The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.1988, Blaðsíða 34

32
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING, 1988
mate, and, some feel, the temperament of
the people themselves in this windy land.
With regard to culture, she feels it vital
to keep the national heritage alive, and this
includes Nordic culture in the broader
sense. “There is more creativity among
people in Nordic countries than elsewhere,”
she says, “because what people create is
recognized and accepted and used. This, in
turn, inspires greater creativity.” Iceland,
in particular, with proportionately more
bookstores than anywhere in the world, is
a nation of readers, writers and artists of all
kinds. It is still a land where the artist is as
revered as the statesman, always known,
and often longer remembered.
What do you do to keep physically and
mentally fit?
She laughts. “Walk, — I like to walk,
swim, move around. I do bends and stretch-
es in the morning to wake myself up. I’m
not a health habit person or anything out
of the ordinary, even in religion.”
How do you counter stress? What is your
recipe?
At this, her eyes begin to twinkle. “I try
to remember how silly people look when
they’ve been in a screaming bad temper.
After seeing how ridiculous, funny, and
embarrassing they looked, I decided to try
never to let my own temper get out of
control. So I don’t throw dishes at the staff;
I try to see the humour in the situation.
“And here’s the dessert for my recipe:
My father taught me to always think of
what my attitude toward a problem would
be in weeks or months hence. He taught
me perspective. I vividly remember coming
home in a fury one day about an undeserved
bad grade I had received on a Somerset
Maugham essay. My father said, ‘It’s so
trivial; let’s discuss it in detail a year from
now.’ A year later, when he called me aside
for the interview he had marked on his
calendar, I had completely forgotten the
incident. He encouraged me to learn re-
straint and perspective. I have noticed,”
she mused, “that fathers are more ambi-
tious for their daughters than for their
mothers, sisters or wives. It was also notice-
able during elections that young fathers
extolled me as models for their daughters.”
I understand you made several official visits
to other countries in 1981 and 1982?
“Yes, Denmark first, because of old
bonds that have now become pure friend-
ship, then Norway and Sweden.”
Fru Vigdis did not go into details, for
several visitors were already in the waiting-
room and I had inadvertantly captured the
larger part of her time. According to infor-
mation gathered beforehand, for Icelanders
— a people notably sparing in their compli-
ments to one another — those three state
visits made her an instant celebrity in
Scandinavia and tripled her popularity at
home. Apparently she dented the belief
that all Icelanders are stiff, humourless and
remote. Although Danish, and now English,
are required languages in the Icelandic
school system, Vigdis had also gained pro-
ficiency in Norwegian and Swedish, and,
of course, in French, her first foreign love.
Her linguistic abilities stood her in good
stead, making her readily understandable
and “at home” in all the settings.
The presidential visits were glittering af-
fairs, as the Icelandic newspaper photo
morgues testify, of red carpets, inspections
of guards, gala receptions, dinners and press
conferences. In Denmark, she and Queen
Margrethe seemed to take an instant liking
to each other, and the population followed
suit. The press discovered that the “Ice
Princess,” as they dubbed her, was a
master of the one-line quip and at her best
in impromptu humourous exchanges. In
Norway, King Olaf and Crown Prince
Harald and his wife, Crown Princess
Sonja, were equally pleased, as were King
Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Swe-