In times of grief, everyone copes differently. Some seek comfort from loved ones, some desire time alone with their thoughts, and some blame themselves. In Tarjei Vesaas’ The Ice Palace, Siss experiences all of the above as she struggles to understand Unn’s loss. Guilt floods her senses, manifesting itself in a promise to think of Unn and only Unn always. Her promise isolates Siss from her friends and family as she forces herself to keep Unn alive in her memory. Siss so dutifully observes her promise that the thought of spending time with her friends as she used to terrifies her, and she envisions the ice palace, which she heavily associates with Unn and the promise, crumbling beneath them as punishment. However, the pain and loneliness her
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As she participates in their fun, the real ice palace starts to deconstruct, paralleling the promise’s disintegration. However, Siss is not afraid of breaking the promise anymore. The palace falling apart isn’t a punishment or retribution; it’s simply a function of time. Just as spring must come, so must Siss move on. She still mourns Unn and feels her loss, but knows it is time to rejoin her community. Freedom to Siss means melting the mental ice palace her promise traps her in by willfully thawing the wall between her and her friends, as is mirrored by the actual ice palace’s destruction.
To Siss, freedom is freedom from the promise, which means feeling able to enjoy herself with her friends. When she can interact with and be an active part of her community without reservation, she is free from the burden of her promise. Siss struggles to forget her fear of the ice palace falling and let go of the promise. However, when her schoolmates all rush onto the ice palace, Siss loses herself in their excitement and subconsciously follows her desire to join in: …show more content…
Siss wants to rejoin her community and end her loneliness, but the promise still has a hold on her, pulling her back into isolation. In order to achieve the freedom she so desires, Siss must fight off urges to slip back into seclusion while still letting herself grieve and remember Unn. When she thinks about her fear of the palace killing her and her friends, she pushes herself to be with them instead of succumbing to the promise’s grasp on her: “She knew what the outcome of this would be, that there was no way of avoiding it – and she wanted to be in this web in which she was entangled, she remembered. She told herself what was happening: I’m going back to the others” (168). Siss starts entertaining her nightmarish visions of her and her friends falling to their deaths, but stops herself almost immediately. In very firm and resolute terms, she pushes herself back on the right track. She doesn’t give herself a chance to think about resigning; staying with her friends is the only option she allows herself. She acknowledges that returning will be difficult and uncomfortable as she is still hurting from Unn’s loss, but by forcing herself to rejoin her community she no longer has to suffer alone. Thus Siss is free from the loneliness of the promise, even though her grief may remain. Later on, when she and her friends are running around on the ice
As she participates in their fun, the real ice palace starts to deconstruct, paralleling the promise’s disintegration. However, Siss is not afraid of breaking the promise anymore. The palace falling apart isn’t a punishment or retribution; it’s simply a function of time. Just as spring must come, so must Siss move on. She still mourns Unn and feels her loss, but knows it is time to rejoin her community. Freedom to Siss means melting the mental ice palace her promise traps her in by willfully thawing the wall between her and her friends, as is mirrored by the actual ice palace’s destruction.
To Siss, freedom is freedom from the promise, which means feeling able to enjoy herself with her friends. When she can interact with and be an active part of her community without reservation, she is free from the burden of her promise. Siss struggles to forget her fear of the ice palace falling and let go of the promise. However, when her schoolmates all rush onto the ice palace, Siss loses herself in their excitement and subconsciously follows her desire to join in: …show more content…
Siss wants to rejoin her community and end her loneliness, but the promise still has a hold on her, pulling her back into isolation. In order to achieve the freedom she so desires, Siss must fight off urges to slip back into seclusion while still letting herself grieve and remember Unn. When she thinks about her fear of the palace killing her and her friends, she pushes herself to be with them instead of succumbing to the promise’s grasp on her: “She knew what the outcome of this would be, that there was no way of avoiding it – and she wanted to be in this web in which she was entangled, she remembered. She told herself what was happening: I’m going back to the others” (168). Siss starts entertaining her nightmarish visions of her and her friends falling to their deaths, but stops herself almost immediately. In very firm and resolute terms, she pushes herself back on the right track. She doesn’t give herself a chance to think about resigning; staying with her friends is the only option she allows herself. She acknowledges that returning will be difficult and uncomfortable as she is still hurting from Unn’s loss, but by forcing herself to rejoin her community she no longer has to suffer alone. Thus Siss is free from the loneliness of the promise, even though her grief may remain. Later on, when she and her friends are running around on the ice