What is the role and impact of modernity in the novel? Does it challenge the characters in a good or bad way?

What is the role and impact of modernity in the novel? Do you believe it challenges the characters in a good or bad way?

In both good and bad ways, I think. Lars Mytting wants us to see the complexity of decisions about what should change, to make us want to understand our past before we decide. The stave church is only one example in the novel. The approach to childbirth is another: modern obstetrics could offer improvements in some ways, but was a step backward in others.

I think the author uses modernity to examine how quickly people can dismiss something simply because it is rooted in the past without looking at how the tradition or practice came to be. The church building is the most obvious example but also the way funerals are held and even the practice of holding church services in life-threatening temperatures. Just because something is new doesn't always mean it's better.

The contrast between Butangen and Dresden spoke to the differences between the old ways and the modern. It was very sad to me to see the stave church being removed from Butangen, almost ripped from the earth even though care was taken to preserve it and make sure it was reassembled correctly. Removing the church took a huge toll on Gerhard Shonauer, probably leading indirectly to his death. I think all the main characters were challenged by the pull of modern ways against the deep history and roots in Butangen.

It helps me see the complexity of everything. The differences between the old ways and the modern ways are probably my favorite part of this book.

I have nothing to add to the comments on this thread, other than to say my comments on some of the other threads could apply to this question as well

The first thing that comes to mind for me is how modernity, or the perception of modernity in the form of modern obstetrics, negatively impacted Astrid.
On the other hand, modernity is preserving the stave churches, albeit with a lot of patronization from those spearheading the preservation.

Modernity impacted Kai Schweigaard in somewhat of a negative way. He knew what life was like outside of this overpopulated town and hoped that this assignment would lead him to better things, a higher standing in the church. When he looked at this stave church it almost repulsed him. He said it was not a functional church and when he had a nice offer on the table to disassemble it he jumped at the chance. He was thinking of his future and not the future of the community.

Modernity impacted Kai Schweigaard in somewhat of a negative way. He knew what life was like outside of this overpopulated town and hoped that this assignment would lead him to better things, a higher standing in the church. When he looked at this stave church it almost repulsed him. He said it was not a functional church and when he had a nice offer on the table to disassemble it he jumped at the chance. He was thinking of his future and not the future of the community.

Modernity is a driving force of the entire narrative of the book, and I think Mytting does a good job of showing the pros and the cons of both sides. Obviously if people are freezing to death *in the building* then there needs to be a solution, but the detailed description of the staves and the planks coming apart was heartbreaking. In addition--people were starving. The way of life in this isolated Norwegian village was not sustainable. People were leaving (escaping?) for America. And village life in isolation was suffocating. But contrast that with the description of Astrid going to the city to give birth. She was like a fish out of water. This is a issue that has propelled many novels--how to bring the modern world in to improve, without destroying the good things about the old?