Ever since I read ADWD I can’t stop thinking about the implications of this line:
“That earned him the worst thrashing he ever had at Winterfell, though it was almost tender compared to the beatings his brothers used to give him back on Pyke”
From how he treats the mischievous Arya and Bran, it is hard to imagine Ned thrashing Robb or Jon for such an accident. No other child of the Stark household mentions being physically punished, so was it only Theon? Could Ned have thought it would be the most effective form of punishment considering Theon had been raised with it? Or more likely, Ned couldn’t bear to raise a hand to his own children, and it helped him keep Theon at arm’s length? Same motive behind having Theon carry Ice for executions? Does this call back on the idea of Theon being the Stark’s dog, who must be kept at bay?
OR was this line not intended to bring up an unsavory image of Ned singling out Theon, but more just to emphasize he was taken from an extremely abusive environment into an objectively gentler one that was still extremely broken (hence his further mentions of Winterfell never feeling like home)
Just kind of wondering abt author’s intention y’know.
