Kristin Lavransdatter: Volume 3, The Cross—Sigrid Undset

Hail Kristin full of grace

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Sigrid Undset published this, the final volume of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, in 1923. Since each book exceeds 300 pages, the sheer quantity of fine writing this involved—1,200 pages in three years—leaves me in awe. The fairly large cast of important characters entails a larger group of tangential characters and relationships. The resulting complexity drives some readers to keep lists and family trees, since the characters all live and die within a small region, forcing them to interact with each other throughout their lives. Even characters who die off early exert some influence on later events and persist in the memories of their survivors.

The trilogy follows Kristin through her entire life, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a spoiler to say that she doesn’t survive this volume. Please forgive me for adding that not many others do either.

The previous book took us up to the aftermath of a plot to seize power from the young king. Erlend, as I mentioned last week, ended up in jail, convicted of treason. However, the king saw fit to spare his life, thanks to Simon’s pleading on his behalf. Erlend did forfeit his estate, though, and move with the whole family to Jørundgaard, Kristin’s childhood home. They could not escape the past while at Husaby, Erlend’s estate, but now, surrounded by people who had not only heard about their story, but had played significant roles in it, their past follows them everywhere. Simon, the man whom Kristin had earlier cast aside to marry Erlend, had himself married Kristin’s youngest sister on the rebound and now lived nearby as a brother-in-law. Unfortunately, Simon had never stopped loving Kristin, so, even when he keeps his feeling to himself, those suppressed feelings complicate otherwise simple relationships.

This volume, like both of the others, has three parts, separating the action into three stages. The first part, “Honor Among Kin,” deals with the mutual bond that Simon and Erlend establish. Simon had saved Erlend from execution in the previous volume, and now Erlend returns the favor. But things never last forever, especially when secrets fester under the surface, and their friendship falls apart. The second part, “Debtors,” takes us through a tumultuous period within and between the two families. Eventually, however, Kristin survives both Erlend and Simon; and the final part, “The Cross,” takes us to the end of Kristin’s life, as she returns to the same convent we recall from volume one, only now as a boarder. Once again, historical events intrude, as in 1349, one year after sweeping through other parts of Europe, the Black Plague arrives in Norway.

In medieval legends and romances, people die from mortal wounds in combat, or vengeance killing, or poisoning, or even old age. But in Sigrid Undset’s realistic medieval Norway, people die from drunken fights, or infected cuts, or disease. Hard lives meet shabby ends. Sober judgment gives way to momentary passion. Reputation and honor crumble because of idle speculation and rumors. Religious faith coexists with pagan myth. But despite Undset’s rejection of such romantic ideals as nobility and glory, one constant value runs from the first page to the last: fellowship. In Undset’s world the people we care about care for each other. Just as often happens in many families, tempers may flare, and hateful words may estrange family members, but the inescapable fact of relationship perdures. Despite the daily commission of sins and the constant burden of guilt that everyone carries with them, the possibility of God’s grace, or human forgiveness, never goes away.

The Church has a significant physical and psychological presence throughout. Priests, nuns, and monks impinge on everyone’s lives at one time or another, as do thoughts of salvation or fears of damnation. Several characters not of the Church read and speak Latin. And, for that matter, many more people than I would expect can read and speak at least two languages. Many houses contain a few books that often get read to the children. Undset’s medieval Norway mostly shows, through its literacy, the effects of the early Renaissance emerging in central Europe at that time, and not so much through art, religious or otherwise.

I thought this concluding volume carried through with the work begun in the first two volumes extremely well. I didn’t feel as though Undset had grown weary of the characters or their lives. I must confess I did get a little annoyed at the constant attention she gives to everyone’s feelings. It seemed to me at times that every conversation involves someone’s face turning white, red, or purple. Women can’t talk for long without tears, and men can’t talk for long without anger. I know I exaggerate, but a thousand pages of roller-coaster emotions do take a toll. I must emphasize, though, that feelings such as joy, love, admiration, contentment, and awe play just as much a role as the more hurtful passions. The bottomless well of love from which Kristin draws throughout her life ennobles her beyond what the bare facts of her life would say.

That last observation leads to one more. This novel does not describe the decay or corruption of a good person. Undset does not entice us to fall in love with Kristin only to make us watch in horror as she succumbs to alcohol or destroys her life through gambling or throws herself off a cliff. Kristin does not regress. She dies, to be sure, but only her body dies. Her character survives. And this fact, I think, makes the novel a triumph of realism over romanticism.

And now, for something completely different. Next up: Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck.

Amazon links to works mentioned in this post.

Steinbeck Novels 1942-1952: The Moon Is Down / Cannery Row / The Pearl / East of Eden (the Library of America publication I will be using)

Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck (paperback)

Kristin Lavransdatter, the complete trilogy in one volume

As separate volumes:

Volume 1: The Wreath

Volume 2: The Wife

Volume 3: The Cross

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