Obligatory Cersei love is obligatory.
“I can’t help but roll my eyes every time someone refers to Cersei as a “strong woman.” Being manipulative, unfaithful, overly paranoid, a self loathing misogynist and, at the same time, a blatant narcissist, and power hungry constitutes as “strong”? Either I’m missing something or her fans have an odd definition of “strong.”“
I think you are missing something. I think the reason, people (including myself) view Cersei as such a “strong” character is because well, do you realise how hard it is to exist in a patriarchal society? Do you really how exhausting that form of intangible, invisible oppression is, to be worn down constantly through dismissal of your gender? Do you realise how claustrophobic it is to have your own identity and inner life, which is active and vivid and powerful, and yet never to be able to express any of that - to have that vividness of character and yet have it subdued by being silenced, by being putting in a position that is largely ornamental, that is about being “seen not heard”? And Cersei is to me predominantly a “strong” character because firstly, she achieves the awareness of being able to identify the injustice being done to women in society and secondly, because she is able to talk out against it. She doesn’t talk out against it in a modern feminist kind of way where she’s arguing on behalf of all women, she’s arguing mainly on behalf of herself. But the fact that Cersei is willing to take on the patriarchy which is this huge, immovable foe (because of how deeply its woven into the very fabric of the society in which she exists) makes her a “strong” and a brave character in my eyes. She’s willing to risk censure and condemnation to speak out against an injustice that she has felt since childhood in a very basic manner and that to me is stronger and braver than Jaime engaging in warfare, which is something that he’s brought up to do. Cersei’s battles are against a much more intangible enemy and she’s forced to independently fight against it, because nobody around her has ever taught her to fight against sexism and oppression (in the same way that certain girls today are). That to me is almost revolutionary considering the backdrop she’s placed against and if she becomes by turns, paranoid and self-loathing and if she resents “femininity” because she’s constantly indoctrinated to associate “femininity” with weakness and passivity, can you really, truly blame her? I guess what I’m saying is can you really judge her without stepping into her shoes first?
/ anyway I haven’t eaten since I woke up and it’s already almost three over here and I’m on the verge of fainting so this might make no sense but I just had to say something.
