| Gilly | |
|---|---|
 Gilly by ohnoitsmyra © | |
|
| |
| Alias | The rabbit keeper[1] |
| Culture | Free folk |
| Born |
either 282 AC, 283 AC or 284 AC[2] Craster's Keep |
| Father | Craster |
| Mother | Gilly's mother |
| Spouse | Craster |
| Lover | Samwell Tarly |
| Issue | Monster |
| Books |
|
| Played by | Hannah Murray |
| TV series |
Game of Thrones: Season 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Gilly is a wildling girl, a pregnant daughter of Craster and the youngest of his wives.[1] In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, Gilly is portrayed by Hannah Murray.
Appearance and Character
[edit]The slim[3] Gilly has a pale, gaunt face,[4][5] dark hair, and big brown eyes.[6][3] She is regarded as pretty.[3] According to Jon Snow, Gilly is somewhat childlike in appearance.[7] She smells of milk, garlic, and musty old fur,[4] and she has a soft and shy voice.[8]
Samwell Tarly considers Gilly to be "good and kind".[8] Having been raised by the abusive Craster and not having known any other men for a long time, Gilly is far more comfortable around other women.[9]
According to Samwell, Gilly is "very brave", able to keep going no matter the obstacles on the way.[4] He believes she has more courage than she knows herself,[3] and claims Gilly is stronger than she looks.[8]
Gilly dislikes being called a "lady", claiming she is "Craster's wife and Craster's daughter, and a mother" instead.[3]
History
[edit]Gilly was born to Craster and one of his many wives. She was named for the gillyflower.[1][5][N 1]
Gilly's mother raised her to be honest, beating the lying out of the girl when she was very young.[10] Gilly lived the first decade and a half of her life without seeing anything other than Craster's Keep and the woods around it, never going further than half a league away.[11][12] Although familiar with streams and rivers, she never saw a lake.[11]
When Gilly was old enough, at some point during the summer, she married her father. On the day of their wedding, they drank the sweetest mead.[4] At some point after the wedding, Gilly became pregnant with Craster's child.[1] By 299 AC, Gilly is Craster's youngest wife.[13]
Recent Events
[edit]A Clash of Kings
[edit]
Gilly hopes to breed rabbits in a hutch at Craster's Keep. When the Night's Watch stops at Craster's during their great ranging, however, Ghost, the direwolf of Jon Snow, breaks the hutch and kills the two rabbits, scaring the girl.[1]
The pregnant Gilly fears that if she gives birth to a son, Craster will sacrifice him to the Others. Gilly befriends and seeks help from Samwell Tarly, who lends the girl his black cloak so she can approach Jon. Gilly asks that he take her as far as the Wall and offers to become his wife, but Jon refuses.[1]
A Storm of Swords
[edit]Survivors of the Night's Watch retreat to Craster's Keep after the fight at the Fist; Samwell thinks of his mother, his sister, and Gilly as motivation to keep going during the dangerous march.[14]
While the black brothers regroup at Craster's Keep, Gilly gives birth to a son instead of a daughter; Craster does not care about Gilly's shrieks during the painful delivery.[10] Craster and Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, are killed by a group of mutineers before Craster can sacrifice the child. Ferny and Gilly's mother convince Samwell to flee with Gilly and her newborn, with Gilly offering to become Sam's wife.[10]
Gilly and Samwell take shelter in a wildling village which may be Whitetree, and Gilly starts a fire after Sam is unable to. She tends to Sam's hand after he cuts himself, and she breastfeeds her unnamed babe by the fire. Sam tells her about Castle Black and his childhood, and he sings "The Song of the Seven" to her. wWile staying in the village's longhall, Sam dreams of a lactating Gilly wearing only a big fur. The small party is attacked in the middle of the night by wights. Gilly flees outside with her child while Samwell holds off the undead Small Paul, but she is cornered against a weirwood tree by other wights.[N 2] Gilly, her son, and Samwell are then saved by Coldhands.[4]
Coldhands takes them south toward the Nightfort,[5] where Gilly, the babe, and Samwell cross the Wall through the Black Gate. At the Nightfort, they encounter Bran Stark, Jojen and Meera Reed, Hodor, and Summer; Gilly agrees to keep Bran's survival a secret. Sam helps Bran's party pass through the Black Gate to meet Coldhands north of the Wall.[5]
From the Nightfort, Sam, Gilly, and her babe walk to Deep Lake and Queensgate on the narrow track running between the castles on the south side of the Wall. A day and a half from Castle Black, they are found by Ser Denys Mallister from the Shadow Tower and his riders.[8]
