The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a standard 300+ page novel with a cover of red and blue with the outline of a woman and a whale within her hair. The Mercies is a book about a Norwegian village devastated by the loss and then affected by the witch hunts shown through the eyes of two women who grow and learn about themselves and each other. The plot of the book is the story of two women, Maren and Ursa, who intersect once Ursa marries Absalom. The story is based on a historical event in Finnmark, Norway where dozens of people were executed by the kingdom for witchcraft. Maren is a villager of Vardo and lost her father, brother, and betrothed in one awful storm at sea that killed the majority of the men in her village. Due to the loss of the men, the women of the village took over tasks usually considered only for men in the culture. Maren accepted these changes as necessary and allied with the key women leaders such as Kirsten. Such actions raised suspicion of the church. This incident was part of a more extensive campaign by the Lensman and other authoritative figures to root out the influence and enmeshing of the Sami people and culture in the northern margins of Norway. Absalom is a Scottish priest known for his witch-hunting and mentored into the tradition of witch-hunting in Scotland. Ursa was married to him because she was Norwegian and of the right class/status. Ursula comes from a family that by status is well off but is in financial disarray; her marriage assists in the effort to right that issue. She grew up with servants and not doing housework, making her initial entry into Vardo life difficult where the wife is expected to clean the house and make food. From the need to learn these tasks Ursula pays Maren to assist her in the housework and teaches her to do it for herself. A friendship forms and both women have a romantic interest in each other as well but don’t act on those feelings until the height of the conflict. Absalom, wanting to prove himself in this new environment, sets to arresting, convicting, and burning villagers for witchcraft, mainly based on the accusations of others. Absalom found evidence of Maren and Ursa having sex and tried to kill Maren in a rage and Ursa killed him. They set it up to look like Maren did but she ran off and hid in the woods. Ursa, pregnant with Absalom’s child, plans to return home.
The author’s use of documents outside the third person narrative from Maren’s and Ursula’s point of view showed how actions and decisions completely separate from their input and knowledge moved their entire lives to meet and lose loved ones. Ursa lost her innocence and lived a life of fear as an adult. What the author implies in including these pieces in the story is how little control women had over their lives. The writer is also implying that the character of Diinna means the differences in cultural expectations between Sami and the non-Sami and how Diinna was falling apart living among strangers. The relationship between Kirsten and Maren also implied that they knew about each other’s non-heterosexual, wider gender identities. The burning of Kirsten and Olufsdatter showed that they were killed because they were outsiders, one having a nice place and the other not conforming to what the others did.
The characters are believable in their complexity. Absalom is not a purely evil character. He is a man who used his station as a priest to move up in stature from a shepherd’s son to a commissioner; only to find out he’s still an outsider because he’s Scottish. He’s not doing this just to do it but from a perverse understanding of Christianity and his desire to gain new positions through his expertise in witch-hunting (torture, murder, and preying on the weak). He was one of the outsiders that found his way out by stepping on others.
At points, it was difficult to follow who was where in the setting and who was talking. This mainly happened at the climax of the work. Even so, I would recommend the book to those who enjoyed Burial Rites by Hannah Kent and atmospheric historical fiction. I would certainly tell others to read this book. It’s certainly good enough.
After the death of their fathers, sons, and husbands the Vardo women started incorporating old traditions into their lives again. The author thinks that the women are doing old practices to recover from the tragedy. “…whatever the hope wished over it, the women of Vardo are slipping back into the old ways, grasping for anything solid.” (49) Some of the women began taking on rituals and practices from the Sami as a way to commemorate the men and find ways forward with a society significantly shaken. Members of the village no longer found the church the authority and security it once was; they found paths.
This is the letter from Lensman Koning to Commissioner Absalom suggesting he find a wife in Bergen with the money enclosed. The main need of her is for sex and entertainment. Ursa is the young woman that Absalom chose. “Bergen will have its spread of good young women desirous of a husband of such standing. Use your title and the sum enclosed to bring someone to keep your bed warm. Perhaps someone who can sing? We will be in need of entertainment.” (55) Absalom did not marry Ursula out of love but as a way to gain status with the Lensman and in a country where he’s a stranger. Wives are considered a commodity to be purchased and with few expectations in the relationship. It’s also an example of how much women didn’t have control over their lives.
Ursa and Maren are discussing how Absalom treats the upcoming trial against two of the villagers as witches as an event to show his prowess and show his wife he’s a powerful man. Maren understands this as she also wishes to please Ursa as a romantic partner as well. “It is almost as though he thinks it a treat,” says Ursa, tone bitter with disgust. “As though he wants to keep it a surprise.” “It is his hour,” says Maren, kneading black dough with rough punches. “He wishes to please you.” (302) This is a key point to the relationship between Maren, Ursa, and Absalom. Maren is able to give the security, friendship, and standing that Absalom cannot. It also shows how the men, women, and children killed as witches were not even seen as human but as enemies of the church’s power. Women of Vardo began re-practicing rituals after the death of their men. Koning aided Absalom in making a marriage to ingratiate himself in Norwegian life and saw his wife mainly for sex and entertainment. Ursa doesn’t understand why her husband is treating the trial like a positive while Maren understands it’s because he’s trying to please her through his work. Instead of keeping only to Christian practice, the women picked up animal sacrifice, poppets, and drumming in the midst of loss. These rituals are giving comfort to the grieved whereas going to church has not. At least in Ursa’s relationship, she is considered little more than property expected to only follow what her husband requires of her with little consideration of the woman’s personhood. Maren understands Absalom is trying to gain Ursa’s favor by showing his power through his work as a witch hunter. The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave shows how a group of women come together and split apart in the midst of tragedy and that moments of connections though small are worth the struggle. This will easily be my favorite book of the year. The characters are deep and complex. I could place myself within a small village at the margins of a kingdom. And a perfect ending. Perfect. 5 Stars.
Thornback’s Theories 