Björn Character Analysis in Burial Rites

Björn is ’s husband, ’s father, and ’s foster father from the time Agnes’s mother leaves her to the time Björn leaves his farm. Björn is a generally stoic man, although he does occasionally show Agnes small kindnesses, like taking her outside to see the northern lights. Björn tries to help Inga when she goes into labor during a snowstorm. After Inga dies in childbirth, Björn is heartbroken. He decides to give up farming and go work in Reykjavik, leaving Kjartan with and giving Agnes up to the parish.

Björn Quotes in Burial Rites

The Burial Rites quotes below are all either spoken by Björn or refer to Björn . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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I prefer a story to a prayer. They whipped me for that at this farm, Kornsá, once, when I was young and fostered out to watch over the home field. The farmer Björn did not like that I knew the sagas better than him. You’re better off keeping company with the sheep, Agnes. Books written by man, not God, are faithless friends and not for your kind.

Related Characters: Agnes Magnúsdottir (speaker), Björn

Page Number and Citation: 69

Explanation and Analysis:

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