Líf og dauði - Life or Death; Norse Mythology.

 Abstract: This post looks at the Prose Edda, Poetic Edda, and Saga of the Volsungs to discuss that the Norse Mythology was not pessimistic, but instead a reflection on the struggle of balancing life and death within that period. 

Líf og dauði (Life or death)

Northern Europe in 700 A.D was a cruel, harsh environment. Death loomed over each shoulder and made its inevitability known. For the people who lived in such times, the struggle for life and acceptance of death reflected directly into their mythology. Their gods were relatable, for as they struggled for life so too did their gods. Despite the constant struggle for life, the Norse sought pleasure where they could and that too is reflected in the tales of their gods. Life was harsh in the Viking Age, death was inevitable, but rather than allowing that to dampen their spirits—they sought laughter where they could, even at the expense of their gods. The Norse mythology is a direct reflection of the implicit struggle between life and death.

In “Gylfaginning”, Yggdrasil is introduced as the holy site of the gods. It is a tree that spans the nine worlds in Norse mythology. It is the site at which the gods hold their council, yet it too is subjected to the threat of death as its roots are attacked by serpents such as Nidhogg (Snorri 17). Later, in the Poetic Edda Yggdrasil’s plight is expanded in more detail within “Grimnir’s Sayings”. Yggdrasill is not only attacked by Nidhogg, but a stag eats away at the tree, it is rotting away at its side, and there more serpents constantly destroy the branches (Larrington 53). It is important that within the Norse Mythology that even the most holy place struggles to survive the onslaught of death because it is a clear representation of the careful balance of life that those who believed these tales struggled with. Nothing is stable in this culture and there is no guarantee of safety.

            There is much destruction found in Norse mythology, but it is clear that the Norse believed in balances. In the “Glyfaginning” the world is created out of the death of Ymir, who was in turn created out of poisonous ice (Snorri 11). Death creates life, life creates death. There does not appear to be a doctrine of good versus evil within Norse mythology, but more of a nature versus culture. Nature is represented by the giants in the mythology, constantly fighting against the gods who represented culture and civilization. Yet without the giants, civilization would not have been able to exist. Without Loki, there would be no serpent to hold together the world. Without giants, such as Utgarda-Loki, there would be no tides (Snorri 45). The Norse’s civilization was created from nature and continued to struggle against nature for survival.

            The inevitability of death within Norse culture is epitomized with the death of the beloved god Baldr. It was said that all things of the world had sworn to not harm Odin’s son and he was considered the most beautiful of all the gods (Snorri 48). Yet, Loki found the single item that had yet to swear the oath, gave it to Baldr’s blind brother, and Bladr was slain. Not even Hermod’s quest to beg Baldr’s release from Hel could bring the slain god back. The death of Baldr is when the Aesir first experience true loss within the mythology. The one thought immune from all was killed, affirming the Norse belief that death is certain—even to the ones favored by the gods.

            Not all the stories within Norse mythology are about the assurance of death. “Harbard’s Song” is a hilarious poem of Odin in disguise trading insults with his son, Thor (Larrington 65). Odin easily outwits Thor, who is not known for his wit, and leaves him to travel through the thawing terrain. Another humorous poem is “Thrym’s Poem”, where Loki and Thor must dress as women to retrieve Miollnir from Thrym (Larrington 93). This poem is humorous because it forces Thor, a god who is extremely masculine, to be feminized. To be feminized is very shameful in the Norse culture, so to see Thor’s obvious discomfort at impersonating Freyia could be very comical. Especially since, once Thor retrieves his hammer, he proceeds to kill the giant and the giant’s sister—restoring his masculinity. Loki also presents a comical figure in this poem as he volunteers to be Thor’s maid and appears to enjoy the play act, answering all of Thrym’s questions about his bride. Loki is frequently disguising himself in feminine forms, flaunting his disregard for shame. Flaunting it prevents being feminized from being shameful and becomes more comedic in nature.

            In the Saga of the Volsungs, the balance between life and death in the Norse society is evident. The saga begins with the death of a thrall, sending the murderous brother on a banishment where he finds a new place to settle and begin a new clan (Byock 35-36). Again the motif of life emerging from death is in Norse mythology is seen. The inevitability of death is accepted, even by King Volsung, who refuses to flee from his fate and says “for each man must at one time die” (Byock 40). The acceptance that each man must die is important in the Norse culture because it gives them the sense of power. The Norse people did not give into death willingly; because they knew death was inevitable, they fought for everything. The only afterlife the Norse believed in was Valhalla or Hel; neither one promising an afterlife filled with riches. If someone wanted wealth and glory, it was only possible within their lifetime. The Norse may have known they were going to die, but they were going to make every effort to die fighting.

