One of the things I love about mythology is that, in my opinion at least, the stories are meant to be explored and plumbed for possible meaning. I don’t think that a single story necessarily has just one meaning. I also don’t think we should limit the meanings we take from the stories to those intended by the author.¹

In that spirit, I would like to share one of the ways that I interpret a well-known Norse Myth, “The Binding of Fenrir.”² In this story, the deities of Asgard become concerned about the destructive nature of Loki’s wolf-son and decide to bind him. It takes multiple attempts to do so and in the end, Fenrir become suspicious of the Aesir’s intentions and becomes reluctant to let them try again. Tyr convinces Fenrir to do so by offering to place his hand in the wolf’s mouth and giving him permission to bite it off if they don’t release the wolf from the bonds. Many — myself included — have looked at this as a story about the relationship between justice and sacrifice, praising Tyr for his willingness to knowingly sacrifice a hand in order to prevent some great calamity.

In this post, however, I want to suggest a different interpretation, one which would suggest that the residents of Asgard were wrong for binding Fenrir at all. After all, prior to being bound by the deities, the wolf was quite friendly toward the Aesir. I would suggest that their choice to tie him up and leave him bound may have been the catalyst that turned Fenrir against the Aesir and leads directly to his choice to oppose them at Ragnarok.

Now, many people might criticize this interpretation, arguing that the lore makes it fairly clear that if the Aesir had not bound the wolf, he would have caused too much chaos and possibly even destroyed everything. I would counter that criticism with a number or responses, the first one being that the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful and therefore their unjust act merely delayed his acts of destruction at best and caused them at worst. In the case of the former, I think it’s fair to question whether the delay justifies the act of injustice.

I also think that the latter is an even greater point, especially when you consider how the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy is a common theme throughout ancient literature, both in Norse/Germanic culture and elsewhere. Keeping that in mind, I’m tempted to read the entire tale as another case of a self-fulling prophecy where the deities hear a prophecy (or even just get a sense of foreboding) and immediately try to counter it, engaging in actions that merely bring the prophecy to fruition. Perhaps if they had found a way to live peacefully with Fenrir and help him find constructive ways to redirect his destructive potential, things would have turned out differently.

So what does this mean to myself as a modern reader? I take this as a warning to not be driven by fear and take the “easy way out” of difficult situations, especially when that “easy way” comes t the expense of others. I think it’s a perfectly human impulse to try to avoid or control a potentially problematic situation, but acknowledge that acting on that impulse may lead to less than desirable results. I find it as encouragement to consider other options that may be revealed by exploring my fears, understanding the needs behind them, and considering how those needs might be addressed in other ways.

I also look at this story and consider how it might be an allegory for children growing up in general. Adolescence can be rough and chaotic and living with an adolescent going through that process can be as well. Again, I see the way some people want to deal with the difficulties and “rebelliousness” of adolescents reflected in the Aesir’s decision to betray and bind Fenrir. So as I wonder if there was a way to help Fenrir redirect his “destructive” nature into something beneficial and harmonious, I think that we need to find ways to help adolescents deal wit the own chaos they find themselves going through — both internally and externally — and help them instead find ways to shape themselves into the incredible adults they can and should become.³

Note that this is not to say that I find no value in the more common interpretations and lessons taken from this story. But the beautiful thing about stories is that we can take more than one meaning from them. I think this particular meaning of Fenrir’s tale is worth exploring.

Post History: I wrote the first draft of this post on August 11, 2024. I proofread, revised, and finalized it on August 2, 2024.

Footnotes

1. I do think it’s important to never represent our personal interpretations as the original author’s intended meaning, however. ↩︎
2. The link is to the version of the myth published on the Norse Mythology for Smart People website. This version includes footnotes indicating the earlier sources (including both Eddas) it drew on to create this particular telling. I’d encourage those interested to search out a few other versions of the myth, as the details vary a bit and, in my opinion at least, in ways that are somewhat interests. ↩︎
3. I also think this idea can be applied to other people — such as other adults– that we find “difficult” and that there’s a generic lesson of ‘find ways to work together before just treating other people as troublemakers that should be cast out.” ↩︎