Truth and Liberation Theme Analysis

Burial Rites uses fiction to explore the reasons for and events surrounding the real murders of Natan Ketilsson and Pétur Jónsson in Iceland in 1828. In doing so, it engages with questions about God, meaning, and the power of truth. Characters in the book frequently discuss whether stories that they hear are “true,” as Iceland is very isolated and has a limited communication network, making news unreliable and rumors omnipresent. For example, Margrét’s neighbors hear rumors of Agnes’s placement in her household before hearing it from Margrét herself, while Tóti hears a rumor that Blöndal was friends with Natan because Natan once healed his sick wife. As a result of these sorts of rumors, characters must constantly investigate and speculate about the “truth” of the stories they hear as they attempt to determine their veracity.

Not only does the truth come up as characters try to separate fact from rumor, but the idea of “truth” is also on the forefront of people’s minds when they try to create and uphold social norms. Tóti talks with Agnes about what it means to be a “true” Christian, Blöndel talks to Tóti about what it means to be a “true” man, Natán is called a “true” farmer’s son, etc. As characters discuss what it means to be a “true” Christian, man, farmer’s son, or whatever else, they enforce norms of social behavior and establish what it means to be a certain kind of person.

Truth also takes on a highly religious significance in Lutheranism, the predominant religion of 19th-century Iceland and a constant presence throughout the book. Tóti’s role as Agnes’s priest is to guide Agnes to goodness and help her see “the way of truth and repentance” after her alleged role in Natan and Pétur’s murders. Truth in Lutheranism is tied to the idea of liberation, as evidenced when Tóti speaks with Agnes and quotes the Bible verse John 8:32, “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

For Agnes, however, the truth clearly has not engendered any sort of real freedom. Agnes tells her true side of the story of the murders to the judges at her trial, stating that, while she did stab Natan, she only did so to be merciful, because Fridrik had already wounded Natan so badly that there was no way he could survive. However, Agnes’s admission of the truth did nothing to save her from conviction and being sentenced to execution. Agnes is keenly aware of the fact that the truth did not liberate her as promised, and she clearly resents religious views of divine truth. When Tóti begins to quote John 8:32, Agnes interrupts him, saying that he can for himself “see how well that served [her]”, drawing attention to her continued incarceration. Not only does Agnes not have confidence in the liberating possibilities of truth telling, but she even doubts whether truth exists at all, saying at one point that there is “no such thing as truth.”

The truths that Agnes does believe in, however, are not happy or liberating truths, but rather ones that reveal hypocrisy, misogyny, and inequality in their community. Agnes sees the judges and leaders who condemned her as men unable to accept the fact that she is an intelligent woman, and thinks that their refusal to believe her innocence is related to this sexism. Their misogyny, Agnes says, is the real “truth of it.” When Tóti asks Agnes why her mother lied about who her father was, Agnes responds by telling him how she did so because her real father was a married man, and it would harm her mother’s reputation severely to admit to that. Essentially, Agnes shows how “the truth” often is determined by people in power, or manipulated to prevent persecution by these same people.

When Agnes does finally tell the “truth” of her story to Margrét, she is right in thinking that it will not save her, and Agnes is still executed as planned. She does, however, at least form a connection with Margrét before she is killed, giving her an ally and friend before she dies. Perhaps this friendship and Margrét’s empathy towards Agnes could be seen as liberating Agnes in some way.

Throughout the novel, Kent shows how the commonly accepted truth, rather than being objective, is determined by powerful people at the expense of people who are disenfranchised. However, Kent’s choice to rewrite Agnes’s story, which is based on a “true” story in 19th-century Iceland, suggests that the truth as constructed by powerful men can be challenged and reimagined through narrative—though it is almost two hundred years too late to save Agnes.