31 Things We Learned from the Game of Thrones Women

Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO

18. If you know how to read people, you know how to deal with them.

Margaery Tyrell

Whether you want to beat them or win them over or both, you need to adjust your behavior to suit certain people and the situations that accompany them. This practice saves Margaery from Joffrey’s wrath. And had her family threatened his position, as Ned Stark once did, Margaery’s feminine wiles may have done her no good. Joffrey is an incredibly self-interested character, which is demonstrated when, no matter how obedient Sansa was, he continued to punish her for her family’s slights against him. Sansa was overcome with grief and isolation; she couldn’t best him when she had to concentrate on her own survival. But Margaery wasn’t so burdened. She could lend her wits to wrapping Joffrey around her finger, because he had no cause to distrust her.

Margaery observed her situation and reacted accordingly. Her survival and well-being meant she could do good by others. She made that her priority, and executed her methods beautifully. Margaery does what she has to to survive but if she can help those around her, she will. She is not a monster, she does whatever she can to aid those less fortunate that she but she always is aware of her place and how she must fight to keep it.