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Margaery Tyrell is one of those characters on GOT that I have never worked out if I like or not. On the whole, I don’t dislike her and believe she is fundamentally a caring person. But what makes her character great is that she is neither purely sweet like Sansa nor vindictive like Cersei; she is kind but slyly cunning.
Above all, Margaery wants the best for her family. She fiercely loves her brother and hides his homosexuality, undeterred that Renly would rather screw Loras over her. She also loves her grandmother, and wouldn’t rat her out for killing Joffrey, even if that meant someone else may have to go down. During Tyrion’s trial Margaery did not look pleased; rather appalled because she knew the truth but helpless because she had to protect her family.
I think if Margaery was a truly cruel and evil person then she may have not been such a good player at the game. Margaery possesses a lot of empathy, and is excellent at reading people. This allows her to manipulate Joffrey, and to befriend Sansa. I do believe that Margaery did care for Sansa on some level; yes Sansa was the key to the North, but Margaery also saw her as a naive young girl who needed a friend. Margaery clearly despised Joffrey’s cruelty; at the Purple Wedding she did not enjoy his japes at Tyrion or his disrespect for those who had died in the War of the Five Kings (Sansa had to witness an appalling jest of her brother’s death).
Margaery isn’t as ‘pure’ as Jon Snow or Tyrion, whose kindness can be clearly seen along their cleverness. She gives the illusion of a fake ‘perfect’ type of kindness, which makes her appear like a wolf in sheep’s clothing to people like Cersei. However, Margaery uses this kindness to help the poor – not because she really cares for them but because she needs their trust – and to tame Joffrey which even Tywin described as a good thing. Her manipulation of others is often positive rather than abusive.
Margaery reminds me of modern politicians such as Obama or Tony Blair, who are probably not awful people but who do use charm and non-abusive manipulation to win the votes of the public. Beyoncé and doubtless other celebrities do this; operating underneath a false guise of perfection to get people on their side. None of these people are cruel, they are just smart and know how to read people in order to get people to like them. This can be essential when obtaining a position of power (unless you don’t give a shit and find other ways to gain respect; Tywin is disliked but respected).
Margaery is power-hungry and will go to any lengths to further her family’s claim to the top. Rather than explicitly showing this, she uses her skills of empathy, compassion and faux perfection (helped by her beauty) in order to protect her family and her own interests. She never displays outward cruelty to people because it would be bad for her image, but it would also be out of character as she is not nasty for the sake of it (whereas Cersei is often spiteful because she feels like it).
To see more of my blog posts on Game of Thrones, click the ‘Game of Thrones’ tab above.
Other character posts:
Tyrion – https://www.thezarinamachablog.co.uk/2018/07/why-i-love-tyrion-lannister.html
Dany – https://www.thezarinamachablog.co.uk/2018/02/daenerys-targaryen-hero-or-villain.html
Cersei – https://www.thezarinamachablog.co.uk/2018/09/cersei-lannister-complex-villain.html
