Lisa's Reviews > Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter
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** spoiler alert **
"All my days I have longed equally to travel the right road and to take my own errant path."
I am not a great fan of historical fiction, especially not if the main characters are deeply religious to the point of sacrificing themselves and their happiness in order to be forgiven for their sins (their moments of passion and life, that is!).
So I was not expecting to like Kristin Lavransdotter at all when I started reading the hardback copy I bought for some coins in a secondhand store. I wanted to read it because it is part of the Scandinavian cultural heritage, because it is written by the Nobel Laureate and outstanding storyteller Sigrid Undset, because it is good to move outside your comfort zone sometimes ...
What I didn't expect was the sympathy I all of a sudden developed for the characters. They acted according to beliefs I found ridiculous, and yet their human thoughts and feelings were so clear, so typical, so universal that I couldn't shake them off. They moved in fictional Middle Ages, and yet, modern Scandinavian behaviours and customs shone through each event, and the strange and exotic experience of the harsh geography and climate affected the Medieval cast in the same way it affects busy city dwellers of today.
Kristin herself, stuck between the wish to do the right thing by her father and her faith and to experience true passion, could be living in any place and any time. She is a symbol for a timeless female dilemma, and her choices mirror countless women's lives.
Unable to resist the strong, powerful charisma of a "bad guy", Erlend, she experiences both the bliss of passion and the drudgery of life shared with an irresponsible, happy-go-lucky man - instead of stable, yet boring companionship with a man of her father's choice.
Driven by her fear of her god and her belief that she has to atone for the sin of unlawful love, she eventually ends her life as a nun, dying while trying to help other people during the plague, a kind of late punishment for allowing herself a moment of freedom of choice beyond the limits of conventions.
What makes Kristin interesting to me is her strong will, her power to fight for what she thinks worth fighting for, her willingness to face the disappointments in life and to accept the consequences of her own decisions. Within the framework of a Medieval melodrama, Sigrid Undset manages to create the portrait of a strong woman ready to cope both with her own shortcomings and with those of the men in her care.
Even though Erlend is weak, there are valid reasons why Kristin felt attracted to him, and she acknowledges that facet in herself and dares to act on her feelings. I like that!
Recommended -despite myself!
I am not a great fan of historical fiction, especially not if the main characters are deeply religious to the point of sacrificing themselves and their happiness in order to be forgiven for their sins (their moments of passion and life, that is!).
So I was not expecting to like Kristin Lavransdotter at all when I started reading the hardback copy I bought for some coins in a secondhand store. I wanted to read it because it is part of the Scandinavian cultural heritage, because it is written by the Nobel Laureate and outstanding storyteller Sigrid Undset, because it is good to move outside your comfort zone sometimes ...
What I didn't expect was the sympathy I all of a sudden developed for the characters. They acted according to beliefs I found ridiculous, and yet their human thoughts and feelings were so clear, so typical, so universal that I couldn't shake them off. They moved in fictional Middle Ages, and yet, modern Scandinavian behaviours and customs shone through each event, and the strange and exotic experience of the harsh geography and climate affected the Medieval cast in the same way it affects busy city dwellers of today.
Kristin herself, stuck between the wish to do the right thing by her father and her faith and to experience true passion, could be living in any place and any time. She is a symbol for a timeless female dilemma, and her choices mirror countless women's lives.
Unable to resist the strong, powerful charisma of a "bad guy", Erlend, she experiences both the bliss of passion and the drudgery of life shared with an irresponsible, happy-go-lucky man - instead of stable, yet boring companionship with a man of her father's choice.
Driven by her fear of her god and her belief that she has to atone for the sin of unlawful love, she eventually ends her life as a nun, dying while trying to help other people during the plague, a kind of late punishment for allowing herself a moment of freedom of choice beyond the limits of conventions.
What makes Kristin interesting to me is her strong will, her power to fight for what she thinks worth fighting for, her willingness to face the disappointments in life and to accept the consequences of her own decisions. Within the framework of a Medieval melodrama, Sigrid Undset manages to create the portrait of a strong woman ready to cope both with her own shortcomings and with those of the men in her care.
