(Spoilers Extended) How GRRM Writes Disability, and Larys Strong

I recently wrote a video discussing my thoughts on how Martin writes disability, as well as a bit of analysis on Larys’ portrayal in HotD. I wanted to share my thoughts in essay form as well. Worth noting that this is meant to discuss exclusively physical disabilities. Martin also writes a plethora of characters with mental conditions, that would be the topic of an entirely different video - one I’d love to write if people enjoy this!

On my tenth birthday, I was diagnosed with Tarsal Coalition. It was not a very good birthday. This is a condition that affects the ankle - both of my ankles - essentially meaning that I had an extra piece of cartilage in there, and if allowed to develop, it would fuse the joint and render me unable to walk. I was lucky enough to have surgery to correct this issue - the cartilage was removed, and after some time in a wheelchair I learned to walk again. These days I can get around perfectly well, though it still might look a little weird and be a bit painful at times. However, the procedure that granted me my movement wasn’t invented until around the 1970s. Had I been born before then, my life likely would’ve been very different. As someone who loves history and fantasy so much, I can’t help but think about how much less I’d be able to do if I lived in a different time, or a different place, or didn’t have the resources afforded to me. That’s why Larys Strong always stood out to me - no pun intended. Today I’m going to analyze his character in all its highs and lows, as I think he’s a fascinating individual who says a lot about the systems at play in Westeros. I think House of the Dragon has done a great job with his character, save for one scene, which I’ll discuss - in addition to how GRRM writes disabled characters.

My favorite scene in the most recent episode of House of the Dragon was the conversation between the injured Aegon the second and Larys, who came to visit the king while he’s abed. Larys tells the story of his birth, that his leg was so twisted when he was pulled from his mother that his father, lord Lyonel Strong, blamed a witch for cursing him. We met lord Lyonel last season, but never saw his wife. This story of a complication with Larys’ birth makes me think that we might need to add Mrs. Strong to the massive list of characters in this story dying in childbirth. Larys’ council to Aegon in this scene is, for my money, the most important advice the young King has heard all season. We heard Tyrion say something similar in the first season of Game of Thrones: to know what you are, and wear it like armor. Know yourself, know your strengths, know your limits, and play them to your advantage. Larys takes that further, discussing the many ways in which an individual is perceived. They’ll make assumptions based on what they see. Worst of all, they’ll pity you. It’s up to you to turn that assumption against them. This society in Westeros is inherently biased against Larys and now the council is biased against the infirmed Aegon, but Larys views this as a way to seize further power and opportunity.

Book Littlefinger isn’t dissimilar to this - he’s just an amiable guy from a lesser family. Everyone underestimates him due to his station, rather than his physicality, and he plays that to his advantage. Classism and ableism both play roles in Westeros, and we get to see those roles manifest through these characters. We see Larys do something similar as a part of his first appearance way back in season one - he can’t partake in the hunt for Aegon’s nameday, so he sits with the ladies. He doesn’t contribute to the conversation (save for introducing himself), but he sits back and just absorbs information that may someday be useful in his pursuits.

While on the topic of his early appearances, I’d like to discuss a pair of relationships that never saw much screen time but that I find fascinating - Larys’ relationships with his brother Harwin and his father Lyonel. Starting with the latter, we do have one comment from Larys about his father - specifically, during the first season he comments to Alicent that his father’s honor has always been a millstone around his esteemed neck. His relationship with Harwin is harder to gauge, but it can’t have been great given that Larys did kill his brother. Harwin Strong, also called Breakbones, was known to be the strongest man in Westeros. I think that Larys saw and resented that society defined his family members by their positive traits - strength, honor - while he himself is only ever known as the Clubfoot. Both of his family’s traits are also traditionally perceived as masculine, while in Westerosi society Larys’ condition forces him to sit with the ladies and be excluded from any hunt.

