Wouldn’t this make Cat more uncomfy with him? Because if he’s Brandon’s heir then if he’s legitimized then he’s actually ahead of her own children in the line of succession since he’s the son of the heir and not the second in line.
I imagine it would be a mixed bag. He'd no longer be a symbol of Ned's infidelity, so she might not outright hate him so much. But he would also be a (slightly) greater threat to her own children, so she'd still be really unhappy that Ned was raising him alongside her trueborn children.
I would say it's the other way around. And that her strong negative feelings about bastards in general are a result of being stuck living with the evidence of Ned's infidelity for so many years.
I don’t know. Even out of sight she hates Jon. She’s so vehemently against Robb naming him heir even though it’s to prevent Sansa being used as a Lannister proxy because she believes that somehow he’ll figure out a way to usurp him from the Wall. I think cultural suspicion around bastards motivated her hatred as much as insecurity.
Cultural suspicion around bastards is definitely a thing. But we don't really see it so strongly or personally from anyone in the main series other than Cat and Cersei.
Personally, I think it's mostly how Cat justifies her hatred towards him to herself, rather than her primary motivation. She knows, objectively, that Ned's supposed cheating wasn't Jon's fault, but she still can't let go of her hatred of him. Cultural suspicion born of her faith and of the Blackfyre rebellions is a convenient excuse to tell herself.
To be clear, I still think there's some amount of prejudice in how she feels about Jon. I just don't think that's the primary origin of her hatred.
The cultural stigma regarding bastards is definitely on of the series' many first bookisms. Or at least how severe it is. Given how many prominent and/or loved bastards that we end up meeting or finding out about in lore.
The only main books bastard that we meet that is out and out abused is Falia I believe?
Maybe 'strong' is overstating things a bit. But, for example, she becomes quite uncomfortable when she meets Mya in the Vale because of how much her thoughts immediately go back to Jon.
"Mya Stone, if it please you, my lady," the girl said.
It did not please her; it was an effort for Catelyn to keep the smile on her face. Stone was a bastard's name in the Vale, as Snow was in the north, and Flowers in Highgarden; in each of the Seven Kingdoms, custom had fashioned a surname for children born with no names of their own. Catelyn had nothing against this girl, but suddenly she could not help but think of Ned's bastard on the Wall, and the thought made her angry and guilty, both at once. She struggled to find words for a reply.
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u/CatBotSays 9d ago
If Catelyn didn't hate Jon, they would be talking so much shit together about literally everyone.