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The Male Construction of Empowered Female Identities in Old Norse Myth and Legend

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The Male Construction of Empowered Female Identities in Old Norse Myth and Legend Durham E-Theses The whirling wheel: the male construction of empowered female identities in Old Norse myth and legend VARLEY, DAVID,HUGH How to cite: VARLEY, DAVID,HUGH (2015) The whirling wheel: the male construction of empowered female identities in Old Norse myth and legend, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11057/ Use policy This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY) Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 1 Abstract: PhD Thesis, Durham University 2014 The Whirling Wheel: The Male Construction of Empowered Female Identities in Old Norse Myth and Legend This thesis examines the body of medieval literature associated with Old Norse myth and legend. Though this is a diffuse corpus produced over a long span of time and from a wide geographical area, it is possible to establish connections between texts and to highlight certain recurring narrative patterns that are deeply entrenched in this literary tradition. The specific focus of the present study is to analyse the narrative patterns that characterise the interactions between male and female figures. It has long been understood that female figures tend to occupy carefully defined social roles in this body of literature, and much work has been done in assessing these. This thesis takes the unique approach of investigating whether these roles can be viewed, not as a product of the mentality of the writers of this literary material, but rather as a product of male characters within the literary narratives themselves. The investigation poses the question of whether men can be seen, through their words, thoughts, and actions, to be responsible for creating female identities. Intimately connected to the concept of identity creation is the idea of power: this thesis will argue that most male attempts to redefine female identity is motivated by a desire to acquire, control, negate, or otherwise alter, the powers possessed by females. Quite often, because fallible males demonstrate an imperfect understanding of female power, there can be a marked disparity between the abilities certain women are thought to possess, and those they actually do. The thesis will examine a large selection of supernatural female figures, across a broad range of literature, ultimately to suggest that the male creation of female power is deeply entrenched in narrative patterns observable in many different contexts. 2 3 THE WHIRLING WHEEL: THE MALE CONSTRUCTION OF EMPOWERED FEMALE IDENTITIES IN OLD NORSE MYTH AND LEGEND by David H. Varley Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD University of Durham Department of English Studies 2014 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 10 i. Opening Remarks 10 ii. Terms and Definitions 13 iii. Choice of Primary Literature 17 iv. Approach 23 v. Miscellany 33 Section 1: Masculinity, the Gods, and the Invention of Female Power 35 1.1. Introduction 35 1.2. Þórr 37 1.2.1. Introduction 37 1.2.2. Encounters with Alien Women 39 1.2.3. The Politics of Þórr’s Family 56 1.2.4. Þórr and Cross-dressing 62 1.3. Óðinn 67 1.3.1. Introduction 67 1.3.2. The Forms of Óðinn’s Female Relationships 68 1.3.3. Power, Seiðr, and the Act of Cross-dressing 81 1.4. Loki 103 1.4.1. Introduction 103 1.4.2. Loki and the Performance of Femininity 106 1.4.3. Loki’s Sexual Relationships 114 1.5. Conclusions 132 Section 2: The Ásynjur 134 5 2.1. Introduction 134 2.2. The ‘Domestic’ Ásynjur 135 2.2.1. Introduction 135 2.2.2. Frigg/Sága 137 2.2.3. Iðunn 158 2.3. The ‘External’ Ásynjur 166 2.3.1. Introduction 166 2.3.2. Gerðr 167 2.3.3. Skaði 183 2.4. Freyja 198 2.4.1. Introduction 198 2.4.2. Freyja as Witch 199 2.4.3. Freyja as Whore 210 2.4.4. Freyja as Aristocrat 215 2.5. Conclusions 221 Section 3: Male Interactions With Feminised Concepts of Fate and Death 225 3.1. Introduction 225 3.2. Norns and Valkyries 227 3.2.1. Introduction 227 3.2.2. Norns 228 3.2.3. Valkyries 235 3.3. The Transformed Princess 243 3.3.1. Introduction 243 3.3.2. The Princess as Valkyrie 244 3.3.3. The Princess as Troll-Woman 252 6 3.4. The Figure of the Seeress 261 3.4.1. Introduction 261 3.4.2. Óðinn and the Völur 262 3.4.3. The Völur Amongst Humans 278 3.5. Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr 286 3.5.1. Introduction 286 3.5.2. Þorgerðr in Flateyjarbók 288 3.6. Conclusions 297 Conclusion 301 Bibliography 311 Primary Texts 311 Secondary Texts 318 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 7 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to David Ashurst, finest of supervisors and greatest of friends. Without his constant support, encouragement, kindness and advice, this work would not have been possible. I am also grateful to the Department of English Studies at Durham University for the many opportunities it has given me during the course of my degree. I would like to thank Rory McTurk and Andrew Wawn, inspirational teachers both, for first introducing me to Old Norse literature, and to thank Alaric Hall for nurturing my love of mythology and encouraging me to pursue postgraduate research. Recognition is also due to the many friends who have made life so enjoyable during my degree. I would like to thank the many members of the Durham Old Norse Group for so many evenings of laughter, and in particular John Shafer, Nicola Lugosch-Baker, Betsie Cleworth, Alex Wilson and Hannah Burrows for so much support in so many things. Thanks is due also to the many wonderful housemates I have had over the years, who have put up with my frequent ‘viking witterings’ with exceptional grace and fortitude. A final debt of thanks is due to my students, whose enthusiasm for early medieval literature has supported my own. 8 This thesis is dedicated to my parents, David and Nance, for their unwavering love and support over many years. 9 ‘A maiden’s words must no man trust, nor what a woman says, for on a whirling wheel were hearts fashioned for them and fickleness fixed in their breast.’ – Hávamál, st. 84.1 1 Trans. Dronke (2011) 18-19. 10 Introduction i. Opening Remarks If this thesis has an identifiable point of origin, it lies in the title of Jenny Jochens’s seminal 1996 publication, Old Norse Images of Women. The central argument of this work was that literary depictions of women across the corpus of Old Norse literature could be divided into four broad types: the woman in war, the wise woman, the avenger, and the whetter.2 Jochens’s argument essentially suggests that the characterisation of women in this body of literature is limited to a few pre-set stock characters, and that these identities are related to the functions they fulfil in the text, often as an adjunct to the male-oriented action of the story. This is not to say that clever writers of this material are incapable of creating interesting and nuanced female portraits: time and again these texts present the reader with powerful, compelling, and psychologically convincing women. This is a body of literature in which women can, and do, have power and influence, and can command both the respect of their peers and a central place in the narrative. Jochens’s point, though, it to show that whilst one can have nuanced and elaborate portraits of female figures imbued with power and authority, nevertheless they are inevitably presented within an established and consistent framework of social roles. The aspect of the title that most fascinated me, even when I first read it as an undergraduate, was Jochens’s use of the word ‘Images’. The word ‘image’ is one with a broad variety of meanings, and it is evident that Jochens’s understanding of it largely agrees with what the Oxford English Dictionary gives as a fifth meaning: 2 Jochens (1996) 88. 11 A mental representation of something (esp. a visible object) created not by direct perception but by memory or imagination; a mental picture or impression; an idea, conception.3 The word, however, carries a variety of meanings and significances beyond this single definition. Most important is the OED’s primary definition of an image: An artificial imitation or representation of something, esp. of a person or the bust of a person.4 This meaning denotes a literal image, a manufactured object designed to represent something. The idea of an image being manufactured is important: it emphasises its artificiality. An image is not the thing in and of itself, but rather the construct of a third party (usually an artist) representing the original, and that has consequently been subject to that party’s own sense of interpretation. An image, ultimately, conveys as much information about its creator as it does about the thing it represents. When Jochens chose to use the word ‘image’, her intention was to suggest that the writers and compliers of the corpus of Old Norse literature relied upon a stock of pre- conceived roles, and their associated traits and functions, in constructing their female characters. The approach of this thesis is to examine the ‘images’ of women from a different angle, with regard to the way in which these images are constructed and by whom.
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