A Fate Inked in Blood

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-15

Chapters 16-22

Chapters 23-29

Chapters 30-36

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Blood

The recurring appearance of blood serves an important symbolic role. Children of the gods are marked by blood tattoos that are created through magic rituals once each child’s power has emerged. This stamp of divine heritage carries paradoxical implications, for because Freya’s tattoo proclaims her divine lineage, she feels the pressure to live up to everyone’s expectation that she will rise to greatness, even when her youthful dreams of fighting and raiding have faded. The divine blood in Freya sets even higher expectations due to the shield maiden prophecy. Saga’s vision proclaims that Freya is destined to unite the people of Skaland, and Snorri further specifies her envisioned destiny by convincing her to battle in his army and empower him to become king. As the book’s title indicates, her fate is charted by that blood tattoo. On the other hand, blood tattoos also emphasize the “Unfated” nature of the children of the gods, paradoxically implying that such individuals are not tied to a specific fate. Children of the gods make their own destiny and can even change the threads of fate for others. Freya has a second tattoo, but it is obscured by her scars. Freya realizes that she is a “child of two bloods” (212) and has also been claimed by the goddess Hel, and the second tattoo’s meaning becomes clear. Freya’s connection to Hlin and Hel endows her with abilities that can give her power and glory. This connection, symbolized by blood, can also be seen as a metaphor for Freya’s godlike role in Skaland’s future. It forces her to decide whether she will let the gods use this connection to control her fate.

Blood also symbolizes Freya’s connection to the gods through its role in the sacrificial rites at Fjalltindr. Freya can hear the drops of blood hitting the ground when she is far away, and the thud of each droplet is deafening when she is at the altar. She attributes this enhanced sensory perception to the sacred setting of the temple, feeling as though she is “truly […] closer to the gods” (209). To emphasize this dynamic, Danielle L. Jensen highlights the “maelstrom” of swirling blood in the basin, the beat of Freya’s heart pulsing blood within her, and the drops resounding in her ears.

Ravens

Ravens are often seen as ill omens and connected with loss. Because ravens can mimic human speech, they are also associated with prophecies. When Freya dresses in a raven mask and cape at Fjalltindr, the narrative is symbolically linking her with the role of the raven. She is supporting the shield maiden prophecy by following the prophecy’s path, as interpreted by Snorri and the specter. She may also be foreshadowing her future embodiment of another of the raven’s symbolic roles. Ravens commonly represent spiritual or mythological entities that guide newly deceased souls into the afterlife. Freya will learn of another prophecy predicting that she will leave many, many thousands of dead in her wake. If her choices lead her to that destiny, she will become a bringer of death, metaphorically “escorting” her victims to the afterlife. On a deeper level, Freya is the daughter of Hel and has the power to curse souls to Helheim. Her raven costume thus foreshadows this godlike power and her ability to bridge the realms of humans and gods.

In Norse mythology, ravens are associated with Odin, who was almost always accompanied by two specific ravens—Huginn and Muninn—whose names mean “thought” and “memory.” Huginn and Muninn serve as Odin’s eyes and ears, and this image is echoed by the mass of black birds flying chaotic circles over the sacrificial rites at Fjalltindr, signaling Odin’s ethereal presence. They bring a message that the gods are watching and herald the gods’ arrival moments after. Ravens again symbolize Odin’s eyes and ears when Steinunn dresses like a raven to perform her ballad in Chapter 29. This time, the symbolism is less literal, for by evoking the idea of Odin’s eyes and ears, Steinunn’s raven costume hints at her true role: that of a spy.

The Specter

The specter symbolizes divine intervention and the gods’ presence in the human realm, and with this detail, Jensen deviates from the Norse mythology that inspired Freya’s world and culture. This type of supernatural intervention is a symbolic archetype in literature and other mythologies. It connects stories to universal human experiences by fulfilling the cosmological function of myth. In other words, the archetype of supernatural intervention helps people to make sense of their place in the universe. Freya must make sense of her place in the universe by deciding whether to follow the destiny predicted in Saga’s vision, or to make her own path and change her fate. As she struggles with this choice, the gods do not leave her without guidance, intervening in the form of the specter. Snorri labels the figure that Freya sees as a specter and suggests that it is “one of the gods having stepped onto the mortal plane” (128). The specter directs Freya to make a sacrifice at Fjalltindr to prevent her destiny from being unwoven, but because Freya knows that she is Unfated, she realizes that even the gods cannot know how her actions will shape the future. Therefore, she must decide whether to follow the specter’s divine guidance and embrace her predicted destiny or risk the possibility of her death to try to change it. Each time the specter intervenes, it offers Freya incomplete information that forces her to make difficult choices without knowing what the consequences will be. Thus, divine intervention as symbolized by the specter supports a thematic portrayal of The Consequences of Exercising Free Will.