Parts 37, 38, and 39 Summary

This section lays the groundwork for the poem's lengthy climactic confrontation between its three main heroes - Vainamoinen, Lemminkainen and Ilmarinen - and Louhi.

Part 36 - Ilmarinen grieves intensely for his dead wife. Finally, after several months, he goes to his forge and prepares to create a new wife for himself out of gold and silver. Several initial attempts fail, and the materials are thrown back into the forge. Finally he creates a statue of a beautiful woman, lays her in his bed, and bathes himself in readiness for sleeping with her. He lies down beside her and falls asleep, but then wakes to find her cold, unresponsive, and not pleasant to sleep with. He takes her to Vainamoinen in the hopes that he will find her attractive, but he says she's not the right woman for him. This section ends...