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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Sexism, Torture, Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Colonisation
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A storm breaks off the far northern reaches of Norway in the early 1600's leaving a village without their menfolk and the women left to survive on their own. Encompassing the lives of these surviving women, this story focuses on the friendships and betrayal that comes in this tight group.
Maren was meant to get married. Her future husband, her brother, and her father are just a few of the men who go out fishing one day and are trapped by a deadly storm that springs forth from seemingly nowhere. In all forty men are lost and only a scant few remain, primarily those of the clergy class. It is the women of Vardø who hold the majority as they come to terms with their devastating loss and the realization that they will still need to survive on their northern land without men to help them. Maren and the women around her learn to fish, take care of the animal herds, and culminate a life without the men who were once a pivotal part of their lives. Three years after the storm that took away all the men, Vardø welcomes a new commissioner, Absalom Cornet from Scotland, and his newly acquired Norwegian wife, Ursula (Ursa). Leaving the world of a bustling city behind, Ursa follows her husband to the far reaches of Vardø, an island full of self-sustaining women. However, Absalom Cornet is not there to bring normality back to Vardø, instead a witch hunt begins as he attempts to bring God into the women who survive without men and strike out the evil he seems to believe they possess. The full breadth of womanhood is expressed in the desolate village of Vardø. The social dynamics that are shown, from the prissy religious group, to the spiritual outcast, to the woman who knows it is easier to get the job done in pants, is so realistic and yet astounding. The women of Vardø show a progressive nature that was culminated out of necessity and yet it also showed how quick they were to turn on one another once men infiltrated their ranks again, breaking the peace they had found in uniting through mourning their losses. It was a classic witch hunt tale, a sad one where women turned against women after being provoked by men. Yet it was interesting to see it in such a confined space such as Vardø and how each woman interacted with one another based on perceived privilege and ranking. While I had high hopes for the relationship between Maren and Ursa, the tragedy of it all was apparent from the beginning. Honestly, I wish there had been more as I wanted the stories of these women to continue, even though everything must come to an end.
To get wrapped up in a classic witch hunt story is one thing, what was unique about this story was the nature of the women before the hunt began. It showed how women can survive even the worst conditions, even when the seemingly savior men are actually the ones who bring more destruction than anything that could have happened while the women were alone.
Maren was meant to get married. Her future husband, her brother, and her father are just a few of the men who go out fishing one day and are trapped by a deadly storm that springs forth from seemingly nowhere. In all forty men are lost and only a scant few remain, primarily those of the clergy class. It is the women of Vardø who hold the majority as they come to terms with their devastating loss and the realization that they will still need to survive on their northern land without men to help them. Maren and the women around her learn to fish, take care of the animal herds, and culminate a life without the men who were once a pivotal part of their lives. Three years after the storm that took away all the men, Vardø welcomes a new commissioner, Absalom Cornet from Scotland, and his newly acquired Norwegian wife, Ursula (Ursa). Leaving the world of a bustling city behind, Ursa follows her husband to the far reaches of Vardø, an island full of self-sustaining women. However, Absalom Cornet is not there to bring normality back to Vardø, instead a witch hunt begins as he attempts to bring God into the women who survive without men and strike out the evil he seems to believe they possess. The full breadth of womanhood is expressed in the desolate village of Vardø. The social dynamics that are shown, from the prissy religious group, to the spiritual outcast, to the woman who knows it is easier to get the job done in pants, is so realistic and yet astounding. The women of Vardø show a progressive nature that was culminated out of necessity and yet it also showed how quick they were to turn on one another once men infiltrated their ranks again, breaking the peace they had found in uniting through mourning their losses. It was a classic witch hunt tale, a sad one where women turned against women after being provoked by men. Yet it was interesting to see it in such a confined space such as Vardø and how each woman interacted with one another based on perceived privilege and ranking. While I had high hopes for the relationship between Maren and Ursa, the tragedy of it all was apparent from the beginning. Honestly, I wish there had been more as I wanted the stories of these women to continue, even though everything must come to an end.
To get wrapped up in a classic witch hunt story is one thing, what was unique about this story was the nature of the women before the hunt began. It showed how women can survive even the worst conditions, even when the seemingly savior men are actually the ones who bring more destruction than anything that could have happened while the women were alone.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense