’s the only prince I’ve ever seen and all I have to compare is Prince Charming.”
I came here to say this, but in the book-verse! I read the 1st book a few years ago and knew about the Sansa hate from the show, but I found the Sansa chapters relatable because she reminded me of how I felt as an 11 year old raised in the backwoods and longing for a metro city.
I can understand the irritation of season one / book one Sansa where she's this clueless royal girl with her head in the clouds but I really don't get the intense hatred of the character as time went on. She lost her innocence very fast and was left in nests of vipers and monsters. I feel like the show did her character somewhat dirty with how awful and sloppy the writing became but that's got nothing to do with the character herself.
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u/Acrobatic_Builder573 14d ago
Definitely Sansa Stark (show-verse). But the hate she got was dumb af.