Catelyn Stark

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Character
Name: Catelyn Tully Stark
Occupation:
Relationships: Ned Stark (husband), Robb Stark (son), Sansa Stark (daughter), Arya Stark (daughter), Bran Stark (son), Rickon Stark (son), Lysa Arryn (sister), Edmure Tully (brother)
Fandom: Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire
Other: played by Michelle Fairley
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Catelyn Tully Stark, also known as Cat, is a fictional character from A Song of Ice and Fire, and was played by Michelle Fairley on the HBO television series Game of Thrones.

As well as her intelligence and insight, Catelyn's biggest strength is her ability to endure. Over the course of two books, she loses almost everything. Yet she keeps going.[1]

Canon

At the beginning of the series Catelyn lives at Winterfell with her husband, Ned and their five children. Her son Bran is gravely injured, she remains at his beside while Ned travels south to become Hand of the King. An assassin is sent to kill Bran, but Catelyn stops him. Catelyn travels south to warn Ned of the danger. On the way back she encounters Tyrion Lannister and captures him, believing he is the one who sent the assassin. Tyrion wins a trail by combat and is released. Afterwards, Catelyn travels to her son Robb's encampment, Robb is travelling south to rescue his father who has been imprisoned by the Lannisters. After Ned is beheaded Robb declares war. Needing help Catelyn negotiates a treaty with Walder Frey, in which Robb promises to marry Walder's daughter. After Winterfell is sacked and her younger sons presumed dead, Catelyn releases Jaime Lannister on his word that he will return her daughters to her. Robb falls in love and marries, breaking his promise to Walder Frey. They arrange a new marriage between Catelyn's brother Edmure and Walder's daughter. At the wedding Walder betrays the Starks killing everyone including Catelyn.

Fandom

Pairings

Statistics

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • Modern AU: modern setting, where she knows or meets other characters from the series
  • Pastfic: exploring her childhood at Riverrun, her betrothal to Brandon Stark and the early years of her marriage to Ned
  • Canon Divergence AU: varies, Ned tells Catelyn the true parentage of Jon Snow, she doesn't capture Tyrion or doesn't release Jaime
  • Supporting Character: a featured secondary character in stories focusing on her children

Challenges

Other

  • Catelyn is sometimes referred to as Wolf Mother or Mother of Wolves in fanworks because her children are Starks and their house sigil is a direwolf.

Controversies

  • Misogyny: Catelyn received a lot of fan hatred, because of her treatment of fan favorites Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister.[3][4] There have been some accusations of misogyny within the fandom, because the hatred directed at Catelyn seems out of proportion to her actions. Many male characters have made more grievous errors and are still beloved in the fandom. Some have theorized that fans loathe Catelyn because she is an imperfect mother.[1][5]

Lady Stoneheart

Main Article: Lady Stoneheart

Catelyn's journey continues in A Song of Ice and Fire when she is resurrected as the revengeful Lady Stoneheart. This storyline was not adapted on Game of Thrones to the disappointment of many fans.

Fanworks

Fan Art

Fanfiction

Fan Vids

Graphics and Gif Sets

Meta

Cosplay

Archive and Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ a b In Defense of Catelyn Stark
  2. ^ Game of Thrones A03 statistics
  3. ^ Why does Catelyn get so much hate?
  4. ^ Why does everyone hate Catelyn Stark?
  5. ^ We Love the Women Fandom Hates: Catelyn Stark (Day 1: Cat Tully)
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