Gender Switching in Medieval Literature

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Considered one of the most popular Icelandic literatures, Njal’s Saga is a tale composed by anonymous authors soon after the downfall of the Icelandic Commonwealth. The saga recounts a procession of blood feuds that results from minor misunderstandings, but also portrays the arrival of Christianity to Scandinavia. Through the use of many stock characters, the story bears striking resemblance to The Nibelungenlied, a Germanic epic that also ends in tragedy. There are arrogant heroes who place too much trust on their wives, and heroines who are out with a thirst for revenge. Both stories, initially take place in stable society where men are the breadwinners, off fighting battles, leading troops, and gaining honor for their country while women are the homemakers, tending to their families, self-worshipping their beauty and spreading gossip. Big problems come to life when characters step out of their gender roles and cross gender lines. The major protagonists of the stories are Kriemhild and Njal. These are the tragic heroes who start off in happy, peaceful state, but due to a personal character flaw, they spiral down to their ultimate demise. Njal plays the role of a pacifist and solves conflict throughwords and law rather than blood. However, it seems thatNjal dies not because he adopts a feminine approach to life but because he chose to sacrifice himself—his death was partially voluntary. Kriemhild, on the other hand, seeks revenge and embarks on a violent after her husband Siegfried’s death. She dies because her society did not accept what she has become—her death was not voluntary. Although both stories have the same definition for gender identity and both have characters that dare challenge these social norms, Icelandic soci...

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...argue with words. This binary relationship hold holds true in both stories. However, gender is a very fluid concept and it is possible to find characters such as Kriemhild and Njal to stray away. When a woman attempts to play the role of a man, society reacts by calling her a “she-devil” and immediately striking her down. On the other hand when a man acts sort of like a woman, society looks down on him but does not kill him right away. It is possible to say that society is favoring the more feminine aspect of life. Especially in Njal’s Saga, life seems much better without war and violence. The law and events at the Althing work well until people like Gunnar and Njal deliberately try to corrupt the situation. These two stories suggest that words are better alternatives to weapon and fighting. Once the fighting ceases, the story ends in a calm and tranquil détente.

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