The Honour of the House

Honour of the House, A filmed adaptation by Guðný Halldórsdóttir, 1999

Darien’s look at Honour…

This novel tells the tale of an Important Family in a small town in (it appears) east coastal Iceland. The Deacon father and his wife have two children, both girls. Each travels abroad to Denmark in her twenties to experience the wider world.

Similar circumstances, but different personalities. Thurithur, the eldest, is gone for two years. She is impetuous, temperamental and beautiful, and her father worries that she might get into trouble. No, says her mother, her character will protect her, as

... in a well-bred young girl self-respect and beauty were to be found in the proper proportions.

Thurithur returns, more temperamental and more beautiful, but still virtuous.

Rannveig, the younger sister, is a homebody, who excels in the hand arts and doesn't desire to travel. She has a calm, reliable disposition, and has the deepest care and love for poor people or those in trouble.

A peculiar trait of hers was this: that she should not only be incapable of living at odds with anyone but rather need to spread her love over all.

Rannveig goes to Denmark as well but returns early. She inexplicably begins to put on weight around her waist.

The chapters in the book show Laxness in his typical fashion, seducing the reader with lyricism and beauty, then forcing the reader to acknowledge that alongside beauty lies pain, loss, and death. The first chapter, A Day in Late Summer, talks of shimmering mirages, resplendent castles, warmth, desire, benevolence, beauty. Chapter two, The Good Land, invites the reader to see Denmark from the eyes of the protagonist, with luxury, culture, and good taste, castles, parks, and the arts. Chapter three, The Wedding, begins with veiled irony (there is no wedding), and we begin to see Rannveig from the eyes of her neighbors. All’s well ... , chapter six, brings irony to the forefront as we see that all does not end well, even though a marriage might have legitimized Rannveig's situation. The very last chapter, The Norn Father’s Feast, moves the story from a particular situation, family and geographic location to the realm of myth and legend.

This book really captured my interest. The characters and the plot are revealed quickly, which served to draw me into the story. Just as I was feeling comfortable with the characters and the pace of the story, it seemed as if the lens of my reader's eye zoomed out, and I was looking at the characters from a more impersonal distance. I found that frustrating. As I pondered why Laxness chose to put me--and his readers--in this position, I concluded that his story shows how honor and pride can dehumanize and separate people. People become symbols rather than individuals, and intellectual constructs become more important than human feelings. This is a lesson worth keeping in mind and learning anew each day, for me, for anyone.

---

Stephen's serendipitous discovery…

I brought home more than happy memories from my recent Iceland trip, and of all the things I did bring home, this slim volume was perhaps the most delightful and certainly the most unexpected discovery. It was first published in 1932 in a collection of stories (Fótatak manna) and appeared in English in 1959. This is a tale of two sisters in a fishing town in Iceland, taking place over a span of years in the early part of the twentieth century.

This story’s form is shaped by the third-person omniscient narrative. As delivered by Laxness it is full of gossip and observations of small town life, sometimes quite funny, sometimes misleading, but very effective in conveying the story of ordinary people whose lives seemed shaped by forces beyond their control. It is also a very sad story, a story of almost unbelievable familial cruelty, yet each turn of the plot somehow rings true. This isn’t a morality play, for the very unusual ending ties it to ancient Icelandic beliefs rather than to Christian principles. I had read in the Halldór Guðmundsson biography that Halldór was inspired to write this tale by a true story of which he had heard tell—events which had occurred in a small community’s past—and, indeed, this has the feel of an oral history. As I was reading I could almost hear my Swedish grandmother’s voice when she used to gossip at the kitchen table—gossip is similar everywhere—and I suspect that the stylistic manner in which these kinds of stories are told is similar throughout the Nordic countries. While not a grand work of literature, it is very well constructed. Those who have issues with Halldór’s politics may find this kind of writing more palatable. Those interested in the dynamics of small town life should find it irresistible.

There was a movie made from the story by Guðný Halldórsdóttir in 1999 which was submitted for Academy Award consideration. The synopsis of that film seems to give the story a different dynamic in that the sisters’ mother becomes the narrator.

The 1959 edition has an afterword by the noted Icelandic critic Kristján Karlsson.

---

Annik’s impressions (Google Translate from Russian)…

Nora’s poignant story about reading Honour on a train…

Variety reviews 1999 film version of HOTH 

IMBD entry for Honour…

---

Publishing history:

Fótatak manna (collected stories), Reykjavík, 1933

Translated by Kenneth G. Chapman:

The Honour of the House

Helgafell, Reykjavík, 1959, afterword by Kristján Karlsson

Helgafell, Reykjavík (Vaka-Helgafell), 1985