The Wife

The second volume of Sigrid Undset's trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter, set in 14th-century Norway, The Wife follows Kristin Lavransdatter from her arrival as a new bride through years of marriage, motherhood, political upheaval, and family grief. In the first volume, The Wreath, Kristin defied her father, Lavrans Bjørgulfsøn, a respected landowner in the Gudbrandsdal valley, to marry Erlend Nikulaussøn, a charming but reckless nobleman. Their premarital affair caused her family great shame, and Kristin carries that guilt into the marriage.

After a miserable sea voyage, Kristin and Erlend arrive at Husaby, his ancestral estate in Skaun, where a homecoming feast awaits. Erlend is radiant, but Kristin is secretly pregnant and terrified that an early birth will reveal they were intimate before the wedding. She discovers Husaby in severe disrepair: beds infested with lice, spoiled food stores, and fallow fields. She throws herself into restoring the estate, rising before dawn and managing the household with calm authority. Ulf Haldorssøn, Erlend's personal servant and childhood companion, becomes her chief ally.

One evening Erlend notices Kristin's changed body and realizes she is pregnant. He says nothing, and they lie in rigid silence through the night. Days later, riding to a tenant farm, their quarrel erupts: Erlend mocks her father, Kristin gallops away in fury, and Erlend strikes her beneath the ear. At the farm she defiantly raises a toast to her coming heir, publicly revealing what Erlend wanted hidden. On the ride home, however, Kristin feels the child move for the first time, and the sensation softens them both into reconciliation.

During their first Christmas at Husaby, Kristin stays behind while Erlend and the servants attend mass at Birgsi Church. She walks alone to Husaby's empty church, overwhelmed by memories of childhood holidays at Jørundgaard. She finds Erlend's illegitimate son Orm awake and hurt that his father deliberately left him behind, ashamed to appear at church with the boy. Kristin and Orm share stories and begin forming a bond.

As winter deepens, Kristin becomes convinced her mother, Ragnfrid, will come north to help with the birth and walks alone into the forest to meet her. A farmer's wife named Audfinna takes her in. Erlend, terrified when he discovers Kristin is missing, finds her at the farm. Wolves follow their party home, and the shared danger draws the couple closer.

In early spring, Erlend's brother Gunnulf Nikulaussøn, a learned priest, arrives at Husaby. When labor begins, Gunnulf is horrified that Erlend has arranged no midwives and sends him to fetch help. Left alone with Gunnulf, Kristin confesses her complicity in the death of Eline Ormsdatter, Erlend's former mistress, revealing that she goaded Erlend into the confrontation and that his aunt Fru Aashild helped conceal the killing. Gunnulf consoles her with the story of Saint Martin and God's mercy. After an agonizing labor, Kristin delivers a son whom Gunnulf baptizes as Nikulaus, though Erlend calls him Naakkve.

Ten days later, Erlend skis through the mountains to bring the news to Jørundgaard. Lavrans receives it in pained silence, knowing the early birth confirms Kristin was pregnant at the wedding. He returns north and stays through spring; under his quiet influence, Erlend repairs buildings, mends fences, and buys good livestock. After Lavrans departs, Kristin undertakes a penitential pilgrimage to Nidaros (modern Trondheim), walking barefoot with Naakkve on her back to lay her golden maiden's crown before Saint Olav's shrine. At Christ Church she is overwhelmed by the weight of her sins. That night she sees a vision of Brother Edvin, a beloved monk from her childhood, hanging a leather glove on a moonbeam as a sign of encouragement.

The years at Husaby accumulate. Kristin bears son after son: Bjørgulf, Gaute, then twins Ivar and Skule, nearly dying with the last birth. Gaute cannot walk or talk at the expected age, and Kristin carries him constantly. A devastating childhood illness sweeps the region; her sick sons recover, but Orm contracts the fever and dies. Kristin herself nearly dies from a miscarriage. When Brother Edvin's remains are credited with miraculous healing, Kristin takes Gaute to the shrine, and the boy rapidly improves.

Sir Erling Vidkunsson, the former regent, proposes that Erlend command a naval force patrolling the northern coast against Russian threats. Erlend spends nearly two years at the remote fortress of Vargøy, then is appointed sheriff of Orkdøla county. Meanwhile, Simon Andressøn, Kristin's former betrothed, has married her younger sister Ramborg Lavransdatter and settled at Formo, near Jørundgaard. He remains privately in love with Kristin but channels his feelings into loyal service to both families.

Kristin's father is visibly declining, with episodes of dizziness and chest pain. In the smithy one day, Lavrans confronts Kristin about her harsh treatment of Erlend and commands her to show her husband proper respect. At the mountain hostel of Hjerdkinn, he tells Kristin he once considered a monastery but chose the world. They part in anguished farewell. After Kristin departs, Lavrans and Ragnfrid share a night of profound intimacy: He gives her his mother's ring and calls her his truest companion, and they acknowledge their flawed but faithful love. Shortly after Kristin's sixth son is born and named for his grandfather, Lavrans dies. Ragnfrid dies less than two years later.

Erlend's troubles multiply. His illegitimate daughter Margret is discovered in a secret affair with a married nobleman; Erlend severs the man's hand and Margret is hastily married off. Then Erlend's great secret is exposed: He has been conspiring with Lady Ingebjørg, King Magnus Eiriksson's mother, to place her younger son Prince Haakon Knutssøn on the Norwegian throne. Fru Sunniva Olavsdatter, a noblewoman who discovered his secret letters, betrays his plans. As armed men ride to Husaby, Erlend gives his ten-year-old son Gaute a packet of sealed letters with instructions to deliver them to Ulf or burn them. Erlend is arrested.

Transferred from Nidaros to Akersnes Castle near Oslo, Erlend speaks eloquently at trial about Norway's need for its own king but refuses to name his co-conspirators. He is sentenced to death and forfeiture of property. Kristin refuses to leave Oslo, living for brief prison visits, while Simon manages her affairs and seeks allies. Simon learns that foreign interrogators have tortured Erlend on a rack, but Erlend remains defiant.

Simon travels to Sir Erling's estate to beg his help. Erling refuses at first, but Simon takes him to pray at the grave of Simon's first wife, Halfrid Erlingsdatter. Simon reveals that he knows Erling once loved Halfrid but chose not to commit adultery. Shamed and angry, Erling agrees to act. Before King Magnus, Simon and Erling argue that the king cannot lawfully torture a Norwegian nobleman. Erling speaks privately with the king and secures Erlend's release.

Kristin meets Erlend in the courtyard; they flush crimson, take each other's hands, and walk upstairs together. That evening, Erlend raises a goblet to Simon and says carelessly that if things had gone worse, Simon could have had his widow. Simon, who has spent months suppressing his love for Kristin, knocks the goblet from Erlend's hand and storms out. Erlend follows, stricken. Simon replies that Erlend knows now and calls for his horses. Kristin appears on the gallery above with a lantern, asking what they are doing outdoors. The story continues in the trilogy's final volume, The Cross.