Burial Rites quotes 7 PDF

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Burial spring 2...

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I did not like that in him, the way he looked for a reason to anger. He liked to fight. Liked to keep his knuckles bruised. (237) - This is Agnes’s perception of Fredrik. - Agnes tells how Fredrik always looked to fight. - He had a big temperament and nothing could control his wayward nature. - Natan and Fredrik had a weird rivalry. - In order to frustrate and make a fool of Fredrik, Natan acted as if there was treasure buried across his farm which led to Fredrik wasting him time looking for the buried goods.

That spring I noticed her dote on Fridrik, fetching him this and that as he worked outside and giggling at his stories of fist fights and daredevilry. (241) - Sigga gets blinded by Fredrik and even gets attracted to him - She would always listen to his proud stories and admire his achievements. - However Agnes warns Sigga that Natan would not be happy about her talking to Fredrik. It must be Blöndal. He means to cripple me with waiting before stretching my neck out. He wants me to break; he takes away the only comfort I have left in this world because he is a barbarian. (247) - Agnes is concerned and worried why Toti had not come to see her in the days past. - The loneliness of the winter is caused by shorter days and longer nights. - Agnes is sick of the prospect that there is still an axe waiting to fall on her head. - She thinks that Blondal is one keeping Toti away from her. Like all the good things that happen to her then get taken away, now Toti is taken away from her.

Perhaps Rósa and I might have been friends… We both loved him, for one… Rósa’s poetry kindled the shavings of my soul, and lit me up from within. Natan never stopped loving her. (248) - Thoranna is left with Natan. She is the child of Natan and Rosa when they were together. - Rosa calls Agnes the rose of Kidjaskard and how he had poisoned Natan. - Here the readers can observe the similarities of the saga’s love triangle to Burial rites love -

triangle. Agnes wished Rosa could have bene friends with her not any enemy. Also Natan loved her poetry.

Tóti groaned. Flames were licking at his skin, smoke pouring into his mouth. (252) - Toti is very sick, hence isn’t able to be with Agnes at this point of time. - He hallucinates, Agnes stabbing him. - There hallucinations are the result of him not seeing Agnes for this long, as he craves her. Have you tried a jelly of lichen? It eases the lungs. (253)

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Agnes’ time working as a maid had equipped her well. Agnes sees Margret coughing up blood. Thus recommends these herbal remedies. This also shows how Agnes is now taking care of Margret even though she had treated her poorly at the start.

The dark comes; it has settled down in these parts like a bruise in the flesh of the earth, but the Reverend does not. (254) - Personification of Nature. - Winter has come but Toti hasn’t - The thoughts about him eat her up. - She is scared what happened to Natan will happen to Toti - Natan left Illugastadir in the winter and when he came back, he wasn’t himself. - Natan acted and seemed different and weird. - Agnes is cared this exact thing will happen to Toti. ‘Every night,’ he hissed, ‘I dream of death. I see it everywhere. I see blood, everywhere.’… ‘I dream that I’m in bed and I can see blood running down the walls. It drips on my head and the drops burn my skin.’ (261/262) - Agnes through her inner monologue tells how Natan had these deadly dreams. - His dreams imply the way he will die. - Natan also tell how he sees Agnes where ever these dreams occur. ‘Remember your place, Agnes!’ (263) - When Agnes dismisses Natan’s popularity and mocks him. - He strikes her and tell her to remember who she is. - Agnes is so confused by the entire ordeal as she still doesn’t know what place in the social order she is and where she is in the heart of Natan.

But Illugastadir was different. I had no friends. I didn’t understand the landscape. Only the outlying tongues of rock scarred the perfect kiss of sea and sky – there was no one and nothing else. There was nowhere else to go.(265) - The world that she lives in brings out her emotion and capture her true feelings. - Vatnsdalur is the place where she worked and lived, it is also place filled with nice, vibrant -

things. In comparison Illugastadir is isolated and deserted and she has no one there. She cannot leave Illugastadir as she doesn’t anyone or anywhere to go.

‘Two dying women,’ Agnes murmured. At any other time Margrét knew she might have been insulted, but sitting across from Agnes she saw the truth of this. (269) - Margret is sick and Agnes is to die - Both women console each other about their impending deaths. - Margret now understands what Agnes was feeling all these time.

I knew why Natan hated Fridrik. It wasn’t because the boy had taken a shine to his wealth and valuables, although that was part of it. No, it was because of Sigga. I decided that he wanted Sigga as much as he didn’t want me. (280) - Natan continues to be enraged as he sees Fredrik and Sigga together. - He despises Agnes now and she knows that but still she doesn’t let go of him. - Natan however spends majority of him time trying to woo Sigga. ‘You’re a nag, Agnes’… ‘You’re a cheap sort of woman. I was wrong about you’. ‘If I am cheap it is because you have made me so!’ (287/288) - When Agnes confronts Natan about Sigga, Natan is putrid with it. - He call Agnes a “nag” and a “cheap” woman. - Agnes defends herself by explaining how if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have come to Illugastadir.

Katadalur is a horrible place. All slumped and squat, with the roof threatening to fall in, and the inside of the farm as miserable as its outside. Smoke from dung fires on the walls of the kitchen and the badstofa as cheerless as they come (291) - Agnes is forced to find refuge in Fredrik’s house in Katadalur. - Agnes tell how dirty the place is, just like the people who reside in it. - This is a conversation to Margret from Agnes, thus it depicts how Margret is feeling empathetic towards Agnes at the hardship she has faced in her life.

The knife went in easily. It pierced Natan’s shirt with neat rips, sounding like an illpractised kiss – I couldn’t have stopped if I’d wanted to. (302) - Natan is in severe pain from losing too much blood. - Agnes sees this pain and wants to put an end to it. She tell Fredrik to finish what he started but -

he refuses. Agnes in sympathy does the horrible deed of finishing Natan off....