            Bryhild councils her lover Sigurd in the Saga of the Volsungs, and the wisdom she bestows upon his can be seen as council to the listeners of the saga. The advice she gives ranges from treatment of kinsmen, controlling tempers, traveling through the night, avoiding the temptation of women at feasts, and oath breaking, among other advice (Byock 71). These can be seen as the implicit rules within the clans and have a similarity of the sayings found within the “Sayings of the High One” (Larrington 13). These sagas and poems, like other cultures, were used to teach a way of life. They may not have a necessarily moral aspect that is found in Christianity, but the Norse did not trouble themselves with the goal of a heaven.

            The Old Norse people struggled to live day to day. This is not to say that they lived in a constant state of dying, but to say that their environment was harsh and they must constantly have been working to survive. Not only did they have to fear potential raids from other clans, but it seemed as if nature itself rose up against their societies. These were a people whose gods constantly warred against the giants, just as man constantly warred against nature. These were a people who accepted death and did not run from it; who knew that even their gods were fated to die in Ragnarok. Their mythology reflected their way of living; showing that because one accepts death, it does not mean you cannot find joy and humor in life. Norse mythology may appear to be inherently pessimistic, but in fact, it is the epitome of the balance between life and death. “Generous and brave men live the best” (Larrington 19).

Works Cited

Byock, Jesse L. The Saga of the Volsungs the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. Berkeley: U of California, 1990. Print.

Larrington, Carolyne. The Poetic Edda. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

Sturluson, Snorri, and Anthony Faulkes. Edda. London: Dent, 1995. Print.

Has Feminism gone too far?

Has Feminism gone too far?

Before you start bristling and get your many arguments ready to tell me about how much farther it still needs to go—let me say one thing: I agree completely with you.

Let me specify the question: Has feminism gone too far in regards to men?

What I mean is this: in pursuit of equality between men and women, our society has taken the “normal” roles of men in relationships.

Even up until the 90’s, boys growing up have always been told that they will be the one that is expected to provide for their family and for their wives in specific. It seems that today, especially in the last 15 years, they’re now told that they aren’t expected to fully provide for their families—that they should find a career wife and have the burden shared.

I have no issue with that. What I think has happened though is that we have taken away a role for men that helps them focus on growth, success, and development of responsibility without replacing it with another role.

Men are creatures of purpose. They are “fixers”, they strive to create or lead. With feminism we’ve diminished the importance of being the head of household I think. The issue with that is, because we haven’t told them what to do instead, men are often left with loose ends and a lesser since of purpose. Yes, men are told to be a partner in their relationship but in my experience men inherently wish to lead. Feminism though has taught them though that they shouldn’t lead, that it is diminishing and sometimes offensive towards their female counter parts to lead in a relationship.

What this has done to my generation of men, I believe, has given them a sense of flippancy when it comes to relationship building. I know not every single young man is like this, but I think as a society that is how we now perceive men. They’re not seeking a serious relationship until much later in their 20’s or even 30’s now.

Women talk about how men never grow up, but I think an issue now is that women aren’t inspiring men to grow up because we’ve been telling them that we can take care of them instead. Why should a guy strive to be a man if he can just use his looks to attract a mate?

I’m not suggesting that women need to take a back seat to leadership, their careers, or any of the great strides we’ve made in the last 20 years. But I think that we need to start holding men more accountable in our society as relationship leaders, to again inspire men to want to be better for the sake of having a family. We need to give men a role in relationships and life again that is compatible with the role of an independent woman. And women need to know that men can be inspired to step up, that they will step up, and help shoulder the burden of life.

As a woman, I believe I can do all that life requires of me. It’ll be hard, I won’t know everything, and it might make me rip my hair out. But as a spouse, I know I can ask for help from a man who is better than me in certain tasks.

I don’t believe equality has to mean that I can do everything as well as my husband. I believe equality means that we can depend on each other with things that we aren’t good at, without it ever being anything less than a true partnership.

True Equality, I believe, means complete respect for another human being.

Men in Fiction

Everyone rags on the over sexualization of women in …. Well everything. Especially comic books or Sci Fi & Fantasy works. It’s not hard to find an incredibly well endowed, super tiny waisted, skimpy outfitted woman when looking through even the Geek page on Pinterest. In fact, it’s harder to avoid finding those women. People can go on and on about how it objectifies women, how we’re represented as useless without a man, how physically impossible those women’s measurements are, or how unrealistic it is to fly with a strapless shirt on. That one should be obvious, I mean just ask a woman who has dived into a pool with a bikini top on. It’s a desperate scramble of fixing the girls before you come up for air. Then to drive the point home, they say: “What does this teach our little girls?”

