The Demise of the Gods in Byatt’s Ragnarok In Byatt’s Ragnarok as well as in Norse mythology as a whole, it is established that unlike gods existing within other varying forms of mythology, those existing within Norse mythology have a very unique feature, they are destructible. This is a very intriguing characteristic possessed by Norse gods seeing as the same does not go for the vast majority of other gods and even if they may not be invincible, it is not as blatantly stated as it is within such stories as Ragnarok. “… if a gods hand can be eaten, it will be possible, in the time of the wolf, to kill the gods.” (56) This is the first time in the story where it is shown that these gods existing within Norse mythology are not eternal and like any other being, will meet their end. This idea nearly portrays the gods as…show more content… Like in the book, everything and everyone will meet their end at some point by some means. We don’t get to choose whether or not we die, but we do have a say in how we die to a certain extent. The goddess Frigg made it her mission to make everything on earth swear not to inflict harm on her son Baldur. She however overlooked a sickly looking mistletoe shoot on a tree and this mistake of hers was exploited by Loki, which resulted in Baldur’s death. This shows that no matter how hard we try to make everything in our lives perfect and prevent ourselves from ever getting hurt or let down, someone will always be trying to find a way to make your worst fears come to life. In our lives, it is often times not something as extreme as death but can seem absolutely devastating. In Norse myth, even the mighty and powerful gods have their weaknesses, wherever they may lie, and can too fall for such. Norse myth portrays gods and goddesses as both mighty figures, but also as humans in the sense that they make mistakes and can be
