Henrik Ibsen

“ Sigurd. But Egil, thy son—they are slaying him!
111Hiördis. Let him die—my shame dies with him!
Sigurd. And Gunnar—they are taking thy husband’s life!
Hiördis. What care I! A better husband shall I follow home this night! Ay, Sigurd, so must it be; here on this earth grows no happiness for me. The White God is coming northward; him will I not meet; the old gods are strong no longer;—they sleep, they sit half shadow-like on high;—with them will we strive! Out of this life, Sigurd! I will enthrone thee king in heaven, and I myself will sit by thy side. ”

“ I pursued after love through sin and guilt, little dreaming that ’twas mine already, in right of God’s law and man’s.—And you, Ragnhild, my wife, you, against whom I have sinned so deeply, you take me to your warm, soft heart in the hour of my sorest need; you can tremble and be afraid for the life of the man who has never cast a ray of sunshine upon your path.
Lady Ragnhild. Have you sinned? Oh, Skule, speak not so; think you I should ever dare accuse you! From the first I was too mean a mate for you, my noble husband; there can rest no guilt on any deed of yours.
King Skule. ”

“ Margrete. There breathe not nobler men than they two.
Lady Ragnhild. See you Sigurd Ribbung? With what a look of evil cunning he sits there—like a wolf in chains.
Margrete. Ay, see!—He folds his hands before him on his sword-hilt and rests his chin upon them.
Lady Ragnhild. He bites his beard and laughs——
133Margrete. ’Tis an evil laugh.
Lady Ragnhild. He knows that none will further his cause;—’tis that which makes him wroth. Who is yonder thane that speaks now?
Margrete. That is Gunnar Grionbak.
Lady Ragnhild. Is he for the Earl?
Margrete. No, he is for the King——
Lady Ragnhild. ”

“ Gunnar is thy foster-brother; little I know thee if thou say him nay.
Gunnar. [To Sigurd.] Thou hast been my friend where’er we fared; thou wilt not thwart me now!
Dagny. And to depart from the land, leaving Hiördis with hate in her heart—no, no, that must we not!
Gunnar. I have done Örnulf a great wrong; until it is made good, I cannot be at peace with myself.
Sigurd. [Vehemently.] All else will I do for thee, Gunnar, but not stay here! [Mastering himself.] I am King Æthelstan’s sworn henchman, and I must be with him in England ere the winter is out. ”

“ Örnulf. Give half thy goods and gear!
Sigurd. [Urgently.] Take the whole, take both my ships, take all that is mine, and let me fare with thee to Iceland as the poorest man in thy train. What I give, I can win once more; but if thou and Gunnar come to strife, I shall never see a glad day again. Now, Örnulf, thy answer?
Örnulf. [Reflecting.] Two good long-ships, weapons, and other chattels—too much gear can no man have; but—— [Vehemently.] No, no!—Hiördis has threatened me; I will not! I were dishonoured should I take thy goods!
Sigurd. Yet listen——
Örnulf. ”

“ Can one man take God’s calling from another, as he takes weapons and gold from his fallen foe? Can a Pretender clothe himself in a king’s life-task, as he can put on the kingly mantle? The oak that is felled to be a ship’s timber, can it say: Nay, I will be the mast, I will take on me the task of the fir-tree, point upwards, tall and shining, bear the golden vane at my top, spread bellying white sails to the sunshine, and meet the eyes of all men, from afar!—No, no, thou heavy gnarled oak-trunk, thy place is down in the keel ”

“ Örnulf. I praise all good wights that Thorolf came not with us; for if he too—nay, strong though I be, that had been too heavy for me to bear. But why comes he not? He was ever the first to meet his father; for to both of us it seemed we could not live apart a single day.
Gunnar. Örnulf, Örnulf!
Örnulf. [With growing uneasiness.] Ye stand all silent, I mark it now. What ails you? Where is Thorolf?
Dagny. Sigurd, Sigurd—this will be the sorest blow to him!
Gunnar. [Struggling with himself.] Old man!—No——and yet, it cannot be hid——
Örnulf. ”

