The House of the Wolfings · Chapter
V: Concerning the Hall-Sun explained
After the warriors depart, the Hall-Sun remains on the Hill of Speech, lost in a waking dream.
What happens
After the warriors depart, the Hall-Sun remains on the Hill of Speech, lost in a waking dream. An ancient carline approaches and questions her about her origins and her role as the Hall-Sun. The Hall-Sun recounts her earliest memories: being found as a child in the wildwood, fostered by the Wolfings, and gradually coming into her prophetic powers. During the conversation, she has a vision of a beautiful woman—her true mother—and foresees fire and destruction. When she awakens, she remembers the vision of her mother but not the prophecy of doom. She descends to rejoin the women and old men of the Wolfings.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Prophecy
The Hall-Sun's prophetic trance and her vision of the future, including the fire and destruction, highlight the theme of fate and prophecy. She speaks words of wisdom without conscious memory, embodying the mysterious and unavoidable nature of destiny.
Tribal Identity and Kinship
The Hall-Sun's discussion of her origins—being a foundling from the wildwood and fostered by the Wolfings—underscores the theme of tribal identity and kinship. Despite not being of the blood, she is fully accepted as the Hall-Sun and a symbol of the Wolfings' unity and strength.
Sacrifice and Loss
The Hall-Sun's internal conflict about the coming war and her reluctance to give the life of her beloved (Thiodolf) for the people's redemption reflects the theme of sacrifice and loss. She muses on the sorrow of the people and the personal cost of victory.
Characters to notice
- Hall-Sun
The Hall-Sun is the central figure of the chapter. She is left alone on the Hill of Speech after the warriors depart, falls into a prophetic trance, and recounts her mysterious origins and early life to the carline. She experiences a vision of her true mother and foresees destruction, though she later forgets the prophecy.
- Wood-Sun
The carline who speaks with the Hall-Sun is revealed to be the Wood-Sun in disguise. She questions the Hall-Sun about her past and her powers, and her presence triggers the Hall-Sun's vision of her mother and the foretelling of doom.
Key passages
“I think of the thing that hath been, but no shape is in my thought; I think of the day that passeth, and its story comes to nought. I think of the days that shall be, nor shape I any tale.”
The Hall-Sun expresses her confusion and inability to clearly perceive past, present, or future events, indicating her prophetic state is clouded.
This passage illustrates the Hall-Sun's trance-like state and her struggle to grasp the visions that flicker in her mind.
“None knoweth who is my mother, nor my very father's name; But when to the House of the Wolfings a wildwood waif I came, They gave me a foster-mother an ancient dame and good, And a glorious foster-father the best of all the blood.”
The Hall-Sun reveals that her true parents are unknown; she was found as a child in the wildwood and raised by foster parents among the Wolfings.
This exchange with the carline establishes the Hall-Sun's mysterious origins and her deep bond with her foster family.
“What then if a merry and mighty life be given for it, and the sorrow of the people be redeemed; yet will not I give the life which is his; nay rather let him give the bliss which is mine. But oh! how may it be that he shall die joyous and I shall live unhappy!”
The Hall-Sun wrestles with the idea of sacrificing her beloved for the people's salvation, ultimately rejecting the notion and preferring to suffer herself.
This internal monologue reveals the Hall-Sun's deep personal conflict between her love for Thiodolf and her duty to the Wolfings.