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Independent People
Laxness, Independent People
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Week 2: A Day in the Woods - Search
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Rosa pleads with Bjartur not to leave her to look for Gullbra. When she reminds him she is pregnant, he replies:“I know only one thing: that my child isn’t due till after the New Year. Other people’s children are no concern of mine.”
“I’ve felt it kicking for a long time, all the same.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t concern me.”
Is Bjartur insensitive to Rosa’s pleas because the child isn’t his? Is he being cruel? Or does he really believe he has addressed Rosa’s concerns by leaving Titla, his dog, with her?
Bjartur claims independence is better than meat. He shares his croft with animals whose smells and noises permeate the atmosphere. Yet he refers to it as his “palace” when welcoming guests. He is indifferent to Rosa’s embarrassment about her appearance, dragging her out of hiding to make coffee for Ingolfur and friends. He ignores Rosa’s pleas, abandoning a terrified, pregnant Rosa with a sheep to keep her company when he takes off for a few days. He thinks he can single-handedly subdue a reindeer armed with nothing but a pocket knife and a piece of string. Is Bjartur stupid? Insensitive? Delusional? Monomaniacally obsessed with independence and sheep? All of the above, or something entirely different?
JCPOutside wrote: "I feel that Bjartur is a narcissist with a toxic independence. A man damaged by his childhood. He has no compassion or any feeling for Rosa, she is only a tool for his chosen life. This pathologica..."Do you think he is intentionally hurting her? Or do you think he honestly just doesn't understand her needs because they are so alien to him?
Earlier on, when he went away to herd his sheep, Rosa had asked for Titla to keep her company because she was afraid to be left alone. Bjartur refused because he needed his dog's help in rounding up the sheep. Instead, he left her Gullbra, one of his prime ewes. I suspect he did this because a ewe is good enough company for him and it will be the same for her. But this time around, he agrees to leave the dog with her. Isn't it possible that, in his mind, he is actually helping Rosa by agreeing to one of her earlier requests to leave the dog with her?
I maybe wrong, but I don't see Bjartur as malicious. I think he is just very stupid.
Bjartur's actions don't add up to a clear picture of his character and intentions for me. My best gest, he had invented the ideal world of his 'independence' and blindly and stubbornly tried to live up to it. At least, it can explain why he married Rosa and then treated her the way he did. During Madam Myri's visit the idea of independence seems to be shown empty and illusive. Of course, it was only the idle theorising of a wealthy woman, not the practice of a simple farmer. But if the theory is hollow, can the practice be good?
Well, I thought that Russian prose is depressing, but Laxness has surpassed it. Everything, that seems to bring some hope and meaning in the life, lately turns out to be empty.
Alexey wrote: "Bjartur's actions don't add up to a clear picture of his character and intentions for me. My best gest, he had invented the ideal world of his 'independence' and blindly and stubbornly tried to liv..."I agree with you. I think he is just very mixed up.
Alexey wrote: "Well, I thought that Russian prose is depressing, but Laxness has surpassed it. Everything, that seems to bring some hope and meaning in the life, lately turns out to be empty.
It's funny you say that, Alexey, because I don't find this depressing, at all. I think Laxness has injected humor into this, especially in his portrayal of Bjartur as a stubborn fool who fiercely clings to his notion of independence but who has some very admirable qualities in spite of that.
I see Laxness as poking fun at him and at his ludicrous notion of what it means to be independent. How can we take him seriously when he insists that independence is better than meat? I burst out laughing the first time I read that sentence.
I don't remember laughing too often in the Russian novels I've read, with the possible exception of Oblomov.
Tamara, I've taken my time to think about what you wrote. Of course, the story Laxness writes is full of irony, and he is very good in this. However, I can't help but see it as a grim irony of the doomed people, doomed to live of the impossible aspirations. Besides, the question what is better independence or meal, can be very real and not at all fun. On the other hand, I can't ignore how many moments in what we've read show that you are right. And I hope that Laxness follow in this way, and my understanding is caused only by current affairs.
Alexey wrote: "Tamara, I've taken my time to think about what you wrote. Of course, the story Laxness writes is full of irony, and he is very good in this. However, I can't help but see it as a grim irony of the ..."Alexey, I agree with you. Current affairs are horribly depressing. And I understand how that may impact one's reading.
