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.

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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.

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