Mortality Quotes in A Clash of Kings

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Narrator.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"No your father did," Joff said, "but I killed your father. I wish I'd done it myself. I killed a man last night who was bigger than your father. They came to the gate shouting my name and calling for bread like I was some baker, but I taught them better. I shot the loudest one right through the throat." (33.Sansa.20)

In Seven Kingdoms's society, killing someone is the mark of manhood. Remember how much King Robert went on about how awesome war was? Here, Joffrey is bragging about killing someone, but in a society that praises violence, it's not such a wonder that he views murder as a means to gain acceptance and praise.

Quote #5

"My people," Edmure answered. "They were afraid."

Only my sweet brother would crowd all these useless mouths into a castle that might soon be under siege. Catelyn knew that Edmure had a soft heart; sometimes she thought his head was even softer. (40.Catelyn.100-101)

Doesn't Edmure know that you've got to be cruel to be kind? By being benevolent, he arguably has sentenced these starving people to a crueler death if the castle is put to siege. On the other hand, doing nothing would likely have led to their deaths, too. It's two different equations, but the answer seems to be death either way.

Quote #6

Bones, Catelyn thought. This is not Ned, this is not the man I loved, the father of my children. His hands were clasped together over his chest, skeletal fingers curled about the hilt of some longsword, but they were not Ned's hands, so strong and full of life. (40.Catelyn.155)

Death doesn't just take from those who died—Catelyn's time with Ned Stark's corpse suggest that the true loss is for the living. It's the living who have to suffer with the loss for longer, after all, since the dead are, well, dead.