edderkopper:

compassrosette:

Quick question:

So why did Sigyn not simply dump the bowl, flip it upside down, and stick it on Loki’s idiot head? The poison would slide down the side and away from his eyes…

To plagiarize myself in an earlier post…

Myths are myths, not entirely literal accounts of what’s going on in a
literal cave on some other plane. They’re stories that allow us to
grasp otherwise inexpressible truths, and as such they work on a number
of different levels. It’s not always about what makes the most rational
or least painful story.

One one level, this story was an
explanation for why there are earthquakes. We’re talking about Iceland,
where there’s a lot of geological activity. Since the earth was said to
tremble from Loki writhing in pain, it would kind of defeat the point if
he never had to deal with the poison.

In a narrative sense, you have to remember that the Aesir want Loki tortured. That’s why Sigyn and Loki are in this predicament. There are theoretically a lot of things she could do or build to stop the poison drip, but the Aesir probably wouldn’t let that slide. The only reason they put up with the bowl thing may well be that she’s actively suffering for it too.
The torture also helps to justify why Loki fights against the Aesir at
Ragnarok, since let’s face it, you need some pretty hardcore motives to
actively fight to end the world.

But on a deeper level, the
myth isn’t really talking about snakes or bowls or chains. It’s about
concepts like order and chaos, betrayal and loyalty, suffering and
mercy. If the myth were different–if Loki didn’t have to be bound, or
Sigyn didn’t have to make the same sacrifice–then it wouldn’t reflect
those deeper truths.