The Strength of Women Threatening the Strength of Men

     In speaking on the topic of strong female figures in society, I believe an interesting character to note would be the evil foster mother Gothel from Tangled. Through this strange connection Gothel who is an elderly woman looking for the secret to youth is as stubborn and harsh as both Bergthora and Hallgerd in Njal’s Saga. As the story goes, Gothel happens upon a magical flower that when you sing to it, the flower both heals and preserves your youth. Rapunzel’s mother was very sick around the time of child birth and guards found the flower and gave it to her in order to heal her. Because of this, Rapunzel was born with magical hair that assumed the same powers as the original flower. Gothel, seeing all of these events take place, had one goal in mind, to stay young and live forever.

     Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel from the king and queen and set off into the forest. As Rapunzel grew older she became more independent and curious about the world and set off to see it while Gothel was away. After Gothel returned and saw that Rapunzel had left she again feared for her youth and beauty and soon turned into a very spiteful and vengeful woman as she searched for Rapunzel. Along Gothel’s travels in a never-ending search for eternal life and beauty, she encounters two henchmen who are known thieves throughout the forest. In an attempt to convince them to help her, Gothel bribes them with riches beyond belief and revenge on a fellow thief who betrayed them. Throughout the story we see how Gothel easily gets her way as she is tunnel visioned towards retrieving this magical power. Gothel is easily one of the most manipulative and clever characters in the film and truly proves that she will, by whatever means necessary, have her way. Towards the end of the film we see that she ultimately kills the only person who Rapunzel finds true happiness with and again proves the extent of her evil character.

      In a direct comparison, Bergthora and Hallgerd’s feud between each other is also over something as shallow as beauty and they too become tunnel visioned in their plot for revenge and the spite they have for each other. Both of these women characters in Njal’s Saga are very prideful and entitled and will not take offense to their title lightly. When these two hard headed women collide, it is as if Gothel has met her ultimate stubborn and unyielding match. In either case both Gothel, Bergthora and Hallgerd are conniving, manipulative and relentless when it comes to achieving their goal. In one part of the text Bergthora is attempting to coax her husband and sons to seek revenge on Sigmond who has insulted their character. In the text Cook relates, “Gifts have been given to you all, father and sons, and you’re not real men unless you repay them.” (Cook 74) . Evidence of their true authority reveals itself in that the people these women manipulate are not only other women but men as well. Bergotha and Hallgerd both manipulate their husbands to act out against their normal docile character in an attempt to seek revenge on the other. They also use male slaves as a source to get back at the other for petty revenge. Gothel manipulates strong and ill minded henchmen to follow out her will. Gothel also convinces a drunken man outside of a forest pub using her youth and charm in an attempt to obtain more information about Rapunzel and her whereabouts. Again, in both cases Bergthora, Hallgerd and Gothel are all very strong female characters who can easily manipulate and persuade others to get what they want no matter how small or how big their need/want may be. Overall, the true strength of women is shown not through their sexualization but through their cunning minds and their drive to get what they want however they have to go about it.

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.