I completely agree with them. But that’s not what got me writing today.

We’re so caught up in the fight for equality for the future generations of women that we forget the little boys out there seeing all these fantastic super heroes.

Now I’m sure you’re saying: “What?”

I’m serious though. Especially with the success of the Avengers on film, we’re not realizing that just like showing skinny women to little girls—showing strong, gorgeous men to little boys affects them just as much. They look up to these heroes and want to be them, just like so many little girls wanting to be the models on the front of Vogue.

But as it is with the girls not being able to come close to the photo shopped perfection on a glossy cover, not all these little boys will be able to come close to the computer helped testosterone packed fake god on the big screen.

And on top of that, these characters are also teaching the little boys what a man should be like. A man needs to be strong, incredibly smart or athletic, must be able to make every woman swoon when you flex your arms or smile. You must be rich, you must have an important career, and major failures aren’t allowed.

You can see in real life and in the sci fi world that those men tend to go through women faster than a fifth of expensive vodka. They become narcissistic, egotistic, and frankly douchebags.

So while you’re letting your son or your brother watch these amazing men do amazing things in the movies, remind them there is more to being a man than being able to kick ass. Teach them that they don’t have to be the strongest, they don’t need to be extremely wealthy, and it’s okay to fail at something.

We need an average hero for our boys. Someone who doesn’t always get the girl and doesn't always win the game, but he always tries his hardest and gets up to do it again when he fails.  

That is manlier than throwing money at a problem until it goes away. 

My slice of humble pie.

I know this isn't literature related, but I felt I needed to share the experience I had this morning.

I work as an early morning baker in downtown Portland, in an area that is constantly full of homeless people. I hate confrontation, so if I leave them alone they usually leave me alone. This is always tested when they’re sleeping in the doorway that I walk through every morning. I usually quickly back-peddle and go through one of the main entrances. 

This morning was different though. I’d been working on my muffins for about 30 minutes when I happened to notice a homeless lady putting her stuff down in the doorway. We briefly made eye contact through the windows before I slid my eyes right over here, trying to avoid showing too much attention to her. She quickly settled down on her cardboard and went to sleep. I honestly don’t mind when they sleep in my doorway. Their lives are hard enough without me chasing them off. Plus that would require confrontation.

Fast forward two hours, and she’s waking up. I continue to avoid looking at her, redoubling my efforts when I notice she’s trying to get my attention. Great, I thought, she wants free food. She even tried the door handle. I’m texting my husband the whole time, saying if she isn't gone by 5:30 A.M. I would call the non-emergency hotline and have her shoo’ed off.

Then, I noticed she taped a note to the window. For awhile, it was the opposite of a staring contest: how long could I go before I read it. Finally walking by, I sped read it and it brought me to a stop.

It said: Thank you for not chasing me off. I was so tired I was seeing things and here was the only place I came close to seeing safe enough to rest. Ty x100.

I’m so glad I didn't call the police.

I grabbed a bag of day old muffins and a bottle of water, and took it out to her. A bit out of pity, but mostly because she looked like she really needed it.

Before I could even offer it, she was thanking me profusely for letting her rest and telling me about her night’s experience. It turned out she had tried to sleep earlier in the night but was woken up when someone tried to steal what little she had, and she almost got stabbed in the process. She’d been running the rest of the night until she finally saw my work’s door stop.  

She didn't look “cracked out”, she was better-spoken than some non-homeless people I know, and she was grateful. Now, I know personally that not all homeless people out there are as seemingly clean and sane as she was.

At the same time, I was reminded that she is a person.

She had a family at one point, she had friends. Not many people are born into the life she was living now. But our society has turned her invisible to most of us.

But I saw her this morning, and through seeing her—I saw myself.

It’s humbling how such an act of paranoid kindness could affect her day. But I think I got more out of the experience. She showed me how even though she was invisible, she was still a person.

And by showing me that, she made me a better person. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

I’m sad to say that Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane is my first experience with the author; besides the movie Stardust and the Doctor Who episodes he’s written. However, that being so—The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a fantastic start to my new found love of Gaiman. How have I been reading this long without having picked up a work by him before?

