Post 1: Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer Chapters 15-18

Currently I'm reading Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer. This book is the last installment in the Sea of Trolls trilogy, which is named for its first book. From where I stopped, the main characters Jack, Thorgil, and Dragon Tongue (the Bard) are headed off to a place called Bebba's Town in order to save their small Saxon village from being attacked by a draugr, an undead spirit. They must ride with the Northmen, strong-willed, crazy berserkers who pretty much live off of pillaging other villages. Ever since the draugr appeared, strange things have been happening through out the village. For example, in the beginning of Chapter 7, John the Fletcher's rooster and hens were killed and there was a dead lamb in front of his door. This prompts Dragon Tongue to come up with solutions as to how he could save the people and animals of the village.

In Chapter 16, Jack, Thorgil, and the Bard are sailing with the Tanners, a deceitful family of three and the Northmen with a half-troll, Schlaup. Schlaup falls in love with Mrs. Tanner from the first sniff of her braid. From there, their relationship blossoms into that of a commensal relationship among some organisms. Mrs. Tanner benefits because she can order Schlaup around and Schlaup is not affected by it at all. According to the troll tradition, male trolls, or louts wants their females to be strong. Mrs. Tanner has already proven that by her sterness and the fact that she has two children.

To an extent, feminism is one of the theme present not only in this book, but also in this entire series, mostly with Thorgil. However in this chapter, it's Mrs. Tanner that has the power over Schlaup. She gave him a steady flow of orders, such as "hunting for snacks, furs to rest on, [and] bags of cider" and standing "obediently in the sun to provide her with shade" (Farmer 292). Where Schlaup comes from, it is common for females to be greater than or equal to the males. This is what feminists fight for today: woman power, for lack of better terms. They don't want to always submit to the male. But Mrs. Tanner is using Schlaup to get what she wants and she doesn't care about him. Even Jack had his doubts, thinking about whether "she wanted a half-troll trailing after her" (293).