# Rune XXII: The Bride’s Farewell explained — The Kalevala

> Chapter companion for The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot.

## What happens

The bride of Ilmarinen prepares to leave her home in Pohyola, receiving farewell speeches from her mother and an old maiden that warn of the hardships of marriage and the loss of her former freedom. The bride expresses sorrow and reluctance, contrasting her joyful childhood with the bleak future she anticipates.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

The chapter focuses on the bride's departure and the transition from maidenhood to wifehood, emphasizing the sorrow and loss associated with marriage.

### Family and Kinship

The bride's farewell underscores the bonds of family and the pain of leaving her parents, siblings, and home.

## Character check-ins

### Ilmarinen

The bridegroom, waiting to lead his bride away.

### Louhi

The hostess of Pohyola, urging the bride to depart and lamenting her leaving.

### Aino

Not directly present; the bride is compared to a 'maid of sorrow' and 'bride of Night,' echoing Aino's tragic fate.

## Key lines

> Now thou leavest home and kindred, Wanderest to other firesides, Goest to another mother, Other sisters, other brothers, Goest to a second father, To the servant-folk of strangers, From thy native hills and lowlands.

You are leaving your family and home to live with strangers, where you will be a servant.

_Louhi warns the bride of the harsh reality of moving to her husband's home._

> I go, a maid of sorrow, Heavy-hearted to the bridegroom, Like the bride of Night in winter, Like the ice upon the rivers.

I leave with a heavy heart, as cold and lifeless as winter ice.

_The bride expresses her deep sadness and reluctance to marry._

> Weep, O weep, my pretty young bride. When thou weepest, weep sincerely, Weep great rivers from thine eyelids, Floods of tears in field and fallow, Lakelets in thy father's dwelling.

Cry now, bride, and cry hard, so you won't have to cry later when you return to find your family aged or dead.

_The old maiden urges the bride to weep now to avoid future regret._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kalevala_se/chapters/rune-xxii-the-bride-s-farewell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kalevala_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kalevala_se/chapters