Just like with Bran, I wondered what exactly Catelyn's arc in this book was. Across her eleven chapters, Cat's journey takes her many places. In the end, I think a lot of that had to do with shattering expectations and confronting reality, which parallels with Sansa in ways we'll discuss later.
I determined this because so many of Cat's chapters are spent thinking of the way things used to be. In her introduction, she reminisces about Riverrun and it's godswood in comparison to the one in Winterfell, and notes how different they are. This is something that happens often, especially once she travels south to find the owner of the dragonbone dagger. Cat will begin relaying her memories of a place or a person upon thought, but then she is confronted with the current reality and how it's changed.
However, one of Cat's best traits is her ability to adapt. Unlike Sansa, who is beat down by the constant shattering of her songs and stories, Catelyn simply shifts herself to what the time is offering her. That's not to say that she doesn't get clouded by the past - her putting her trust in Petyr and Lysa are evidence of this - but she tries her best to adjust when she can.
Something I want to note about Cat as a character is the fact that she is allowed to exist as more than just a mother and wife. This is something I haven't forgiven the show for, making Cat's entire character revolve around her motherhood to the point of it making her do foolish things. In this book Cat adheres to all three of the Tully words: family, but also duty, and honor.
The only time we see Cat turn into this flattened character is when after Bran's fall, and even then it's much more complex. Cat is in shock and extremely stressed by the events, and it is clear that this is not her usual mode of being. The previous chapter as well as the reaction of her and others shows this. Unlike the show, where Cat begs Ned to deny the king's wishes, in the books she urges him to go, to protect his family and Robert's. Cat is the one who realizes that she is the best candidate to go south to search for the dagger's owner. When confronted with the man she believed to have put a hit on her son, she took action against him. And when it comes to war at the end of the book, Cat gives Robb just as much council as his bannermen, without overstepping in a way that she thinks might take away his agency. She is also allowed her flaws, such as her thoughts on base born children, and trusting the past when she ought not to. She is so much more than just a weepy, nagging mother, and I can't wait to see where her journey takes her in the next book.
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