The humanization of the gods

     “Hermodur bowed to the queen of Hel, and said that he had come to beg for Baldur’s return to Asgard. Gods and men, an all creatures, were helpless with grief, and needed the young god to bring back their liveliness, their power to hope. Most of all, said Hermodur, the goddess Frigg had asked him to be Hel for Baldur’s return, for she could not live without him. To this, Hel replied that mothers throughout time had learned to live without their sons. Every day young men died and came quietly over her golden bridge. Only in Asgard could they die in battle every day, as a game, and live again to feast in the evening. In the hard world, and in the world of shadows, death was not a game.

     But this death, said Hermodur, had diminished the light of the world.

     So, said Hel. It is diminished, then. (105-106).

     I chose this passage because it exemplifies an important distinction between gods and humans. Just a few pages earlier, we are told that Baldur’s death is worrisome to Odin because “gods don’t fall dead”. I would suggest that the greatest catalysts for Ragnarok are the death of Baldur and the subsequent refusal of Loki to weep (although this probably wasn’t necessary; the original poem states that Hel’s reasoning for offering this compromise was that if someone killed him in the first place, they wouldn’t weep).
     What is most important to draw from this thought is the first major instance of the gods experiencing a tragedy that occurs only for humans: the loss of a friend/relative. Another important aspect to draw from this is the fact that even the most cunning cannot escape the end. Certainly, had Loki known that by killing Baldur he would seal his own fate, he would not have done so.
     I think that the final humanization of the gods is what was missing for the coming of Ragnarok. I assume that this is due to the fact that in stories written by men, there must be some connection to our species.