George R.R. Martin Talks About Violence Against Women In "Game Of Thrones"

George R.R. Martin explained his inspiration behind the world of acclaimed TV series “Game of Thrones” and why there are regular scenes of violence against women. Some of the events in Season 5 have also generated intense debate and discussions among the fans.

Martin is the author of the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” on which the TV show is based and used to write the script for some of its episodes. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the author explained that his books were “grounded in history,” and his inspiration came from the “medieval society.”

Explaining his approach to writing some of the violent scenes involving women, Martin said that his books “reflect a patriarchal society” from the Middle Ages. The author pointed out that this was a time period when society had “strong ideas about the roles of women.” He took the example of Joan of Arc, who was charged with wearing men’s clothes as a crime among other things, to prove his point.

Addressing the specific issue of sexual violence in his writing, Martin said that he was writing about war and that rape “is still a part of war today.” The author felt that only writing about the battles in the story would be “dishonest” and that people shouldn’t “pretend” that rape doesn’t exist.

The author conceded that there were a few “strong and competent women” in society at that time, but the nature of the male-dominated society remained the same. Explaining how “Game of Thrones” differs from other fantasy stories, Martin said that many stories were about princesses and knights in shining armor, which are not an accurate reflection of society and called them “Disneyland Middle Ages.”

Countering arguments that say that he can write about a more egalitarian society since he is writing fantasy novels, Martin said that just because it is fantasy “doesn’t mean you can put in anything you want.” If pigs could fly, then that’s your book,” he said.

Martin is currently busy writing the next installment in “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the author said that he will not be writing the script for Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” and will focus on finishing his book.