Game of Thrones reflects historical anxieties about women, motherhood and power

In medieval Europe, queens usually had limited powers. As a widow, woman had no right of succession

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Game of Thrones series seven, episode 1.

Game of Thrones is back – and the female characters are at the forefront of the action. Sansa Stark is still struggling to control her bastard brother Jon Snow, yet remains vulnerable to her Machiavellian adviser, Littlefinger. Her younger sister, Arya, has loosed a vengeful killing spree on the treacherous Frey family, and Daenerys Targaryan, claimant to the Iron Throne, has finally set foot on Westeros – with dragons in tow.

In the apocalyptic close to the previous season, the scheming matriarch of the ruling Lannister family, Cersei, obliterated