Iceland review - 2016, Page 47

ICELAND REVIEW 45
and cold-hearted. Driven by jealousy, she
controlled the men in her life, having
them act disgracefully and ruthlessly, and
turned friends into enemies. A woman in
a man’s world, she was far from power-
less. However, she was also trapped in a
predefined gender role. She had to marry
men she didn’t care for and couldn’t
travel to Norway with Kjartan, probably
longing for an adventure as much as he
did.
The story doesn’t say much about
Guðrún’s true feelings. As vile as they
seem, her reactions to the deaths of
Kjartan and Bolli may have been her way
of keeping face. She wasn’t prepared to
forgive and forget: as Helgi predicted,
his death would come at the hands of
Bolli’s sons, and the killing was Guðrún’s
scheme.
TRUE COLORS
Guðrún remarried, the chieftain Þorkell
Eyjólfsson, and had a fourth son,
named Gellir. However, Þorkell, too,
would make her a widow, drowning in
Hvammsfjörður fjord. Then, Guðrún
became Iceland’s first nun and earned
the respect of all.
Before she died in old age, Bolli asked
his mother what man she had loved the
most. “Thorkell was the most powerful
of men and most outstanding chief-
tain, but none of them was more val-
iant and accomplished than Bolli. Thord
Ingunnarson was the wisest of men and
the most skilled in law. Of Thorvald I
make no mention.” Bolli pressed her
to answer his question, and finally, she
replied—without mentioning anyone by
name: “Though I treated him worst, I
loved him best.” Bolli felt his curiosity
had been satisfied.
The most famous quote from
Laxdæla—and one of the most famous
quotes from the Icelandic sagas—is a rid-
dle. Whom did Guðrún love the most?
Was it Bolli, or Kjartan? Some say the
author purposefully left it open to inter-
pretation. Others provide arguments for
one or the other. But is it really such
a mystery? The story does nothing to
conceal how Guðrún and Kjartan felt
about each other and how, because of
their passion and hurt pride, they made
each other’s lives miserable until Guðrún
had Kjartan killed. Bolli wanted to know
whether Guðrún had loved Kjartan more
than his father. Remorseful, admitting
her wickedness, she revealed to her son
her true feelings. u
L I T E R AT U R E
“I want to go with you this summer,
and by taking me you can make up
for deciding this so hastily, for it’s
not Iceland that I love,” Guðrún begs
Kjartan when he tells her that he’s
leaving for Norway. If he had granted
her wish, perhaps Laxdæla would
have ended differently?
Sources:
• Karlsson, Gunnar. Ástarsaga
Íslendinga að fornu. Um 870-1300.
Mál og menning, Reykjavík, 2013.
• The Saga of the Icelanders.
A selection. The Saga of the People of
Laxardal, p. 270-421. Translated by
Keneva Kunz. The Penguin Group,
New York, 2000.