Status
Available
Publication
New York : Random House, c1927, 1954, 1987
Description
The Cross' is the third in the trilogy of historical novels called Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Kristin Lavaransdatter is a trilogy set in 14th century Norway, and follows the life of a strong, independent woman. The first volume covered Kristin’s childhood and marriage; the second, her life as a mother, bearing seven sons and managing a large agricultural estate. The Cross is the third and
This novel sees Kristin coping with tensions in her relationship with Erlend, and with the prospect of “losing” her sons to marriage and families of their own. Simon Darre, once betrothed to Kristin but now married to her younger sister, is always waiting in the wings to provide Kristin support when needed. It’s clear his feelings for Kristin have never gone away, and while Kristin can’t help thinking of the life that might have been, she also knows her rather unstable life with Erlend has suited her better than a life with steady but rather boring Simon.
The church figures prominently during this time period, and people are often judged harshly for what is seen as “immoral” conduct. Kristin herself was a victim of this, having defied her father’s choice for a husband, sleeping with Erlend before marriage, and deceiving everyone with a lavish wedding even though she knew she was pregnant. Now, while she is respected in the community, her morals are always suspect.
As the book progresses, the lives of all principal characters play out in interesting and unexpected ways. Kristin’s inner strength kept her going through hardship and personal tragedy, despite pressure to conform to church and community norms. Her story ends in a way that surprised me, but which on reflection seems fitting. Kristin Lavransdatter will stay with me for some time.
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final volume in this epic work. Kristin is in her late 30s, and considered beyond reproductive age. In the previous book, her husband Erlend lost his land holdings, and they now live on Kristin’s family estate. Her oldest sons are in their late teens, and ready to assume the responsibilities of grown men, but will not enjoy the inheritance they might have once expected.This novel sees Kristin coping with tensions in her relationship with Erlend, and with the prospect of “losing” her sons to marriage and families of their own. Simon Darre, once betrothed to Kristin but now married to her younger sister, is always waiting in the wings to provide Kristin support when needed. It’s clear his feelings for Kristin have never gone away, and while Kristin can’t help thinking of the life that might have been, she also knows her rather unstable life with Erlend has suited her better than a life with steady but rather boring Simon.
The church figures prominently during this time period, and people are often judged harshly for what is seen as “immoral” conduct. Kristin herself was a victim of this, having defied her father’s choice for a husband, sleeping with Erlend before marriage, and deceiving everyone with a lavish wedding even though she knew she was pregnant. Now, while she is respected in the community, her morals are always suspect.
As the book progresses, the lives of all principal characters play out in interesting and unexpected ways. Kristin’s inner strength kept her going through hardship and personal tragedy, despite pressure to conform to church and community norms. Her story ends in a way that surprised me, but which on reflection seems fitting. Kristin Lavransdatter will stay with me for some time.
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LibraryThing member xuebi
In The Cross, Sigrid Undset draws the sweeping narrative of Kristin Lavransdatter and life in mediaeval Norway to a close. Following on from The Wife, Kristin and Erlend return to Jørundgård as the couple become estranged and Kristin worries about the prospects of her sons. This volume definitely
This final volume, perhaps more than any other, is replete with a strong Christian ethos and as it chronicles the hardships Kristin bears and how she endures them, Sigrid Undset concurs with the mediaeval belief of the primacy of the spiritual realm over this material one. Undset infuses the whole novel with Christianity, reflecting the permeation of mediaeval life with the same, and although hard-going sometimes, these passages dealing with penance, forgiveness, and religion in general provide a rich insight not only into the mediaeval mind but into Undset's also, particularly as she converted to Roman Catholicism shortly after these books were published.
As in the previous two novels, Undset has richly recreated daily life in mediaeval Norway and brought this far-off time to life with detailed and sympathetic characters. Undset's prose is aided herein by Tiina Nunnally's translation that vividly brings this world to life.
