61 pages • 2-hour read
The Witch's Heart
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Essay Topics
Make a study of the Norse myths referenced in The Witch’s Heart. How does Angrboda’s limited third-person perspective alter the emphasis of these original tales? What aspects of each myth are emphasized, and which are marginalized?
Identify and analyze at least four separate instances in which Angrboda’s heart is used as a metaphor. How does the associated symbolism shift over time?
The Aesir label Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungand as “monsters,” in order to justify trapping and persecuting them. How does Angrboda’s maternal perspective deconstruct the binary between the “natural” and the “monstrous”?
How does Angrboda simultaneously trigger and subvert the Ragnarok prophecy? Does the underlying philosophy of the novel favor fate or personal agency? Explain your answer.
The guide situates The Witch’s Heart within a literary trend of feminist retellings that includes works like Madeline Miller’s Circe. How does Gornichec’s elevation of a minor maternal figure critique the patriarchal values embedded in the original Norse mythological canon of the Eddas?
How does Loki’s perpetual status as an outsider, belonging fully to neither the giants nor the Aesir, drive his actions throughout the novel?
What early foreshadowing does Gornichec provide of Angrboda and Skadi’s eventual romance?
How does the novel establish Ironwood as a sovereign, matriarchal space that operates in opposition to the patriarchal order of the gods?
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