(Spoiler Published) In ASOIAF POV chapters, are we supposed to interpret everything as being filtered through the POV character’s awareness/thoughts, or are some lines just objective narration happening “around” them?
For example, in an early Ned chapter in AGOT, Renly says:
“A pity the Imp is not here with us, I should have won twice as much.”
Does this mean Ned actually heard and registered that comment (even if he never thinks about it again), or is it simply something the narration includes for the reader even if Ned may never have heard it?
Another example is during the Battle of the Wall in ASOS:
“The sounds below changed to shouts and screams, sweet music to their ears.”
Is “sweet music to their ears” meant to reflect Jon genuinely feeling satisfaction at the screams, i.e. Jon’s subjective POV? Or is it more of an objective/narrative description outside Jon’s direct thoughts?
Basically, how “strict” is George’s POV style? Is every line limited to what the POV character consciously perceives/thinks, or does the narration sometimes step slightly outside them?