Melody Schwarting's Reviews > The Cross

The final novel in the Kristin Lavransdatter series held even more complexity and ethical questions than the first two. I loved the final portion of the novel, right up to its mournful ending. Undset does not play around with her historical context, let me tell you!

At some points, I felt Kristin connecting with another literary character--Mrs. Bennet. Though their stories (and personalities) are extremely different, at the same time, the two women find themselves married to men who do little to support their offsprings' futures, and as mothers they must shift alone, ridiculed by the world while their headstrong children make mistakes. And that's where the similarities end. Mr. Bennet does lift a finger here and there, and Pride and Prejudice ends neatly and happily. The seven sons of Erlend and Kristin, on the other hand, go their own ways.

I felt for the character of Kristin even more than I had been in the first two books. She suffered so much while growing so strong, and yet she was outcast by society because of choices she did not make. There are so many layers there. If I was picking one volume of this series to analyze, I'd pick this one. You can trace the effects of Kristin's choices (and the ways in which she was manipulated) to the very end. I also liked how Undset explored heredity, and the capacity of mothers to take the blame for the sins of their children.

I would definitely revisit this series in the future, after reading more by Undset. I love her characterizations, vivid sense of place and time, and the way she explores religion in this series. These books have been on my list for nearly a decade and I had three or four false starts. I am glad I stuck with it this time and finally summited this Norwegian mountain.