Hagen Versus Kriemhild

Throughout history, virtually all people are seen as both good and evil. Some of these people are good and evil at the same time, while others go through phases. Great examples of those who go through stages are the characters, Kriemhild and Hagen, from The Nibelungenlied. These two leaders shifted sides throughout the work, and at different points they can be considered either good or bad people. Hagen is the "cynical villain" and Kriemhild is the "innocent damsel and loving wife" throughout the duration, but over time, both characters reveal attributes of both good and evil. There is no clear point in which the two switch from good to evil or the reverse, as they both portray elements of both throughout the duration. However, Hagen is generally horrible in the beginning and good toward the end, while Kriemhild is generally a saint in the beginning and awful toward the end.

In the first half of the epic, Hagen is clearly of evil mind. Not once does he truly act as a good person. One instance is the manner in which Hagen took advantage of Kriemhild to learn of Siegfried's weakness. Also, following his murder of Siegfried, the fact that Hagen left Siegfried's body on the doorstep for Kriemhild to find was especially cruel. Such deception and ill-intent on the part of Hagen, versus the loving care mixed with honesty from Kriemhild, can't possibly be seen as anything other than a direct association of Hagen with the side of evil. On the opposite end of the spectrum from Hagen lies Kriemhild.

Kriemhild continually gives her money away to her friends and visiting strangers in the first half of the epic, which acts as a major sign of her being a good person. Hagen's consequential jealously, which greatly inspired him to steal Kriemhild's treasure, builds off of Kriemhild's kindness. Hagen killed people, stole from people, told lies, and gave excuses to people as to why he did these things. Kriemhild unfortunately finds herself at the brunt of all of Hagen's cruelties and ends up suffering for them. Not much time passes after Hagen painfully wrongs Kriemhild before the roles of both characters go through some major shifts.

During the second half of the epic, Hagen develops into a considerably more likable character. Kriemhild decides to seek revenge on Hagen, and Hagen suddenly becomes the victim. The roles generally switch between the two, as the hunted becomes the hunter and Kriemhild decides to pursue the attack of Hagen. This switch, as likely as it seems, is not believed to be the truth by everyone, though.

There are some ideas that certain scholars have kept in mind when trying to decide whether or not Kriemhild and Hagen switched positions that might point toward them maintaining a permanent role. The second half of the novel deals a lot with the aftermath of Siegfried's death, and how Kriemhild responds to it. The woman is certainly very upset when she finds out how she has been betrayed by Hagen, and one can not be expected to act rationally in such a situation. Her goal becomes to avenge her husband's death, and the tragedy in the Hall could be seen as the triumph of the righteous. In this case, Kriemhild would have continued to be the representative of the good who is serving justice, and Hagen would be the evil man being finally getting what he deserves. However, revenge is not necessarily a good thing. In addition to that, both characters display one significant act of cruelty throughout the entire epic.

The strongest evidence that neither character can be looked as representing the righteous side lies in the ways in which both Kriemhild and Hagen use RÐ"јdiger as a medium, causing him to be torn between loyalties. Such a situation proves a clearly cynical attitude on the side of Kriemhild. Hagen's devotion to RÐ"јdiger is a little bit soft for his character, and suggests that he's not as terrible as he seems. Still, such an idea is countered when Hagen convinces RÐ"јdiger to give him his shield, leaving him with no protection during battle.

"Daz des gor von himele geruochen wolde,

daz ich schilt sÐ"Ò' guoten noch tragen solde,