Studia Islandica - 01.07.1982, Blaðsíða 185

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of human existence. The death of God requires more strength than
Grimur has; his intellectual conviction is no match for the absurd.
Although Grimur is an enlightened sceptic who does not believe in
the Trinity, he remains convinced that the human soul is immortal -
seeing the material universe and the spiritual world as poles apart. He
believes in the divine spark of the human soul, the immortal quest of
ideals - a conception of etemity that blends with a vague faith in prog-
ress. In his opinioh, all life is endowed with purpose, derives from
sentient premises and is bent on progress. That optimistic outlook be-
comes embodied in Grimur’s relationship with his wife, who is the
proof he counts on. He sees love in highly philosophical terms, as af-
firmation of his belief in higher purpose and immortality, as a way
of defeating death’s sting. In fact, his wife is a counterpart to the deity
on high worshipped by the Rev. Sturla Steinsson in Ströndin; faith in
God has been replaced with faith in humanity. The 1920 novel illustrates
the bankruptcy of this belief; the human godhead proves a false one
as the spirit of man has limitations, like everything else.
Páll Einarsson’s attitude toward life is negative; he expects nothing
from it. What makes him strong is the logical consistency of his thinking
along with willingness to face the implications of his views. Páll is
convinced that human alienation is irremediable, that all hopes are
futile; the way he sees it, man must take life for what it is - utter,
chaotic world of futility - tackling it as such, instead of seeking refuge
in idle dreams like belief in immortality or progress. He is absolutely
true to his forbidding outlook in that he rejects all values and tries to
lead a life without purpose. His amorality follows logically from the
rampant high-handedness that he witnesses, and from his conception
of human mentality. If no eternal values exist, he reasons, ethical rules
can hold no sway, and everything is permissible. In such a world, one
is justified in fighting fire with fire; the sole criterion of behaviour is
fitness for survival.
Páll’s ideas on the struggle for existence are traceable to misconceived
understanding of Nietzche’s doctrine of Social Darwinism - a widely
discussed subject in the beginning of the century.
Both Páll and Grímur experience a Godless world of futility and
death, but draw totally different conclusions from the same realities.
Grímur anchors himself to idealistic belief in life, taking love and sacri-
fice for beacons in a dark universe - while Páll jettisons all notions
of a higher purpose. Eventually, Grimur goes down to defeat. His mind
fails after exposure to what Páll symbolizes: a divinity of destruction,
unreason and amorality. Toward the end, that diabolical power merges
with Grimur’s mentality, gains control over it and sinks him into the
abyss. Páll thus emerges victorious, due to his more logical cast of