10.04.2013 Views

The Genre of Trolls - Doria

The Genre of Trolls - Doria

The Genre of Trolls - Doria

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely<br />

thou art one <strong>of</strong> them: for thou art a Galilæan, and thy speech agreeth thereto.<br />

But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man <strong>of</strong> whom ye speak.<br />

And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said<br />

unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he<br />

thought thereon, he wept.<br />

(Mark 14: 27–31, 66–72)<br />

<strong>The</strong> temporal perspective is dissimilar in these three texts; in the first two<br />

Christ enumerates transgressions <strong>of</strong> the past, in the last he predicts a threefold<br />

renunciation yet to take place. Maid Lena (text 19) and Peter (text 21)<br />

are both lying—in this respect the texts agree—maid Lena about her virtue,<br />

Peter about his connection with Christ, and both swear to their innocence<br />

at different junctures, equally culpable. However, Peter’s sole punishment<br />

is tears and bitter remorse, no more.<br />

5.2 Intertextuality, Interdiscursivity and Power<br />

<strong>The</strong> intertextual relations examined in this chapter differ somewhat from<br />

the ones studied in the previous chapter. Firstly, the schematic structure<br />

cannot be captured as neatly as in chapter 4, and I have therefore refrained<br />

from providing a representation <strong>of</strong> it. Secondly, the structure <strong>of</strong> the texts is<br />

<strong>of</strong>ten very similar, with only minor divergences. For example, the banishments<br />

<strong>of</strong> trolls, devils and evil spirits basically follow the same pattern, and<br />

though the number <strong>of</strong> attempts and <strong>of</strong> persons involved varies, there is far<br />

more agreement in this structural respect. When it comes to instances <strong>of</strong><br />

inversion and negation, the former is not a reversal <strong>of</strong> events or a whole<br />

series <strong>of</strong> events as in the preceding chapter, but rather <strong>of</strong> the assessment <strong>of</strong><br />

those events: the imperviousness <strong>of</strong> the witch to fire (text 14) inverts the<br />

positive evaluation <strong>of</strong> Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego’s miraculous rescue<br />

(text 15), turning it into something sinister and diabolic. Likewise, the<br />

trolls and devils exposing the transgressions <strong>of</strong> the parsons—just as Jesus<br />

discloses the sins <strong>of</strong> Mary Magdalene (text 19), the secret <strong>of</strong> the Samaritan<br />

woman (text 20) and presages Peter’s denial (text 21)—they invert the status<br />

<strong>of</strong> Christ’s position, making it less honourable. A similar phenomenon can<br />

be discerned in the metaphorical connection <strong>of</strong> the Garden <strong>of</strong> Eden to the<br />

world <strong>of</strong> the troll, but the creation <strong>of</strong> that link does not entirely invert the<br />

value <strong>of</strong> Paradise, it serves to improve the image <strong>of</strong> the otherworld. As for<br />

206<br />

Intertextuality as Social Critique

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!