re Re: MDDM Ch. 66 Stig's Tale: An Interpretation

[Paul Mackin]

There's no ambiguity in what the thrust of Stig's story is: sadness over the
inability of the Northmen to exist decently in the New World.

Brutal European conquest over the natives is NOT the point of the story. There
WAS killing, but NO conquest. No particular need to consult the sagas to
understand this.

The appearance of the other Gudrid suggests that brotherhood (sisterhood)
between the parties might have been a possibility but as a matter of fact did
not occur.

The passage is only a page and two thirds.  It supports the Stig/Patience sex
comedy and at the same time relates a small (in the total scheme of things)
tragedy.   Speculation about who was more brutal or immoral is of little
interest in this passage.

P.



Doug Millison wrote:

> jbor:
> >In all versions of the episode the "Skraelling" assaults the
> >Norseman and tries to steal his weapon, and the
> violence escalates from there.
>
> M&D and the sagas are ambiguous, omitting the level of detail that would
> support this reading -- it's not clear at all what happens *before* the
> "Skraelling" tries to "seize his weapon" (633) :  maybe the "Skraelling"
> was trying to avoid being hurt by the Northman's weapon? Maybe the
> "Skraelling" just jumps out of nowhere and assaults the Northman to steal
> his weapon?  Neither Pynchon nor the sagas show enough to know for sure.
> After the initial blow-up, M&D does show the Northmen undertaking a
> pre-emptive strike: "the Northmen decide not to wait their return, but to
> go out to them, upon the Cape" (633),  Pynchon clearly describes the
> Northmen pursuing and murdering the Skraellings.
>
> >The earlier
> >visit by Thorvald Ericksson, where Thorvald is eventually killed by a
> >"Skraelling" arrow, explicitly portrays the Norsemen instigating violence
> >against the Native Americans, so I'd imagine Pynchon deliberately chose to
> >use the later, *peaceful* attempt to settle in Vineland for a purpose.
>
> A history of violence and blood already exists between the two peoples when
> Pynchon picks up the Vineland story. The "Skraellings" remember the
> previous encounter and this time they want even the odds by getting weapons
> that will enable them to defend themselves from enemies who have returned.
> Pynchon calls this *second* Northmen-Skraelling encounter, America's
> *first* act of murder.  What makes these second killings murder and not the
> killings of the earlier visit? I think it's the pre-meditated, pre-emptive
> nature of the attack by the Northmen this time; it's not self-defense,
> after the initial blow-up the "Skraellings" run for their lives, the
> Northmen *decide*  to pursue and kill them -- that's what Pynchon shows and
> why he calls it  "murder", I think, in a novel that concerns itself quite a
> bit with the law and legal terminology.
>
> >It's not the act or
> >the outcome they had planned; they did not arrive in Vineland with violent,
> >imperialist intentions.
>
> M&D doesn't offer enough evidence, imo, to support this, and history
> contradicts it -- I don't think Pynchon provides enough insight to jump to
> the conclusion that the Vikings did not have violent intentions in this
> intance; au contraire, they were violent the first time, they're violent
> this time, that's their pattern, and history tells a frightful story of
> attacks, rape, pillage, murder, by the Northmen wherever they go.
>
> As a whole, M&D does not revise the history that we know, of an America
> that was invaded and colonized by Europeans who murder, infect with
> disease, displace, and enslave the native inhabitants.  Pynchon may leave
> the details of the earliest encounter of Europeans and Native Americans
> ambiguous, leaving open the question of who started the violence that
> continues for centuries, but the rest of the history is clear enough in M&D
> -- the Native Americans fought back against the colonizers from time to
> time, but the genocidal tendency that the Paxton Boys illustrate is what
> prevailed. Pynchon doesn't revise that.
>
> Stig's Ax and the weapons of the Northmen in Stig's tale recall the bladed
> armor used to kill the Lambton Worm and the many generations of pain and
> suffering that follow that violent encounter between Knight and Evil Other.
>
> Here's an interesting version of events, told from what appears to be a
> Native American perspective:
>
> http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dgarneau/indian7.htm
>
> "[...] 1006 The Skraeling (wretches or savages) arrived in the spring to
> trade for weapons however Karlsefni traded with milk that the Dorset
> appreciated.  Trading is cut short, as the Viking contends the Skraeling
> are scared off by the cattle, especially the bull.  Future events suggest
> the Vikings probably put the Dorset to the sword.  A second party of
> Skraeling arrived three weeks later into a Viking ambush.  The Dorset
> obviously did not expect this treatment as they are not prepared to do
> battle and fought back with their fishing equipment.  The ambush failed and
> the Dorset put the Viking to flight except fearless Fredydis, Lief
> Eriksson's sister, and daughter of Erik the Red, who is pregnant at the
> time.  Grabbing the dead Thorrand Snoorasson's sword, she pulled out her
> breasts and slapped the sword on them and the Skraeling took flight and ran
> to their boats thereby saving the day.  It is noteworthy that later the
> Beothuk women, during times of stress, also barred their breasts and that
> could have originated from this Viking encounter.  It is unlikely the
> flight of the Skraeling is due to fear but rather out of respect for
> motherhood.
>
> In reality, the Dorset had the entire village of women and children at
> their disposal but being peace loving by nature they would not want to harm
> future trading relations.  The Viking is humiliated.  Karlsefni decided to
> leave this place and headed back to the base camp.  On the way they
> discovered five Skraeling sleeping and they killed them to restore their
> honor.  Thorvald sailing in search of Thorhall came across nine sleeping
> Skraeling, they killed eight and one escaped.  The next day, the Skraeling
> retaliated and attacked the Viking ship, killing Thorvald Eriksson.
>
> Thorfinn Karlsefni sailed to Hampten Bay and began to cut lumber when they
> sighted a limping Beothuk and tried to catch him but he got away.  A large
> number of Beothuk later appeared and began to trade.   Karlsefni reported
> they traded red cloth.  The Norse aggressivenessiveness caused a fight to
> break out and many Beothuk are killed before they fled into the woods.  On
> the trip back to the Labrador coast they captured two Dorset children who
> said their mother's name is Vaetilldi and their father's name is Uvaegi.
> They said they lived in holes or caves.  They also said there is a land on
> the other side, opposite their country, where the inhabitants wore white
> garments, yelled loudly and carried poles before them to which cloth is
> attached.  The Viking believed they are the Westman who are previously
> displaced from Iceland and Greenland.  The Westmen originally came from the
> British Islands.
>
> Thorvald sailed to Groswater Bay hoping to find Thorhall the Hunter.  He
> and his men killed eight Dorsets and Thorvald was killed.
>
> 1007 Freydis and her brothers Helge and Finnbuggi make a trip to Vineland.
> Helgi and Finngogi arrived first and occupied Lief's house.  Thorvad and
> Freydis Eriksson arrived and are not willing to share Lief's house, Freydis
> taunted her husband to kill the brothers, which they did, but would not
> kill the five women.  Freydis took an axe and did them in at Trinity Bay.
>
> 1008 Early in the spring, Freydis and her party sailed back to Greenland
> and gave out the story that the brothers had decided to stay behind.  Lief
> tortured three of her crew members to learn the truth but could not punish
> his own sister so he laid a curse on her and all her offspring. [...]   "