Studia Islandica - 01.06.1994, Blaðsíða 112

110
In this case Press’s version has only perfect tenses:
After that Vigdis went inside, and to a chest that belonged to Thord,
and found at the bottom a large purse. She took out the purse, and
went outside with it up to where Ingjald was, and bade him take the
money. Ingjald’s brow cleared at that, and he stretched out his hand
to take the purse. Vigdis raised the purse, and struck him on the nose
with it, so that forthwith blood fell on the earth. (P 37)
Veblen, on the other hand, feels inclined to take up the
challenge here:
Vigdis thereupon went indoors to a box belonging to Thord,
where she found, on the bottom of it, a bulky bag of money. She
takes the bag and goes out with it to where Ingjald was standing,
and tells him to take his money. Ingjald is much pleased at this, and
reaches for the money-bag. Vigdís swings the money-bag up and
hits him on the nose with it, so that it brought the blood. (V 39)
The use of the present tense here gives a much more col-
loquial flavour to the passage, a colouring which is not at
all evident in the original, and detracts considerably from
the dramatic force of the English version. This definite
breach of status and orientation is also evident in Veblen’s
choice of words, many of which reveal a lowering of tone
from that used in the Icelandic, or in Press’s translation.
His choice of “box” instead of “chest” for örk, a “bulky bag
of money” instead of “a large purse” for digran fésjóð, and
“hits” rather than “struck” for rekr.
Soon after having made this endeavour to reproduce the
tenses of the original, Veblen ceases any further efforts in
this direction and thenceforth uses only the preterite in the
remaining narrative passages.
In her translation of this passage Arent goes even further
than the original in using the present tense almost exclu-
sively, obviously because a mixture of tenses in English
corresponding to the frequent shifts of the original is in
effect impossible.