“Trolls” by Stefan Spjut as the Central Figure of Norse Literature

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The magical elements of folklore and mythology present the core of modern Norse literature and highly impact the creation of characters and images. Each fantastical element, such as elves, giants, gods, and canonical heroes, represents a specific idea and plays the role determined to establish the theme of good conquering evil. The appearance and motivation of antagonists are clear in The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe by Asbjørnsen and Moe. At the same time, in the modern novel Trolls by Stefan Spjut, the focus shifts while the line between danger and safety is blurred. However, the author utilizes traditional measures of portrayal to keep the nature-oriented origin of trolls and their choice of victims. Adding new features to the folk image of trolls, Spjut creates a less evident presence of danger and emphasizes phycological pressure, which serves as the main element of modern horror.

Discussion

Trolls’ appearance and general characteristics in folktales greatly depend on their physical features, such as strength, height, and weapons. Spjut utilizes the opposite depiction of trolls’ powers describing their magical shapeshifting and psychological abilities. The old stories portray creatures as gigantic, unpleasant, sometimes with two or more heads and dangerous weapons. For instance, in the tale about three princesses, the troll is described as having “three heads and three whips,” and the other “had six heads and six whips” (Asbjørnsen and Moe 37). The two main ideas are evident here: the unnatural appearance, which contradicts the real-world phenomena, and a genuine threat that the hero and the readers immediately perceive. The number of heads and whips represents the growing danger of the hyperbola device. The rule of three, common in folktales, is present to create a strong association with natural balance. Hence, it is used to establish the naturally determined existence of trolls as contrasting forces through their appearance. At the same time, the more unrealistic the enemy looks, the higher the associative field of the threat gradation, which forms the visual imagery of the characters.

Additionally, it serves as a tool for depicting monstrous forms that will oppose humans and consequently indicates the cruelty and violence of the antagonist. Opposite characterization is seen in the novel Trolls, where the creatures are established not as outsiders of the natural world perceived by humans but as its integral part. It is proved by the scene where Gudrun explains trolls’ nature to Diana; the author portrays them as “They come in all sizes. Some are as big as bears, and some as small as mice. Because they are bears, and they are mice” (Spjut 188). Staging trolls in the middle of the animal world conceal their threat. There are no associative markers that establish the potential danger but the depiction of typical animals conceals the actual intentions of the enemy. The horror device of the unknown mystery is presented because there are no indications of potential danger.

The specifics of description in the book is that the narrative point is changed compared to the folktales. Old texts are written from the third person perspective and have an objective narrative distance from the plot. At the same time, most descriptions are presented through dialogues or various narrators, one of them being in the first person. It brings the subjective context of narration, making the reader doubt everything that was said because there is no omniscient narration, and every character can be wrong. It is evident through the change of comparison, in the quote, to the equating of trolls and animals, which shows that there is no united answer.

The actual threat is shifted to the physiological level and revolves around a more contemporary fear of losing self-control. The distinct change in the troll’s image is when the lingering danger is felt but not seen. As described in the dialogue between Durdun and Håkan, “It made you do something you would never have done otherwise. Didn’t it? And that’s proof it was there” (Spjut 130). The affirmative phrase followed by the rhetorical question is used to maintain uncertainty in the situation. Additionally, it parallels the point that you cannot trust yourself when controlled by trolls. Uncertainty is supported by the usage of abstract words such as “something,” “that,” “it,” and “there.” The idea that mice can make a person lose their mind makes an analogy with the demonic creatures of the religious context, which is presented through the concept of a cult that works for the trolls. Hence, the Spjut image correlates to several references to folklore and religious beliefs, but regardless of the approach, trolls are depicted as a threatening power to society.

Similar elements also unite concepts of trolls created in both texts to determine the influence of folklore motives on the horror. The close connection of the trolls with nature is evident in both books. For instance, in the tale about three sisters, the troll’s cave is described as “the mountain wall, she fell through a hatch and landed in a vault deep, deep underground” (Asbjørnsen and Moe 152). The imagery is built through associative constructions with lifeless stone and mountains to illustrate the essence of creatures: dirty, scary, cold, and unfriendly. The remote place represents their alienated position in society. It is supported by the repetition of the lexical unit deep to emphasize the distance between the trolls and the human world. At the same time, the setting of the novel Trolls is a forest with a lake, a popular element for a mystical environment. Diana’s chapter begins as “she was gazing out the window at the forest of downy birches and willow thickets covering the slope outside the house” (Spjut, 47). The house is the metaphor for a human character surrounded by nature. The forest is the home for trolls who take animalistic forms and is portrayed as an odd environment for people. Contrasting stones in old tales, trees are living and vulnerable objects, which means that the core of the trolls’ existence is different. Hence, it creates the feeling that humans are those who are alienated in this context. At the same time, the woods are an element of the horror background that refers to the ancient, pre-modern world that was pushed aside and will suddenly reappear and endanger the main characters. The aspects of the natural world are crucial for the troll image. In the folktale, characters go explicitly to the trolls’ lair or territory. However, in the contemporary interpretation, protagonists are placed in the middle of a dark setting from the beginning, which shapes the environment of persistent danger and anxiety, affecting the readers.

Another point of similarity is the concept of victims and people affected by trolls, specifically children and women. In the folktales, the main targets of the trolls were young princesses, who were frequently captured to become a servant or, sometimes, a lover of the creatures. In the tale “Griffin,” for instance, captured by a troll, “twelve princesses each sat on a chair, picking the lice from his heads” (Asbjørnsen and Moe 10). The specific emphasis on useless activities shows the troll’s power over his victims. Furthermore, at the same time, tales have the classical trope of the damsel in distress, which the prince must save. The vulnerable victims are usually helpless against the monsters interacting directly with them. Spjut’s novel changes the perspective despite utilizing the same approach of writing about the young, vulnerable targets of the trolls. The creatures’ victims in the book are children, but they are captured through a cult that serves as the mediator in the process. Moreover, the cult is another representation of a dangerous society but in a human form, targeting the same categories of people in real life. It is stated that in the cult, “The children were given new names and in time forgot their true identities” (Spjut, 25). This phrase parallels the idea of the trolls’ mental abilities. The sentence presents the specific context through active and passive voice to introduce the victims’ broken will. While at first children “were given” names forcefully, later they are “forget,” implying that it is made by choice, unconsciously. It is not the physical activities the children are forced to perform. Still, they are exposed to identity change, which can bring unexpected consequences, playing into the new horror tendencies of personal fears, implying the unknown is the main danger.

Conclusion

Therefore, shifting the perspective toward phycological pressure instead of physical harm, the novel Trolls utilizes traditional characteristics of the image of trolls. At the same time, it adapts them to the modern horror genre, emphasizing the unexpected and unknown as a constant threat. Hence, the traditional image of trolls can be changed and adapted to the new ideas and concepts that are more relevant in modern society. Shifting the immediate physical harm to lingering phycological threats proved to be a working technique to build a modern horror with a sense of old danger unknown to humans.

Works Cited

Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen and Moe, Jørgen. The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe. Translated by Tiina Nunnally. University of Minnesota Press, 2019.

Spjut, Stefan. Trolls. Translated by Agnes Broomé. Faber & Faber, 2019.

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“Trolls” by Stefan Spjut as the Central Figure of Norse Literature

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