Could a sister actually drown her own sister in order to obtain a lover and more lands?
Probably. Even nowadays, some people are capable of doing just about anything to get what they want. When I first read this, after ruminating over the heinous ending, where a harp made of the dead girl's breastbone and hair accuses her murderous sister in the king's hall, I thought of more modern parallels to the poem, like the story of my cousin's friend Teddy.
Teddy lives with his widowed mother part of the time. The other part of the time, he spends in the local homeless shelter, whenever Teddy's three brothers and his mother become tired of his drinking, or simply do not want him around. When Teddy's mother passes away, she intends to leave all of her money to her other sons, because "Teddy will just squander the funds on his alcohol habit."
The ironic thing about the situation is that Teddy is the only one who actually does anything for his mother. When he does stay with her, he cooks for her, cleans her house, helps her with her finances, mows her yard or shovels her snow, goes on errands, maintains her home, repairs her car and does everything else that his brothers refuse to do.
His brothers rarely, if ever, come by. Once in a while they will pick mom up for a social occasion or, when the mood takes them, show up to castigate her for allowing Teddy to stay there once more. Teddy then gets driven back to the homeless shelter, until such a time as his mother realizes she needs him again and fetches him back home.
Teddy's brothers say he should be grateful for the times she lets him stay with her, as she is the only one in the world who wants anything to do with him, due to his drinking.
Since being put into the shelter the first time, Teddy has endured occasional nights on the street, beatings for his few meager possessions, and a fall that has permanently damaged his shoulder, causing him to lean forward permanently. Yet he continues to faithfully care for his mother whenever she takes the notion to take him back, in spite of his brothers having ensured that once she is gone, Teddy really will have nobody and nothing in the world, in spite of the many things he has done to help their mother and their family.
Something like a modern day King Lear, where the siblings not only refuse to help their aging parent, but hate the one sibling who actually does.
But to return to the subject of Binnorie, yes, siblings really are capable of doing in another sibling to get what they want. Like Teddy's siblings are slowly killing him.
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