Hel
Please post your comments and suggestions for this article.
Comment by Julia Krul on January 24th, 2014 at 7:32 am
Please change “Near-Eastern Gehenna” into “Gehenna of the Hebrew Bible” or something similar. The term “Near Eastern” refers primarily to ancient Mesopotamia, where the netherworld was also imagined as cold and dusty, not burning.
Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on January 24th, 2014 at 10:32 am
Thank you, Julia, for your comment. Your point is well taken and the text has been revised as you suggested.
Comment by Merry on May 15th, 2018 at 9:30 am
Hi I was reading your very interesting article about Hel when I came across this “…half blue-black and half flesh-color” I’m not entirely sure, but I think I would be considered “flesh-colored” that is, I’m white. but I found this statement offensive. blue-black (and black. And yellow. etc) are all considered flesh colors. am I to suppose that Hel is half blue-black and half white (or pink? I think I’m more pink than white). Am I to suppose that she is half blue-black and half black? I’m sorry but “flesh-colored” is rather ambiguous and a bit offensive. Will you please change it? thanks.
Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on May 15th, 2018 at 9:55 am
Thank you, Merry, for your comment. That sentence is actually a quote from the “Prose Edda” which is an Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland in the early 13th century. Therefore we cannot change the wording of the actual quote. I will, however, check the text of the article to see if it can be clarified that this is a quote. Thank you again for taking the time to help make NWE a valuable information resource.
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