How could Valhalla be reached by Norse women?

by Culecks

I might state a few misconceptions here, but I am under the impression that Valhalla was the place where vikings that died in battle ended up. Male vikings. Norse women were not sent to raid, combat, etc. In Valhalla males had all the females that they wanted. So, I guess that I have three-part question:

  1. What could Norse women do to live their afterlife in Valhalla?

  2. If women could not go to Valhalla, how did the women that the men were awarded there spawn there?

  3. How similar is the Norse mythology version of "women as an award in heaven" compared to the Islamic version?

Gliese581h

I can't go too much in-depth right now, as I don't have the sources with me. However:

  1. They would rather go to Fólkvangr, the hall of Freya. Valhalla isn't the only hall for those that died in battle (or rather: died a noble death). Actually, Odin and Freya receive equal shares of the fallen. Look into Egil's Saga. The daughter of Egil Skallagrimsson, Þorgerðr, says, after her father refuses to eat, that she will follow his example and thus will meet the goddes Freya (in Fólkvangr).
  2. and 3. I think this is a misconception. There are no women as "rewards" in neither Valhalla nor Fólkvangr. The Einherjar (the fallen heroes) of Valhalla get tended to by the Valkyries, but these are no ordinary women, and not one of the texts I've read has ever mentioned anything sexual attributed to that. Rather, Valhalla is the training ground for Ragnarök. The Einherjar fight every single day in one-on-one duels, and when mealtime comes, they ride back to Valhalla and feast and drink.

So, no, it's not comparable to Islam at all, because women aren't the reward of Valhalla. You could argue whether Valhalla is truly a reward at all. It's an honour to be in Odin's host for Ragnarök, to be sure, but it certainly isn't a(n) (after)life of leisure.

Sources:

Egil's Saga

Poetic Edda (mainly Grímnismál and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II)

Prose Edda (mainly Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál)