saellys
Inkling
Again I'll pull out Game of Thrones as a prime example of a patriarchal society where women are strong from the beginning. Look at Cersi and Katrina, two women who wield a lot of power and influence. They've learned to use their strength and power within the confines of a patriarchal society.
You mean Catelyn?
She and Cersei are two magnificent examples of giving female characters as much to work with as males. Both would cite their families as their primary motivation for everything they do, which would seemingly drop them square in the middle of the "mother" archetype, but I don't think anyone can argue that either of them stays there. And importantly, both of them mess up, which is something I don't think enough "positive" female characters do. Catelyn makes the mistake of
taking Tyrion hostage and essentially starting a war.
the Tyrells taking King's Landing without bloodshed.
Anyone who reserves judgment about ASOIAF's female characters until the end of the series is missing out on a whole lot of awesome stuff right now.