Rósa is Natan’s former lover, Thóranna’s mother, and a well-respected poet throughout Iceland. Rósa is a married woman, and Natan lived at her farm with Rósa and her husband for a time, fathering Thóranna in the process. When Natan left, Rósa was upset, and she became intensely jealous of Natan’s later relationship with Agnes. Rósa is known for speaking in verse and for her moving poetry.
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Rósa Gudmundsdóttir Character Timeline in Burial Rites
The timeline below shows where the character Rósa Gudmundsdóttir appears in Burial Rites. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...crowd is not actually seeing her, but rather seeing the crime she represents. Agnes sees Rósa watching at a distance, and Agnes smiles. This makes the crowd furious, and people begin...
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...of the rumors that Agnes caused Natan to end his affair with the beautiful, talented Rósa. Margrét notes that while Agnes’s dark hair is striking, she is not especially beautiful.
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Chapter 5
Chapter Five opens with a poem that Rósa writes to Agnes in June of 1828, in which Rósa tells Agnes not to be...
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...who died, and Jóas, whose whereabouts are unknown to her. Agnes also tells him that Rósa visited her before to give her a poem, in which she berated her for killing...
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Chapter 6
...she did. Then Björn’s brother Ragnar and the farmhand carried Inga’s body downstairs, where Aunt Rósa cleaned Inga’s body. Rósa’s servant, Gudbjörg, cleaned the loft. Agnes talked to Gudbjörg about her...
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...body and Björn’s brother passed around a flask. The farmhand fetched a priest, and Aunt Rósa told Agnes a story while the men talked with him. The men carried Inga’s body...
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...afford to keep her. Her foster brother Kjartan went to live with Ragnar and Aunt Rósa, and Agnes was given to the parish to be taken care of.
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Chapter 7
...Ingibjörg asks how she knows that. Agnes says that she learned this from the poet Rósa. The food finishes cooking and the women bring it outside, leaving Agnes in the kitchen....
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Tóti asks Agnes if she writes poems, and Agnes says that, unlike Rósa, she does not brag about her poems. She tells him that Natan loved Rósa’s way...
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...had no opinion of Natan at that point. María told her that Natan had left Rósa and bought his own farm near Worm’s. Natan had also tried to change his last...
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Chapter 8
Chapter Eight begins with a poem Rósa wrote to Natan in 1837. In the poem, Rósa thinks of how happy she was...
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Chapter 10
Chapter Ten opens with a clerical report describing Rósa’s response when asked to testify at court. Rósa declined to do so. Rósa told the...
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Agnes wonders if she and Rósa could have been friends under different circumstances. Agnes had heard a lot about Rósa from...
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Natan had invited Rósa inside, but Rósa said she only came to drop Thóranna off. Agnes was surprised and...
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