Our hero is born . . .

Section 4, FOEDDR SIGURDE, or "Sigurd Born," tells of Sigmund taking a young beautiful wife, Sigrlinn; he asks her,

"Say me, Sigrlinn,
sweeter were it
young king to wed
and yellow-bearded,
or wife of a Volsung,
the World's chosen
in my bed to bear,
bride of Odin?"

She had been wooed by seven princes, and, while the poem says "Sigmund took her" (93), she appears to love him.

Tolkien describes the battle in typical Old Norse or Anglo-Saxon style:

High sang the horns,
helms were gleaming,
shafts were shaken,
shields them answered.
Vikings' standards,
Volsung's banner
on strand were streaming;
stern the onslaught. (94)

Sigmund is unstoppable on the battle field; and it's really gory. In stanza 7 Tolkien describes him--fearless and covered in blood:

Fate him fended
fearless striding
with dew of battle
dyed to shoulder. (94)

But one "warrior strange" (94) appears (Christopher Tolkien's note identified him as Odin himself); Sigmund is no match for him and is cut down. Here we see Sigrlinn's attachment to Sigmund, when she addresses him as "my lord beloved, last of Volsungs" (95). As he dies, Sigmund tells her she will bear the World's Chosen and that she must collect the shards of his shattered sword and have them reforged for their son (96). Reminds us of "The sword that was broken . . . " in LOTR.

The Vikings now returning in victory, Sigrlinn disguises herself as a servant-girl and is carried off to a "far country," where in due time she gives birth to a son: "Sigurd golden as a sun shining" (97). When a wise woman learns that he is the son of Sigmund, she prophesies:

"Fair shall be fostered
that father's child;
his mother be mated
to a might king." (98)

This section contains several tropes of ON and OE poetry and saga; we see the hero in battle, driven by fate and unconquerable by men; we see his overthrow by divine intervention and his sword broken; we see the fate of women--taken in battle or enslaved by victors in war; we see the acceptance of fate or destiny--the gods' will--in both good and bad circumstances; we see the practice of fostering; and we see the prophetess, proclaiming the reversal of fortune for the son--and his mother.

Now we'll have to wait to see how this is worked out.

a very short note . . .

I just wanted to say that I've finished The Eyre Affair and quite enjoyed it. I really like the way Fforde takes us into the novel itself--and sets up an interaction between the characters in Bronte's novel and those in his own. While it has some humorous scenes and interactions with text(s), it's clear that Fforde appreciates and respects Bronte's work. I think that was something I was worried about when I started the Fforde novel--that he would take the "original" too lightly. Since it's a book I've loved since I was a child, I didn't want to see it mis-applied or manipulated in an unkind way. But, while I'm glad I read this novel, I doubt that I'll re-read it--maybe bits of it. It isn't a Bronte novel--that's for sure. The characters are much more caricatures than anything Bronte ever wrote. I love Bronte's novel for its realism and depth of character development, for the fact that Jane becomes a real person for me--someone I truly admire and empathize with, for the carefully developed and intertwining plot(s), for the celebration of moral goodness and strength--and love of course.

Fforde perhaps celebrates these things, but he does so in a light-hearted--sometimes frivolous (?)--way which is very enjoyable but hardly endearing.

OK. Really back to Tolkien tomorrow!

a little break from Tolkien . . .

I did read T today, but I wanted to mention two other books I'm really enjoying, too. While I'm reading Tolkien's poem from a "real" book, I'm reading The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde, via Kindle on my laptop; since Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a book like this--I didn't have a clue what he'd do with the original text. But I'm really enjoying it, except that at times the names of some of the characters bug me--they can be pretty strange (A detective named Braxton Hicks is one that comes to mind--if you've ever given birth you probably recognize this one.) But I like the basic plot, and it's a really quick read. It's interesting to think of books like Jane having different--and quite unsatisfactory--endings; I don't know yet how the LiteraTec agents manage to change things so the book has the ending WE expect. I've just read the chapter where a person from the narrative present manages to enter the narrative of Jane just as she is discovering the fire in Mr. Rochester's bedroom--and we all remember how romantic that scene was! But it becomes quite hilarious when a modern man appears in the room and enters the conversation. I won't tell you what happens--in case you want to read it--but what actually does happen is not hilarious in the least. Does make you think about how readers respond to fictitious characters and form attachments to them.

