Her mother abandoned her at a young age in rural Iceland to fend for herself and her younger brother. She managed for a time to have a home but that quickly leads to death. It seems that poor Agnes can never be settled with death following at her heels. She loses her younger brother only to find him again later in life. Unfortunately, it is not the younger brother she remembers. Hardened by the world he is a scoundrel and petty thief. Eventually Agnes makes amends with him, if only when he steals her money and leaves her once again.
Agnes is forced to use her sexuality as her salvation on multiple attempts. She is sexually abused and raped, but she seems to take all of it in stride. The rapes are glossed over, told only with a small tinge of bitterness. It is not the raping that angers her. It is watching her whole world crumble.
Both her devotion and her anger are palpable in this novel. She is embittered by a world that never gave her a chance, then it condemned her to die.
“It’s not fair. People claim to know you through the things you've done, and not by sitting down and listening to you speak for yourself.”Agnes falls in love with a famous farmer, and apothecary named Natan. He promises her a better life, giving her small gifts. She leaves her steady place of employment to go to his small farm by the sea. She quickly learns that Natan loves all women. He is having multiple affairs with women, even in the same room as Agnes. She still continues to love her.
Agnes and Natan get into a violent lovers quarrel where he throws her, naked, into the snow. It is only through the other servant and Natan's mistress, Sigga, that she receives clothes enough to survive. Agnes tries to do the right thing but finds herself entangled in Sigga's plot to have Natan killed so that she can be with her true love.
To find out the rest of Agnes' story you will have to read for yourself. I recommend a nice Yankee Candle for full relaxation purposes!
Yours,
Kelly XoXo
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
No comments:
Post a Comment