A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla
ABSTRACT: This article was written by literary scholar, publisher, and socialist parliamentarian Kristinn E. Andrésson (1901–1973) shortly after Gerpla’s publication in 1952. However, it was only published nearly twenty years later, on the occasion of Halldór Laxness’s 70th birthday. It situates the...
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University of Alberta Library
2019
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan168 https://doaj.org/article/ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d 2023-07-02T03:32:43+02:00 A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla Kristinn E. Andrésson 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan168 https://doaj.org/article/ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d EN FR eng fre University of Alberta Library https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/168 https://doaj.org/toc/0823-1796 https://doaj.org/toc/2816-5187 doi:10.29173/scancan168 0823-1796 2816-5187 https://doaj.org/article/ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, Vol 26 (2019) History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan168 2023-06-11T00:34:57Z ABSTRACT: This article was written by literary scholar, publisher, and socialist parliamentarian Kristinn E. Andrésson (1901–1973) shortly after Gerpla’s publication in 1952. However, it was only published nearly twenty years later, on the occasion of Halldór Laxness’s 70th birthday. It situates the novel within its sociohistorical context and reads it as an incisive critique of its contemporary milieu, rather than simply a brilliant reimagining of the sagas. “A reevaluation of the past is a stipulation of the book, but not its goal,” Kristinn writes. Rather, by casting the romanticized heroes and ideals of the Viking age in a harsher light, Halldór not only reclaims the sagas, “allowing Icelandic literature to stand for peace instead of war, for life instead of death,” but also consolidates his longstanding role as a vocal opponent of the American military presence in Iceland and global nuclear proliferation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scandinavian-Canadian Studies 26 182 206 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P |
spellingShingle |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P Kristinn E. Andrésson A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
topic_facet |
History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia DL1-1180 Language and Literature P |
description |
ABSTRACT: This article was written by literary scholar, publisher, and socialist parliamentarian Kristinn E. Andrésson (1901–1973) shortly after Gerpla’s publication in 1952. However, it was only published nearly twenty years later, on the occasion of Halldór Laxness’s 70th birthday. It situates the novel within its sociohistorical context and reads it as an incisive critique of its contemporary milieu, rather than simply a brilliant reimagining of the sagas. “A reevaluation of the past is a stipulation of the book, but not its goal,” Kristinn writes. Rather, by casting the romanticized heroes and ideals of the Viking age in a harsher light, Halldór not only reclaims the sagas, “allowing Icelandic literature to stand for peace instead of war, for life instead of death,” but also consolidates his longstanding role as a vocal opponent of the American military presence in Iceland and global nuclear proliferation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristinn E. Andrésson |
author_facet |
Kristinn E. Andrésson |
author_sort |
Kristinn E. Andrésson |
title |
A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
title_short |
A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
title_full |
A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
title_fullStr |
A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress: Contemporary Social Critique in Halldór Laxnessʼs Gerpla |
title_sort |
modern-day saga in fancy dress: contemporary social critique in halldór laxnessʼs gerpla |
publisher |
University of Alberta Library |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan168 https://doaj.org/article/ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, Vol 26 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://scancan.net/index.php/scancan/article/view/168 https://doaj.org/toc/0823-1796 https://doaj.org/toc/2816-5187 doi:10.29173/scancan168 0823-1796 2816-5187 https://doaj.org/article/ce19e7bc981246058eb5091b78beef3d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan168 |
container_title |
Scandinavian-Canadian Studies |
container_volume |
26 |
container_start_page |
182 |
op_container_end_page |
206 |
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1770272374576381952 |