Miller, William Ian. Njála’s Unity Problem and the Very Beginning: Chapter 1
- Author: William Ian Miller
- Title: Njála’s Unity Problem and the Very Beginning: Chapter 1
- Published in: Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njals Saga
- Place, Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
- Year: 2014
- Pages: 15-23
- E-text:
- Reference: Miller, William Ian. Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njals Saga. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 15-23
- Key words:
Annotation
Miller discusses the issue of Njáls saga structure, and the first chapter’s importance for the saga’s narrative. He defends the saga’s unity, arguing that separating the saga into a Gunnars saga and Njáls saga does not make sense because Njáls role as advisor remains the same throughout his portrayal. What some have considered an awkward narrative shift from Mǫrðr gígja to Hǫskuldr Dala-Kollsson, Miller understands as a foreboding of things to come between the saga’s main antagonist Mǫrðr and Njáls foster-son Hǫskuldr Þráinsson Hvítanessgoði. Hallgerðr’s characterization is discussed through her unique introduction as a child playing on the floor during a feast.
Lýsing
See also
References
Chapter 1: Mörður hét maður er kallaður var gígja : “Right at the start he brings the names of the fomenter and his victim together—one positioned immediately above the other, so to speak—in case you forgot where this story is heading “ (p. 19).
Links
- Written by: Yoav Tirosh
- Icelandic/English translation:
