Maturity and Fruitfulness in A Song of Ice and Fire: A Reflection in Theological Anthropology

Abstract

This article seeks to understand maturity and fruitfulness in terms of going beyond oneself toward others and, ultimately, the divine Other. It suggests that, from a perspective of Christian theological anthropology, the pursuit of maturity and fruitfulness in human life entails being in community since human nature is inherently relational. To grow in maturity and “bear fruit” in one’s life, the whole web of one’s relationships at various levels must be transformed. Christian maturity and fruitfulness, then, are understood in terms of love as a non-linear striving for perfection. Ultimately, this process must be enabled and carried by grace, lest it become futile and oppressive. Using an illustrative case of A Song of Ice and Fire, a popular epic fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, this thesis will be elaborated in this article throughout three steps that make for three interrelated dimensions of this process, namely, grace, love and community, respectively.