Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1994, Page 138

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Marianne Kalinke
okkur” (p. 1962). Now Þorgrímur maintains that on the basis of the mutual
pledges he is the one who should marry Ólöf by rights.
In the main narrative, as in the forestory, the problem of a woman’s right to
self-determination is expressed semantically in the recurrence of ráðlráða, which
functions as a leitmotif in the saga. Ketilríður’s response to Víglundur’s proposal
that they become betrothed, reveals the configuration of power in her family: she
does not wish to transgress “ráðum föður míns”; she considers herself “eigi
ráðandi”; and decisions are made “að ráð móður minnar” (p. 1964). Sheconcludes
in the subjunctive: “ef eg skyldi ráða,” she would have no man but Víglundur,
but obviously this is contrary to fact. When Ketilríður learns that she is to be
taken home, she tells Víglundur
að þetta eru ráð móður minnar. Hefi eg lítið ástríki af henni haft um langan tíma og
er það líkast að farnar séu gleðistundir okkrar ef hún ræður;
furthermore, she continues,
og annaðhvort munum við njótast aldrei eða munu þar ráð föður míns til ganga en þó
á hann við þungt að hræra þar sem eru bræður mínir og móðir því að þau vildu allt í
móti mínum vilja gera. (p. 1969)
Despite her generally bleak outlook, Ketilríður suggests that there is hope if her
father were to intervene; yet she is aware that this would not be easy, given the
opposition of her mother and brothers.
Subsequently, after Víglundur and Trausti have become outlawed, but just
before they leave the country, the two lovers have a final conversation, and
Víglundur asks her not to marry while he is abroad. Once again Ketilríður replies:
“Faðir minn mun því ráða... því að eg má ekki,” but then she adds a most telling
comment about her relationship to her father, “enda vil eg ekki í móti hans vilja
gera” (p. 1976). When Hólmkell finds his daughter crying after Víglundur has
left, and she equivocates by saying she is crying for her slain brothers, he inquires
whether she wishes to have them avenged. She replies: “Það skyldi prófa ef eg væri
svo karlmaður mikils ráðandi sem nú er eg kona” (p. 1977). Her father points
out that if he has not sought vengeance, it has only been on her account, for he
is aware that Víglundur and Trausti are alive; if she so desires, he shall have them
killed. Despite the indirection of her answer — couched in the subjunctive, it
suggests her powerlessness — Ketilríður in actual fact tells her father what he is
to do:
Að síður skyldu þeir drepnir efeg skyldi ráða að hvorgi skyldi sekur hafa verið ger ef eg
skyldi ráða og svo peninga til gefa þeim til farareyris ef eg œtti og svo skyldi eg öngvan
annan mann eiga en Víglund efegskyldi kjósa. (p. 1977)
That Ketilríður’s wish is her father’s command, however, is attested by the