Something I noticed very shortly into the saga was the usage of the serpent image. Besides Gunnalug's warrranting the same nickname as his grandfather, the serpent appears in some form in nearly every poem. since Gunnlaug and his arch-enemy Hrafn are both poets, there are many poems.
Originally, because Gunnlaug is made to seem like the protagonist, I tried to sympathize with him, and even like him. However, his arrogance and rebellion make him hard to like. I think these traits themselves may hae seemed romantic to Helga, though, and she may have seen him as ambitious, brave, and daring. In his desire for Helga, and his disobedience to Thorstein (who knew of the prophecy) and to his father (to whom Thorstien may have spoke of the prophecy) leads to his own imminent demise.
When Hrafn and Gunnlaug first meet in Sweden, they discover many similarities between themselves, and it also follows that they fall for the same woman. Sadly though, it is clear that Gunnlaug and Helga share a love relationship that Hrafn's greed will never allow him to enter into.
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