The Genre of Trolls - Doria

conducive to an encounter with trolls: Easter (SLS 226: 150), Midsummer’s
Eve (R I 86), the festival of St. Thomas on December 21st (SLS 333: 220–
221) and Christmas Day (SLS 65: 49). Even the weather may have some
import for supernatural experiences, as the trolls are said to be abroad in
rain and mist, and are believed to bathe when rain falls while the sun is
shining (SLS 56: 153).
In folkloristic research, supranormal encounters have been related to the
breaking of taboos and to social boundaries; in folk narratives, supernatural
beings act to maintain traditional gender roles and the moral codes of society,
but they also reinforce the very boundary between the human sphere
and the otherworld (Stattin 1992: 55–57; Wolf-Knuts 1991: 250–253; Stark
2002: 186). The promotion of social order and cohesion has been associated
with notions of purity, whereas the propagation of danger and disorder
has been connected with impurity in the vein of Mary Douglas (Stark
2002: 192; Douglas 1992). Notwithstanding, supranormal creatures may be
linked to strategies for liberating oneself from oppressive social norms as
well; for instance, the Devil can be used by humans to gain advantages for
themselves without having to pay the price for his assistance, losing their
souls to him after death (Wolf-Knuts 1991: 253–263). However, the link to
moral transgressions is not always obvious in my material, although there
are some lucid examples of this function, and hence I have not applied the
taboo approach in any consistent fashion. Nevertheless, I have endeavoured
to comment on such features where appropriate.
3.1.2 Women’s Encounter with the Troll
Women’s tasks within the sexual division of labour required frequent forays
into the forest, where they herded cattle, sought for animals gone astray or
collected leaves, according to the texts (Freudenthal 1889: 197; R I 86; R II
325; SLS 28, 3; SLS 37, 6; SLS 65: 45; SLS 202 Sagor I, 8; SLS 213, 184).
The encounter is not desired by the woman. For example, a girl walking in
the forest chances upon a troll cottage, where she is the witness of foul misdeeds
(SLS 37, 3). In one narrative, the woman is fleeing through the forest
of the troll on the back of a bull. Unaware of the otherworldly status of the
SLS 137 II, 1; SLS 202 Sagor II, 28; SLS 202 Sagor II, 66; SLS 213, 184; SLS 280:132; SLS
280:312; SLS 280:357; SLS 280:635–636; SLS 299:33; SLS 338:21–22.
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Description of the Troll Tradition