Chett is a brother of the Night’s Watch who hated his existence, and after getting into an altercation with a woman, he chose the Watch over getting killed. As a leechman’s son, he had a terrible look, life, and existence. He got mocked for how he looked; this drove him to the edge of mad rage. When Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly arrived at Castle Black, his life changed for the worse as he got thrown aside for a more educated Samwell at the suggestion of Jon. Because of getting demoted, he hated Sam and Jon. Later, he got killed.
Chett Personal Details
- Name: Chett.
- Allegiance: Night’s Watch.
- Year of Death: 299 AC at the Fist of the First Men.
- Town of Birth: Hag’s Mire.
- Culture: Rivermen.
- Religion: Faith of the Seven.
Appearance and Personality
Chett is a hideous-looking young man with many boils on his face. He has a large cyst on his neck that irritates most people around him. Because of his appearance and societal status, Chett is salty and gets angered by anything that has to do with one stealing his position. He was once a timid boy who took on the insults of the people around him. When he got rejected by a common whore, he snapped and committed a crime. To escape his predicament, he joined the Watch, where he served under Maester Aemon as a steward.
Biography
Chett was born in Hag’s Mire, a northern Riverland village and the seat of House Nayland. His father worked by collecting leeches and selling them to maesters for experimentation and treatment. At a young age, he learned the trade and began selling to maesters.
Because of his hideousness, Chett got rejected by many girls in his town. One day, he tried to sleep with Bessa, a girl who had slept with almost every boy. He picked up wildflowers for her, but on asking her to sleep with him, she intensely laughed at him and mocked him stating she would rather sleep with his father’s leeches than crawl in bed with him. Angered by her statement, Chett stabbed her twice and ran off. He got caught near Sevenstreams and got judged by Ser Walder Rivers, who sent him to the Wall.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
After joining the Night’s Watch, Chett becomes a steward for Maester Aemon. He gets tasked with taking care of the ravens the maester used to send messages from the castle to other parts of the Wall and beyond. As the work is simple, Chett gets comfortable with his new position until Jon arrives.
When Jon reaches the Wall, he meets Samwell Tarly, a plump boy who got disowned by his father, Randyll, for being too soft. Realizing that fighting is not suitable for Sam, Jon convinces his friends to stop attacking him.
Later, he meets Lord Commander Mormont and pleads to have Sam join maester Aemon, stating he is better suited for the job. Because Sam is well-educated, Lord Monmont agrees to Jon’s idea, and Chett gets replaced. After getting replaced, he is sent to the kennels to aid Bass, the Kennel master.
A Clash of Kings
After Benjen Stark goes missing, Lord Mormont decides to go on a great range to find him. He takes about 300 men, including Jon and Sam. Chett also follows the group and gets put in charge of taking care of the dogs that aided the search. Upon getting to Craster’s Keep, he and Lark come up on Jon talking to Gilly, one of Craster’s daughters and wife.
Jon overhears Chett discussing the idea of mutiny with Lark. However, he does not stay with Lord Mormont as he and Qhorin travel to learn more about Mance Rayder’s plans.
A Storm of Swords
During the great range, Chett and 13 other black brothers conspire to desert the Watch. Knowing it is a crime punishable by death, he and the men, including Ollo Lophand, Lark the Sisterman, Small Paul, and Sawwood, devise a plan to kill important figures to ensure they do not get pursued. The people include Samwell Tarly, whose death would prevent a message from getting leaked; Lord Commander Mormont, whose death would change the ranging mission; Dywen and Bannen, the men who track down deserters and Blane, an officer at the Shadow Tower.
With Chett’s sight of killing Samwell, he waits eagerly for the night to draw so that he can set the dogs to lose and cause a commotion before escaping. However, just before his plans come to fruition, it begins snowing, and Chett realizes everything got ruined. Regardless of everything getting spoilt, he decides to kill Sam, but on getting to where the steward slept, three horns sound, signaling the presence of Others.
When the wights attack the brothers of the Watch, Chett tries to run away. However, he gets killed and later turns into a wight. After the remaining survivors retreat to Craster’s Keep, a mutiny leads to Craster and Lord Momont’s death. Sam runs away with Gilly and her baby. On getting to a small wildling village, an undead Chett attacks him but gets killed by Coldhands.
Chett: A Villain of Circumstance
Though Chett is a maniac who did evil things in his life, his story is a bit tragic. First, he dealt with rejection from the world because of a physical condition he had no means of curing. Even though he tried mixing with others, he got shut out and lost it when he killed Bessa. He felt so thrilled killing her. His villainy came from him getting shoved in favor of others who were better, and though it is the law of nature, it was not a fact he wanted to accept.
FAQs
Why was Chett so angry with Samwell?
Chett hated Samwell Tarkly because he felt Sam robbed him of the only shot he had at a meaningful life. As someone who got rejected all his life, he felt accomplished working as the steward to maester Aemon. However, when Samwell came, he got replaced because he was lesser qualified; this made him hate Samwell Tarly and Jon.
Did Chett die?
Yes. After Lord Mormont leads his men to the Fist of the First Men, they get attacked by wights. During the attack, Chett got killed, and later, he turned into a wight and tried to kill Sam.
Would Chett have survived had his plan worked?
Though hard to say, Chett would have probably gotten captured had he tried to desert the Night’s Watch. However, because of the political tension in Westeros, he also had a high chance of escaping to safety.