Studia Islandica - 01.07.1982, Page 181

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Given his deep concern with such matters, Gunnarsson must be viewed
as a prime harbinger of existentialist thinking in Icelandic literature.
While Gunnarsson confronts the problems of the modern world, the
reader glimpses the author - behind the scenes - as a desperate soul
searching for a bygone time. Gunnarsson could never cut his roothold
to the rural Icelandic society of the 19th century; the tension between
the old and the new led to a deep-seated paradox, dividing the world
of his mind and permeating his writings in the years between 1915 and
1920. Forever seeking religious commitment, he was tom between
opposite poles - midway between faith and unbelief, hope and pessimism.
This dissertation primarily involves ideological analysis. Attempts are
made to explain philosophical and ethical ideas expressed in the novels,
and to trace their origins. Addressed, too, is the connection between the
author’s outlook on life and his character portrayal, the picture of
modern man that emerges in the works tmder consideration.
The first chapter expounds on Gunnarsson’s historical and ideological
premises. He belonged to a watershed generation of Icelandic writers,
trailbreakers arriving on the scene in the period between 1915 and
1925 - when the rural society was in its death throes, after having re-
mained static for many centuries. Traditional pattems of life, old ethical
rules and Christian outlook from the past were clashing with experiences
brought by the new age. The young authors were exposed to many in-
fluences, not least the bankruptcy of civilization in the First World
War and the ensuing value crisis. As elsewhere in Europe, existentialist
ideas gained notable ground in Iceland during that turbulent period.
There was growing awareness of the limitations to human existence, of
its fragility and finiteness - a sense of despair bordering on paralysis
and surrender: What purpose could be served through thought and
action in a world dedicated to violence and senseless destmction?
In Gunnarsson’s works, the perception of infinite negation - emptiness
- is the main source of anguish. The self-dissection of his characters
draws their sights to the precarious nature of life, to the inevitability
of utter destmction. They see themselves as tottering on the brink of
non-being. That consciousness of impending doom and death is their
Achilles’ heel; it splits their personalities and clashes with emotional
needs. What leads to their destruction especially is the frantic search
for roothold and truth - an effort cruelly unmasking values that con-
ceivably might have reconciled them with life.
A basic posture in Gunnarsson’s novels from the period is that of
rebellion. He cannot accept human fate or the traditional explanation
of it. Without hesitation, he throws down the gauntlet before the powers
that be in Heaven and on earth, demanding justice and faimess - rights
deserved by humanity in his opinion.