Ok, I've just read the Telegraph review. How embarrassing. ...."based on the Norse saga, the Elder Edda". About as well-informed as saying "based on the epic poem, Oliver Twist."
Anyway, back to the much more interesting Shippey review.
Quote:
|
Why should Gudrún wish to protect the brothers who murdered her husband? Is that just because kinship is stronger than love?
|
This is a very interesting point and, IMO, the answer is yes. The vengeful sister is a recurring theme in early North Europe, and brother/sister links in royal families were very strong - look at the Picts, and at Arthur's ties to his sister's sons, Gawain and co....
And this:
Quote:
|
Once they have been captured, why does Gunnar refuse to speak until he has seen his brother Högni’s heart
|
Shippey answers this himself.
Quote:
|
a touchstone for the true heroic temper: proud, mean, contemptuous, ending in silence.
|
This is spot on, and Tolkien got it....Jackson didn't, with all his silly angsty stuff around Aragorn in the films. In heroic epic, less is more, emotions-wise. It was THE huge flaw of the films.