What do you think of the notion that a queen’s reproductive duty is akin to that of a knight to stand up for his ostensible ideals. That aside from the statutory treason, Cersei’s refusal to bear Robert’s children, to the point of aborting pregnancies he initiated, is morally akin to the knight of Saltpans who saved his own life instead of risking his life against Rorge. IE they knew what the vows they took entailed, and however unattractive their other options, they could have said no.

turtle-paced:

Well, if you must know, I edited out quite a bit of incredulous cursing at the idea. Just the idea that there is a “reproductive duty,” (only in misogynistic settings like this one, based as they are on the commodification of reproduction, and such things should be clearly labelled as the constructs of a misogynistic society rather than any sort of equivalent to inalienable human rights) and then comparing it to the duty of, essentially, a first responder…

Sorry, I started swearing again. Back to the answer.

Women, however highborn, don’t usually get to enter into marriage contracts freely. Those contracts are made for them and with them; they are the goods sold, not the dealer. It’s a rare woman who’s her own agent in negotiating these deals (and her status as a negotiator would probably be informal), and even then, she’s still bargaining over who gets legal and customary rights to use her body. Spoilers: the answer is never “the woman getting married.” Cersei’s not wrong that she was sold and used as a broodmare. The fact that she got a nice stable doesn’t negate the fact she was treated like a horse.

Knights, by contrast, take these vows with considerably more freedom. Male non-knights do get negative feedback for their lack of martial skill – but pathways exist for them outside knighthood. As Ned outlines for Arya, in a speech contrasting the different options men and women have in Westerosi society,

“No,” Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. “Yet someday [Bran] may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king’s council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother’s Faith and become the High Septon.”

– Eddard V, AGoT

Septons and maesters, courtiers and captains, merchants and engineers. A man who doesn’t take oaths of knighthood (which definitely outline the fact a knight is supposed to put themself in danger when others need their services) can still get a job and make a living. Not such a prestigious living, but a living.

Women who refuse marriage vows (as distinguished from widows)? Their main option would be to join the Faith (not an option for women who don’t follow the Seven). More importantly, though, a range of other consequences could be visited upon them for that refusal. They could get thrown out of the house. They could be forced to join the Faith. They could be more directly coerced into another marriage. The rare exception would be a woman who stood to inherit/had already inherited the family’s holdings, and especially outside of Dorne that could turn real sour (see: Rohanne Webber).

I’m not seeing much moral equivalence here at all, is what I’m saying.

There’s not much to admire about Cersei, including the fact she’s having a mutually abusive affair with her brother, the cover-up of which has claimed lives and contributed to starting a war. But her staunch determination, in the face of society’s disapproval and severe domestic abuse, to control her own fertility? That I think is genuinely admirable. Legally treason or not.