Larys is very clearly not a good guy. I know this is groundbreaking reporting, but I did feel like I had to break that news to you. However, I like that he’s not framed as evil BECAUSE of his disability, as tends to happen in the historical record. Richard III of England is a good example of this - he had scoliosis, and his enemies framed him as an evil hunchback. It was the image painted by his enemies that lingered in the historical record, but in reality both his condition and his actions were more complicated. Tropes in culture and myth tend to focus on physical disability specifically as a unique sort of moral failing, but often do so simply for its own sake. These customs and tales are often rooted in a lack of understanding of an individual’s condition and assumptions about the world. In history, disabilities were often seen as some sort of divine wrath, as it’s hard to believe that any deity would allow bad things to happen to good people. Because of this, the disabilities of historical figures were handled one of two ways. Physical disability was often used as propaganda by the rivals of a disabled individual - I started this section by discussing Richard III, and he’s a perfect example of this. His disability is primarily emphasized after his death by the Tudors - a rival monarchical family aiming to decrease his legitimacy. The other option for disabled figures in history is to attempt to hide their condition - Kaiser Wilhelm II is the most famous example of that via his twisted arm. Figures have their disabilities exaggerated if they’re viewed as villains, but diminished if they’re portrayed as heroes.

Martin breaks away from this trend. Characters' moral alignment is fully separated from their physical station - yes, their physicality and how it shaped their life certainly influences their motivations and choices, but no one is simply evil or good simply due to being afflicted by or lacking a disability. All characters are simply people, with human hearts in conflict with themselves. Larys is not the only character in A Song of Ice and Fire with a disability. In fact, Martin tends to write about individuals facing some kind of limitation or another, and oftentimes those limitations are expressed physically. Tyrion, Bran, and Jaime are probably his best and most iconic examples of doing so in the main series, and in all three cases, their conditions act as a component of their character, but not a summation of their character. I feel like a lot of high fantasy has a tendency to ignore that many real people struggle with physical limitations in their daily life, and usually don’t incorporate that into a story. I’m not saying that’s inherently bad - some stories are simpler, and don’t necessarily need to include disability. But I think Martin’s stories are so much better for his exploration of disability and the role it plays in an individual’s life.

With all of that said, I’ve had exactly one issue with how Larys’ disability is portrayed in House of the Dragon, and it unsurprisingly comes from Season 1, Episode 9. Larys being sexually fixated on Alicent’s feet just really didn’t land for me. It seems fairly reductive, having the one significantly physically disabled character on the show (outside of Aemond, who can still function pretty much as an average person, but now cycloptically, and Viserys, who can’t do much of anything by the end) have a fetish centering around that disability. It’d be like if Jaime suddenly started being attracted to hands after his was cut off (Kaiser Wilhelm II moment). I don’t think this breaks Larys or breaks the show, but overall I just wasn’t a fan of it. I like the message it’s putting across, that Larys likes to feel that he has power over those around him in contrast to the image he presents, but I didn’t like the execution. A lot of Season 1 Episode 9 centers around shock and awe (you know what scene I’m talking about), so this strikes me as a bit more of that.

Enough of small criticisms, let’s get back to the positive. I referenced Richard III earlier, and I did so for a reason. In an interview, Tom Glynn Carney, who plays Aegon, has described the King’s injuries at Rook’s Rest as having a transformational effect on him. He describes the character before as being comparable to Richard II (at least in Shakespeare), being a foolish and inept king. Aegon is said to then transition into being Richard III, a quieter, more clever king, though limited by his physicality. This really encapsulates how Martin tends to use disabilities as inflicted by injuries - not as an end for a character, but as a massive shift in status quo. It galvanizes transformation and results in an individual changing. That change is often for the better and the worse simultaneously - Jaime becomes a better person, but loses his martial skill. Bran unlocks psychic gifts, and the cost of his dreams of being a knight. Seeing Aegon seemingly begin along that same path gives me great hope for his future in the show.

Enough about Aegon, let’s talk about the main inspiration for this video a bit more: Larys Strong. The instances I just described revolve around individuals gaining a disability later in their life, while figures such as Larys or Tyrion are defined by the way they were born. Both characters express very similar views on their conditions, that being as an inevitable part of life. Yes, both would be happier without their condition, but dwelling on what might have been is pointless. They choose to play the hand they’re dealt, and in both cases gain substantial power and influence for it. These characters do not fail because of their disabilities, nor do they succeed because of them. They simply act, and when acting they consider the fullness of their being and their capabilities. They are not lesser or greater than any other individual. They are people. They are human. THAT is what drew me into Martin’s writing eight years ago. His world is alive, and populated by people defined by distinct strengths, flaws, bonds, and potential. These characters grow organically as he writes them, and oftentimes having some limitation on that growth only leads to greater potential. Jaime’s physical disability leads to the Kingslayer losing his purpose in life, only to be renewed as an individual focused on honor, duty, and doing what he can to protect those around him. George R. R. Martin is my favorite author, and it’s thanks in large part to how he writes disabled characters.