Burial Rites: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Chapter Eleven opens with a clerical report from 1828 that summarizes Fridrik’s brother Bjarni’s testimony. He stated that Fridrik killed two of Natan’s sheep the previous year. According to Bjarni, his mother told him not to mention that in the trial.

The third-person narrative then resumes as Margrét wakes up to the sound of Agnes crying. Margrét gets out of bed and lights the fire in the kitchen. She approaches Agnes and sees that she is asleep, but seems to be having bad dreams. As Margrét reaches down to pulls her blanket up, Agnes awakes and accuses Margrét of watching her. Margrét explains that Agnes’s cry awoke her.

Agnes makes room for Margrét to sit on the bed as Margrét has a coughing fit. Margrét asks what Agnes was dreaming about. Agnes tells her she was having a nightmare about Fridrik’s farm, where she stayed for a few days before Natan died after he threw her out. Agnes then asks Margrét why she hasn’t asked her about the murders, and Margrét says she thought that was between Agnes and Tóti. Margrét invites Agnes to come into the kitchen with her.

In the kitchen, Margrét heats milk and tells Agnes that her mother had a superstition that if there was always a fire burning in the house, the devil could not get in. Agnes tells Margrét about one farm she worked on where the fire went out in the winter and she thought they would all die of the cold. Margrét hands Agnes a cup of hot milk. Agnes comments that they have lots of supplies for the winter, and Margrét tells her it is because of the compensation Blöndal is giving them for keeping her.

Agnes apologizes for waking Margrét, who says she often wakes up anyway to check on the girls. Agnes is sorry that, with her there, Margrét is afraid for her children, but Margrét says mothers always are anyway. Agnes tells Margrét that Ingveldur left her when she was a child. Margrét says all mothers think of their children—including Agnes’s, Fridrik’s, and Sigga’s. Agnes tells Margrét that Sigga’s mother is dead and Fridrik’s mother, Thórbjörg, is going to be arrested because she knew about Fridrik’s plans.

According to Agnes, the judges at her trial thought that Thórbjörg and Agnes had plotted the murders together, but in fact, Agnes only went to Thórbjörg for a place to stay after Natan threw her out. Margrét asks Agnes how the farm burnt down and Agnes insists it was a kitchen fire. Margrét, though, thinks it was Fridrik’s doing, and that Agnes is protecting her friend. Agnes insists that Fridrik is not her friend, but says that he did have a romance with Sigga.

Agnes mentions how profoundly lonely the farm could be in the winter with so few neighbors. Natan went away often and did not seem to enjoy being back. Natan also did not like them seeing Fridrik because of their tense relationship. They had had a fight after Natan bought part of a whale carcass and Fridrik began taking part of his share. Agnes tells Margrét that, after that incident, Natan spent even less time at home. When he was home, Natan was very critical and suspicious of Agnes and Sigga.

Later, Natan and Fridrik got into another fight. Afterward, Natan took his anger out on Sigga, yelling at her and threatening to throw her out in the snow. Natan then old Agnes to follow him outside to the beach. There, Natan told Agnes that Fridrik had asked for permission to marry Sigga, and even offered him money, which Natan took. Agnes tells Margrét that Fridrik proposed to Sigga the next day.

Agnes deviates from her story to tell Margrét how the sea near Natan’s farm was different than other places in Iceland. She remembers once seeing two icebergs rubbing together so that a piece of driftwood on each of the icebergs suddenly burst into flames. Margrét said this sounds like something in the sagas.

The narrative shifts to Agnes’s first person perspective as she remembers the events that followed Fridrik’s proposal to Sigga. That night it snowed so hard that Fridrik had to stay at Natan’s farm. Agnes realized that Natan hated Fridrik not because he thought Fridrik was going to steal his money, but because he thought Fridrik was going to steal Sigga. That night, a sound outside woke Agnes. When she went to investigate it, she found Fridrik kicking a dead sheep. Agnes asked what he was doing. Fridrik laughed and did not explain himself. Fridrik went back to the farm and Agnes, disturbed by his violence, followed.

