Breaking the Wheel? A Linguistic Analysis of the character of Daenerys Targaryen over 4 Seasons of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones

Abstract

Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY, 1985) and Critical Discourse Analysis (FAIRCLOUGH, 2010), the objective of this investigation, which is part of a doctoral study, is to examine the gender-based power relations in which the character of Daenerys Targaryen is involved in her verbal representation over Seasons 1, 3, 6, and 8 of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones (BENIOFF; WEISS, 2011). The selected scenes are the ones in which the character establishes an interaction with at least one male character in the episodes. Results indicate that the conventional gender roles of patriarchal societies dictate the role of femininity at the beginning of Season 1, however, throughout the seasons, Daenerys’s representation deconstructs the female role, as she defies this traditional structure of society. Nevertheless, in the final Season, the verbal meanings reinforce the inequality of gender relations concerning power and authority, as the discourse that women are not meant to be in commanding positions is reproduced by the show.