Berger, Alan J. The meaning of "Njáls saga"

• Author: Berger, Alan J.
• Title: The Meaning of Njáls saga
• Published in: Skandinavistik 11
• Year: 1981
• Pages: 1-8
• E-text:
• Reference: Berger, Alan J. "The Meaning of Njáls saga." Skandinavistik 11 (1981): 1-8.

---

• Key words:

Annotation

Alan Berger addresses the question of authorial intent in Njáls saga through the analysis of the plot structure, and the identification of thematically relevant motives that appear at key-moments of the narrative. According to him, the author of Njáls saga alternates climactic and anti-climactic episodes, thus "reversing and re-reversing the tragic plot" (p. 5), in order to trigger a reflection on the ambiguity of the concepts of friends and enemies and the dysfunctional nature of socially consecrated modes of reconciliation. The absence of authorial statements invites the reader to draw personal interrogations and questionings from the saga.

Links

• Written by:
• Icelandic/English translation: