Evaluation
Kullervo is fairly ordinary in Finnish mythology, in being a naturally talented magician. However, he is the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology. He showed great potential, but being raised badly, he became an ignorant, implacable, immoral and vengeful man.
The death poem of Kullervo in which he, like Macbeth, interrogates his blade, is famous. Unlike the dagger in Macbeth, Kullervo's sword replies, bursting into song: it affirms that if it gladly participated in his other foul deeds, it would gladly drink of his blood also. This interrogation has been duplicated in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Children of Húrin with Túrin Turambar talking to his black sword, Gurthang, before committing suicide.
Some literary critics have suggested that Kullervo's character is a bitter metaphorical representation of Finland's frequent struggles for independence. This proposal is contested. Certainly Jääkärimarssi (Jäger March), a well-known Finnish military march, contains lines me nousemme kostona Kullervon/soma on sodan kohtalot koittaa (We arise as vengeance of Kullervo/so sweet are the fates of war to undergo).
The story of Kullervo is unique among ancient myths in its realistic depiction of the effects of child abuse . The canto 36 ends in Väinämöinen stating that an abused child will never attain the healthy state of mind even as adult, but will grow up as a very disturbed person.
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