Varys
Varys, the eunuch master of whisperers on the small council, is the most elusive and dangerous player in King's Landing, a man who serves only the realm and whose network of spies—his "little birds"—penetrates every corner of the Red Keep and beyond. He is a master of disguise and deception, a former mummer who treats courtly life as a stage and every lord as a role to be played. His true loyalties remain opaque even to those who think they command him, and his information is the most valuable currency in the game of thrones.
Identity and Role
Varys is the king's master of whisperers, a position he held under Aerys II Targaryen and continued to hold under Robert Baratheon. He is a eunuch, born a slave in Lys, and his past as a mummer has given him a theatrical understanding of power. He dresses in rich silks and velvets, powders his face, and smells of lilacs, but he can transform himself into a grizzled turnkey when the need arises. He commands a network of child informants—his "little birds"—who bring him secrets from every level of the court and city. He is feared and distrusted by nearly everyone, including Eddard Stark, who finds his flesh crawling in the eunuch's presence, and Petyr Baelish, who claims to hold Varys's "balls in the palm of my hand" but is himself a rival in the art of intrigue.
Methods and Philosophy
Varys operates through information, not force. He explains to Eddard Stark that each man on the council has a role to play: "The King's Justice must be fearsome, the master of coin must be frugal, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard must be valiant… and the master of whisperers must be sly and obsequious and without scruple." He claims that a courageous informer would be as useless as a cowardly knight. He is a master of disguise, appearing to Eddard in the dungeon as a reeking turnkey with a false beard, and he moves through the Red Keep by secret passages known only to "ghosts and spiders." He tells Eddard that he has no honor—"A eunuch has no honor, and a spider does not enjoy the luxury of scruples"—but he insists that he serves the realm, not any king or faction.
Key Actions and Influence
Varys's actions are consistently aimed at preserving the realm's stability, though his methods are ruthless. He warns Eddard Stark that the Lannisters planned to kill Robert Baratheon during the melee, though he admits he did not intervene earlier because he did not yet trust the new Hand. He reveals to Eddard that Jon Arryn was poisoned with the Tears of Lys, a rare and untraceable poison, and that the killer was likely someone who often shared meat and mead with the old Hand. He also tells Eddard that the squire Ser Hugh of the Vale—who had been Jon Arryn's squire and was knighted after his death—was the one who stayed in King's Landing and prospered, implying his complicity. When Eddard is imprisoned, Varys visits him in disguise and offers him a way out: confess to treason, proclaim Joffrey the true heir, and take the black. He makes clear that the alternative is Sansa's death, and Eddard agrees. Varys also warns Eddard that Cersei is frightened of him but more frightened of Stannis Baratheon, whom she sees as the greater threat.
Relationships and Deception
Varys maintains a carefully constructed web of relationships, each based on a calculated degree of trust. He allows Cersei to believe he is hers, and he feeds Petyr Baelish "choice whispers" to make him think Varys is his. He tells Eddard that Littlefinger is "the second most devious man in the Seven Kingdoms" and that he would sooner wed the Black Goat of Qohor than ally with him. He also claims to have been Robert Baratheon's protector for fifteen years, but he could not protect him from his friends. His relationship with Eddard is the most revealing: he tests the new Hand by withholding information, then reveals it when he is certain of Eddard's loyalty to the realm. He tells Eddard, "I begin to comprehend why the queen fears you so much," and later admits that he had not trusted Eddard until he saw him refuse to participate in the murder of Daenerys Targaryen.
Thematic Significance
Varys embodies the theme of hidden power and the moral ambiguity of ruling. He is the spider at the center of the web, seeing all but acting only when it serves the realm. His claim that he serves the realm is both a justification for his amoral methods and a genuine principle, as he demonstrates by trying to prevent war and by warning Eddard of the Lannisters' plots. He is a figure of pure pragmatism, unconstrained by honor or loyalty to any house, and his presence underscores the novel's central tension between the ideals of honorable rule and the brutal realities of political survival. His final words to Eddard—"The choice, my dear lord Hand, is entirely yours"—encapsulate his method: he presents the options and lets others make the fatal decisions, while he watches and waits.