“ Hiördis. Nay, why should I not tell it? Is it true, Thorolf, that for three nights thy father sat in woman’s weed, doing sorceries with the witch of Smalserhorn, ere he dared face Jökul in fight?
[All rise; violent excitement among the guests.
Gunnar, Sigurd, and Dagny. Hiördis!
Thorolf. [Bitterly exasperated.] So base a lie has no man spoken of Örnulf of the Fiords! Thou thyself hast made it, for no one less venomous than thou could dream of such a thing. The blackest crime a man can do hast thou laid at my father’s door. [Throwing the sword away.] There, Gunnar, take thy gift again ”

“ Now it is over; my soul has fresh marrow in its bones; I have not sinned; it is I that have suffered wrong; I am the accuser!
Duke Skule. [Softly.] My lord—the letter! You have little time left.
Håkon. Think of your soul, and humble you!
Bishop Nicholas. A man’s life-work is his soul, and my life-work still shall live upon the earth. But you, King Håkon, you should beware; for as Heaven has stood against me, and reaped harm for its reward, so are you standing against the man who holds the country’s welfare in his hand——
Håkon. ”

“ Thorolf. Even a beardless lad is too good to wrangle with women.
Hiördis. But too weak to fight with men; therefore thy father let thee lie by the hearth at home in Iceland, whilst thy brothers went a-viking.
Thorolf. It had been well had he kept as good an eye on thee; for then hadst thou not left the land an unwedded woman.
Gunnar and Sigurd. Thorolf!
Dagny. [Simultaneously.] Brother!
Hiördis. [Softly, and quivering with rage.] Ha! wait—wait!
Thorolf. [Gives Gunnar his hand.] Be not wroth, Gunnar;—evil words came to my tongue; but thy wife goaded me! ”

“ Earl Skule. [With a slight smile.] ’Tis easy to call every one the King’s foe who chimes not with the King’s will. Methinks he is the King’s worst foe who would counsel him against making good his right to the kingship.
Håkon. Who knows? Were my right alone in question, mayhap I had not paid so dear to prove it; but higher things are here at stake: my calling and my duty. Deep and warm is the faith within me—and I blush not to own it—that I alone am he who in these times can sway the land to its weal. Kingly birth begets kingly duty——
Earl Skule. ”

“ Hiördis. [Thoughtfully.] Thou wilt put to sea? Ay, so it may be best for us both.
Gunnar. Even from the day we sailed from Iceland, I saw that it would go ill with us. Thy soul is strong and proud; there are times when I well-nigh fear thee; yet, it is strange—chiefly for that do I hold thee so dear. Dread goes forth from thee like a spell; methinks thou couldst lure me to the blackest deeds, and all would seem good to me that thou didst crave. [Shaking his head reflectively.] Unfathomable is the Norn’s rede; Sigurd should have been thy husband. ”

“ Sigurd—foster-brother! [Shakes his hand.] Now truly, since thou art here, I know that Örnulf comes in peace. [To Örnulf.] Give me thy hand, greybeard! Thy errand here in the north is lightly guessed: it concerns Hiördis, thy foster-daughter.
Örnulf. As thou sayest; great wrong was done me when thou didst bear her away from Iceland without my will.
Gunnar. Thy claim is rightful; what the youth has marred, the man must mend. Long have I looked for thee, Örnulf, for this cause; and if amends content thee, we shall soon be at one.
Sigurd. So deem I too. Örnulf will not press thee over hard. ”

“ Hiördis. A deed once done, ’tis wise to praise it. This morning I swore hate and vengeance against Örnulf;—the slaying of Jökul I might have forgotten—all, save that he cast shame upon my lot. He called me a leman; if it be so, it shames me not; for Gunnar is mightier now than thy father; he is greater and more famous than Sigurd, thine own husband!
Dagny. [In wild indignation.] There thou errest, Hiördis—and even now shall all men know that thou dwellest under a coward’s roof! ”

“ Norway has been a kingdom, it shall become a people. The Trönder has stood against the man of Viken, the Agdeman against the Hordalander, the Halogalander against the Sogndalesman; all shall be one hereafter, and all shall feel and know that they are one! That is the task which God has laid on my shoulders; that is the work which now lies before the King of Norway. That life-work, Duke, I think you were best to leave untried, for truly it is beyond you.
Duke Skule. [Impressed.] To unite——? To unite the Trönders and the men of Viken,—all Norway——? [Sceptically.] ’Tis impossible! ”