Gaiman pulls you in immediately in his latest adult novel, thrusting you directly into the heartbreak of the narrator’s funeral of a never mentioned family member. The narrator experiences what we all have: the awkward meet and greet of old family friends and long distance relatives that you can’t remember the names of. You never learn the name of the narrator himself, which sets your soul into the character’s slot. Before the dreaded reception, the narrator takes a literal drive down memory lane to a childhood friend’s house. Reminiscing about the adventure he’d forgotten, Gaiman opens up a portal into a magical side of the world that confronts the realities of abuse, infidelity, and the bravery of a child.  

The narrator is the outcast child; no one shows up to his seventh birthday, nor does he get along with his older sister. He does what many children in that situation do, and retreats into himself and into books. The ageless matriarchal Hempstock family is introduced after a conflict with a minor character and the youngest, Lettie Hempstock, takes responsibility of the narrator as well as offering him friendship. She brings him into a part of the world he’d only ever imagined lived in story books or in the imagination of other children. But she doesn't take him in to the beautiful, happy-ever-after side; she, instead, shows him the dangers of the creatures that are from the other side of her Ocean. Together they must fight to return a creature back to the safety of the magical world after the narrator unwittingly helps it travel into the human world.

Gaiman’s prose is so simplistically beautiful that it draws you in without you noticing. Before you know it, you’re running down the lane with the narrator, terrified of the darkness behind you. Your heart aches as you see things that the narrator is still too young to properly understand. You question the nature of the creature the narrator has brought to his world: is it truly evil, or is it simply a creature that is struggling to fulfill its natural calling?

Gaiman blends reality with just enough mysticism to create a fascinating reality. His narrator’s struggles are so relatable that the reader will find plenty in common the young child. The reader’s heart will ache with him, their stomach will clench in fear, and finally the bittersweet ending will have the reader slowly closing the book and holding on the words for a little bit longer.

You can find Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane at any major book retailer, and probably your local independently owned bookstore. I highly suggest buying this book, as it’s one you’re going to want to keep on your shelves to revisit later.  

The image is copyright to HarperCollins Publishers and Neil Gaiman. 

Mary Wollstonecraft: Unsung literary heroine of the 18th Century

            Mary Wollstonecraft should be hailed more often as a literary heroine. Perhaps it is because of her scandalous affairs revealed after her death or her feminist beliefs and rhetoric that prevent her works from resting next to the works of Austen and the Brontë sisters on modern young girl’s bookshelves. Her wit and hard fought intelligence shine through with such sophisticated attitude that it incites pleasure while reading her scathing remarks, flaying men and the accepted belief of the lesser status of womankind in her time. Wollstonecraft wrote with passion, fervor, and clarity that were she alive today, she would rank among the great political women.

            Wollstonecraft’s arguments in her Vindications show a vehement desire for equality that is supported by not only her passion but also by sound logic. Perhaps as a woman in the 18^th century the rational she uses was not as clear-sighted and awe inspiring as it is for a modern woman who has many of the rights Wollstonecraft advocates. As a woman in the 21^st century reading her Vindications, Wollstonecraft’s arguments could be considered “obvious”: women could easily be the equal of men if both are offered the same education, women should be educated because they are the ones that raise the children of the next generation, women can be more than air headed trophies on their husband’s arms if only given the chance. As a 21^st century woman these arguments are very well accepted and coveted, because society has discovered what Wollstonecraft argued: Women are easily the equal of men if given the opportunity of education. However in the 18^th century, after Wollstonecraft’s husband published her memoirs after her death, the scandalous nature of her personal life overshadowed her forward thinking causing her work to be put away. Unfortunately, due to the tradition that she beats her fists so passionately against, it is understandable that women of her time either chose not to care about Wollstonecraft’s work or were afraid of being labeled a social pariah had they showed interest.

            Mocking an author or insulting their arguments is usually considered a weakness in your own defense, however Wollstonecraft uses her wit to positively flay entire pieces of work such as Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution of France. In her letter she wrote, she cleverly weaves her words to not only invalidate the arguments Burke makes but also insult the intelligence of the man himself! She draws a clean line between Burke and the middle class, clearly saying that his arguments only sound reasonable to the wealthy and higher class. What she does that many 21^st century political writers often forget or choose not to do is after slicing Burke’s down with her pen she rebuttals with a better argument.

