# Norwegian: det var det



## eva nicolae

One more passage from Knausgaard. I'm approaching the end of _Min kamp 2_.

_Han var glad for å se meg, det merket jeg, og kanskje fantes det også en lettelse over at moren var død, i ham, ikke så mye for hans egen del som for hennes. Noe av det første han sa, var hvilken rolle angsten hennes spilte nå. Ingen rolle … Men det var det, vi var like fanget i hverandre som i oss selv, kom ikke ut derfra, det gikk ikke å frigjøre seg, man fikk det livet man fikk._

The speaker tells about a friend of his whose mother has just died. She used to be full of anxieties, which had greatly influenced the friend when he was a child.

How should I understand "det var det" in this context?


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## kloie

Det var det-that was that
But wait for natives.


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## eva nicolae

Right, kloie, "that was that", but what does it mean in the context?


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## kloie

I know what it means but with my pea brain it's hard for me to explain it at the moment.
Perhaps it's like saying it is what it is,it can't be helped.


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## AutumnOwl

kloie said:


> Det var det-that was that


_Det_ can be translated both as that and it. Let's wait and see what Norwegians will say about it, but to me the sentence would be: But it was (like) that, ... you got the life you got.


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## kloie

AutumnOwl said:


> _Det_ can be translated both as that and it. Let's wait and see what Norwegians will say about it, but to me the sentence would be: But it was (like) that, ... you got the life you got.




Thanks!I just couldn't word it the right way.


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## eva nicolae

That's what I see in all translations, but I don't see the logical connection of this particular phrase to either the previous sentences or the following ones. Or the connection between the sentences before and the ones after. I believe I'm missing something.


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## AutumnOwl

In Swedish the phrase "och det var det" (and that was it) is something you can say about something you can't change, _"take it or leave it", "that's life"_,  it's just an observation about how things are/have been, it doesn't have anything really to do with what is discussed or have any logical connection with it.


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## raumar

The phrase "det var det" can have different meanings, but it is usually easy to understand in spoken language. The intonation, and stress on certain words, will help you to understand the meaning. It is more difficult in a written text like this one. 

AutumnOwl's explanation of the Swedish use of the phrase applies to Norwegian as well. AutumnOwl's interpretation is certainly plausible, in my opinion. Although it doesn't really connect to the previous sentences, it fits in with the following ones. 

However, there might also be a slightly different interpretation. I am not quite sure how this should be expressed in English, but maybe "But that's all it was". If this is the case, it means that the impact of the mother's death was limited. When the mother died, the son didn't have to worry about her anxiety any more. But apart from that, nothing had changed. We are still caught up in our relations with our parents, even after their death.


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## eva nicolae

Dear everyone, thank you so much!

Your second explanation, raumar, sounds much more natural in the context. To tell you the truth, this is what I expected, logically speaking. It makes sense. I'll hopefully not be unfaithful to Knausgaard if I choose it.


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