![]() Betrothed to Simon Darre, she took advantage of a new law allowing women to choose whom they would marry to spurn him after giving her virginity to rakish Erlend Niklausson, with whom she had a tumultuous and secretive affair under the noses of the nuns in the convent where she was being raised. ![]() To summarize, Kristin was born to Lavrans Bjorgulfsson, a man of high esteem throughout the valley, and she was his oldest child. Despite the alienness of 13th Century feudal Norway, Undset’s books feel fresh, immediate, and alive, thanks to her depiction of Kristin, an exceptionally complex character. Not that any of the three Kristin Lavransdatter books need to be endured, mind you. It’s no longer new, yet surprises and delight still exist if you have the patience to endure. In that way, reading The Cross is like experiencing a mature marriage, from what I can imagine. ![]() She really brings to life a time in Kristin’s life that isn’t as readily appealing as Kristin’s passage into womanhood, and the novelty of Kristin and Erlend’s life together has worn off. This might be my favorite of all three Kristin Lavransdatter books, because I think Undset is operating at the peak of her narrative powers. ![]() ![]() As her seven sons grow to manhood in 13th Century Norway, Kristin finds her marriage tested by long-simmering resentments, and struggles with her passage into senescence. ![]()
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