The play opens with a trio of women mourning the loss of their kinsman, Gudleik, son of Aslak, recently murdered by one Eyolf Finsson. The main female speaker is the vengeful Hallgerde, who expresses her dislike of Gudleik’s widow, known as Halte-Hulda. (The use of the epithet is in keeping with the Old Norse custom of dubbing a person by a nickname peculiar to certain characteristics of the individual. Halte-Hulda is Bjornson’s invention – there is no instance of a lame woman in the sagas). Hallgerde is angry that Hulde seems quite happy that Gudleik is dead. It is believed that Hulde has been a curse long infecting the men in Gudleik’s family. Stories are related about her, how as a child she had cried at dances because of her lameness, and how the marriage-broker had
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Citation: Rees, Kathy. "Halte-Hulda". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 April 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35892, accessed 26 November 2024.]