The other book I'm "reading" is David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens; its full title is: David Copperfield or The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (which he never meant to publish on any account). Since I teach Victorian Lit and British Novel, I've set myself the task of reading all of Dickens' novels. But I'm doing this by listening to them on my iPod. I really like this way of getting to know the books. I'm reading them chronologically, so this is the 9th one (the Christmas stories all together count as one). So far my favorite character, besides young David, is Aunt Betsey Trotwood--what a "character"! Dickens was an amazing observer of people's characteristic behaviors and speech. I've enjoyed all these novels so far, except perhaps Barbaby Rudge, which was a bit too much of an industrial and political novel for my taste--but maybe someday I'll give it a second chance.

So if you're looking for a good read--without having to think too deeply--you might try either (or both) of these. I think someone should write a novel with Miss Betsey Trotwood as the central character!

Back to T tomorrow . . .

The Death of Sinfjotla . . .

The poetry in Section 3, "The Death of Sinfjotla," is more in line with that in the Introductory Section; it's evocative of Norse or Anglo-Saxon war culture. Sigmund, with his son, Sinfjotla, as a second in command, rules his people through war and peace. There are fine depictions of Norse ships and armor, as well as feasting in the hall. Though, unfortunately for Sinfjotla, his father's wife, the queen, is out for revenge because Sinfjotla had killed her father--apparently during battle. She seems to have been taken by Sigmund as a spoil of war. At any rate, she manages to poison Sinfjotla during a banquet in the hall. This bit is very well told by T; it is formulaic, building suspense--though the original hearers of the tale would have known the outcome beforehand. This kind of telling allows for a satisfying sort of relish, watching the story unfold, all the while knowing what's to come. In the end, Sinfjotla dies, and (C T tells us in the notes) the queen is banished and Sigmund takes a new, young, wife. Sigmund sends his son's body on a ship to Valhalla, where Volsung welcomes him but reminds us that they still await the "World's Chosen" (91).

Quite a pleasant read--now we'll have to see what Sigmund's new marriage will add to the story.

Interview with Christopher Tolkien & video promo of book

Thought you might be interested in this Guardian interview with Christopher Tolkien about Sigurd and Gudrun and numerous other things . . . and a video promo by HM . . .

Andvara-Gull and Signy . . .

I’m making progress, having read sections 1 and 2. I didn’t really enjoy section 1, "Andvara-Gull" (Andvari’s Gold); I read it through and didn’t find it as musical as the introductory section, and I really couldn’t even figure out the story. Even after I read the notes and understood the story, when I re-read the section, I didn’t find it as engaging as the "Beginning." Several of the 8-line stanzas had alliteration that was too monotonous; six of the fifteen stanzas have at least four lines alliterating on the same sound. It seems heavy handed at times. And the story is so truncated that it hardly flows.

Thankfully section 2, "Signy" was a much more pleasant read—-though the story is pretty gruesome. Volsung has 11 children: twins Sigmund and his sister Signy, and 9 other sons. Signy is given in marriage, as a peace-bride, to Siggeir, king of Gautland (the land of the Geats in Beowulf), but she doesn’t love him—and he is power-hungry. So all ends badly: the 9 brothers are killed, Signy orchestrates the deaths of her children by Siggeir, and she bears a child of her brother Sigmund. She visits him in disguise in his hidden cave; the narrator asks:

Answer, earth-dweller [Sigmund],
In thy arms who lies,
Chill, enchanted,
Changed, elfshapen? (83)

What will become of this unnatural child, Sinfjotli? We’ll have to wait and see if he appears in later sections.

This section seems to be more well-crafted; it reads much more effortlessly than section 1. So I’m looking forward to more like this. It is dramatic and easy on the ear. While “Advari’s Gold” showed the Norse and Anglo-Saxon concept of “were-geld,” gold given in recompense for a person’s death, the “person” who died was the son of a god, and the story was riddled with lacunae. In “Signy” the concept of the Peace-Bride is explored in a story that leads to tragedy and the death of the groom, his children, and, finally, the bride herself. The element of “Doom” is clearly depicted here, but I’m not sure if balance has been reestablished.