Even though Erlend is weak, there are valid reasons why Kristin felt attracted to him, and she acknowledges that facet in herself and dares to act on her feelings. I like that!
Recommended -despite myself!
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Reading Progress
June 25, 2014
– Shelved
June 26, 2014
– Shelved as:
nobels
August 10, 2014
– Shelved as:
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
Started Reading
January 30, 2018
–
Finished Reading
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Dolors
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rated it 3 stars
Jan 30, 2018 08:49AM
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Ha! That's a good comparison, Dolors! I expected to struggle with this one, but I didn't (apart from some of the most annoying religious scenes - she overdid it massively at some points). I think our reception of a novel is strongly influenced by our expectations, and they were diametrically opposed when I started Robinson and Undset respectively. Everyone kept telling me Robinson is the "best ever writer", so I expected to be blown away (and not only by anger with Ames, who could well be a male copy of Kristin!). Your comment makes me sympathise more with Erlend though, who clearly has traits of the prodigal son Jack in Home. Now I m even more frustrated with Robinson: her trilogy is a complete rip off of Undset's three novels from the early 1920s, hahaha ...
I reread it with a certain trepidation, wondering whether it would live up to my memories, and I was delighted to find that it did (though I understood it a little better second time round; it's not really written for thirteen-year-olds!) I do think it's an exceptional piece of historical fiction, both in terms of characterization and sense of time and place.
Oh yes, Ray - it is very Scandinavian! And not only in its descriptions of landscape and climate: Underneath our thin polish of liberal urbanity, we are still very much wild Vikings trying to act as monks and nuns...
Oh how lovely to discover it as a thirteen-year-old, Issicratea! I guess I would have blushed a bit at times, and found it difficult to understand the later developments of Kristin in her middle-aged frustrations, but I can absolutely see how the story enthralls a young voracious reader. And I am pleased to hear it passed the later check as well!
Very convincing testimony, Lisa. I'm converted!
I start believing that I missed out on an early initiation rite, Jaline! Sounds like I should be ready to hand over Kristin to my daughter within the next year, as it seems to have a profound effect on young readers. I was impressed as well, but I can see the enthusiasm being stronger if you are exposed to this literary monument at the beginning of your "reading career"! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Deanna!
Very convincing testimony, Lis..."
Actually, I believe you would be kinder to the characters in this trilogy than I was at the beginning, Fionnuala! I myself was converted despite myself. Sigrid Undset and Selma Lagerlöf both have that effect on me, writing of Scandinavian religion, patriarchy, superstition and narrowmindedness while allowing themselves the "room of one's own" that is needed for creative work.
Well, just be warned, Agnieszka - it's a 1000-pager full of religious drivel, and I guess I just happened to be in the mood to look beyond that and see the heartbreaking life story of a strong-willed (or stubborn) woman and her hopelessly irresponsible husband.
I hope my kids will feel the same. I'll put it in their must-read-shelf straight away, now knowing my GR friends loved it at an early age - I came late to the pleasure...
You are welcome, Lisa! I am so glad that you are introducing these books to your daughter. I think there is something in them that seems to speak directly to the hearts of young girls working on their own identity. And also an element of, "see? she is older than I am, and she is battling problems too. Problems aren't just mine alone. Whew!" 😊
She is, Ivana - but quite annoying at times as well.
As for the religious weight the book carries, I can deal with it if it is kept in its medieval context, one of my favourite periods in history.
It is an impressive work, Kalliope, and Undset is a fabulous writer, so for someone like you - loving the Middle Ages - it is spot on.
Her religious emphasis has autobiographical features, as she converted to Catholicism a few years after writing this trilogy. She was thus deeply religious, but at odds with the conventional rites in her own surroundings. That inner conflict shows at some points in the story and in the struggles of the main character.
Thank you, Cheri!
Well said, Fran!
Interesting this. I very much look forward to reading this.. I just wish I could read 5 books at the same time (truly at the same time!!!), haha.
Thank you, Silvia!
Hahaha! I would like to be able to do simultaneous reading as well, Kalliope - and my night table looks like I am trying...
Thanks, Kathryn.