‘You Have a Man’s Spirit in a Woman’s Heart’: Women Who Break Hegemonic Ideas about Femininity in Icelandic Legends

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which women who take on a ‘traditionally’ male role or have qualities more commonly attributed to men are presented in Icelandic folk legend collections from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Among other things, attention is paid to how women who break hegemonic ideas about femininity temporarily seem to be praised for their courage, while those who do so more permanently tend to be portrayed in a more negative light. The article thus considers the messages about and for women contained in the legends, bearing in mind that while legends tend to reflect the societies to which they belong, they can also potentially affect and shape their environments.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Icelandic Research Fund (grant number 206601-051).

Archival Sources

Íslendingabók [The Icelandic Genealogical Database]. deCode Genetics and Friðrik Skúlason, 1997–2020. http://www.islendingabok.is

Sagnagrunnur: Database of Icelandic Legends in Print, 2014. http://www.sagnagrunnur.com/is/

SÁM [The sound archives of The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík]. http://www.ismus.is

Notes

1 For discussion of the definition of legends, see Röhrich (1991), Tangherlini (1994), Dégh (2001), and Jolles (2017).

2 The Icelandic literary scholar Helga Kress has noted how women’s culture seems to have become subdued over time, drawing on theories of the anthropologist Edwin Ardener (Kress 1993, 13–14; Ardener 1975, 22–25). As Jane M. Young and Kay Turner have stated, the exclusion of women seems to be written into the foundation of Western thought and can be said to have been institutionalized through the years (Young and Turner 1993, 11–12). See also Júlíana Þóra Magnúsdóttir on the repertories of female storytellers in Iceland (Júlíana Þóra Magnúsdóttir 2018). This certainly seems to be the case with the legends examined in this article, as there is no notable difference in attitude depending on whether the storyteller is male or female.

3 Many legends from Jón Árnason’s collection have been translated into English (see, for example, Simpson 1972).

4 On the gender perspective in wonder tales, see Bottigheimer (1987), Tatar (1992), and Jorgensen (2013), as well as literary scholar Marina Warner (1994). They have all done considerable work on how women are presented in wonder tales. Of course, some work has also been carried out on women in legends (Simpson 1991; Jauhiainen 1989; Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir 2000; Júlíana Þóra Magnúsdóttir 2018).

5 Around 1930, the position of women was clearly changing. Increasing urbanization meant women could get work in towns: doing laundry, working with fish, loading ships, and doing handicrafts. Becoming a midwife was the first official job to be offered to women by the state, but it is noteworthy that all midwives had to be married (Símon Jón Jóhannsson and Ragnhildur Vigfúsdóttir 1991, 122–32; Inga Huld Hákonardóttir 1995, 164). For more information on Icelandic society in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, see Gísli Ágúst Gunnlaugsson (1988), Gunnar Karlsson (2000), Erla Hulda Halldórsdóttir (1997), and Inga Huld Hákonardóttir (1995).

6 In 1882, wealthy women over twenty-five years old who ran their own farms, and were unmarried or widows, were the first to get the right to vote in municipal elections (Auður Styrkársdóttir and Kristín Ástgeirsdóttir 2005, 22–23).

7 Kvöldvökur (evening wakes) were held on farms on winter evenings, where someone (often the farmer) read to the other people. These played an important role not only in maintaining the social hierarchy, but also in educating people on farms about Christian values (the books were often biblical) and good manners (Gísli Ágúst Gunnlaugsson 1991, 62–66).

8 Unless otherwise stated, all translations from Icelandic are by Terry Gunnell.

9 For other such legends, see Jón Árnason (1954–61, 2: 218–20, 234–35, and 339–40; 4: 269–71), Ólafur Davíðsson (1978–80, 3: 299–305), Sigfús Sigfússon (1982–93, 9: 237–44, 328–39), and Þorsteinn M. Jónsson (1978–1979, 3: 87–97).

10 Often, women’s work was less valued than men’s and was considered easier. It was only around 1900 that discussion commenced about the workload that rested on women’s shoulders and things gradually started to change (Símon Jón Jóhannsson and Ragnhildur Vigfúsdóttir 1991, 83–98).

11 The same actions are taken by the heroines of the legends ‘Biskupsdóttirin á Hólum’ and ‘Sagan af Sigríði prestsdóttur’ (Ólafur Davíðsson 1978–80, 3: 301–305; Jón Árnason 1954–61, 4: 269–71).

