English Quotes

I was worst to the one I loved best

Saga at the start of the book

Concepts

• Death, Humanity, Belonging, Truth.

Irony

• ironic as Agnes killed natan

Foreshadowing

• Foreshadows Agnes killing natan

Historical Document

• Kent chose the excerpt from the Icelandic saga to open the novel, evidently setting up later narration and plot conventions.

“Criminal… that word does not belong to me”

Between Agnes and Margret when they first meet.

Narrative Viewpoint

• Agnes’s NV on the label ‘criminal’

Cultural assumption

• killing someone = murderer regardless of your reasons

• Being a criminal means you’re untrustworthy

Identity

• they have forced the identity of a criminal onto Agnes

• Agnes refuses this identity

“‘It’s a magic stone. Put it under your tongue and you will be able to talk to the birds.’ ‘that stone sat in my mouth for days’”

When Agnes first reflects on her mother leaving her with a stone, whilst touring the Kornsa’s house.

Motif

• The stone is a constant motif throughout the novel referring to Agnes’s ability to either understand or not understand someone or something.

Belonging

• The ‘stone sat in [her] mouth for days’ symbolises her longing to belong and to be understood

Symbolism

• the stone symbolises Agnes’s ability to understand or communicate

 “I may as well be talking to him with a stone in my mouth”

When Agnes wakes early to relieve herself and begins to reflect on talking with Toti.

Motif

• The stone is a constant motif throughout the novel referring to Agnes’s ability to either understand or not understand someone or something.

Belonging

• Symbolises her desperation for Toti to understand her.

“I spit it out. On the ground is a stone.”

Moments before her death she’s crying and spits out the stone but Margret doesn’t see it.

Symbolism

• The hallucination symbolises that when Agnes is faced with inescapable reality she spits out the stone, a symbol of her hope. therefore she has lost all hope in saving herself.

Hallucination

• Spiting a stone out that was taken away when she was first convicted is a hallucination as she doesn’t have the stone.

“Cruel birds, ravens, but wise… creatures should be loved for their wisdom if they cannot be loved for kindness

On the ride over to the Kornsa’s house

Motif

• The ravens are a constant motif throughout the novel referring as Agnes occasionally. 

Belief= symbolism

• Agnes believes that ravens are cruel but wise… she is ‘cruel’ and ‘wise’ (‘know [saga’s] by heart)

Irony

• Ravens are called an unkindness

“No doves come from ravens eggs.”

Margret is talking to Ingibjorg about Agnes and her mother.

Cultural Assumption

• Agnes’s mother was a bad person so she would have a bad kid.

Identity

• Agnes’s mother is a raven and Agnes is the raven’s egg therefore identifying Agnes as a raven

“So lonely I make friends with the ravens that prey on lambs'“

Belonging and Humanity

• she is so alone she makes friends with animals because she cannot make friends with people

Symbolism

Kent uses this to symbolise two things.

• Anges’s relationship with Natan. He preyed on Sigga who is a child which symbolises a lamb in this quote. Raven’s are known as ‘evil’ or ‘bad omens’ which represent Natan within this quote as he preyed on Sigga.

• Agnes symbolises the ravens throughout the novel as she is referred to as one of them by margret etc, but she is also a ‘lamb for slaughter’

Stones and Ravens

“Where is my stone? You don’t understand!…Where are the ravens?”

Motif

• The motif symbolises agnes’s desire to be understood. as the ravens can only understand her with a stone in her mouth, which is constantly hinted at and referred to within burial rites.

Belonging

• The motif symbolises belonging as moments before her death she is desperate to be understood. she admits that she ‘[shatters her] teeth, and still they will not speak.’

“Perhaps next Sunday I could ask to go with Margret to church…escaping to church to feel part of something. Pure.”

Religion & Belonging

Agnes considers going to church just to feel a sense of belonging.

“A witch often has fair skin”

Religion

• when Margret is referring to the sagas she remembers that Agnes has fair skin, like a witch.

Gender and race

• cultural assumption of gender and race as Agnes is a woman and “fits” the stereotype of a witch within the saga

“They are all taking communion of me”

Agnes upcoming to death

Death & sacrifice

• she is linking herself to a sacrifice like Jesus

metaphor link

• a sacrifice links to “lamb for slaughter” metaphor.

“White sack with useless odds and ends in it”

Historical document of Agnes’s belongings

Historical document

• references what she literally had when they took it off her

Class

• she did not own much, nothing that literally looked of worth to others “useless”

Values

• later when she mentions her “white sack with the dried flowers in it” she talks about it as a valued item to her. A comforting item.

“Dried sheep’s bladder… his own house had glass windows”

When blondal first visits the kornsa family

Class

• he is rich enough to have his own glass windows

• they are peasants

“Too young and sweet to die… right temper when she fancies”

Agnes vs Sigga

Gender

• Sigga fits the expectations of a woman whereas Agnes does not. This is because Agnes speaks up for herself

Cultural assumption

• Agnes doesn’t meet expectations as she’s older (30’s) and speaks up for herself whereas Sigga doesn’t. Also age cultural assumption.

“I become more like an animal to them”

First words said by Agnes

Narrative Viewpoint

• Agnes’s viewpoint of how harshly she’s treated by others as a prisoner

Humanity

• Lack of humanity. Being treated unequally and like less of a human.

Simile

“God has chosen me to shepherd you to redemption.”

Toti says whilst exchanging with Agnes.

Characterisation

• characterises toti as strong willed

Irony

• Agnes cant seek redemption at this point.

• Agne also isn’t a strong believer in god so to say this to her is kind of ironic

“‘he’ll think us peasants’… ‘we are peasants’”

When blondal forts visits the Kornsa family

Personification of the CA of the time

• Lauga is fixated on the idea of upholding their social standing. She doesn’t want to be perceived as a peasant to a powerful man

truth and characterisation

• Lauga doesnt want to face the truth whereas Steina sees it for what it is.

“We are all marked now…we’ll never be married”

After Agnes has been staying at Kornsa.

Dialogue=Values

• Through Kent’s use of dialogue it shows that lauga values the idea of marriage above all else.

Gender CA

• Lauga wants to maintain and fill the expectation of women’s expectations. Demonstrating that she upholds these cultural assumptions.

“‘Your brooch’… she slowly handed her mother the clasp.”

Margret asking Lauga for her brooch to give to Agnes to die with.

Symbolism

• Symbolic act of humanity, acceptance, belong, all of those concepts.

3rd person view point

• not biased

“In good time I’ll be dead”

When walking home with Jon before they find out about Agnes.

Foreshadowing

• Foreshadows how she is for the rest of the novel, how unwell she is

Characterisation

• She is a blunt person who values the truth even if it means harm.

Links to “two dying women”

“ is it necessary to keep her bound like a lamb ripe for slaughter?”

Characterisation

• Although Margret doesnt like Agnes we can see she is a good person.

Humanity

• She sees Agnes as a human and is being treated as less of one

“ Agnes had seemed part of the family”

Agnes just helped birth Roslins child.

Belonging

“Reminds him of his wife…blondal wants to set an example.”

Gender and beauty CA

• Sigga is beautiful like Blondals wife whereas Agnes is nothing like his wife so he wants to “set an example” of her.