Witty, acerbic, downtrodden, dogged, and conflicted. These are five adjectives that spring to mind when I think of Tyrion Lannister. The reader is first introduced to Tyrion through the eyes of Eddard Stark. As the Lord of Winterfell surveys the royal procession streaming through his castle gates, three individuals stand out against the crowd. The three people are not identified by name. Instead, we are given the following descriptions: beaten gold hair, a terrible burned face, and a stunted little man.
The three characters are, as you may have guessed, Jamie Lannister, Sandor Clegane, and Tyrion Lannister. Beaten in this context means hammered into a desired shape. The word invokes a level of refinement obtained through both careful calculation and brute force. Terrible comes from the Latin word terrēre, to frighten. It's not merely a burned face, it is a face that is shocking and excites fear. Lastly, the little man is stunted. In other words, his growth, development, and progress has been hindered. Stunted is an accurate word if you are describing Tyrion's height, but it hardly applies to his intellect and fortitude.
All three characters are to some extent trapped by their outward appearances. They are cast into specific roles because of the way they look. It is not a new problem: people are often treated differently because of their appearance. Is intelligence judged by a person's application of reason and the breadth of their knowledge or is it measured by the length of the crease between their eyes and the slow and methodical way they stroke their chin? Is a person jolly because of their high spirits and easy laugh or is it their chubby cheeks and waddling walk? It is not surprising that all three characters experience a sense of freedom when their most blatant physical characteristics are shed or concealed: when Cleos Frey cuts off Jamie's long golden hair; when Sandor conceals his burned face under his hood; when Tyrion becomes the giant of Lannister in the darkness of Shae's bedroom.
My question for the smalkfolk is whether or not you think Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion is true to the Tyrion encountered in the novels. Personally, I have come to think of them as two different characters. Dinklage's Tyrion is confident, his gaze is steady and his tone exacting. His pregnant and brooding eyes invite speculation. I love the character and he is exciting to watch on screen, but he is definitely not the Tyrion I have come to know through reading the novels. What does the council think? What five adjectives would you choose to describe Tyrion?
Scrappy, wry, lustful, intelligent and resourceful.
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