Sigrid Undset’s novel, Kristin Lavransdatter, features several strong female characters navigating life and society in fourteenth-century Norway: Kristin Lavransdatter, Fru Aashild, and Ragnfrid. Of these three women, the strongest among them is Fru Aashild. Her intelligence, disregard for societal pressures and success in life support this claim.
Fru Aashild, a woman who once lived in seclusion from her community, is welcomed with open arms when she aids in the recovery of Kristin’s younger sister, Ulvhild, after an accident. Although Fru Aashild lives near Sil and has for many years, it is the kind-hearted help in a desperate time, and many times in the future, that bring her openly and freely into the community life.…