Breakdown of Konan hugsar bara um sjálfa sig og iðrast ekki.
og
and
konan
the woman
ekki
not
bara
just / only
hugsa
to think
um
about
sig
himself/herself/themselves (acc)
sjálfur
self, oneself
iðrast
to regret (repent, feel remorse)
Questions & Answers about Konan hugsar bara um sjálfa sig og iðrast ekki.
Why do we use sjálfa sig here instead of just sig?
Using sjálfa sig adds emphasis, translating closer to "thinks only of her own self" rather than just "thinks about herself." Since the sentence emphasizes her selfishness with bara (only), adding sjálfa makes the reflexive action much stronger.
Why is the emphatic word specifically sjálfa here, rather than another form like sjálfur?
The emphatic pronoun sjálfur must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it refers back to. Here, it refers to Konan (feminine, singular). It takes the accusative case because the preposition um requires it. The feminine singular accusative form of sjálfur is sjálfa.
Does the preposition um dictate the case of both sjálfa and sig?
Yes. The phrase hugsa um (to think about) always governs the accusative case. That is why both the emphatic pronoun and the reflexive pronoun are in the accusative, giving us the pair sjálfa sig rather than a dative pair like sjálfri sér.
The verb iðrast ends in -st. Is it a reflexive verb pointing back to the woman?
Iðrast (to repent or regret) is a middle voice verb, which is why it has the -st suffix. While the -st ending historically comes from reflexives, this specific verb only exists in this form and functions as a normal active verb in meaning. It usually takes a genitive object, but here it is used intransitively (without an object) to simply mean she does not repent.
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