The Sigil said:
Sidetrack: I still find it amusing that in alternate fantasy worlds, characters are expected to swear like sailors to feel "realistic." I have a circle of friends where at least 70-80% of them do NOT curse like sailors and in fact barely curse at all (and not all of them are pious churchgoers either). To me, profanity feels forced, stilted, and unrealstic. In fact, I see it as an attempt to artificially add appeal to others. It's about as appealing to me as a faux Indian accent - it might be done in the interest of authenticity but usually it just ends up being insulting.
But especially in alternate fantasy worlds, I just don't get why characters have to swear to be "realistic." Why not?
Well, first off, I've only read two series where the characters swear realistically in some time, and one of them is the very series we're discussing. The other is Jordan's "Wheel of Time", where they curse with great frequency...just not OUR curses. "Blood and bloody Ashes" or "The Light Burn You!" are clearly vulgar expressions there, just not in reality. However, since their profanities are not OUR profanities, they tend to be ignored.
However, you seem to laboring under the impression that everyone in "Song of Ice and Fire" curses like a sailor all the time. This is pretty far off the mark. Most of the characters swear little or not at all, and usually only in the heat of the moment (such as finding the results of a terrible slaughter in war, the corpse of a loved one and engaging in mortal combat with a dire enemy). Some do swear much more casually than others, and especially in their own internal monologues. If you had read the story in question, you'll note that "F-bomb" (as you call it) is only used in the characters thoughts, as she recollects her first sexual encounter. The character, Asha, is a rough, crass pirate captain, and daughter of the dead King of the Ironmen. The Ironmen are a rough, dangerous crowd, who rape and pillage the coastlands and are merciless to their enemies. Asha makes it clear that she purely was after physical gratification with her first lover and nothing more. The reflection takes place while talking with a local lord who was once her puppy-love, and holds unrequited and immature feelings for her. At the end of the conversation, she puts a knife to his throat to emphasize that she is an unpleasant, dangerous person.
[Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD HERE]
Now, I find the men of the Iron Isles to be fascinating, but I don't like them...any of them. The eldest brother, known as the Crow's Eye, happily relates sailing all over the world, raping, kidnapping, thieving and pillaging. And these are his virtues that he extols as proof of his need to be king. The more noble younger brother who contends for the crown is still a dangerous man (you realize over the course of the novella), because he is still haunted by wife he
beat to death when he discovered that his older brother had cuckolded him. A terrible thing? Yes. But just because you don't like something doesn't mean that it shouldn't be in print. I would find it hard to believe that two of these three characters would never any form of profanity. it just doesn't make sense for the characters.
By contrast, other characters in the book, such as Sansa Stark, would (at least at the outset of the series) faint dead away if she were to hear the "F-bomb" uttered publicly. Many characters never utter a curse, and react quite negatively to their use, such as Brienne of Tarth, for example. GRRM strives for realism with these characters, and real people swear. His world has few pure fantasy elements (and until the second book, almost none at all). This enhances the sense of an alternate history, as opposed to a romantic fiction. Your personal experience may be different, but not mine. I don't curse much, and less so since my children were born, but I still do (and still think them).
Let me turn the question back upon you: Why do you think it's better to be unrealistic in all cases? I'm not suggesting you pepper every story with expletives to enhance them. But the complete absence from all works of fantasy? Why should fantasy be pigeon-holed in this way? Shakespeare spent a great deal of time slinging epithets and curses throughout his work (sometimes for comedy: "I am an ASS!", sometimes not: "Thou jarring ill-breeding mammet!"), both for realism and entertainment. Cursing (including the "F-bomb") is hardly a new practice, depsite what the Victorians might have wanted us to think.
I accept that you find it offensive, lazy and inappropriate. But if you don't find it appropriate in any venue, then I would suggest that you are in the minority.
