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In Season 6 of the television show (Game of Thrones), Sansa discusses her experiences with Ramsay Bolton with another character, but is reluctant to talk about what exactly happened. She merely confirms the other character's guess that

Ramsay "cut" her.

The show never explains in any more detail, but given Ramsay's behavior, it sounds as if they are implying

Ramsay mutilated Sansa's breasts or genitals

Have I missed a line confirming or ruling out my suspicion? I know the books and series don't line up perfectly, but do the books make it clearer?

SudoSedWinifred
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    I think it's more likely referring to her being cut with a knife in general - Ramsay loved his knife. Not that I doubt he may also have cut her "chest" and "other places" - I just doubt he'd do anything as deliberate and permanent to her... at least not before she'd had a couple of children and he'd tired of her. I think it's "cut" more as in "made cuts", than as in "cut off". – Baard Kopperud Aug 29 '16 at 22:18
  • Spoiler tags in the question are fine but please avoid generic titles that include phrases like "this character" . Ramsay's name in the title is not giving anything away other than he "did something" to Sansa, which isn't much of a spoiler -- it's well known Sansa spends time in Winterfell in Season 6. – KutuluMike Aug 30 '16 at 00:23
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    My personal guideline is that details of most recent season/book, or in cases where one may provide narrative content that has not even been released in the other, spoilerize. I think that's a good guideline. If anyone is interested in continuing the spoiler tag debate, might I suggest taking it to meta? – SudoSedWinifred Aug 30 '16 at 03:11
  • Don't think they are implying the more personal mutilation you speak of. Ramsey wanted heirs. But that's just an opinion. – PoloHoleSet Aug 30 '16 at 12:55
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    Women who undergo genital mutilation can usually still reproduce. Of course, no surgery is risk free (including any cut, though deaths from infection seem impossibly rare in the World of Fire and Ice), but there are real life cultures in which men expecting heirs demand genitally-mutilated wives. – SudoSedWinifred Aug 30 '16 at 14:08

5 Answers5

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As you say, the books do not perfectly align with the show. This is one case where the two are vastly different.

In the books, Ramsay is not married to Sansa, but Jeyne Poole. The Boltons are claiming that Jeyne is actually Arya. This makes the claim on Winterfell all the more fragile.

To make matters more difficult our "eyes inside" for the North is Theon Greyjoy for the book series. Theon is privy to even less of what actually happens to Ramsay's wife.

Theon does help Jeyne escape in the same manner that he helps Sansa in the show. However, that is that POV we see from them.

In conclusion, We Don't Know (TM).

Skooba
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He rapes her.

It may not have been seen that way at that time in their society, however, Sansa was married to Ramsay for a reason she wasn't happy with - political.

Additionally, she's caught glimpses of his mean and unstable side, so she's not really attracted to him either.

Then there's the fact that he "consummated" their marriage very forcefully (whilst Theon watched).

It's clear and evident that she has suffered immensely because of this and is traumatised by it.

Ramsay has taken a part of her away, he has "cut" her from herself.

Physically though, as pointed out by Paul, this "cut" reference may be as a nod to what happened to Jeyne Poole.

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Möoz
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    Given Ramsay's penchant for murder and his literal interpretation of his family's crest, is there any reason to believe that he didn't physically cut her? As I recall, she does emphasize that she is still in physical, and not solely emotional, pain. – octern Aug 30 '16 at 05:25
  • @octern Nope, however, that part of the answer was already provided by user Paul, so I didn't repeat it in mine. It's true Ramsay most likely mutilated her somewhat, however, there was no literal evidence (we never saw it), as well as the fact that Ramsay likes his b****** clean and pure, she most likely wasn't. – Möoz Aug 30 '16 at 05:28
  • I think her confirmation was straight up and literal. The Bolton's sigil is the flayed man, cutting is what they do. – PoloHoleSet Aug 30 '16 at 12:57
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Well, no, the strong implication is that at the very least he

Violently rapes her, from the scenes in their bedchamber right after the wedding

In the book, as @Skooba says, it's a different character that marries Ramsay, but

In the books it's a little more explicit that he's raping, terrorizing,and otherwise brutalizing the girl. There are numerous comments about the cuts and bites she's sustained at his hands, nevermind the fact that he has Theon engage in a few acts with her for his observational pleasure.

Paul
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    There's also an implication that he gets her to do something sexually with his dogs. – DariM Aug 30 '16 at 00:42
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    Found the quote - "Tell him, you tell him. I'll do what he wants ... whatever he wants ... with him or ... or with the dog or ... please ... he doesn't need to cut my feet off, I won't try to run away, not ever, I'll give him sons, I swear it, I swear it ..." – DariM Aug 30 '16 at 00:49
  • @DariM That's dark. – arkon Mar 04 '17 at 02:26
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Show

The answer is in Season 6 Episode 5, the same Episode as you are referring to. Actually the same conversation.

