V explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love and Marriage

  Kristin's betrothal to Simon is an arranged match focused on family alliance and wealth, contrasting with Arne's personal affection.

• Family and Duty

  Lavrans arranges the marriage to secure his daughter's future and his own standing; Ragnfrid's guilt over her children's fates underscores familial duty.

• Gender Roles and Agency

  Kristin has little say in her betrothal, yet she begins to accept it; her interactions with Arne hint at limited personal agency.

Characters to notice

• Kristin Lavransdatter

  Now fifteen, betrothed to Simon Andressön, and described as full-grown and very fair.

• Simon Andressön

  Betrothed to Kristin; described as stout, cheerful, and skilled in sports, though Kristin initially finds him less handsome than expected.

• Lavrans Björgulfsön

  Arranges Kristin's betrothal to Simon, proud of his wealth and standing, and dotes on his daughters.

• Ragnfrid Ivarsdatter

  Pleased with the betrothal, but still haunted by her sense of bringing ill-fortune to her children.

• Ulvhild Lavransdatter

  Crippled from an accident, walks with a crutch, but is fair and sweet; her parents hope she may enter a cloister.

• Arne Gyrdsön

  A childhood friend of Kristin, leaving for Hamar; he harbors unspoken romantic feelings for her.

Key passages

• “The year that Kristin was fifteen in the spring, Lavrans Björgulfsön and Sir Andres Gudmundsön of Dyfrin made tryst at the Holledis Thing. There 'twas agreed between them that Andres' second son, Simon, should wed Kristin Lavransdatter and should have Formo, Sir Andres' mother's udal estate.”

  When Kristin turned fifteen, her father Lavrans met with Sir Andres Gudmundsön at the Holledis Thing and arranged for Kristin to marry Andres' second son, Simon, who would inherit the Formo estate.

  Establishes the formal betrothal agreement.

• “Kristin was a little cast down when she first saw Simon Andressön; for she had heard great talk of his good looks and seemly bearing, so that she had outrun all measure in her hopes of what her bridegroom would be.”

  Kristin was disappointed upon first meeting Simon because she had built up high expectations of his handsomeness based on rumors.

  Shows Kristin's initial reaction to her betrothed.

• “Lady Aashild said when she had seen Simon: '...Were it now in Norway as it was in days gone by, and as it is still in other lands—that folk were not more hard to sinners than is God himself, I would say you should find yourself a friend who is lean and sorrowful—one you could have to sit and hold converse with.'”

  Lady Aashild remarked that if society were more forgiving of sinners, she would advise Kristin to seek a more melancholy lover for deeper conversation, though she still approves of Simon as a good match.

  Foreshadows Kristin's later relationship with Erlend.

• “Arne said: 'How will you like it when Simon lies in your lap thus, and plays with your hair?' Kristin did not answer. It seemed as though a heaviness fell upon her of a sudden—Arne's words and Arne's head on her knee—it seemed to her as though a door opened into a room, where many dark passages led into a greater darkness; sad, and heavy at heart, she faltered and would not look inside.”

  Arne asked Kristin how she would feel when Simon did the same, and she felt a sudden foreboding, as if glimpsing a dark and troubling future she did not want to explore.

  Highlights Kristin's unease about her impending marriage.