In Norse society violence against women and unwanted attention was forbidden. It was considered not only shameful, but taboo. Examples of violence in the sagas is rare. Some might argue that Viking poetry reflected their culture which was male dominant. Women were often praised for their beauty, but more so for their wisedom.

However in chapter 48 of Brennu-Njáls saga, Gunnarr, in a fit of rage, slapped his wife Hallgerðr in the face. He did this when he discovered his wife had stolen food from a nearby farm during a famine. (Theft was abhorrent in Norse society.) Hallgerðr said she would remember that slap and pay him back.

Many years later she did indeed pay him back! In chapter 77, Gunnarr was attacked in his home by vengeance seekers. He kept the attack party at bay with a shower of arrows from his bow. When his bow string broke, he asked Hallgerðr for two locks of her hair in order to make a new one.

"Does anything depend on it?" she asked.
"My life," replied Gunnarr.
"Then I remind you of the slap you once gave me," and she refused to give him the hair.
"Each has his own way of earning fame," said Gunnarr.

Gunnarr was eventually overcome by the attackers and killed.

Makes you wonder if Gunnarr worried all those years!