Viking Culture Vs. Western Culture

         The Saga of Grettir the Strong shows that modern western culture is much different from Viking culture. In the saga, almost from beginning to end, the plot contains violence. The amount of violence shows how contemporary people view the Vikings. Since violence is condoned and seems almost celebrated in the saga, it makes sense that Vikings are viewed as marauders and savages. In modern Western culture, people classify savages as individuals who live in a society that has behaviors that are similar to that of tribal humans. A tribal human is more likely to commit acts of violence towards others than in western culture. Since western civilization has created the idea that violence in impermissible in most cases, it makes sense that westerners would view the constant violence in the saga as barbaric. Consequently, since literature is an accurate description of culture, western civilization has viewed the Vikings as violent.

It is true that Western literature and other kinds of art includes violence, but the amount of it is much less than in the saga. For example, most Western literature includes some kind of love story. Even if the novel is dark or violent, it usually includes some form of romance. For example, even though George Orwell’s 1984 is a dark and occasionally graphic novel, there is still romance. This example shows that even if romance does not seem to fit in a novel like 1984, writers will still include it. In the saga, the only kind of significant contact between the opposite sexes is when Grettir rapes a woman. This difference shows a stark contrast in how women are viewed in Viking culture.

The difference in how women are viewed in western culture and Viking culture is stark. The amount of romance in western literature shows that western civilization has greater respect for women. By portraying women as people to be loved and not abused through romance, it can be inferred that western culture values women as humans, not objects. It can be said that women in western civilization have not always had the same social standing as men, but the status of women has improved over the years to the point where women in modern western culture are the freest in human history.

On the other hand, the saga shows how women are oppressed in Viking culture. By portraying rape instead of romance, the saga shows that women are viewed as nothing more than tools. By not including any significant women in the saga, the author showed that women do not have a major role in Viking culture. Grettir had a huge adventure with many conflicts along the way, but there was not a single important woman to help him along the way. From the Viking perspective, if no woman can help Grettir on his massive journey, how can a woman help with anything important or major?

The Saga of Grettir the Strong shows a stark difference in Viking and western culture. The violence in the saga shows the inclination for that type of behavior in Viking culture which shows why westerners view Viking culture as violent. Also, how women are portrayed in the saga shows a strong contrast between how women are treated in western and Viking culture. These differences show how powerful literature can represent a society.