“Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”: Gender, Genre, and Disability in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

By Maia Mareš '14

Thesis Advisor: Professor Michèle Barale

Abstract: I explore the intersection of masculinity and disability in George R.R. Martin’s popular fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. After reading the series, I noticed that all the disabled characters within it were men and that most of the major point-of-view male characters were disabled. Building on this observation, I explore how the masculinities and disabilities of four of these characters intersect, as well as why disability is only represented as intersecting with masculinity, never femininity. Furthermore, I examine how this intersection plays a substantial role in Martin’s creation of the immersive fantasy world of the series. In other words, I argue that the specific relation between masculinity and disability Martin represents is crucial to his task of creating the fantasy world of the series, and thus the series itself. I conclude by examining the social and political implications of Martin’s representations of the intersection of masculinity and disability.