Lyfing
07-31-2009, 01:59 AM
Myth, Psychology, and Society in Grettis saga.. (http://74.6.239.67/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Myth%2C+Psychology%2C+and+Society+in+Grettis+sag a&fr=moz35&u=userpage.fu-berlin.de/~alvismal/11gretti.pdf&w=myth+myths+psychology+society+grettis+gretti%27s +saga&d=Z1KcXxlMTJAe&icp=1&.intl=us)
The saga of Grettir Ásmundarson is exceptionally rich in both psychological and mythological terms. Its account of the protagonist shows a diversity of forces combating within him ( Hreins son 1992, 105).1 Equally, it is replete with allusions to mythological figures. In this respect Grettir
is notably polysemous (cf. Hastrup 1986, 310), having in his composition something of Óðinn, something of Þórr, something of Loki, something of the giants, something even of Þjelvar, bringer of fire to islands in Guta saga. Reference to this saga would readily support the proposition that the pre-Christian mythic world continued to form an implicit frame of reference for medieval Icelanders as they sought to understand and represent human life and behaviour ( Clunies Ross 1994– 98, 2:23; cf. Nordal 1998, 221). Just like the gods and giants upon whom he is styled, Grettir behaves in ways that are more extreme and more flamboyant than people allowed themselves in their quotidian existence (cf. Clunies Ross 1994–98, 2:24). His story, in its extant realizations, can be understood, I shall argue, as a fourteenth century mythicization of tensions and pressures, fears and desires, within
Icelandic culture.2 Here I propose to concentrate on familial relationships within Grettir’s “primary group,” developing the proposition that the figure of Glámr personifies crucial aspects of that dynamic.3
Later,
-Lyfing
The saga of Grettir Ásmundarson is exceptionally rich in both psychological and mythological terms. Its account of the protagonist shows a diversity of forces combating within him ( Hreins son 1992, 105).1 Equally, it is replete with allusions to mythological figures. In this respect Grettir
is notably polysemous (cf. Hastrup 1986, 310), having in his composition something of Óðinn, something of Þórr, something of Loki, something of the giants, something even of Þjelvar, bringer of fire to islands in Guta saga. Reference to this saga would readily support the proposition that the pre-Christian mythic world continued to form an implicit frame of reference for medieval Icelanders as they sought to understand and represent human life and behaviour ( Clunies Ross 1994– 98, 2:23; cf. Nordal 1998, 221). Just like the gods and giants upon whom he is styled, Grettir behaves in ways that are more extreme and more flamboyant than people allowed themselves in their quotidian existence (cf. Clunies Ross 1994–98, 2:24). His story, in its extant realizations, can be understood, I shall argue, as a fourteenth century mythicization of tensions and pressures, fears and desires, within
Icelandic culture.2 Here I propose to concentrate on familial relationships within Grettir’s “primary group,” developing the proposition that the figure of Glámr personifies crucial aspects of that dynamic.3
Later,
-Lyfing