Burial Rites depicts a society in which power and strength are valued

more than compassion and love. Discuss

The nineteenth century Icelandic society represented in Burial Rites does
endorse power and strength over compassion and love. Hannah Kents historical
novel Burial Rites depicts the severe, intolerant nature of the law and the class
system it serves. Assumption of privilege is a given. The poor and weak are
profoundly disadvantaged and women have little power relative to men. Even
the harsh Icelandic weather breeds a toughness of spirit that does not encourage
gentle behaviour. Nevertheless, while power and strength may dominate in the
broader social context, the text also shows the way in which people can be
changed by hearing the stories of others, producing empathy and understanding
where before there was harshness. Kent feels that the power of stories can
transcend prejudice, bringing comfort and love to even a brutal world.
Kent emphasises that there is little compassion under the law, and violence is
used as an instrument of power. The characters within the story follow the law of
the land closely rather than having allowance of their own experiences be the
judicial voice. In Nineteenth Century Ireland, the country was never allowed a
fully fleshed out judicial system with there being little crime in the country itself.
Blondal, the District Commissioner, as the highest authority in Iceland sees his
duty as absolute, instilling respect for his position, not allowing anyone to go
against his decisions. This, combined with his detached use of power to attain
what he believes to be right also serves to further his lack of regard for human
compassion. The decision he makes regarding Agnes fate is only to subvert
political and spiritual embarrassment. Blondals view of power in the dealing of
law is further exemplified by his criticism of Totis compassionate approach. The
juxtaposition between Toti and Blondal can be described as the difference
between performing justice through the heart and by the book. Agnes
recollection of the treatment she received from the law is not only degrading as
it is detaching, making the murderer lose all meaning of humanity. The way in
which the treatment is noted is through repetition of the words they and you
rather than using her name. This draws attention to her lack of power and
compassion. Often being beaten, Agnes makes note of the guards and their
power through violence rather than law. The words used to describe her imply
her animalistic nature even though she is human, just like any other person. The
compassion is lost upon the law and in place, violence to maintain order is used.
Kent critiques the brutal patriarchy of Icelandic society where men have
complete power over women and often abuse this power. The patriarchal society
afflicts the females in Iceland negatively, with an obvious social class system.
Double standards are a part of this patriarchy with feminism being mostly nonexistent. In Nineteenth Century Iceland, all authority figures were male, having
legal power over their female servants. This is further reflected in the decision of
Agnes fate being left over to the men rather than spreading the power equally.
The societal segregation of power division gives the reader a sense of the power
being spread across the population unevenly and as such, unjustly. Another
instance of the patriarchy overpowering women can be seen in Marias
conversation with Agnes, saying that men do as they please, and that they are
all Adams, naming everything under the sun this [pathetic fallacy? Verbal
irony?] goes to show just what men really are in Nineteenth Century Iceland,
being able to do no wrong, like the biblically referenced creation story Adam.

Combined with the misogyny that condemns strong women like Agnes as the
whore, the madwoman, the murderess that lies in the publics heart of fear and
hatred, the general dismissal of female strength in the Icelandic patriarchal
society leads to women being treated as a lower class to men that see the
women that has got a head on [their] shoulders and who believe a thinking
woman cannot be trusted. This is the way the patriarchy functions through
denial of womens power while exercising their own through abusive control.
Burial Rites depicts a harsh society where the strong exercise power over the
weak and there is little room for kindness or sympathy. However, this is not to
say that these qualities are absent. There are individuals in the text whose
compassion and love is awakened through the power of Agness story, in spite of
the brutality of the context in which they live. This is particularly evident in the
contrast between Agness treatment when she arrives at Kornsa and the
compassionate and loving manner in which they support Agnes as they
accompany her to her execution.