Miller, William Ian. Why is Your Axe Bloody?
- Author: Miller, William Ian
- Title: Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njals Saga
- Place, Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
- Year: 2014
- E-text:
- Reference: Miller, William Ian. Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njals Saga. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
- Key words:
Annotation
In this extensive close reading on Njáls saga, William Ian Miller looks to concile the different parts of the saga into a united whole, tying the plot together through a literary analysis that takes into account what Miller sees as the author’s genius. In many ways continuing his work in Bloodtaking and Peacemaking, Miller puts in the forefront of his analysis regional politics and the laws of feud. Miller somewhat absolves Hallgerður and Mǫrðr from their alleged villainy, while argues that the final decision to burn inside was made by Njáll who was disturbed by his sons’ single act of rebellion manifested in the killing of Hǫskuldr Hvítanessgoði. Miller attempts at explaining the end of the saga, which he considers disappointing, and decides that the author simply did not know how to conclude his masterpiece.
See also annotation for individual chapters:
- Miller, William Ian. Njála’s Unity Problem and the Very Beginning: Chapter 1
- Miller, William Ian. Marriage Formation and Dissolution: Chapters 2–34
- Miller, William Ian. Making a Scene: Chapters 34–5, 48
- Miller, William Ian. Looking Forward: Njal’s Prescience: Chapters 22–3
- Miller, William Ian. Bergthora vs. Hallgerd, Part I. The Theory: Chapters 35–45
Lýsing
Sjá einnig lýsingu á einstökum köflum:
- Miller, William Ian. Njála’s Unity Problem and the Very Beginning: Chapter 1
- Miller, William Ian. Marriage Formation and Dissolution: Chapters 2–34
- Miller, William Ian. Making a Scene: Chapters 34–5, 48
- Miller, William Ian. Looking Forward: Njal’s Prescience: Chapters 22–3
- Miller, William Ian. Bergthora vs. Hallgerd, Part I. The Theory: Chapters 35–45
See also
References
Chapter 105: Það er upphaf laga vorra: „ If you want a quick conclusion, it can somewhat unfairly be boiled down to this: things went from bad, but bearable, before Christianity, to worse and barely bearable after. Some people change their style of dying, but most importantly, it becomes harder to maintain the peace. The rules governing violence seem more under stress afterwards. In both post and pre-Christian Njáls saga revenge thrives, but in the earlier period it adhered better to norms of proportionality than after the Conversion.“ (p. 189).
Chapter 128: vil eg að menn gangi inn: „The interpretive problem is that for every fact we can allege for Njal having lost it, we can show one that cuts the other way. That means we have hardly disposed of the niggling suspicion that he knows his advice to go inside is bad and that he desires the results that obtain.“ (p. 229).
Links
- Written by: Yoav Tirosh
- Icelandic/English translation:
