The Evening and the Morning

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-5

Part 1, Chapters 6-10

Part 1, Chapters 11-15

Part 2, Chapters 16-20

Part 2, Chapters 21-24

Part 3, Chapters 25-29

Part 3, Chapters 30-34

Part 3, Chapters 35-37

Part 4, Chapters 38-40

Part 4, Chapters 41 - 43

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Themes

The Abuse of Power

Many of the characters who rule in the novel are unjust, selfish bullies. Wynstan abuses his office as Bishop and later elevates himself even further in the church hierarchy. He does not pretend that he desires anything beyond the satisfaction of his appetites: “Two things gave him joy: money and power” (459). Aldred is overjoyed when he believes that he can convict Wynstan of the forgery, finally ending the corruption and restoring dignity to the office of bishop. However, Wynstan’s power and influence—which he has obsessively accrued—allow him to escape judgment by transferring it to Cuthbert.

Meanwhile, Wynstan’s brother Wigelm is a rapist and a sadist. He rapes Ragna, forces her to marry him while holding her and her children hostage, and treats peasants like they are subhuman. Dreng is not a noble, but he torments his wives, his enslaved people, and Edgar’s family simply because he can. The gulf between the common people and the nobles is vast. The poor have little recourse outside of the court procedures, and legal loopholes can be exploited and twisted. For example, Dreng uses his position of modest power to kill Blod’s newborn infant without any serious consequences.

Aldred is usually even-tempered, but his exasperation with Ethelred’s unwillingness to intervene in unjust situations angers him; he says, “I understand that kings avoid conflict whenever they can, but sometimes a king should rule!” (830).

Ragna is one of the few examples of a just ruler. One of her nicknames is “Deborah,” who was a wise judge in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. She is also known as Ragna the Just, a title she earns simply by acting decently, instead of out of rampant self-interest. When Ragna holds court, the people are optimistic about—and accepting of—her wise rulings.

The hierarchy within the church is not immune to power-grabbing maneuvers. Wynstan tells the monks that he will reward them with creature comforts and greater leniency if they help him become archbishop. Hildred is appointed as the new abbot purely out of spite, even though Aldred is a much better choice. Degbert uses the cover of the church, combined with his status as the cousin of a bishop, as a hedge against his misdeeds. Ragna is a rarity in the novel: a leader who does not put herself first, and who uses her power to improve the lives of her people, rather than to terrorize and exploit them.

The Role of Women and the Lack of Agency

While Ragna pines for Wilf, Genevieve recognizes her infatuation and naiveté: “You want a grand passion, a lifelong romance, but those exist only in poems. In real life we women settle for what we can get” (78). Genevieve says this even as a woman of some influence. The positions of women like her, Ragna, and even Queen Emma grant them a measure of power, but that power is contingent on their ability to serve their husbands. The acquiescence to male expectations has an element of ritual to it, as Ragna shows before her wedding: “She knew how to behave at ceremonies: move slowly, smile at everyone, do what you’re told, and if no one tells you what to do, stand still” (315). She is not to act without a reason, and the reason will be dictated by a man’s will.

Women are not rewarded for what men deem to be overly lofty aspirations. While courting Ragna, Guillaume is surprised to learn that she does not want a cluttered domestic life. He insists, “Spinning, weaving, dyeing, stitching, embroidery, and of course, laundry. A woman should rule that world the way her husband rules his domain” (149). The courtship dies largely because she refuses to conform to his expectations.

Nearly all of the women in the novel experience difficulties and discrimination from the men. In the most extreme cases, Wigelm imprisons and rapes Ragna, before forcing her to marry him and holding her child captive. Dreng throws Blod’s baby into the river and kills it because he knows he will not be culpable for harming the baby of an enslaved woman. Whatever agency Blod might have will not benefit her in terms of seeking help from the courts. Gytha holds some influence over her sons, who often seek her counsel, but she knows her place. Her sons override her judgment any time that it conflicts with their desires.

When Dreng dies, Blod and Mairead immediately say, “We don’t want men and we don’t need them” (859). Their lives have never been improved by the presence of men, and they are finally able to choose their own path. Similarly, after the deaths of Wilf and Wigelm, Ragna is free to choose her own destiny. She marries Edgar without fear because she knows he supports her independence and her right to choose her own life. He will encourage her to become a better ruler, mother, or whatever other role she might value.

Reasons for Living and the Need for a Meaningful Life

After Sungifu dies in the Viking attack, Edgar loses the future he imagined. He looked forward to a simple life with the woman he loved, spent building boats and a raising a family. Once Sungifu is gone, Edgar cannot see a point to life beyond taking care of his family. When he talks with Ma about his despair, he realizes that she experiences something similar in the wake of Pa’s death. The family is her duty, and she must carry on, but Pa was her companion. Her life with him was a choice, not a duty. When Ma dies, it is because she believes it is her duty to give her children a better chance at having enough food.

Ragna finds herself in a similar situation after her initial infatuation with Wilf passes. She lives in England, a country she does not enjoy, with a man who does not give her the kind of love she wants, struggling against a mother-in-law who wishes her ill. However, Ragna finds purpose in being a just ruler and in raising her children.

Aldred lives to serve God and to advance the stores of human knowledge with his scriptorium. He has an anchor to weigh his decisions against. For Edgar, that anchor becomes his love for Ragna and his building projects. He constantly strives towards becoming a better craftsman; not simply to enrich himself or build his reputation, but for the sheer love of the work.

Contrast the passions of Aldred, Edgar, and Ragna with those of Wynstan and Wigelm. Wynstan admits to himself that there are only two things he loves: money and power. Enriching himself and expanding his influence are his reasons for living. Wigelm is a sadistic hedonist who only wants to inflict pain and satisfy his appetites. The pursuit of their passions leads to their self-aggrandizement and the misery of others.

Late in the novel, when Ragna learns that Edgar rejects the offer to return to Dreng’s Ferry, Ragna vows to get as much as possible out of her life: “Nothing had gone the way she planned, but she was going to make the best of things. She still had most of her life ahead of her, and she was going to live it to the fullest” (850). Once she marries Edgar, the two of them have a shared purpose and a lasting, mutual reason to continue their lives. A meaningless life is a life without responsibility or reward, and Edgar and Ragna now have both.