First off I just have to say that it took quite a bit of reading to get to the point where Egil is actually born. That said, I did find his previous generations of family quite interesting. Kveldulf is my favorite; he embodies a very no-nonsense elder that has put in his time amusing the current King and is now playing the "seniority" card to get out of such troubles. His blatent disregard for King Harold both surprised and impressed me. I also liked this character because he was very wise. He had frequent intuitions, and they were often very true. He seemed very patiently stubborn, and reasonable despite the King's frequent request of his presence in court.
Thorolf seemed at first to me the very opposite of his father. They seemed to portray the classic child to parent relationship, where Thorolf goes off and does his own thing, joining the King's court even though his father is sure the King will bring bad news to his family in the end. Thorolf seems very eager to please. In contrast to Kveldulf's self interest and common sense, Thorolf accepts the King's requests almost without thought. He provides very well for all his man and I found myself sympathizing with him througout.
Some of the traits Egil displays are brute strength, obviously deemed a very worthy and important aspect in Nordic characterization and social dominance. His strength is impressed upon the reader in several anecdotes when he is first introduced. Other noteworthy traits are his stubbornness and jealousy. I was quite surprised he wasn't reprimanded when he disobeyed his father's word and rode to the dinner on his own. Overall, I was very surprised when many little acts of disobedience such as this were overlooked in this text.
No comments:
Post a Comment