The thin child in wartime wondered why omniscient Odin did not simply destroy the wolf and the snake, who were clearly venomous and appalling, and full of animosity towards the Ases. But he clearly could not do this – he was constrained by some other power, which gave shape to the story that held him. The story decided that the destroyers must survive.

The thin child in wartime wondered why omniscient Odin did not simply destroy the wolf and the snake, who were clearly venomous and appalling, and full of animosity towards the Ases. But he clearly could not do this – he was constrained by some other power, which gave shape to the story that held him. The story decided that the destroyers must survive.