We do not know much that went on in matrimonial bed of Ramsay and Sansa except that:

He raped her repeatedly. Although as Mooz suggests, marital rape probably does not exist in Westeros generally. Even though characters like Tyrion believe it does, as he made it clear to his father that he won't rape Sansa by forcing himself on her.

You have to consider the conversation Sansa had with Littlefinger, it holds the answer to all your question, at least from Sansa's narrative but that's all we have:

Sansa: Did you know about Ramsay? If you didn't know, you're an idiot. If you did know, you're my enemy. Would you like to hear about our wedding night? He never hurt my face. He needed my face, the face of Ned Stark's daughter. But the rest of me, he did what he liked with the rest of me as long as I could still give him an heir. What do you think he did?

Petyr: I can't begin to contemplate--

Sansa: What do you think he did to me?

Brienne: Lady Sansa asked you a question.

Petyr: He beat you.

Sansa: Yes, he enjoyed that. What else do you think he did?

Petyr: Sansa, I--

Sansa: What else?

Petyr: Did he cut you?

Sansa: Maybe you did know about Ramsay all along.

Petyr: I didn't know.

Sansa: I thought you knew everyone's secrets.

Petyr: I made a mistake, a horrible mistake. I underestimated a stranger.

Sansa: The other things he did, ladies aren't supposed to talk about those things, but I imagine brothel keepers talk about them all the time. I can still feel it. I don't mean in my tender heart it still pains me so. I can still feel what he did in my body standing here right now.

So it is clear from that conversation that:

  1. Ramsay had sex with Sansa (Obviously against her will) quiet violently with the sole exception that he did not want to make her lose her ability to procreate so it is clear that he did not mutilate her genitals or at least was careful with those parts. The rest of her, he tortured brutally.

  2. He physically beat her so many times that Sansa came to understand that he was a sadistic person who liked to torture others.

  3. He cut Sansa as you noted. Sansa confirms that although she never mentions what parts. Since she already said that he did what he liked with her body with sole exception of face and presumably genitals, It is plausible that her whole body was a canvas for him to paint in red.

  4. Sansa makes it clear that she was not talking about mental ordeal or some sort of mental impacts of a traumatic experience. She was talking about physical pain which still hurts her after all that time given that the torture was quite gruesome and effective.

It is possible that "What he did in my body" is referring to potential pregnancy of Sansa with Ramsay's child which makes sense because Sansa would be feeling the pregnancy. This would be reinforced by Ramsay's last words to her in which he said that he is a part of her now. However, Sophie Turner, the actress has denied that it is true.

Books

Just to repeat what has already been suggested:

In Books, Sansa never went to Winterfell. Ramsay married her childhood friend Jeyne Poole with help of Petyr Baelish and Lannisters. He tortured Jeyne badly and presumably even pressurized her to mate with his dogs and subjected her to touches of his servants like Reek. Theon escapes Winterfell when Stannis Baratheon is rumored to be close with Jeyne Poole, with help of Wildling "washerwomen".

Sansa in the meanwhile is safely in Vale, pretending to be Littlefinger's daughter. There, Littlefinger is scheming to have her wed to Harrold Hardyng aka Harry the heir (Also known as Young Falcon, Darling of Vale), a distant cousin and heir to Lord Robert Arryn.

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Aegon
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    One might read the words 'what he did in my body' as referring to violent rape. – Jack Aidley Aug 30 '16 at 13:18
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    @JackAidley Interesting point. However it may be interpreted as something which reinforces the wild theory that Sansa maybe pregnant with Ramsay's child. – Aegon Aug 30 '16 at 13:29
  • "Although as Mooz suggests, marital rape probably does not exist in Westeros generally." Legally speaking, perhaps. But rape is rape no matter what world you're living in, real or fictional. – arkon Mar 04 '17 at 02:27
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I'm surprised nobody suggested this yet. In addition to raping, beating, and cutting her, She said he did things inside her body that "ladies" don't talk about, but are common knowledge to brothels. To me, this most likely refers to Ramsey assaulting her anally, maybe orally too, and possibly using objects to penetrate her vaginally or anally as well. As far as genital mutilation, that's probably true too , and would not damage her fertility (unless it led to a infection that spread to her internal reproductive organs.)

Lyndsay
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    Interesting answer, however it is lacking canonical evidence. Are there any sources you can find for your answer to provide evidence for you thoughts to strengthen your answer? Also take a look at our tour and get on the way to earning your first badge! – Edlothiad Feb 21 '17 at 18:26
  • I like this answer because it's the product of intentional vagueness on the part of the storyteller. You can no more confirm it than you can refute it. We don't really know the limits of Ramsey's cruelty, and leaving it up to our own imaginations is a very powerful storytelling tool, especially when it concerns fear and terror. – arkon Mar 04 '17 at 02:55