Kristin Lavransdatter

As a religious novel, Kristin Lavransdatter is concerned with the way in which sin and guilt govern the lives of the characters. Kristin’s life, for example, is shaped by concerns about sin—whether those concerns are her own or those of her relatives and neighbors. The suggestion that she may have betrayed her betrothal to Simon by having sex with either Arne or Bentein, for example, prompts Lavrans and Simon to send her to a convent for a year. They fear even the suggestion that she has sinned. Ironically, by sending her to the convent, they create the situation in which she meets Erlend and actually commits the sins they feared most. The suggestion of sin is enough to drive Kristin into sin, then she spends the remainder of the novel attempting to atone for the transgression of giving herself to Erlend before they are married. Each child, to Kristin, is a reminder of this sin, which causes her to make a pilgrimage with Naakkve still in her arms and forgive others who have been tempted by the same sins that tempted her. Kristin’s identity is built on guilt, as she attempts to navigate the aftermath of her perceived sin. Sin shapes Kristin’s life, as she struggles to assuage her guilt.