Jon Arryn Character Analysis in A Game of Thrones

Jon Arryn was Lysa’s husband and, before his death, was the Hand of the King for Robert. He also served as a mentor for both Ned and Robert when the two were wards at the Eyrie. Robert and Ned both view Jon Arryn as a father figure. Jon Arryn’s death serves as a catalyst for much of the action of the novel, as it leads Robert to ask Ned to replace Jon Arryn as the Hand of the King, bringing Ned to King’s Landing and making him a reluctant participant in the “game of thrones.” Lysa accuses the Lannisters of killing Jon Arryn, and Ned later discovers that the Lannisters indeed killed him to try and make sure he didn’t disclose his knowledge that Joffrey was not Robert’s biological son and was instead Jaime and Cersei’s son.

Jon Arryn Quotes in A Game of Thrones

The A Game of Thrones quotes below are all either spoken by Jon Arryn or refer to Jon Arryn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“I want you down in King’s Landing, not up here at the end of the world where you are no damned use to anybody.” Robert looked off into the darkness, for a moment as melancholy as a Stark. “I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. Laws are a tedious business and counting coppers is worse. And the people … there is no end of them. I sit on that damnable iron chair and listen to them complain until my mind is numb and my ass is raw. They all want something, money or land or justice. The lies they tell … and my lords and ladies are no better. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness, Ned. Half of them don’t dare tell me the truth, and the other half can’t find it.” […]

Robert was offering [Ned] a responsibility as large as the realm itself.

It was the last thing in the world he wanted.

Related Characters: Robert Baratheon/the Usurper (speaker), Jon Arryn, Ned Stark

Related Symbols: The Iron Throne

Page Number and Citation: 38-39

Explanation and Analysis:

Following Jon Arryn’s death, Robert visits Ned in Winterfell, where he asks Ned to become the Hand of the King. Robert’s litany of complaints about being king signals the complacency and lack of interest he feels about the role and about governing. In Robert’s view, being king means that everyone wants something from you, and he views the responsibility that comes with power as a tedious imposition. Notably, Robert suggests that everyone else is at fault for his problems. That includes the people of the realm as well as his advisers. In Robert’s assessment, he bears no responsibility for his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sin

Remember why I came here, my love. If I find proof that the Lannisters murdered Jon Arryn …”

He felt Catelyn tremble in his arms. Her scarred hands clung to him. “If,” she said, “what then, my love?”

That was the most dangerous part, Ned knew. “All justice flows from the king,” he told her. “When I know the truth, I must go to Robert.” And pray that he is the man I think he is, he finished silently, and not the man I fear he has become.

Related Characters: Catelyn Stark (speaker), Ned Stark (speaker), Jon Arryn, Robert Baratheon/the Usurper, Bran Stark

Page Number and Citation: 170

Explanation and Analysis:

Catelyn travels to King’s Landing with the dagger used in the attempt on Bran’s life. When she and Ned speak, they discuss how they will proceed in trying to find justice for Jon Arryn’s death. Ned’s assertion that “all justice flows from the king” points to the high stakes of the game of politics and power that several characters play, whether they mean to play it or not. Specifically, Ned’s comments make clear that there is not a firm set of defined laws, regulations, and norms that each king must abide by. Instead, kings decide to rule how they see Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur

Jon Arryn Character Timeline in A Game of Thrones

The timeline below shows where the character Jon Arryn appears in A Game of Thrones. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...forest that has remained untouched for 10,000 years. She tells him she has bad news: Jon Arryn is dead. Ned was Jon Arryn’s ward when he was younger. Jon Arryn was like... (full context)

Robert tells Ned that Jon Arryn ’s death seems to have driven his wife Lysa (Catelyn’s sister) mad. She has taken... (full context)

...a private language that the two shared as children. In the note, Lysa writes that Jon Arryn was murdered by the Lannisters. Ned, Catelyn, and Maester Luwin can’t believe the message. Catelyn... (full context)

...tells Ned that he’s going to appoint a new Warden of the East, now that Jon Arryn has died. He says he’s going to choose Jaime Lannister. Ned thinks this is a... (full context)

...them to secrecy before telling them about Lysa’s message, which claimed that the Lannisters killed Jon Arryn . Catelyn says she suspects that Bran didn’t fall. Instead, she says, Jaime Lannister pushed... (full context)

...amiss. He is still trying to find out if the Lannisters did in fact kill Jon Arryn . If he finds out they did, then he’ll have to rely on Robert to... (full context)

Climate Change and Collective Action Theme Icon

Robb is visibly upset at Tyrion’s presence (due to his suspicions that the Lannisters killed Jon Arryn and tried to kill Bran). Tyrion senses Robb’s attitude but still gives Maester Luwin the... (full context)

Ned talks with Grand Maester Pycelle about Jon Arryn ’s death. Ned asks if there was anything suspicious about the death. Grand Maester Pycelle... (full context)

...that he promised Catelyn to help Ned get to the bottom of what happened to Jon Arryn and find out who tried to kill Bran. Littlefinger says he has found some of... (full context)

...whose armor he supplies, but Ned says he wants to know about a visit that Jon Arryn paid to the armorer months ago. The armorer answers reluctantly. He says that Jon Arryn... (full context)

...knight who Gregor killed while jousting the day before. The knight, Ser Hugh, had been Jon Arryn ’s squire before Jon Arryn died, and Ned wanted to talk to him. Ned can’t... (full context)

...(Robert and Renly’s brother) along the way. Ned is convinced that Stannis knows something about Jon Arryn ’s death. Before he leaves, Littlefinger comes to see Ned and tells him that he... (full context)

...Vale on their way to the Eyrie, the castle where Catelyn’s sister Lysa went after Jon Arryn ’s death. The Eyrie is still a day’s travel away. Ser Rodrik has a fever... (full context)

...“bastard” children and talks to the child’s mother. Ned asks Littlefinger why someone would kill Jon Arryn because he knew about Robert’s children born out of wedlock, and Littlefinger says that someone... (full context)

...and dreaming of killing his father. Lysa reminds Tyrion that he stands accused of killing Jon Arryn and trying to have Bran killed. Tyrion says he can’t say anything about either of... (full context)

...Lysa’s, but Lysa won’t hear any of it. She says that Tyrion killed her husband, Jon Arryn , contradicting the letter she wrote to Catelyn, in which Lysa claimed that Cersei had... (full context)

...Joffrey is nothing like Robert because he’s not Robert’s son. Ned re-examines the book that Jon Arryn was reading when he died, a book about the lineages of all the great houses... (full context)

...rightful claim to the crown. Ned tells Littlefinger that he’s forgetting that the Lannisters killed Jon Arryn and tried to kill Bran. (full context)

Jon Arryn Character Analysis

Jon Arryn Quotes in A Game of Thrones

Chapter 4: Eddard Quotes

Chapter 20: Eddard Quotes

Jon Arryn Character Timeline in A Game of Thrones