I also agree with you Laxness does paint a very grim picture of life in Iceland at that time. But the thing I keep coming back to is Bjartur, himself. He does not strike me as in the least bit miserable or depressed. He understands life is a struggle, and he is willing and eager to take on the challenge. You never hear him say, "Oh, woe is me! Why do I even bother? I may as well give up and die." He doesn't whine or bemoan his fate. He just gets on with it and expects others to do the same. He has a can-do attitude, and I think his attitude makes a huge difference in the tone of the novel.
And then there are moments of absolute beauty, especially with Bjartur and his affinity with nature. When he goes on a wild goose chase to find Gullbra, we are told he experiences freedom and peace in nature. The outdoors is his spiritual home.
In this silence, this light, this landscape, the man was also perfect in his harmony with the soul within him.
That whole passage is inspiring and uplifting. Bjartur eats facing the moon, sleeps in a cave on a flat block of stone, warms himself by turning the heavy block repeatedly. He is tough, strong, independent, resilient, and a nature-lover. He is so much at peace. On top of that, he composes and recites poetry while hiking. What’s not to like?
There is much in the novel that is grim and challenging. But Laxness inserts so much that is beautiful and inspiring and uplifting.
So, hang in there, Alexey. I promise you this isn't a bleak novel.
Thank you, Tamara. I am quite determined to read it to the end.
Thank you, Tamara. I am quite determined to read it to the end.
Alexey wrote: "I am quite determined to read it to the end."I'm delighted to hear it.
About Bjartur and Rosa: I wonder about Bjartur's childhood and his relationship with his mother or any other woman. Perhaps that is a piece that is missing in his growth and being able to have any understanding of women, their needs and interests. While he was working for the Baliff did he have any opportunity to spend time with girls/women of his own age? Lack of socialization with the opposite sex could have led to the insensitivity we see in respect to Rosa. Rosa's reluctance to marry Bjartur and her subsequent aloofness towards him and their way of life certainly didn't help in any development of affection between the two.Is Bjartur obsessively focused on his independence from others and the building up of his flock? Oh, I agree! From time to time his way of thinking is certainly validated by the other farmers.
Somewhere I must have missed that Bjartur realized Rosa was pregnant and he suspected that the baby wasn't his. Was it explicitly portrayed or implicitly? They certainly didn't consummate the marriage on their first night. It wasn't until the conversation about her pregnancy when Bjartur stated that his baby wasn't due until the new year that it hit me that he knew that it wasn't his.
Lastly, Rosa's killing of the ewe was quite graphic and brutal. It was hard to read.
Oh, I guess not lastly. I was quite amused at the discussion by the farmers about their fears about the changes they were seeing in the women of the day. Modernity coming to the isolated island of Iceland?!! Shortening their skirts, the shamelessness of wanting/wearing silk stockings and "no small step...I suppose, to no skirts at all." Of course I am reading this as a modern woman of the 21st century .
Chris wrote: "About Bjartur and Rosa: I wonder about Bjartur's childhood and his relationship with his mother or any other woman. Perhaps that is a piece that is missing in his growth and being able to have any understanding of women, their needs and interests..."We get only small tidbits about Bjartur’s childhood. But his mother is mentioned in the “Dreams” chapter when Rosa tells him she dreams of sausages and milk. Bjartur is convinced she suffers from a bad case of nerves:
“There goes the last shred of doubt, woman. It’s your nerves. That’s how my poor old mother’s nerves began. It started with her always being full of some weird notion, then she began hearing voices. First of all, we saw a herb woman about it, but when that was no good we had to see the doctor. If this continues you had better let me know so that I can go across to old Finsen’s and get something with a bit of kick in it for you.”
That suggests his mother had some sort of mental breakdown and didn’t get any kind of emotional support or understanding from her family. They opted to treat her with herbs and medication, instead. When he sees the same signs in Rosa, Bjartur wants to treat her condition the same way his mother’s condition was treated because that’s the only thing he knows to do.
And when Rosa tells him she’ll need milk for when she has the baby, he replies,
“My child shall live on its mother’s milk. I had boiled fish and tallow and cod-liver oil in my sucking-bag long before I was a year old, and throve well on it.”
Bjartur seems to be incapable of stepping outside his own experience. He is definitely insensitive to Rosa’s needs. But I would also add that he treats everyone with the same degree of insensitivity, male and female alike. He is downright rude to the bailiff and Ingolfur. He shows little respect to anyone except, perhaps, Reverend Gudmundur but that is because he admires his sheep. His only bond seems to be with his dog and his sheep.