This trilogy is demonstrable proof of the worthiness of Undset's Nobel Prize award and as whole merits five stars. I look forward greatly to reading more of Undset's works, particularly the Master of Hestviken series.
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contains some of the more emotional moments in the series, particularly the deaths of Erlend Nikulaussøn and Simon Darre; the final chapter devoted to the effects of the plague on the convent to which Kristin moved is also powerful. This final volume, perhaps more than any other, is replete with a strong Christian ethos and as it chronicles the hardships Kristin bears and how she endures them, Sigrid Undset concurs with the mediaeval belief of the primacy of the spiritual realm over this material one. Undset infuses the whole novel with Christianity, reflecting the permeation of mediaeval life with the same, and although hard-going sometimes, these passages dealing with penance, forgiveness, and religion in general provide a rich insight not only into the mediaeval mind but into Undset's also, particularly as she converted to Roman Catholicism shortly after these books were published.
As in the previous two novels, Undset has richly recreated daily life in mediaeval Norway and brought this far-off time to life with detailed and sympathetic characters. Undset's prose is aided herein by Tiina Nunnally's translation that vividly brings this world to life.
This trilogy is demonstrable proof of the worthiness of Undset's Nobel Prize award and as whole merits five stars. I look forward greatly to reading more of Undset's works, particularly the Master of Hestviken series.
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LibraryThing member thorold
The concluding part of the iconic Norwegian medieval trilogy, opening with Kristin already entering her own middle age. She's the mother of seven sons ranging from toddler to near-adult and is managing a large farm. But there are still all sorts of unresolved problems from her past to deal with,
I think this is the part of the trilogy where Kristin's character gets most interesting, as Undset reshapes some rather 20th-century ways of looking at the problems of marriage and motherhood into terms that fit together (apparently) seamlessly with very medieval approaches to law, custom and Christian belief. At times it comes uncomfortably close to being Freud in a wimple, but it just about manages to remain plausible, whilst making us see the absurdity of a lot of romantic ideas about medieval life. Nowadays we're quite used to thinking of the Middle Ages as a time of mud, smells, frightening diseases and sudden, arbitrary violence between men who went around fully armed all the time, where unhappy marriages cannot have been any less common than they are now. But in 1922, if you'd grown up on Walter Scott, that must have been quite a shocking thought.
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and it's not long before her relative happiness starts unravelling. Also, we're heading into the mid-14th century, and we all know what that means in plot terms...I think this is the part of the trilogy where Kristin's character gets most interesting, as Undset reshapes some rather 20th-century ways of looking at the problems of marriage and motherhood into terms that fit together (apparently) seamlessly with very medieval approaches to law, custom and Christian belief. At times it comes uncomfortably close to being Freud in a wimple, but it just about manages to remain plausible, whilst making us see the absurdity of a lot of romantic ideas about medieval life. Nowadays we're quite used to thinking of the Middle Ages as a time of mud, smells, frightening diseases and sudden, arbitrary violence between men who went around fully armed all the time, where unhappy marriages cannot have been any less common than they are now. But in 1922, if you'd grown up on Walter Scott, that must have been quite a shocking thought.
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LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
The final volume of the Kristin Lavransdatter, detailing the trials of Kristin's latter years in medieval Norway. Kristin's struggles with her husband Erlend, her sons, and her past sins continue, interspersed with the details of daily life and culture in medieval Norway. As in the best historical
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fiction, Kristin is a creature of her own time and the details of her life, both as the mistress of a manner and the victim of the Black Death, paint a vivid portrait of an era. Show Less
LibraryThing member reluctantacademic
My father once spoke of three great female characters in fiction - Kristin Lavransdatter was one. Becky Sharp of Thackeray's Vanity Fair another. I wish I could remember who the third was (not Elizabeth Bennett - not in his opinion, anyway), but I can't. I've two translations of one of the books -
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read this translator, not the other. Bought the first one at a Little Professor bookstore in Burlington, VT in the late 70s and the manager was very excited to see the book in paperback. That's how much of an impression these books made on me, though I didn't finish the series until well into the 90s. My own life and family got in the way, I suppose! Show Less
LibraryThing member Karin7
This book was at least as disappointing to me as the first, chiefly because I couldn't bring myself to like either Kristin or Erlend, and I almost never enjoy books when I don't care for one of the main characters. I was hoping for some sort of character growth or something that would help these
That said, there were parts I really enjoyed, and that included getting to know Simon so well. Had he been the protagonist (but he couldn't have been!) I might have liked it better. Also, while I know that the religious beliefs were very accurate for the time, including the people melding Roman Catholicism with older, local beliefs, it didn't do much for me, either, with the sorts of punishments and so on and so forth. I did like the great historical research that was done, though, and was impressed by the detail of the plague descriptions, etc, although it was so tragic.
