Symbols Of Daenerys Targaryen's Leadership
Our leader is a character originated from the A Song of Ice and Fire book series and portrayed on screen in Game of Thrones. Not many people would expect to see a strong female leader from a fantasy show and book series set in a medieval time period. Nonetheless, GOT/ASOIAF has brought to life many female characters that have served as symbols of women empowerment and change. Of these many characters, Daenerys Targaryen stands out as a leader who has overcome oppression as a woman and pursued higher standards for herself, her team, and the greater population. She begins as a young teenager (15 in the show and 13 in the books) who has been tormented and hidden under her sadistic older brother’s shadow. She was powerless, vulnerable, and disrespected.
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However, as the story progressed, Daenerys is able to use the womanhood to her advantage, taking power over men in her lives, making her a stronger leader. Also, as she expresses to another character, “Yes. All men must die, but we are not men.” (Benioff, D., et. al & Kirk, B., et. al, 2014). This shows that she has a strong confidence in her own capability to lead and her followers are able to feel her integrity; as a result, her followers have a strong faith in her as their queen. After the death of her husband, Drogo, Daenerys goes through many obstacles where she is treated poorly and betrayed. These obstacles in her life served as trigger events as William, L. Gardner et. al would identify because they stimulated positive growth and development to Daenery’s life (Gardner et al., 2005). She does not blame her womanhood for her destiny, instead she embraces it and further strengthens her pride in being a female leader. The fact that she took these events in her life as trigger events showed her as an authentic leader. In the article named Discovering your Authentic Leadership, George, B. et. al stated that “Rather than seeing themselves as victims, though, authentic leaders used these formative experiences to give meaning to their lives” (George et. al, 2007, p. 2). Just that, is what Daenery did with the horrific events she went through. She used what was done to her to grasp onto something, to give meaning and strengthen
However, as the story progressed, Daenerys is able to use the womanhood to her advantage, taking power over men in her lives, making her a stronger leader. Also, as she expresses to another character, “Yes. All men must die, but we are not men.” (Benioff, D., et. al & Kirk, B., et. al, 2014). This shows that she has a strong confidence in her own capability to lead and her followers are able to feel her integrity; as a result, her followers have a strong faith in her as their queen. After the death of her husband, Drogo, Daenerys goes through many obstacles where she is treated poorly and betrayed. These obstacles in her life served as trigger events as William, L. Gardner et. al would identify because they stimulated positive growth and development to Daenery’s life (Gardner et al., 2005). She does not blame her womanhood for her destiny, instead she embraces it and further strengthens her pride in being a female leader. The fact that she took these events in her life as trigger events showed her as an authentic leader. In the article named Discovering your Authentic Leadership, George, B. et. al stated that “Rather than seeing themselves as victims, though, authentic leaders used these formative experiences to give meaning to their lives” (George et. al, 2007, p. 2). Just that, is what Daenery did with the horrific events she went through. She used what was done to her to grasp onto something, to give meaning and strengthen