Jeyne Poole
Jeyne Poole is the daughter of Vayon Poole, the steward of Winterfell, and grew up as a companion to Sansa Stark. After her father was executed by Lord Eddard Stark for treason and her family's fortunes collapsed, she was left vulnerable in a world at war. When Roose Bolton needed a bride for his bastard son Ramsay to cement his claim to Winterfell, Jeyne was forced to play the part of Arya Stark, Lord Eddard's younger daughter, who was believed dead. The deception was a political necessity: the north would never accept a Bolton as Lord of Winterfell unless he was wed to a Stark, and Jeyne's dark hair and brown eyes were close enough to Arya's to pass muster with lords who had not seen the girl in years.
Life as Ramsay Bolton's Bride
Jeyne was dressed in grey and white, the colors of House Stark, and coached to answer to the name Arya. Theon Greyjoy, himself a broken captive of Ramsay, was forced to give her away at the wedding beneath the heart tree in Winterfell's godswood. From the first night, Ramsay subjected her to brutal sexual and psychological abuse. He forced Theon to undress her and, when she was not sufficiently aroused, commanded Theon to perform oral sex on her to prepare her for Ramsay's assault. Theon later reflected that Jeyne's back bore the marks of a whipping, and her small, pale breasts were covered with teeth marks. She was kept chained to a bedpost, allowed to bathe only when Ramsay wished to use her, and beaten when she failed to please him. Her sobs echoed through the castle, a constant reminder of the monster she had married.
The Rescue
When a band of wildling spearwives, sent by Jon Snow under the command of Mance Rayder (disguised as Rattleshirt), infiltrated Winterfell to rescue the false Arya, they found Jeyne broken and terrified. She initially refused to believe they were there to help, convinced it was another of Ramsay's cruel tests. "I'll do what he wants… whatever he wants… with him or… or with the dog or… please… he doesn't need to cut my feet off, I won't try to run away, not ever, I'll give him sons, I swear it, I swear it…" Theon, who had been reduced to the cringing creature called Reek, found a remnant of his old self and convinced her to flee. He took her hand and led her through the snow, past the guards, and over the battlements, where they jumped together into the blizzard, hoping to reach Stannis Baratheon's army.
Thematic Significance
Jeyne Poole is a victim of the brutal patriarchal politics of Westeros, a pawn whose body and identity are used to legitimize a usurper's claim. Her suffering is a direct consequence of the Red Wedding and the Bolton-Frey alliance, and her story exposes the lie at the heart of Ramsay Bolton's power: the north follows him only because they believe he holds Ned Stark's daughter. Jeyne's ordeal also serves as a mirror to Theon's own degradation; in helping her escape, he begins to reclaim his own identity. She is a character defined entirely by her suffering and her function as a symbol, yet her desperate will to survive and her final, fragile hope of rescue give her a tragic dignity that transcends her role as a mere plot device.
