Miller, William Ian. How Not to End a Saga, Unless...: Chapters 146–59

• Author: Miller, William Ian
• Title: How Not to End a Saga, Unless...: Chapters 146–59
• Published in: Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njáls Saga
• Place, Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
• Year: 2014
• Pages: 294-300
• E-text:
• Reference: Miller, William Ian. Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njáls Saga. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

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• Key words:

Annotation

This chapter attempts to deal with what Miller sees as an unsatisfying ending to the masterful Njáls saga. He suggests several solutions for the saga’s protracted ending; the first being an excuse to insert Þorsteinn Hallsson‘s witty shoe-tying line into the saga; the second being that the final scenes, heavily influenced by Christian motifs, have a palinodic, or renunciatory function; Miller‘s final explanation, influenced by an M.A. student of his, suggests that the final killings are meant to eradicate negative retellings of the burnings. Miller finally dismisses this explanation as well since it does not explain what he sees as the bad match between Kári and Hildigunnr, and states that perhaps the author simply did not know how to conclude his own saga.

Lýsing

Í kaflanum er reynt að sætta, það sem Miller kallar, ófullnægjandi endi við annars afburðasögu. Hann reynir jafnframt að ráða í ástæðuna fyrir langdregnum endi sögunnar; sú fyrsta gæti verið til þess að koma hnyttinni setningu um Þorsteins Hallssonar að binda skóþvenginn inn í söguna, önnur gæti verið að lokaatriðið, sem er undir kristnum áhrifum, eigi að hafa afneitunaráhrif. Síðasta útskýring Millers er undir áhrifum frá meistaranema sem hann kenndi, hann leggur til að síðustu morð sögunnar hafi átt að eyða út öllum neikvæðum frásögnum af brennunni. Miller neitar þeirri kenningu eins og öllum hinum þar sem engin af þeim getur skýrt slæmt hjónaband Kára og Gunnhildar. Að lokum veltir hann því fyrir sér hvort að höfundurinn hafa ef til vill ekki vitað hvernig hann ætti að enda sína eigin sögu.

See also

• Miller, William Ian. Why is Your Axe Bloody?
• 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
• Miller, William Ian. Bergthora vs. Hallgerd, Part II: Some Facts
• Miller, William Ian. Otkel vs. Gunnar: Chapters 46–56
• Miller, William Ian. Gunnar vs. the Thrihyrning People: Chapters 57–66
• Miller, William Ian. The Two Thorgeirs and Death of Gunnar: Chapters 67–77
• Miller, William Ian. Revenge for Gunnar: Chapters 77–81
• Miller, William Ian. The Atlantic Interlude and Hrapp: Chapters 82–9
• Miller, William Ian. Setting up Thrain: Chapters 90–2
• Miller, William Ian. A Tale of Two Hoskulds: Chapters 93–9
• Miller, William Ian. Conversion and the Genius of the Law: Chapters 100–6
• Miller, William Ian. Valgard ‘the Wise’ and Hoskuld’s Blood: Chapters 107–16
• Miller, William Ian. Skarphedin Ascendans, Flosi’s Ninth Nights: Chapters 117–23
• Miller, William Ian. The Burning: Chapters 124–32
• Miller, William Ian. Preparation for the Next Althing: Chapters 132–7
• Miller, William Ian. The Trial of Flosi and the Battle: Chapters 135, 141–5
• Miller, William Ian. Kari and Friends: Chapters 145–55
• Miller, William Ian. A Conclusion: Justice and Exits

References

Chapter 155: að segja söguna: "But the key point is that Kari's mission is no longer about avenging his son, but about repressing alternate versions of the saga." (p. 298).

Chapter 159: Hildigunni : "The author seems to have trouble figuring out how to end his saga. The marriage of Hildigunn to Kari is improbable and perfunctory, as if he were throwing up his hands in despair at how to bring his story to a close." (p. 294).

Links

• Written by: Yoav Tirosh
• Icelandic translation: Andri M. Kristjánsson