Great things sometimes come in small packages. Arya One is a short little chapter that is easy to overlook. People will call it a palate cleanser or the pause that refreshes between two blockbuster chapters, Cat Two and Bran Two, either side of this one. But with the benefit of the re-read, with the ability to see the entire scope and ambition of GRRM's work, it is clear that this chapter presents the core ethical arguments of the entire series. Arya One is inspired by Book V of Plato's Republic, which begins with an admonition to explain the disposition and education of women and children in Plato's idealized, just society. Here Arya talks of fairness, as a nine-year-old child must. But when we hear Arya claim that the prevailing social order based on gender and class is not "fair," we understand that is a nod to the issues raised and addressed in The Republic specifically around these topics. Little nine-year-old Arya fires the opening shots in the complex ethical debate about what makes a just society in this very chapter. There is plenty of evidence to support this argument, and I present it in detail in Part Two of the Arya One re-read. 

In Part One, we tackle a different, but also profound problem that has confounded humans throughout the ages--that is, is communication even possible? Is it possible to communicate what we feel or think to another person? GRRM takes it even further, showing multiple times already that not only is successful communication difficult to pull off, but failure to communicate can in fact be deadly. The good news is that George would say, yes, there is a way to communicate our feelings toward another person, but just don't do it with words! This solves the riddle of the constant mussing of the hair that goes on in this chapter--it's an unmistakable sign of affection and no words are necessary. Which brings us around to another one of Plato's classic arguments--beware of rhetoric. Speech, the spoken word, is an important source of deception. And indeed, George spends much of the chapter showing us precisely this, mostly through Sansa's lying teeth. I argue that while George makes it manifest in this chapter, this phenomenon has in fact been latent throughout the book so far. 

So please do dig in and engage with Part One until we return with Part Two, when we'll dive into questions and fairness and education, and show how Arya One links to one of Plato's most famous chapters. Thanks for listening! 

Woot woot!!! Here's an academic from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln talking about Plato's (and Aristotle's) influence on the series specifically referencing the Gorgias. Note, this article is written from the perspective of the conclusion of the show, so it's definitely a different angle of attack, but the thrust of the argument is the same. Please note there are MAJOR SPOILERS for both books and show in this one:  https://www.newswise.com/articles/how-game-of-thrones-embraced-the-platonic-ideal