The Question of Control: Burial Rites, and the Themes of Gender and Society    Anonymous 11th Grade

Hannah Kent’s award winning Australian novel Burial Rites illustrates the remaining days of the last woman executed in Iceland; Agnes Magnúsdóttir. In an interview conducted by the Guardian, Kent stated that she first learnt of Agnes’ story through a university exchange program to Iceland. “I first heard the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir when I was an exchange student in the north of Iceland.” (Kent). Throughout the interview, there is a distinct emphasis on the sense of boredom and loneliness she felt during her trip which, Kent claims, spurred her interest in the woman’s story. Through the creation of a speculative biography which carefully weaves historical events with emotion, Burial Rites presents an ambiguous perspective of Agnes’ life and resolves the feeling of seclusion illustrated in the historic depiction of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. There are, however, blatant similarities, in my opinion, between these prominent female influences in their character, age, gender and environment. Kent’s chosen manner of portrayal, such as: the inclusion of interior monologues and formation of a heightened or supplemented reality in which Agnes is central, has given context and a voice to her characters. A lack of control is, however,...