After arriving at Castle Black, Gilly serves as a wet nurse to the unnamed son of the captured Mance Rayder, King-Beyond-the-Wall, since Dalla, Mance's wife, died in childbirth.[15][8] Gilly finds Dalla's boy to be greedier than her own child.[8]
Samwell suggests to Jon Snow that he could write a letter to his father, Lord Randyll Tarly, claiming that Gilly's child is his own, with the intention of finding Gilly and her boy a safe place at Horn Hill, his father's castle.[8] Feeling that Gilly has made him braver, Sam approaches Cotter Pyke and Ser Denys Mallister and convinces them to support Jon as the new Lord Commander.[16]
A Feast for Crows
[edit]
Gilly continues to wear an old cloak given to her by Samwell when they fled Craster's Keep.[3] Even after giving birth, she retains a slim figure.[3] Gilly continues to breastfeed her own son as well as Dalla's boy.[3]
Gilly leaves the chambers of Jon, the new Lord Commander in tears. Jon tells Sam that Val had sent Gilly to plead for Mance Rayder's life. Jon tells Samwell that he is sending Gilly and her son away, and that Samwell is to accompany them, together with Dareon and Maester Aemon, to Oldtown. As Gilly departs the next morning, he swears to her that he will find a wet nurse for the remaining child, and promises not to name the boy until he reaches the age of two as per wildling tradition.[3]
Gilly and her companions board the Blackbird at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, bound for Braavos. For much of the journey Gilly is overcome with grief.[11][12] Although he is blind, Maester Aemon is the only one to realize that Gilly's tears are not out of fear of the journey, but out of grief of losing her child, and he horrifies Samwell with the revelation that Jon switched the two babes to prevent Melisandre from burning Dalla's boy.[11]
Gilly once gets lost while trying to find water at one of the public fountains of Braavos, being frightened by her surroundings and the strangers in the city. Samwell eventually finds her weeping beneath the statue of a long-dead Sealord.[12]
Gilly, Samwell, Aemon, and the babe eventually board the Cinnamon Wind and leave Braavos. Gilly starts to give her grief a place,[9] and she comes to love Dalla's child as much as she loves her own.[17]
Aemon dies during their journey; the night before his death, he asks Gilly if he can hold the babe and she complies, although she is afraid the old man will drop the child. Gilly is present on deck with Samwell during Aemon's funeral service, and when Samwell comments on Jon's decision to send the ancient maester on a journey by sea, Gilly tells him that Aemon's king's blood endangered his safety at Castle Black, and that Jon had sent Aemon and Dalla's babe away to save them.[9] She also says they could name Dalla's baby after Aemon, once he reaches two years old.[9]
Gilly sleeps with Samwell after Aemon's funeral and tells him she is his wife now. Sam, deeply regretful as he is sworn to the vows of the Night's Watch, is reminded by Kojja Mo of Gilly's losses. When Sam explains to Gilly that he swore vows before a heart tree, Gilly responds that there are no trees on the water to watch what they do.[9]
Gilly is impressed with Three Towers when Cinnamon Wind enters Whispering Sound. Upon their arrival at Oldtown, Samwell announces his intention to arrange horses and a wagon for Gilly to travel to Horn Hill, Samwell's childhood home.[17] Samwell first travels to the Citadel, however, and Gilly awaits his return upon the Cinnamon Wind.[17]
A Dance with Dragons
[edit]As part of his ruse, Jon lies to Melisandre, claiming that Gilly's child is more aggressive than Dalla's boy.[18] Stannis Baratheon is glad that Jon is sending away Gilly and her supposed son, as the king believes children of incest to be abominations.[18]
Jon tells Gilly that she is to leave Castle Black and take Mance's child with her, leaving her own behind under Jon's protection. Gilly insists on taking both children, but Jon refuses to allow it. He threatens her, telling her that if she refuses to take Dalla's boy, her own son will die as well when Melisandre gives Dalla's child to the flames. Jon has Gilly touch her hand to a candle's flame to convince her of the danger. A tearful Gilly agrees to obey.[7]
Jon has nightmares about Gilly,[7][19] and he worries about her safety.[19][20]
Quotes by Gilly
[edit]
Gilly: They say the king gives justice and protects the weak. M'lord, I beg you—
Jon: Don't beg me anything.[1]—Gilly and Jon Snow
Jon: I don't even know your name.
