Gripla - 01.01.2002, Page 132

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GRIPLA
(1999: Flosi told her of the proposal. She said she was a proud
woman, “and I do not know how it would suit me to have such
people involved — especially since he is a man without authority.”)
Cook: Flosi told her of the proposal.
She said she was a proud woman — “and I don’t know how it
would suit me to be involved with such people, especially since the
man has no godord.”
Dasent obliterates the anacoluthon by putting Hildigunnr’s comment in a sep-
arate sentence. MM-HP tum the indirect remark (Hon kvezk vera kona skap-
stór) into a direct statement by Hildigunnr (“I have my pride”), creating dra-
matic boldness at the cost of fidelity to the original syntax.
Translators sometimes tum indirect discourse into direct, but it happens
rarely that they do the opposite. In Ch. 3, however, there is an unusual case in
which a character — not the narrator — uses direct speech to report the
speech of another character.
Litlu síðar mœttu þeir Qgmundi; hann sagði þeim kveðju Gunnhildar
okþat með, at hon myndi eigi bjóða þeim.jyrr en þeir hefðifundit kon-
ung,fyrir orðs sakir: —“ ‘at svá þykki, sem ek grípa gulli á við þá; en
ek mun þó til leggja slíkt sem mér sýnisk; ok veri Hrútr djarfmæltr við
konung ok biði hann hirðvistar.’ Hér eru ok tignarklæði, er hon sendi
þér, Hrútr, ok skalt þú íþeim ganga fyrir konunginn.” (3.13)
Dasent: After that they met Augmund, and he brought them a greeting
from Gunnhilda, saying, that she could not ask them to her house
before they had seen the king, lest men should say, “I make too
much of them.” Still she would do all she could for them, and she
went on, “tell Hrut to be out-spoken before the king, and to ask to
be made one of his body-guard;” “and here,” said Augmund, “is a
dress of honour which she sends to thee, Hrut, and in it thou must
go in before the king.”
B-H: Afterwards they met Ogmund who brought greetings from
Gunnhild, adding that she could not invite them to her house before
they had seen the king, because of the talk it might stir up — “and
that it does not appear as though I were overeager to have them
with me. But I shall put in a good word for them. Tell Hrút to speak
up to the king and ask to be one of his retainers.”