Note: Should'nt contain any sigificant spoilers to the Game of Thrones.
The European witch and The Red Witch Melisandre in the Game of Thrones share a couple of similarities. First, they both have a obsession with a high order being. The witches in the text have a carnal relations with Satan offering
their body for his pleasure. Melisandre in the Game of Thrones obssesses over
the Lord of Light R'hllor. The relations are similar in that they will cross boundaries to try to please their lord. The witches in the text allow Satan to defile them sexually even if they have a husband. Or they engage in incest among other things. Melisandre will use her body create monsters,use her sexuality to try to gain a advantage and sacrifice innocent people to try to gain favor with the lord of light.
This is where the similarities end however because the european witches only served as a deragatory term to defamate a peasent or accuse a women of sexual deviancy. The witches held no real power and this was a reflection of the male patriarchy of time. Melisandre while does a lot of unforgivable things she has redeeming qualities and holds political influence in the story. This is where there is great difference in how a witch is portrayed in the Game of Thrones and how they are portrayed in the texts is the fact that they can have political power.
Melisandre is able to gain favor to one of the Kings, Stannis.Through using the her power to help him gain forces and defeat his enemies she becomes one of his advisors. A witch in Palmer's text would not be able to gain a position in power of a country because they were traditionally peasents and the term witch was used to further demean them. Although she is overly sexual she never is never presented as a weak person whos body serves for the sexual means of her god like the witches do in Palmer's chapter.She is independent and strong. For example R'hllor the god she worships never explicitly tells her what to do. Instead she interprets the visions herself to determine her own course of actions to save the world.
Melisandre like many other female characters in todays movies,tv-shows... shows a changing distribution of power.
The European witch and The Red Witch Melisandre in the Game of Thrones share a couple of similarities. First, they both have a obsession with a high order being. The witches in the text have a carnal relations with Satan offering
their body for his pleasure. Melisandre in the Game of Thrones obssesses over
the Lord of Light R'hllor. The relations are similar in that they will cross boundaries to try to please their lord. The witches in the text allow Satan to defile them sexually even if they have a husband. Or they engage in incest among other things. Melisandre will use her body create monsters,use her sexuality to try to gain a advantage and sacrifice innocent people to try to gain favor with the lord of light.
This is where the similarities end however because the european witches only served as a deragatory term to defamate a peasent or accuse a women of sexual deviancy. The witches held no real power and this was a reflection of the male patriarchy of time. Melisandre while does a lot of unforgivable things she has redeeming qualities and holds political influence in the story. This is where there is great difference in how a witch is portrayed in the Game of Thrones and how they are portrayed in the texts is the fact that they can have political power.
Melisandre is able to gain favor to one of the Kings, Stannis.Through using the her power to help him gain forces and defeat his enemies she becomes one of his advisors. A witch in Palmer's text would not be able to gain a position in power of a country because they were traditionally peasents and the term witch was used to further demean them. Although she is overly sexual she never is never presented as a weak person whos body serves for the sexual means of her god like the witches do in Palmer's chapter.She is independent and strong. For example R'hllor the god she worships never explicitly tells her what to do. Instead she interprets the visions herself to determine her own course of actions to save the world.
Melisandre like many other female characters in todays movies,tv-shows... shows a changing distribution of power.
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