Gilly: Gilly, he called me. For the gillyflower.
Jon: That's pretty.[1]
—Jon Snow and Gilly
Jon: As you command, my lady.
Gilly: Don't you call me that. I'm a mother, not a lady. I'm Craster's wife and Craster's daughter, and a mother.[3]—Jon Snow and Gilly
Gilly: We could name the little one Maester, if you like. When he's old enough, not now. We could.
Samwell: Maester is not a name. You could call him Aemon, though.
Gilly: Dalla brought him forth during battle, as the swords sang all around her. That should be his name. Aemon Battleborn. Aemon Steelsong.[9]
—Gilly and Samwell Tarly
Samwell: What we did ... if I could take a wife, I would sooner have you than any princess or highborn maiden, but I can't. I am still a crow. I said the words, Gilly. I went with Jon into the woods and said the words before a heart tree.
Gilly: The trees watch over us. In the forest, they see all ... but there are no trees here. Only water, Sam. Only water.[9]—Samwell Tarly and Gilly
A mother can't leave her son, or else she's cursed forever. Not a son. We saved him, Sam and me. Please. Please, m'lord. We saved him from the cold.[7]
—Gilly to Jon Snow
Quotes about Gilly
[edit]
She was younger than he'd thought at first. A girl of fifteen or sixteen years, he judged, dark hair plastered across a gaunt face by the falling rain, her bare feet muddy to the ankles.[1]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
Damn her, he thought resentfully, and damn Sam twice for sending her to me. What did he think I could do for her? We're here to fight wildlings, not save them.[1]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
Jon: You're more than fond of Gilly, aren't you?
Samwell: Gilly's good. She's good and kind. She ... she made me braver, Jon. Not brave, but ... braver.[8]—Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly
—thoughts of Samwell Tarly
Samwell: I took a vow. I will take no wife, and father no children. I said the words.
Kojja: She knows the words you said. She is a child in some ways, but she is not blind. She knows why you wear the black, why you go to Oldtown. She knows she cannot keep you. She wants you for a little while, is all. She lost her father and her husband, her mother and her sisters, her home, her world. All she has is you, and the babe. So you go to her, or swim.[9]—Samwell Tarly and Kojja Mo
She will curse me with her dying breath, but I saw no other way.[19]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
Family
[edit]| Man of the Night's Watch | Free folk woman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gilly's mother | Craster | Nella | Dyah | Ferny | 14 other wives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gilly | 6 sons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Monster" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
[edit]- ↑ The term "gillyflower" traditionally describes a number of unrelated species of scented flowering plants. The most notable of them are Dianthus caryophyllus (also known as "carnation" or "clove pink"), Matthiola incana ("stock" or "hoary stock"), Erysimum cheiri ("cheiranthus" or "wallflower"), Hesperis matronalis ("night-scented gilliflower" or "mother-of-the-evening"), Saponaria officinalis ("soapwort" or "bouncing bet"), and Armeria maritima ("thrift" or "sea pink").
- ↑ Including Lark, Softfoot, Ryles, Chett, and presumably Hake.
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 23, Jon III.
- ↑ See the Gilly calculation.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 5, Samwell I.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 46, Samwell III.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 56, Bran IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 23, Daenerys II.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 7, Jon II.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 75, Samwell IV.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 35, Samwell IV.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 33, Samwell II.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 15, Samwell II.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 26, Samwell III.
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Gilly.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 18, Samwell I.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 73, Jon X.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 78, Samwell V.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 45, Samwell V.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 3, Jon I.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 10, Jon III.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 21, Jon V.