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two, or at least one of them, and it never happened, at least not in a way to make either of them likable.That said, there were parts I really enjoyed, and that included getting to know Simon so well. Had he been the protagonist (but he couldn't have been!) I might have liked it better. Also, while I know that the religious beliefs were very accurate for the time, including the people melding Roman Catholicism with older, local beliefs, it didn't do much for me, either, with the sorts of punishments and so on and so forth. I did like the great historical research that was done, though, and was impressed by the detail of the plague descriptions, etc, although it was so tragic.
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LibraryThing member Gypsy_Boy
[This is my review of all three volumes, not simply the last]
Kristin Lavransdatter is the epic story (over 1,100 pages) of a woman from birth to death in early 14th century Norway. The title character wrestles throughout the work with pride and passion; she is extraordinarily determined, but her
The other major theme of the work is Kristin Lavransdatter’s relationship to her church and her religion; the work is saturated in Undset’s own crisis of faith that resulted in her conversion to Catholicism in 1924 (the book came out in three volumes between 1920 and 1927). (Undset had a largely secular upbringing in Norway, a overwhelmingly Lutheran country.) There was occasionally too much emphasis on this aspect of the story for me (portions can read as if a sermon was being preached) and it seemed to reflect a bit too vividly Undset’s own struggles, but she succeeds in tying everything together in the end. Considering Undset was in her late 30s and early 40s when she wrote this, there is a remarkable perceptiveness, a “worldly” wisdom, that wouldn’t be expected of a writer so young. No doubt her own personal circumstances heavily influenced much of the writing, but the work is exceptional under any circumstances.
Kristin Lavransdatter is the epic story (over 1,100 pages) of a woman from birth to death in early 14th century Norway. The title character wrestles throughout the work with pride and passion; she is extraordinarily determined, but her
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determination is often expressed as willful pigheadedness. She marries for love, defying her parents, and raises a large family of sons. The work addresses—in highly detailed, completely believable descriptions—her relationships: with her parents and siblings, with her husband, and with her sons. The level of detail is astonishing—Undset’s depictions of everything from daily life to customs to religious practices have understandably won admiration from scholars. I found that one of the great successes of the work is its wholly believable setting: Undset creates a universe and her writing is so accessible that the reader is completely absorbed very early on. Characters are fully developed, completely human, and their relationships thoroughly convincing.The other major theme of the work is Kristin Lavransdatter’s relationship to her church and her religion; the work is saturated in Undset’s own crisis of faith that resulted in her conversion to Catholicism in 1924 (the book came out in three volumes between 1920 and 1927). (Undset had a largely secular upbringing in Norway, a overwhelmingly Lutheran country.) There was occasionally too much emphasis on this aspect of the story for me (portions can read as if a sermon was being preached) and it seemed to reflect a bit too vividly Undset’s own struggles, but she succeeds in tying everything together in the end. Considering Undset was in her late 30s and early 40s when she wrote this, there is a remarkable perceptiveness, a “worldly” wisdom, that wouldn’t be expected of a writer so young. No doubt her own personal circumstances heavily influenced much of the writing, but the work is exceptional under any circumstances.
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Awards
PEN Translation Prize (Winner — 2001)