A Feast for Crows

As the adolescent King Tommen’s mother, Cersei Lannister is the Queen Regent of Westeros. In the wake of her father Tywin’s murder by her brother Tyrion, she becomes the de facto ruler of the realm. Cersei is one of the most complex characters in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. On one hand, her lust for power is virtually boundless, and she regularly engages in destructive, immoral behavior to further her ambitions, feeling practically no guilt over those who are killed or maimed in her path. On the other hand, her ruthlessness is in many ways a response to the various physical and psychological traumas inflicted on her by her father, her former husband, and a patriarchal society writ large. Moreover, she possesses a number of admirable traits, including her resilience, determination, and fiercely protective attitude toward her children.

The night before her father’s death, Cersei “dreamt she sat the Iron Throne” (51). In the dream, she is surrounded by courtiers and people bowing until Tyrion appears, pointing at her. She then realizes that she is naked. At this point “the barbs and blades of the Iron Throne bit into her flesh” and “the throne engulfed her, tearing chunks of flesh from her” (51).