* Having grown up in poverty herself, as it traveled from generation to generation. In her time, and in the area of the country that she grew up in in rural Iceland, it was common for children to be given away at a young age. Whether it was because of what would be considered a full household or the husband and wife on the next farm were unable to conceive. There was never any paperwork for these “adoptions”. There were no legal documents nor trace, yet it was not kept a secret. The child always knew where it came from as it was a part of the talk around the towns. It created anguish for the one that was given away. And later in life, it created a strain within said family, that also carried through generations.
This footnote is nicely crafted with an authoritative yet emotional tone. It reminds me a segment from “On the Site of Memory” by Morrison – on truth being stranger than fiction. How fact and truth are not always the same, which is demonstrated here, particularly in the line: “There were no legal documents nor trace, yet it was not kept a secret.” Your footnote and Morrison’s essay reminds me that truth often extends beyond the [omitted] facts.
This feels like a situation waiting to open up into a story–or several stories. I find myself imagining the main text, the particular people the footnote describes. You’ve piqued my curiosity. So many lives among these interconnected farm families.