Kristin Lavransdatter

At the webpage of Kristin Lavransdatter - Kristinspelet* (Kristin Lavransdatter - The Kristin Spectacle) the following, among other things, is written about the production:

"Kristin Lavransdatter is a historical novel cycle by Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) consisting of three volumes; The Bridal Wreath AKA The Wreath (Norwegian edition: Kransen, 1920), The Mistress of Husaby AKA The Wife (Norwegian edition: Husfrue, 1921), and The Cross (Norwegian edition: Korset, 1922). Kristin Lavransdatter made the foundation for The Nobel Prize in Literature to Undset in 1928, when the reason given was '...principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages...'. The trilogy is a religious education novel, characterised by the catholic faith, to which Sigrid Undset converted some years later.

The action in Kristin Lavransdatter takes place during the 1300es, and the main character is Kristin, the daughter of the great farmer Lavrans in Sel in Gudbrandsdalen. The novel follows her from she is a young girl until she dies as an old widow. The historical background is very exact in all its details; about food, how farms were run, use of weapons, religious customs and moral norms. The language is modern Norwegian, but Undset did not use modern words and expressions that could depart from the historical novel.

The conflict material is marked by the time of the writer, her own moral norms and the contemporary debate about religion, sexual morals and women's roles. The central theme of the novel is the wrong choice Kristin makes, but the consideration of others still is the most important. The love between Kristin and Erlend is not described as dishonourable or despicable, but beautiful. When the wrong has happened, it can't be redone, but one has to live with the practical consequences as well as one can; Kristin is Erlend's wife and he and the children become her responsibility."

SOURCE:

Kristin Lavransdatter | Kristinspelet, kristinlavransdatter.no, 26.09.2012, http://www.kristinlavransdatter.no/om-spelet/

*Not yet translated into English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

Einar Almehagen, Gammel og ung Kristin skinner (literally: Old and young Kristin shine), August 8 2012, Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen:

"Undset's The Wreath, The Wife and The Cross are powerful epos each on their own, and the premise of compressing this into one production among the timber houses at Selsvollene seems like sheer madness. But when it is done in this way, director Gundersen has conjured a formula that works. The elder Kristin is the red thread, always present onstage as a side commenter of her own life. This is entirely necessary to guide the audience through large jumps and changing themes."