Sophie Turner’s ‘GoT’ Character Has the Key to Surviving in a Man’s World

Sophie Turner’s “Game of Thrones” character Sansa Stark has long been criticized for her choices, but the actress insists she’s just playing the game to survive.

This last season saw Sansa getting a taste of power, particularly as she finally conquered Stark foe – and her husband – Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). And Turner insists the eldest Stark daughter knows exactly what she’s doing.

Speaking with Vulture, she discussed the memorable smile Sansa gave following Ramsay’s brutal death. “That’s how she survives, you know? Sansa has had to do everything nonverbally,” Turner shared. “She’s never been allowed to speak up or say anything.”

Turner touched upon the male-female dynamics of the show, pointing out that Sansa has learned to “never say what she means.” She has to play the game and slink back behind her male counterparts … or at least appear to do so.

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According to a recent study, as explained by Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Deborah Gruenfeld, that could be a key for women to get ahead. In the study, business school students were given two versions of a case study about a venture capitalist.

The studies were identical, aside from the fact that in one the venture capitalist was a man, and in the other a woman. When students evaluated the venture capitalists, they found both competent and effective but were turned off by the woman.

Gruenfeld explained that students found the woman to be “less genuine, humble, and kind, and more power-hungry, self-promoting and disingenuous.” And the more assertive the woman, the more the students rejected her.

That is because dominant women come across as unlikeable since they appear to be rejecting the norms of female “niceness.” Alternatively, if they are too nice, they come across as incompetent – a tradeoff with which men do not have to wrestle.

“Women give away power all the time,” Gruenfeld explained, noting that even smiling or looking away when saying something can discredit you.

She advised women to “stop smiling” if they are trying to be authoritative. The flip side of that argument, of course, is if the person you’re speaking with could be threatened by you. Then Gruenfeld recommends, “Perhaps give them a smile.”

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And Sansa did just that in this past season of the HBO smash hit, leading half-brother Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to believe that he was in charge, when in fact she had arranged to save the day.

Turner’s character has seemingly started to master the subtle art of the “game of thrones,” putting a plan in motion to land herself closer to the power she now craves. Whether she’ll be able to continue leveraging her skills for any real control in the upcoming seventh season of “Game of Thrones” remains to be seen.