This chapter opens up with Jon preparing to go in and say goodbye to his younger half brother Brand who is still in a coma. He knows this will be difficult not only due to Brands condition but also because Catelyn will be present as well.
We learn that Catelyn has not left Brans side since for nearly two weeks. She hasn’t left for anything. When she sees Jon standing in the doorway she is very cold to him. Jon goes to his half brothers side despite Catelyn's desire for him to leave. She is cold and dismissive of him. It’s hard to tell how much of this was brought on by her distressed condition from having barely slept and how much of it is her genuinely resenting Jon's existence and all he represents in relation to her marriage with Ned and the potential threat he could pose to the rights to inheritance her own children have on Winterfell and the rest of the Stark holdings.
After all Jon hasn’t become a member of the Night’s Watch and could be legitimized by Ned for whatever reason, however that is unlikely. Catelyn even threatens to call the guards should Jon no leave.
Jon is resolute and knows this could very well be the last time he ever sees Brand and won’t be bullied by Catelyn. Jon notes that Bran’s physical condition is really bad. He notices his hand has a clawlike appearance and Bran has taken on a skeletal like appearance. In addition he notes legs are misshapen under the blanket.
He says his goodbyes and Catelyn reveals that she had prayed in the sept to The Seven for Bran to remain in Winterfell instead of going south with Ned and his sisters.
Jon attempts to be compassionate but Catelyn snaps at him. As he is leaving Cat even says that it should have been Jon, instead of Bran. Catelyn then breaks down and begins to sob.
He then encounters Robb in the yard, who Jon notes seems to have matured a lot since Bran fell. Jon lies when Robb asks about his visit to Bran and how his mother treated him. Jon was feeling emotionally drained but tells Robb that his mother was kind to him. The rest of the exchange between the two is friendly and we get a good sense that they are close to one another and perhaps Robb thinks of Jon as a brother in a similar way to Arya does as opposed to how Sansa and Cat seem to view Jon.
Rob even does Jon a favor in covering for him as Jon needs to say goodbye to Arya. A notable passage in this chapter between the two is as follows:
Robb: “The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black”
Jon: “It was always my color.”
It’s a bit of an ironic thing for Jon to say. Certainly he has been the black sheep of the family as Catelyn all too often points out, but also he can be seen as a black mark on Ned's honor.
Jon then heads to say goodbye to Arya after a quick stop off at the armory. He finds her in her room packing for her trip south. Arya is delighted to see Jon and was afraid she missed the chance to say goodbye.
Jon presents her with a small sword which sounds similar to a sabre style weapon that is used in fencing. He also gives her some advice.
Jon: “First lesson, stick them with the pointy end.”
He tells her she will have to work at it every day and that she will need to find someone to practice with. As he is leaving he tells Arya that the sword has a name. Arya being clever figures out the name of the sword is “Needle”
So we see that Jon certainly has developed good relationships with at least some of his siblings. Interesting to note that we never learn if he attempted to say goodbye to Sansa or Rickon. From how he and Arya joke about Sansa we can assume that he didn’t attempt to say goodbye to her.
Jon clearly shows he is the better person in the situation with Catelyn, he isn’t cruel nor does he ever seek to cut her down, especially when she is unnecessarily vicious and lashes out at him. Jon was actually sympathetic to her and even tells Robb that she was decent to him when she wasn’t. Perhaps it’s simply in Jon’s nature to not be mean, or perhaps he is just not willing to kick her when she is down. Which is understandable, but why not be truthful with Robb?
Surly Robb would be fully aware of how his mother feels about his half brother. Perhaps Jon legitimately feels sorry for Catelyn in her situation and how he seems to be breaking down. It certainly speaks to his character as he is more than nice to someone who at the least appears to have been cold to him all his life. Perhaps this speaks to Jon's level of empathy with others as well as his sense of compassion.
Regardless it was a kindness that Catelyn may not have deserved. All of this further serves to endear Jon to the reader and his farewells to each character in this chapter not only give insight to his relationships with his family but also provide a unique juxtapose from a literary standpoint. The reader is taken from the worst possible outcome when Jon says goodbye to Brand, to one of mutual respect in his encounter with Robb, and finally one of light hearted joy with Arya. This also may hint that Jon may prefer to handle the toughest tasks and situations first before taking care of the easier ones.
Another thing that seems to be coming to light is Jon’s observational abilities when it comes to others as well as his role as a mentor to others. Jon advises Bran when Ned executes the deserter Gared from the Night’s Watch not to turn away. He also points out that Gared was not a typical deserter and that he was terrified to death.
Further he notices the sullen attitude of both the Queen and Ned at the welcome feast, and in this chapter he provides Arya with Needle and provides her council that she will have to work at it everyday and find someone to practice with.
It’s also clear that Jon is liked and respected by most of his siblings. Robb, Arya, and Bran all certainly thinks of Jon as a brother and a friend. Most importantly we are seeing that he is a decent person even when confronted with cruelty from Catelyn Stark and doesn’t give into any base instincts or knee jerk reactions. So we are seeing a lot of the qualities of a good leader and mentor early on that will serve Jon in later chapters.
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