The Genre of Trolls - Doria

on similar motifs as an expression of a popular discussion on economic
transactions in a changing social context). In order to strengthen their arguments
further, the trolls proffer a considerable sum, a detail that might
have represented a wish come true for many rural inhabitants.
In another variant of the story, the maid on a farm is cleaning the cowshed,
and all of a sudden the refuse is transformed into shiny silver coins.
She is frightened and runs away. At night the troll arrives to tell the master
of the house to move the cow standing farthest away in the shed, for
each time she pees their table gets wet (SLS 280: 362). Whether the humans
accepted the money or lost it remains obscure. In Tangherlini’s terms, they
might not assent to the economic transaction, and possibly they simultaneously
deny the interaction, because nothing is said of the master actually
moving the cow.
A third variant of the legend combines it with the story of the pregnant
frog. In the village of Vassor in the parish of Kvevlax a troll woman once
came to a midwife and wanted her assistance at a delivery. Initially she refused
to go, but since she did not get rid of the troll in any other way, she
had to give in and go with it. When they had come to the corner of the
stable, the troll woman opened a hatch and they descended into the earth.
Everything was so fine in there: the table was made of gold, but one end of
it was completely black as it was placed directly beneath the horses, and
their urine seeped down on it. The troll woman said that if the stable was
moved, the owner would receive luck with his horses. The midwife was
given a silver jug as payment for her services, and the troll woman led her
back home. When she told of her experience, no-one believed her until she
showed them the jug. The stable was moved and the owner did have luck
with his horses (Hembygden 1913: 105). The midwife’s unwillingness to
accompany the troll woman is common in narratives of this type in the
Swedish-speaking areas in Finland. Ann Helene Bolstad Skjelbred has
characterized the type as a reflection of the conceptions and customs associated
with the mutual exchange of assistance between neighbours, womenfolk
in this case, extended to the supranormal sphere as well (Skjelbred
1998: 78–83). My material nevertheless suggests that this system of co-operation
does not always work smoothly; the trolls are too feared for that.
The text also emphasizes the wealth of the trolls, but it is tarnished. If
man can aid in its rehabilitation, he will receive luck with his horses in return.
The horse was a symbol of male prestige, the measure of the master’s
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Description of the Troll Tradition