Slow Havamal: 98

In the 98th verse, Billing’s girl tells Odin to come back in the evening to woo her, because it would be improper unless no one else knew of such a scandalous act.

Odin is rebuffed but not entirely rejected. The woman he yearns for will allow him to woo her, but she’s concerned with appearances. She doesn’t want to be seen with him. Billing—her father or husband, probably—would be upset, and people will talk. But it isn’t the act of romantic relations that she finds improper. It’s the knowledge others may have of it.( Read more... )