Sigyn: The Wife Willing To Escort Husband To God's Punishment

If we can ever grant Sigyn a title, let we call Sigyn the goddess of fidelity. Because she would forever stay, no matter what. 

Sigyn was the wife of Loki the most notorious trickster and villain in Norse mythology. Sigyn didn't appear much in Norse mythology. And her most famous tale revolved around her sacrifice to help her husband when he was severely punished by the Gods. 

WHO WAS  SIGYN?

As mentioned, Sigyn was known in Norse mythology for being the wife of Loki. It remains disputable about whether Sigyn was a goddess or a giantess. Loki and Sigyn had two sons whose names were Narfi and Nari. 

In Old Norse, Sigyn means "the victorious girlfriend". Because "sigr" is for "victory" and "vina" for the female friend. 

SIGYN: THE WIFE OF TRADITIONAL MODEL

Indeed, from the tales of Sigyn in Eddas, we learn that was was a wife of the traditional model. She suffered the loss of her sons and volunteered to escort her husband to his severe punishment.

The loss of her sons

In Norse mythology, Loki was responsible for indirectly killing Baldur Odin's son. Knowing that only mistletoe could harm Baldur, Loki made a sharp arrow out of the mistletoe. He gave the arrow to Hodr, the blind twin of Baldur, and guided him to aim the arrow toward Baldur. Once got shot, Baldur fell dead on the spot. 

The gods were in a rage because of this. Not only was it because Baldur was Odin's son but also because the death of Baldur signalled the beginning of Ragnarok Doom of Gods. While gods were suffering the loss of Baldur, Loki escaped.

Loki was punished for killing Baldur Odin's Son. Sigyn in the back left was suffering both the loss of her sons and the pain of her husband. The prophecy of the Volva once said about the grieving and unhappy woman.

After many attempts, gods finally seized Loki to punish the murderer. Gods didn't choose to kill Loki. Rather, they chose to kill Loki's son. They turned one son of Loki and Sigyn into a wolf. The wolf, then, killed his sibling and ripped him off to pieces. They were sons of Sigyn. 

Sigyn must have been grieving for her child no matter what.

The pain was much greater when the entrails of her child were used to bind her husband to the rock. 

The love and the duty for her husband

The key point is that Sigyn never chose to abandon her husband for what he had done. Overall, it was because of Loki that their son was killed. But Sigyn backed her husband up by escorting him to the punishment of the gods. 

Loki was bound to the rock with the entrails of his son. The giantess Skadi placed a snake just above Loki's head. For she hoped everytime the snake dropped its venom on Loki's face, he would suffer the pain. Without the help of Sigyn, Loki would have suffered what Skadi wanted him to suffer. 

Sigyn was collecting the venom of the snake so that Loki would not have to suffer pain

Sigyn held a bowl to collect the venom of the snake so that it would never hurt her husband. Every time Sigyn turned away to empty the bowl, the venom hurt Loki so much that he writhed in agony, which caused an earthquake on the surface of the earth. 

The reason why she still stayed was that of her love and her duty for the notorious husband. If even Sigyn left Loki, no one would be there to help him. 

CONCLUSION

Modern artwork depicting Sigyn and Loki under the cave where gods punished Loki for killing Baldur

Overall, Sigyn was among the best model for the traditional wife full of duty and love for their family members. Even they disappointed her so much, she never abandoned them. Also, she was also a type of modern wife who was wise and cold-minded enough to get over the loss and suffering in life. Sigyn knew that some of her beloved needed her support during their hard time. So she had to embrace herself, staying strong and being supportive for their beloved.