Hel is not hell

Snorri Sturluson is important as one of the primary sources of Norse mythology to survive, but Snorri is not necessarily a completely accurate source. Iceland was that last of the Nordic countries to convert to Christianity, and the older ways survived longer there than they did nearer to mainland Europe, but Snorri was still writing over 100 years after the Icelanders converted to Christianity, and its influence can be seen in his work. I found a paper online, Women in the Viking Age: Death, Life After Death and Burial Customs by Cristina Spatacean. It was written as part of the requirements for a Master of Philosophy degree at the Center for Viking and Medieval Studies at the University of Oslo in 2006. This was my first introduction to the extent to which what we know of Viking Age worldview was influenced by Christianity. The Christian view of the afterlife has a very strong dichotomy. The good go to heaven, the bad go to hell, which is a horrible place of punishment. This is reflected in the common view of the afterlife in Norse myth, where the brave who die in battle go to Valhalla, the bad go to Hel, the realm ruled over by Loki's daughter. And yet, the god Baldr went to Hel. Baldr was the shining god, the most beautiful, and beloved by his mother, Frigg, and pretty much everyone else. Frigg went so far as to extract promises from every plant, animal, god, and rock that they would never harm Baldr. Loki, of course, couldn't let this be, and if you don't know the story, you can guess what happened. The point is, Baldr was beloved. If Hel was a place of torment and punishment, why wouldn't Frigg pull all the strings in the nine worlds to make sure Baldr went to Valhalla? There are also references to Hel making preparations to spiff the place up in preparation for Baldr's arrival. She ordered a feast prepared, and treasure brought out. This doesn't sound like a cold, horrible, desolate place. Now, Hel herself is described as half beautiful woman, half corpse. In our modern sensibilities, and probably most others, half-rotting-corpse sounds horrific. I'm sure even people in the Viking Age were under no illusions that Hel was all attractive. In later years, I think baggage was attached to Hel that may not have originally been there. We tend to attribute bad qualities to ugly, unpleasant things and good qualities to attractive things. This is not always the case. I think Hel has kind of gotten a bad rap for being evil, ruling over an unpleasant realm of punishment, when in reality, Hel is honest. Death isn't pretty or pleasant. Our bodies fall apart in pretty gross ways, and Hel is very honest with the fact that her realm is a realm for the dead. It's not going to be just like alive, it's different. Not horrible, but different.