Gender Roles and Agency

Women navigate limited agency within patriarchal structures, as Kristin must balance her father's authority, her betrothal, and her own desires, while characters like Lady Aashild and the nuns at Nonneseter demonstrate varying degrees of independence.

Kristin has little say in her betrothal, yet she begins to accept it; her interactions with Arne hint at limited personal agency.

Kristin's limited agency is shown in her inability to refuse her betrothal and her vulnerability to assault.

Kristin's lack of control over her fate is highlighted; she is sent to a convent by male relatives.

Kristin's limited agency is evident as her family arranges her betrothal and convent stay, yet she begins to assert her own will through her secret meetings with Erlend.