Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1992, Qupperneq 230

228
Margaret Cormack
fyrr, ok þora þá eigi [f] nánd at koma; fara nú heim, ok segja af hit ljósasta at
því sinni. Fara menn nú ok leita barnsins, ok finna eigi; en litlu síðarr
sýndist þar kona, ok eigi fríð ásýndar, því at stundum þótti selshöfut á vera;
fyrir þat var hon Selkolla köllut. Skildu menn nú af þeim atburð, at óhreinn
andi var hlaupinn í búk barnsins, ok mátti sjá fjanda þann dag sem nætr; ok
er af því Selkollu-Kleifar kallaðar. - Dálkr hét bóndi, ok var Þórisson, hann
bjó at Hafnarhólmi í Steingrímsfirði þá er þessi tíðindi gjörðust; hann var
smiðr, ok þótti vinsæll maðr. Þorgils hét annar smiðr, Dálksson, Vigdís hét
kona hans, hon var væn ok góð húsfreyja. Þat var einn dag, er bóndi gjörði
skip sitt einn saman í nausti, hann var kvennsamr, ok um daginn sýndist
honum, at kona hans gengi í naustið; hann bregðr á blíðlæti við hana, því at
þau vóru vön til slíkra leika. Nú legst hann með þessari konu, eigi síðr fjanda
en konu at var fjandi hans til at gjöra sér skömm en öðrum mein, ok sem þau
vóru skilin, þá þótti[st] hann ætla, at þetta var eigi kona hans, heldr óhreinn
andi, Selkolla, leitar hann þá heim, en Selkolla vill eigi skiljast við hann, ok
var hann mjög máttfarinn er hann kom heim, ok or allri mannligri náttúru,
ok þó kennist hann við, ok sér hvat honum var orðit. Nú legst hann í rekkju,
ok urðu menn at gæta hans nótt ok dag firir Selkollu.” BS I 604-5).
While the actual attacks belong to the native tradition, the demon is
created - and Dálkr becomes accessible to her - as a result of sexual activity,
which is not, however, made the responsibility of a woman. It is worth
noting that an unbaptized child is by definition heathen (BS II 175, an
interesting parallel to the Selkolla story, in which the child is recovered).
To conclude, sexual misconduct is not particularly prominent in the
sagas of the native saints, and there is no obvious prejudice against women as
responsible for instigating it. This may reflect in part the nature of the
Icelandic saints’ lives, which were meant to illustrate the power of the saints
- and early attempts to control the sexual activity of the Icelanders were
notable failures. However, it is also possible that those who reported and/or
composed the miracle stories may have considered sexual morality relatively
unimportant. They certainly did not view women as the aggressive parties.
When female sexuality comes to the fore, it is usually in a demonic or
“Otherworld” context, explicitly or implicitly connected to the pagan past.
Both native and learned traditions recognized the possibility of supernatural
or demonic temptresses, and on this level the saints were more successful.
Perhaps this compensated, at least in the minds of the hagiographers, for the
disobedience of their flocks. It may also have been the only way in which
female sexuality could convincingly be represented as a threat. Ulustrating
the power of saints over beings who threaten men through sex, and
representing such beings as completely beyond Christian society, may have
been the only means available to churchmen to represent sex as the danger
which, according to their teaching, it was.