Agnes went into the badstofa and found Fridrik and Sigga sitting together. Sigga looked upset. Agnes told them that two sheep were missing. Sigga said Fridrik killed them, and then sobbed. Fridrik, furious, told Agnes that Natan had been raping Sigga. Sigga was upset and said that she wanted to tell Agnes before. Agnes told her that she already knew, and had thought their sex was consensual. Agnes asked Sigga if it was true that he raped her, and she said she did not know. Fridrik, though, was convinced.

Fridrik said he was going to kill Natan, and when Agnes asked why, since Fridrik was going to marry Sigga anyway, Fridrik told Agnes that “a woman like [her]” would not understand. He then said that Sigga told him Natan had sex with Agnes too, but that Agnes actually enjoyed it. Daníel then entered the badstofa and told Fridrik to go home. Agnes told Daníel that Fridrik killed some sheep, and Daníel said he would talk to him later, once he had calmed down.

Three days later, after Fridrik had left, Natan returned to the farm. Natan was angry about Fridrik and Sigga’s engagement and he accused Agnes of being happy about them getting together. Natan then apologized to Agnes for having hit her before he left and told her he was glad to see her. That night, Natan and Agnes had sex.

The narrative then switches back to third person. Margrét, having apparently gone out to get more milk, returns to the kitchen and asks Agnes to continue her story. Agnes tells Margrét that Natan apologized to Sigga for being unreasonable and said she could marry whoever she wanted. Christmas came and went and Daníel returned to Worm’s farm. Sigga had become moody since her engagement, and seemed worried about what might happen if Fridrik and Natan were to encounter each other.

The narrative returns to first person. One night, Agnes told Natan she knew he had been sleeping with Sigga. She said that she forgave him. Natan thought for a second and then told Agnes that he knew that she saw them have sex one night. The words pained Agnes immensely. Agnes told Natan he was cruel, and guessed that he never planned on making her the housekeeper, either. Natan told her to go to sleep and Agnes became more upset. She asked if he loved her, and Natan refused to answer directly.

When Agnes persisted in asking him, Natan called her a nag. Agnes exploded, calling him a dog and telling him to go to hell. Natan continued to goad Agnes. She told him she hated him. Natan continued to say cruel things to her, telling Agnes she was cheap and manipulating her emotionally. The fight ended with Natan physically dragging Agnes outside and throwing her in the snow.

Agnes sought shelter in the cowshed to keep from freezing. Eventually, Sigga brought Agnes clothes and shoes. Sigga told Agnes that Natan wouldn’t let Agnes inside, and said “I’m so sick of living here.” The next morning Agnes resolved to leave before Natan came out to feed the cows.

The narrative switches back to third person and shifts to following Tóti as he wakes up in his bed. He calls out for his father, who tells him he has yet another fever. Tóti says he needs to go to Kornsá and asks what month it is. His father tells him it is December. Tóti tries to get up, but Reverend Jón refuses to let him up until he is better, saying Agnes is not worth the amount of time he is devoting to her.

The narrative, still in the third-person, moves back to describing Margrét and Agnes’s conversation. Margrét is shocked to hear that Natan threw Agnes out in the snow. Agnes tells her to continue her story. She tells Margrét that she walked for hours to Fridrik’s farm, where Thórbjörg took her in. Fridrik’s farm, according to Agnes, was very poor and dirty. When Fridrik saw Agnes, he asked what Natan had done, and if Natan had decided to marry Sigga. Agnes told him that she had been thrown out.

Thórbjörg then told Fridrik that Natan was trying to steal Sigga from him. Thórbjörg said that, as long as Natan was alive, Sigga would never be Fridrik’s. Agnes went to sleep, during which time she thinks that Thórbjörg and Fridrik plotted to kill Natan. Margrét suggests that they should go to bed, but Agnes asks if she does not want to hear the rest.