Justice and Judgment Quotes in A Game of Thrones

How we cite our quotes: (Absolute Chapter, Character Name, Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

The crowd roared, and Arya felt the statue of Baelor rock as they surged against it. The High Septon clutched at the king's cape, and Varys came rushing over waving his arms, and even the queen was saying something to him, but Joffrey shook his head. Lords and knights moved aside as he stepped through, tall and fleshless, a skeleton in iron mail, the King's Justice. (66 Arya 5.77)

Although this is a terribly unjust sentence, to the commoners, it's just a fun bit of entertainment. Thank goodness for YouTube, right?

Quote #8

He wondered what Lord Eddard might have done if the deserter had been his brother Benjen instead of that ragged stranger. Would it have been any different? It must, surely, surely... and Robb would welcome him, for a certainty. He had to, or else... (71 Jon 9.20)

Since justice is often in the hands of powerful nobles, it relies a lot on how principled the nobles are. Here Jon worries that his dad – Mr. Principle – might be so stuck in his ways that he wouldn't even pardon his own son. After all, no one is above the law, right? (Eddard learns this the hard way when he is executed for a crime he didn't commit.)

Quote #9

It was your doing, yours, a voice whispered inside her. If you had not taken it upon yourself to seize the dwarf... (72 Catelyn 11.16)

When Eddard is in prison, he comes to a similar conclusion as Catelyn does here, blaming himself for what's happened (59 Eddard 15.4). We're not sure if Catelyn and Eddard are right to blame themselves, but it's nice to see people who could get away with almost anything holding themselves to high standards. That is, in the end, maybe the judge that matters most for these good, principled people is themselves. (Too bad there aren't more of them.)