Bjartur is always himself and he doesn’t know how to be any different. He doesn’t even know he should be different. As his wife, Rosa is entitled to sensitivity and understanding. But she is seeking it from a man who is, in many ways, emotionally stunted and incapable of providing it.
Regarding Bjartur and Rosa relationship, I think it goes a little bit about his so called independence and it is quite a stereotype: to have feelings about someone is to somehow create a degree of dependence with that person. Therefore you better keep yourself guarded, keep your distance, and you may keep your so called independence.But other way to interpret is that Rosa disappointed him very much when she was not impressed with his property, with the whole idea of being a proud owner of a piece of land. Bjartur was very proud of what he sees as his accomplishment, his conquest, his prize after years of hard working and she clearly did not share the same values. I could quite imagine his mind deciding at that moment that she was not worthy anymore of his time, his care, and so on.
Alexey wrote Well, I thought that Russian prose is depressing, but Laxness has surpassed it. Everything, that seems to bring some hope and meaning in the life, lately turns out to be empty..."Laxness seems to have a great deal of warmth for his characters and for Iceland. I suspect Bjartur will gain some warmth in his interaction with others. I suspect he might be softer than he allows himself to show. He absolutely rejects dependence on others, but give an inch and others take you for a mile, so he's steeling himself against softness and compromise. Just guessing. We'll see.
The men gather in Bjartur’s croft before heading out to round up their sheep. They drink coffee and discuss a variety of topics. Rosa is overcome when she sees her father. Bjartur is hailed as a true Icelander since he values independence and freedom and recites Icelandic sagas. He leaves his ewe, Gullbra, to keep Rosa company while he is gone because she is afraid to be alone.
Alone on a stormy night, Rosa is terrified. She brings the jittery ewe inside. She hallucinates, convinced Gullbra has been murdered and risen from the dead with the help of the devil. She slaughters her the following morning, cooks the meat, and eats it. We are told this is the first happy day of her married life.
Bjartur comes home having rounded his sheep and given the bailiff his share as partial payment for the land. Rosa claims Gullbra ran away. Bjartur gives Rosa pills for her nervous disposition. There are frequent visitors to Summerhouses, including the bailiff’s wife, Madam Myri, who extolls the virtues of farm life (again!). Rosa clams up when asked about the baby’s due date.
Bjartur is obsessed with locating Gullbra, even dreaming she is still alive. Meanwhile, Rosa has been feeding him Gullbra’s meat. He determines to look for Gullbra, dismissing Rosa’s protests and pregnancy concerns. He leaves his dog with her and heads out to search for Gullbra. He experiences freedom and peace in nature, composing poetry while searching for Gullbra. He sees reindeer in the snow, sneaks up, and grabs one by the antlers. They struggle. He jumps on the deer’s back and is carried to the icy river.
___________
The girls who visit Bjartur’s croft with Ingolfur are full of energy, song, and laughter in contrast to Rosa who is sullen and embarrassed by her clothes and swollen face. She is very much an outsider in all of this. Bjartur initially is in a sour mood, but the girls manage to coax him out of it. He plays tag with them and recites poetry when asked. Bjartur has a playful and entertaining side. Why hasn’t he ever shown that to Rosa?
Rosa sits by the window listening for the sound of Ingolfur shooting at the birds. She is described as waiting in anguish for each fresh shot:
It was as if she knew that every shot he fired would hit her, and her alone; that it would hit her in the heart, and in the heart only.
What does this suggest about Rosa’s previous interactions with Ingolfur?
Bjartur’s visitors are impressed with his staunch independence:
At close quarters his way of thinking might seem not without an element of the ludicrous, but he did not fail to move them as he stood on his own soil in the calm of the Sunday evening, with his little croft behind him, ready and eager to wage his war of independence with hostile powers, natural and supernatural, and undaunted, set the world at naught.
Does Bjartur embody the heroic spirit of the first settlers in Iceland?
The men at the wedding discuss topics that are never far from their minds—animal diarrhea, tapeworm and lung-worm in their sheep and dogs. At the Shepherd’s Meet gathering at Bjartur’s croft, they talk more of the same, including their views on the weather; male vs. female offspring; silk stockings; the length of women’s skirts; poetry; spiritual matters; and science. Are they portrayed as unique, authentic individuals?