Male issue has historically been a big deal, and the time period that Martin is aping emphasized primogeniture--that the first-born son inherited everything, including wealth and title. In an era before birth-control and women's sexual liberation, men produced a lot of illegitimate heirs. Ensuring legitimacy was a full time job. I'm curious, at times, why Martin chose to emphasize it so heavily, though.
Certainly, verisimilitude necessitates the continual rehashing, but to modern readers it seems hollow and somewhat dull. Primogeniture has finally been absolved in the English monarchy, and if you haven't encountered fifty bastards today then you haven't left your house. Children born out of wedlock used to be a bigger deal; now it's commonplace. Finding the energy to care about Westeros's bastards is both dull and tiresome.
With that out of the way, let's recap what's been going on.
***Beware, there be SPOILERS ahead***
Let's see, I left off with Jon and Tyrion on the wall. Since then, Arya has gotten a swordmaster, Caetlyn and Eddard have contemplated war, Bran gets a new saddle, Robb is rude to Tyrion, Arya defies gender norms, Jon gets his own Samwise (I mean Samwell), Dany stands up for herself, and Eddard begins to suspect that the crown prince may be a bastard (or at least not the king's own son). I guess that's about it.
I think that summary actually does more justice to the book than it deserves. That makes it sound like things are happening, but in reality it feels like more plodding along waiting for something to happen. I have the sense that Martin is organizing his pieces, setting up a board on which he will eventually play; and some of my friends have intimated that something will eventually happen. I hope so, because despite my resolution, I've already begun reading other books and Game of Thrones has fallen to the wayside.
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