Chapter 40: 'Egil at the ball-game': How do we explain Skallagrim's behavior towards Thord and Egil?
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I was so stunned when Egil, who it is said "was in his seventh year," (p 67) killed Grim with the axe. I was even more stunned when Skallagrim, an adult, attacked Thord. I attribute this action to Skallagrim going berserk, as he was obviously not himself at the time. When the woman Brak tries to intervene she says, "You're attacking your own son like a mad beast, Skallagrim," (p 69) which is very fitting, as at the moment he is almost inhuman. The fact that Brak's comment channels Skallagrim's wrath to her says to me that Skallagrim was in a different frame of mind than a normal person. He was berserk.
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ReplyDeleteI was very shocked with how Skallgrim behaved, esecially regarding Egil. While it was unexpected for Skallgrim to kill Thord, this occurs at a time when he is not himself, but a powerful person that becomes so when night falls...perhaps this is an early reference to wearwolves (pg 95)? But what surprised me most was how Egil kills many people in his angered youth and yet does not get punished at all by Skallgrim. Instead they just end up not talking for a winter. I was expecting a more just punishment from a viking such as Skallgrim.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Skallagrim was in an alternate state of mind when he killed Thord. It’s hard to say what brought that on, or if he was berserk or not. Though Skallagrim was described to follow in his father’s footsteps in temper (pg 56), attacking his own son is completely out of character. Perhaps he was so enraged that he was losing at a contest that the likes so much he simply forgot who he was. I was also surprised that this was the only time Skallagrim seems to punish Egil. Egil is certainly the least favorite of the sons, and does a lot to tarnish Skallagrim’s good reputation.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused about that whole situation. I don't want to attach the word berserk to it, because they purposely psyche themselves up before a battle and this doesn't seem like the same thing. The way I saw it he just tackled Thord too hard and things got out of hand, but I'm not sure why he kills Brak. But I think if the man who is supposedly unmatched in strength starts losing to 2 kids, then that might be enough to bring out a lot of anger in him.
ReplyDeleteIt appeared to me that Skallagrim did not really care for his son. When he kills Grim with the axe, his mother reacts favorably and praises him saying "he had the makings of a true Viking" (68). His father, though, is indifferent. His reaction to the second incident is very extreme. When he begins winning, he grabs Egil's friend and kills him. Then he goes after Egil. Perhaps he sees Egil as competition, and is envious because he believes that Egil will outdo him in greatness. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amara that Skallagrim appears to strongly dislike his son Egil. Egil has been making trouble this whole time, evidenced in chapter 31 by his tendency to be "difficult in his games with other children" and by another incident in which he disobeys his father's command. Skallagrim tells Egil to stay home one day because "you don't know how to behave where there's heavy drinking. You're enough trouble when you're sober." Egil goes to the party anyway. It is never mentioned that Skallagrim punishes Egil when he disobeys. These 7 years of Egil making constant trouble for Skallagrim could build up into a grudge. Then when Egil and his friend are beating Skallagrim at a game which he normally wins, 7 years of pent-up anger finally snap and he loses his temper. I think that might be enough to cause him to attack Thord, Egil, and Brak so irrationally.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the same page as Erik- I don't necessarily think Skallagrim was a "berserk" during his attacks, as he really seemed to just lose it rather than actually psych himself up to that point as a berserk would. However, it is very wild how quickly he just snapped and took it out on his own sons. Though Egil had been a troublemaker for years, would that really be a logical explanation for Skallagrim's actions towards him? This scene just seemed very bizarre to me, as Skallagrim's actions were so extreme and basically without warning...this defines "sore loser" to the full extent of the term.
ReplyDeleteSkallagrim, it seems, is extremely vengeful and violent in nature. His behavior and treatment of both Thord and Egil is indicative of the fact that he either is mentally disturbed or has gone insane. On page 48, the author alludes to this odd behavior pattern when he writes: “It is said that people who could take on the character of animals, or went berserk, became so strong in this state that no one was a match for them, but also that just after it wore off they were left weaker than usual.” It is not surprising to me that Egil begins to adopt man of the same behavioral attributes as his father since parents are the people who primarily socialize their children.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I see two possible explanations.
ReplyDelete1. I agree that Skallagrim could have been mentally altered when he did this. Maybe he had a bit too much to smoke around the fire, or maybe what they were burning got to his head, who knows.
2. This episode could have been the result of many years of trapped irritation. Clearly, Egil was a difficult son to raise, and his father must have been frustrated/angry/ whatever during his growing-up years. Although the episode at the fire could seem rather mild, this could likely have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
I don't think this was related to Berserks because this class of people were generally (at least in the other sagas we read) referenced during battles, and this was not a battle. Further, as Erik said, Berserks psyched themselves up, whereas this incident seemed like a rather random and sudden explosion.