“ My God! my God! behold, I abase myself before thee, and stand as the least of all men.
Peter. Take me from the earth, O Lord! Punish me for all my sin; but take me from the earth; for here am I homeless now!
[Sinks down upon the church steps.
King Skule. I had a friend who bled for me at Oslo. He said: A man can die for another’s life-work; but if he is to go on living, he must live for his own.—I have no life-work to live for, neither can I live for Håkon’s,—but I can die for it.
Margrete. Nay, nay, that shall you never do!
King Skule. [Takes her hand, and looks at her tenderly.] ”

“ Ah, Sir Earl, of a truth you have taken full inheritance, not of your father’s wealth alone, but of all the goods Håkon Sverresson left behind him.
Bishop Nicholas. Not all, good Dagfinn. Respect the truth;—King Håkon has kept a brooch and the golden ring he wears on his arm.
Håkon. Be that as it will; with God’s help I shall win myself wealth again. And now, ye barons and thanes, ye churchmen and chieftains and men-at-arms, now it is time we held the folkmote, as has been agreed. I have sat with bound hands until this day; methinks no man will blame me for longing to have them loosed. ”

“ All good gifts may a man give to his faithful friend—all, save the woman he loves; for if he do that, he rends the Norn’s secret web, and two lives are wrecked. An unerring voice within me tells me I came into the world that my strong soul might cheer and uphold thee through heavy days, and that thou wert born to the end I might find in one man all that seemed to me great and noble; for this I know Sigurd—had we two held together, then hadst thou become more famous than all others, and I happier. ”

“ Farewell then, my fair boy; bear thee in courtly wise at the feast-house, that I may have honour of thee. Beware of idle babbling; but what thou sayest, let it be keen as a sword. Be friendly to those that deal with thee in friendly wise; but if thou be taunted, hold not thy peace. Drink not more than thou canst bear; but put not the horn aside when it is offered thee in measure, lest thou be deemed womanish.
Thorolf. Nay, be at ease!
Örnulf. Then away to the feast at Gunnar’s hall. I too will come to the feast, and that in the guise they least think of. ”

“ I also would be king; but I must needs be a chieftain first. Then came the battle at Ilevoldene; ’twas the first time I went out to war. The sun went up, and glittering lightnings flashed from a thousand burnished blades. Magnus and all his men advanced as to a game; I alone felt a tightness at my heart. Fiercely our host swept forward; but I could not follow—I was afraid! All Magnus’s other chieftains fought manfully, and many fell in the fight; but I fled up over the mountain, and ran and ran, and stayed not until I came down to the fiord again, far away. ”

“ King Skule. [Looks upwards.] O God, I am a poor man, I have but my life to give; but take that, and keep watch over Håkon’s great king’s-thought.—See now, give me your hand.
Peter. Here is my hand, father.
King Skule. And fear not for that which is now to come.
Peter. Nay, father, I fear not, when I go with you.
King Skule. A safer way have we two never trodden together. [He opens the gate; the Townsmen stand without with upraised weapons.] Here are we; we come of our own free will;—but strike him not in the face. ”

“ Dead! Then truly have I brought my soul to wreck! [The storm increases; she breaks forth wildly.] They come! I have bewitched them hither! No, no! I will not go with you! I will not ride without Sigurd! It avails not—they see me; they laugh and beckon to me; they spur their horses! [Rushes out to the edge of the cliff at the back.] They are upon me;—and no shelter, no hiding-place! Ay, mayhap at the bottom of the sea!
[She casts herself over. [Örnulf, Dagny, Gunnar, with Egil, gradually followed by Sigurd’s and Örnulf’s men, enter from the right.
Örnulf. [Turning towards the grave-mound.] ”

“ To hew off thy nose and ears, thou vile thrall. Little dost thou know old Örnulf if thou thinkest to have his help in such a deed of shame!
Kåre. [Who has shrunk backwards.] If thou fall not upon Gunnar he will surely fall upon thee.
Örnulf. Have I not weapons, and strength to wield them?
Sigurd. [To Kåre.] And now away with thee! Thy presence is a shame to honourable men!
27Kåre. [Going off.] Well well, I must shift for myself as best I may. But this I tell you: if ye think to deal gently with Hiördis, ye will come to rue it. I know her—and I know where to strike her sorest! ”