Glaciers in contemporary Icelandic literature

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Brynjarr Þór Mendoza (University of Turku)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

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Geography (Physical)

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Date of occurrence 1998-

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Iceland (Involved)

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That is Sneffels – a mountain about five thousand feet in height, one of the most remarkable in the whole island, and certainly doomed to be the most celebrated in the world, for through its crater we shall reach the Centre of the Earth (22)

Jules Verne’s prophecy from his 1864 novel A Journey to the Centre of the Earth rings true on a number of counts. First, that Snæfell – or “Sneffels”, as he calls it – is one of the most remarkable islands in the world, not least because it enthrones a spectacular glacier, Snæfellsjökull. Easily seen from the capital Reykjavík on a clear day, its enigmatic image looms large in the local imagination and influences emotional identities (see Eysteinsson 2006). Secondly, Snæfellsjökull has become an object of celebration in its

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1719 words

Citation: Mendoza, Brynjarr Þór. "Glaciers in contemporary Icelandic literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19694, accessed 31 October 2024.]

Glaciers in contemporary Icelandic literature

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