            Wollstonecraft brings up an argument that is currently in the media today in her rebuttal against Burke: That the poor have a right to a better lifestyle than what society gives them and that it would not affect the wealthy as the wealthy believe. In modern society, the poor are fortunate that there is such things as a minimum wage and laws to protect the rights people have been deemed to have. She talks about things that modern society has made such progress in, yet her argument is still a valid one as society is not yet as equal as Wollstonecraft desires. Women have the right to education, to lead, to vote, to pursue whatever lifestyle they desire; yet female representation in government is still lacking and men are still the loudest voice in dictating laws. Women in many professional fields still lack the respect and pay rate as their male counterparts. Modern women should take up Wollstonecraft’s Vindications and should finish the fight that Wollstonecraft challenged society to.

            Mary Wollstonecraft is a literary heroine; she was scathing, hilarious, intelligent and clear-sighted in her writings. She also loved passionately, which the importance is often overshadowed by the scandalous nature of her affairs. Wollstonecraft was a woman who lived: she traveled, she wrote what she was passionate about, and the men she chose to love she did so completely. She is a woman who is meant to be admired throughout the centuries for showing such early evidence that a woman can fight the chains created by society while still being a partner, wife, and mother. Mary Wollstonecraft’s works deserve to be on every young girl’s bookshelf right next to the other literary heroines.

Technological Conundrums

The rise of technology has always directly influenced the world of literature. We began with crude paints on the walls of caves and now it's the norm to have a digital device that can hold thousands of books. For hundreds of years after the improved printing press was created by the German printer Johannes Gutenberg in 1450, the hardback and later the paperback book were the main options for literature. The printing presses were perfected and literature became more available to the public as advances in technology reduced costs and educational opportunities increased as the western world's culture developed and changed. Then in 2007, the Amazon Kindle was released; for the first time it was possible for an average person to have a device that could hold hundreds, thousands if you so willed, of books. It didn't take off immediately, however within a few short years the e-reader has thrown the literature world upside down.

There are pros and cons to having an e-reader. I, myself, have the most basic Amazon Kindle. I resisted getting one for about four years until I realized how convenient they could be. Instead of having to lug around two or three 500 page plus novels, I can pop this slim piece of technology into my purse and carry around a digital library. But I've found that even with the Kindle, I still buy hard copies of my favorite authors' new releases. What I do love about the Kindle is that there is easy access to many free books that include classics as well as new authors. It's also much lighter than Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. 

The release of the e-reader hasn't only thrown the product side of publishing for a loop; e-readers have also opened up a whole new path to publishing for those individuals who wish to become authors. It used to be that you'd send out a hundred copies of your manuscript to agents, hoping that they'd decide your novel was worth something and find you a book deal. Or if you decided to self publish, you'd end up spending hundreds of dollars printing your books and then trying to market them to your local bookstores. Now, with the release of e-readers self publishing has become much easier and has really sped up the process. Once your manuscript is edited and formatted, you can have your book ready to be purchased within 24 hours if you decide to self publish! Quality can range from superb to downright awful. When you buy a book at a store, you know that there were at least three various editors overseeing the book's many stages; with an e-reader you don't get that guarantee. An e-reader author may not have been able to afford a great free-lance editor and perhaps they used their neighbor's daughter who's going to college and needs a few extra bucks. The result is that the quality of the books you can get on the e-reader can range. However because the publishing companies have seen the trend of the public moving towards e-readers, they've began releasing digital copies as well as hardback. So obviously not all works on e-readers have the chance of being horrendously edited.

There are those who also fear that the e-reader will replace hard copies of books. I can fully understand that, but I don't think it will actually happen. While some publishers have reported a drop in sales when it comes to paper backs, hardback sales have stayed steady they also report. Also one benefit of the e-reader is studies are showing that kids and young adults are beginning to read more. It makes sense because the new generation is so entwined with technology, if we want our children to read we may just have to introduce it through the devices their eyes are already glued too. Personally, I would love to raise my future children on hard copies but I can understand that if you are having to pack a huge bag for them for travel, who wants to add three or six more books for them?

I don't see the e-reader as being the end of the physical books, but I do see them being the cause of a drop in local bookstores. In the last seven years, in my area, I've seen four bookstores disappear. I think our culture's move to more of an online market has had a large hand in it as well, but for sure the release of the e-reader has definitely affected local stores. Barns and Nobles is barely holding on, the release of the company's own e-reader has helped keep them going where as Amazon has never been doing better.

Honestly in the end, I like both books and the e-reader. I do primarily read hard copies, keeping my Kindle for travel and or access to quick, free books. I think Stephen Fry nailed it on the head when he said: “Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.” There will be the crowds that always pack into the elevator, or in this case e-readers, but for those of us who still crack open a book it's refreshing.

Besides, it just means shorter lines at the bookstore.

-B

P.S. I wonder what will come after e-readers as technology advances?

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