Often our heroes are marked with a unique physical characteristic to set them apart and signify their importance. Sometimes that only mark is outstanding attractiveness, but it can be a bit more interesting. Frodo has the scar from his brush with the witch-king of Angmar which can never heal and pains him for the rest of his life. Although this mark brings him misery, he can at least easily hide it underneath his clothing. Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones is not so lucky. To the disgust of most of his family and the bleak world around him, he is a dwarf. Had he not been born into nobility, his fate would be to humiliate himself for the entertainment of others or serve as a slave somewhere across the Narrow Sea.
So why did George R. R Martin make him a dwarf, when he belongs to a royal house and is such an important figure in the politics and drama?
I kind of think it's to give him a hard time. Martin loves giving people a hard time. Well, I suppose I don't really think that. Perhaps Martin thinks that being part of an abised minority gives Tyrion insight and compassion he doesn't know he has, which is why he is so concerned with providing for the commoners during his short reign as Hand of the King. Maybe Tyrion's dwarfism gives him an edge that the other players don't have.
