Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1994, Side 141

Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1994, Side 141
Víglundar saga 139 in the slaying of Hákon and Hólmkells two sons, although Þorbjörg eggs him on to avenge the deaths by killing Þorgrímur, he refuses, arguing that the latter was not to blame, while Víglundur and Trausti have expiated the killings through their own deaths. Even when he then learns that Þorgrímur’s sons are still alive, Hólmkell takes no action, and confesses to his daughter that this is out of consideration for her feelings (p. 1977). Ketilríður’s poignant “ef eg skyldi ráða” speech, discussed earlier, is followed by Hólmkell’s encounter with the brothers before they leave Iceland (p. 1977). Hólmkell’s subsequent meeting with his friend Þorgrímur initiates the denoue- ment. “Sátu þeir Þorgrímur bóndi allan dag á tali og vissi engi maður tal þeirra” (p. 1979). The sudden arrival of a new suitor raises suspicions in the mind of the attentive reader. Unexpectedly and quite uncharacteristically, without any expla- nation on his part, Hólmkell promises Ketilríður in marriage — ”hvort henni var ljúft eða leitt” (p. 1979) — to an elderly man from the East Fjords named Þórður. The wedding that was to be held in the East Fjords does not occur; nonetheless, Þórður and Ketilríður share one bed. When Víglundur and Trausti return from Norway, they make land in the East Fjords. Under assumed names they greet the farmer from Gautavík and spend the winter with him and his young wife. One theme runs through the following scenes: whereas Víglundur is “allókátur,” the farmer is “allkátur,” while Ketilríður never shows any “gleðimót.” Víglundur’s emotional state is so pitiful — “var hann maður svo óglaður að hann kvað aldrei gleðiorð” (p. 1984) — that his brother Trausti finally suggests he find for himself another woman. To this Víglundur responds with a stanza that concludes with the inevitability and permanence of his love for Ketilríður: Eigi kann, ef önnur jafnblíð verðr mér síðan, vindr rak knörr úr klandri, kvinna nokkuru sinni. (p. 1984) In many respects this fmal part of Víglundar saga is a striking analogue to the concluding section of Friðþjófi saga, in which the eponymous protagonist also spends a time under an assumed name at the home of his beloved and her husband. Like Friðþjófur, Víglundur has an opportunity to remove his rival by violent means, and like Fríðþjófur he chooses not to do so. Both the internal conflict experienced by Víglundur and his decision not to claim his beloved by violence contrasts with his father’s behavior in the prefatory narrative. The extraordinary means Víglundur employs to avoid the least suspicion of adultery suggests that one of the concerns of the author might have been to create an exemplary protagonist, the antithesis of Tristan, a member of the most famous love triangle in literature. When Þórður leaves on a trip, Víglundur, alias Örn, suggests to his brother that they leave likewise, “því að það mun ellegar ætlat að eg fífli Ketilríði konu hans” (p. 1985). Not only this episode but also an earlier
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