12 See also Jón Árnason (1954–61, 1: 68–70; 3: 96–98).

13 One wonders, however, if the women really had a choice after staying with the outlaws. The famous legend of ‘Smalastúlkan’ (The Shepherdess) differs from the others in that the girl here is engaged when she leaves to look for the sheep. She is then taken captive by outlaws and one of them desires her. Since she is engaged, she decides not to sleep with him (even though the legend states that she found the man alluring). In order to avoid this, she pretends to be pregnant. She is then held captive with the outlaws for some time but in the end manages to escape. When she returns to her fiancé, he does not believe that she did not sleep with the outlaw and breaks off the engagement. Afterwards, she disappears completely, and people believe that she returned to the outlaws (Ólafur Davíðsson 1978–80, 3: 299–301). As this legend implies, it could have been hard for a woman to marry someone else after staying with the outlaws.

14 By saving Þórveig, the boy moves up the masculine hierarchy and is therefore worthy of marrying her, despite the fact that he is from a lower class.

15 There is one Icelandic wonder tale that tells of a woman who becomes a judge (Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir 2011, 195–96; SÁM 86/858 EF).

16 Straumfjarðar-Halla was from south-western Iceland. In Jón Árnason’s collection, she is said to have been alive in the early fifteenth century. Jón does not mention her real name (Jón Árnason 1954–61, 1: 494). For twenty-one short legends of Straumfjarðar-Halla, see Jón Árnason (1954–61, 1: 494–498; 3: 538–541). She is also noted in one legend dealing with a conflict between her and the magician Eiríkur frá Vogsósum (Ólafur Davíðsson 1978–80, 2: 185). There are no legends about her in Sigfús Sigfússon’s collection.

17 Galdra-Imba is said to have been from northern Iceland and born around 1630. Her real name, according to Sigfús Sigfússon, was Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir (Sigfús Sigfússon 1982–93, 5: 406). Stokkseyrar-Dísa was from southern Iceland and closely connected to the town of Stokkseyri where she is said to have lived. Her real name, according to Jón Árnason, was Þórdís Markúsdóttir (Jón Árnason 1954–61, 1: 566). No dates are given for her in the legend collection but, according to the online database of Icelanders, she was born in 1668 and died in 1728 (Islendingabok.is).

18 In one legend put together from many, told by Rustikus and others to Sigfús Sigfússon, the person who called Galdra-Imba out for her magic was her foster-daughter, not son (Sigfús Sigfússon 1982–93, 5: 413).

19 There are some exceptions to this pattern, but in the vast majority of legends the women only communicate with men.

20 An exception is the legends of Galdra-Imba, which mostly tell of the conflict between Imba and her daughter Þuríður. Their disagreement is rooted in Þuríður’s disapproval of her mother’s actions with regard to the farmers. Þuríður is portrayed as a good, virtuous housewife, unlike her mother (Sigfús Sigfússon 1982–93, 5: 406–407).

21 This cannot be said for all legends in Icelandic legend collections as some tell of women fighting supernatural beings (for example, Jón Árnason 1954–61, 1: 517–18; Torfhildur Hólm 1962, 3–4).

22 For legends of Stokkseyrar-Dísa, see Jón Árnason (1954–61, 1: 566–68; 3: 578–79).

23 The couple threaten the social order by being outlaws (who are usually men). Halla is thus another figure in a male role. Halla Jónsdóttir was born around 1720 and was from the western fjords (Islendingabok.is).

24 The legend is attributed to four male storytellers. Five other men are mentioned as collectors. One must also keep in mind the role of Jón Árnason in editing the variants of the legend, making them all come together as one.

25 The importance of women staying home to raise children has long been a main argument for why women should not take on men’s roles (Sunna Símonardóttir 2016, 105).

26 See also Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir, Íris Ellenberger, and Hafdís Erla Hafsteinsdóttir on Huldukonur.is, a website on queer history in Iceland (http://www.huldukonur.is).

27 As Þórunn María Örnólfsdóttir notes, a change took place in the early 1900s leading to fewer women going out to sea. She argues that this was both a result of the widening gap between the two genders and the mechanization of the fishing industry in Iceland (Þórunn María Örnólfsdóttir 2014, 43–59). Before this time it was not uncommon for women to work on rowing boats in some parts of Iceland. Around 1961–70 women returned to sea, but then mostly as chefs or maids (Þórunn Magnúsdóttir 1988, 33–34).

28 In the 1900s, various changes were taking place in Iceland. The fight for women’s equality had got louder and change was in sight. Nonetheless, it is possible that the enforcement of hegemonic gender roles in legends and other accounts reflects the resistance of the deeply rooted gender system and a backlash against the fight for gender equality (Sigríður Matthíasdóttir 2004, 106–107; Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir, pers. comm.).

29 It is noteworthy that here Dísa also takes part in wrestling (glíma), a sport closely associated with masculinity (Valdimar Tr. Hafstein 2017, 56–57).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir

Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir is pursuing a PhD in Folkloristics at the University of Iceland and works as a part-time teacher in the same department. Her PhD thesis deals with the portrayal of women in Icelandic legend collections.