Visenya Targaryen Analysis

Powerful women don’t fare well in histories when looked at through the lens of a patriarchal society. It speaks volumes that Visenya Targaryen is still respected by the Maesters as both a Warrior and a Queen and not dismissed because she’s “on her moonblood.” The Conquest was not a solo project, yet her brother got the credit in the stories while his sisters got hills in Kings Landing named after them. She was a founding mother that helped set the stage for everyone that followed her.
She is the first of two known women to carry Valyrian steel, a longsword named Dark Sister and she knew how to use it as her parents had trained her with it since childhood. She was a Targaryen with typical Valyrian features not present in most people, e.g. purple eyes, platinum blond hair, dragon riding, and a sense of superiority. She was not conventionally beautiful, described as a “harsh austere beauty” and armored herself as a warrior but remained unambiguously feminine. “Even those who loved her best found Visenya stern, serious, unforgiving, and some said that she played with poisons and dabbled in …show more content…
Such an exclusive club with limited seating would normally only be available to the Westerosi VIPs. However, Visenya makes a critical decision-marking one of the more progressive “policies” for Westeros. She picks Knights from all social stratums. In a society with little upward mobility, this new possibility gives the poorest of boys hope to better their positions in life. Over time, The Kingsguard created a new paradigm for the ‘True Knight’ [Bran] had asked Lord Eddard if the Kingsguard were truly the finest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. “No longer,” he answered, “but once they were a marvel, a shining lesson to the world. (ACOK BRAN III) Visenya’s creation gave meaning to Rhaenys otherwise pointless death, the Kingsguard twice save Aegon’s life and hundreds, if not thousands, of descendents