Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has defended the TV version of his epic fantasy from accusations it glorifies sexual violence.
The 66-year-old author of A Song of Ice and Fire, on which the television series is based, has weighed into the fierce debate over the show's depictions of sexual violence, insisting it would be “fundamentally dishonest” to pretend that rape was not a part of war.
“Rape, unfortunately, is still a part of war today. It's not a strong testament to the human race, but I don't think we should pretend it doesn't exist,” Martin told US magazine Entertainment Weekly. He added: “If you're going to write about war, and you just include all the cool battles and heroes killing orcs, and you don't portray [sexual violence], then there's something fundamentally dishonest about that.”
He was speaking following social media outcry after a recent episode of the HBO series depicted the brutal rape of Sansa Stark by Ramsay Bolton. Critics pointed out that the scene did not appear in Martin's original and prompted Vanity Fair magazine to publish a piece headlined: “Game of Thrones absolutely did not need to go there with Sansa Stark”.
The saga, which is set in the fictional world of Westeros, has drawn parallels with the brutality of life in mediaeval Europe, particularly Dark Ages Northumbria and the later War of the Roses.
Responding to suggestions he could have toned the sexual violence down, Martin said: “Just because you put in dragons doesn't mean you can put in anything ... I wanted my books to be strongly grounded in history and show what medieval society was like. Most stories depict what I call the Disneyland Middle Ages - there are princes and princesses and knights in shining armour.”
The Independent