Irena’s orphanhood is both a real fact and a symbolic matter.
Homeland and mother tongue. These two things are what can make us orphans. We become rootless, just as we would if we were to become estranged from our ancestors, not knowing our origins, or if we were unable to identify with them, for example if we were to live in a foreign country.
This type of orphanhood is just as difficult as being orphaned by one’s parents, a difficulty imposed by fate. Irena is unaware of anything other than this sudden discovery of relatives, and she will never know her real parents. The reason for this is that many adopted children, when they eventually meet their birth parents, find that they are unable to establish a good relationship with them. Often, after such a long time apart, when the real parents do get in touch, they see it more as an opportunity than as a chance to bond with their child, and ask for money or other help rather than providing care or understanding.
The separation from home and the lack of roots is true of all mythological concepts. Mythology is an umbrella term for the myths of a particular culture. Examples include the well-known Greek myths, such as the Minotaur, who was half-bull and half-human, or the myth of Heracles, the great hero. However, it is not only the Greeks who had mythological beliefs.
However, it is not necessary to analyse an entire population in order to find a mythology, because families have their own myths, even if these are not as extensive as the Greeks’. (2) These can be created by certain ancestors’ characteristics, life paths, or a few characteristics that can be traced back to one’s origins. For example, it could be that one of the parents came from a group of people who were known for their diligence or courage. Similarly, if a grandparent came from a family that had either amassed significant wealth or lost it.
These factors influence an individual’s worldview and thought processes in the same way as in society as a whole, providing meaning to events and influencing decision-making processes.
In Irena’s case, we can see that not only is she not accepted, but her mother’s helplessness is also evident in the community’s attitude towards her. The only thing the adopted girl’s mother can do for her is to send her away. Irena is passive in her suffering, submitting to her circumstances. In her new home, she is afraid that she will be rejected for her orphanhood and clumsiness in skiing. She tries to learn the language quickly, but she also struggles to find her self-confidence in that area. The mythology within her, as with others, predetermines the type of difficulties she will face, which she will feel powerless to overcome, and which will only cause her suffering.
However, with aunt Lily’s presence, new family myths emerge before her eyes, primarily in the two parental figures, aunt Lily herself and the deceased Mayor. Unlike Irena’s adoptive mother, aunt Lily was able to influence the community, slowly opening it up to foreigners. She started out in the same way as Irena, who was ostracised at home, and as her mother was, too. However, she was able to shape her own destiny, put an end to a chapter and establish a new one.
The Mayor, meanwhile, took responsibility not only for his own family, but also for the entire community, and, as we saw at the end of the first book, he was even able to work with the leaders of other villages to advance the affairs of his own village.
It’s not just the mountains that have mythological figures, such as Bailvok, who gained incredible strength in the gods’ wars and was able to reshape the landscape and raise mountains around him. This illustrates the idea that we gain strength and skill from our difficulties, and it also explains why the sight of mountains is so reassuring – after all, Bailvok himself found refuge in their shadows.
The creation story that Amina recounts when they see the map adorned with fish is also a kind of mythology. It illustrates how, for various reasons, different ideas and established stories can emerge within a given country to explain the same phenomenon, with different properties and events taking centre stage.
(2) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261612272_Personal_Myths_-_In_the_Family_Way