Granted, I'm not entirely conviced that Shadow is THE American version of Baldr. I think he's a new son of Odin and the thing about Loki putting mistletoe in his eye was just a reference to his brother. But, if he really is Baldr, then his mother has to be Frigg,. So, let's examine what the book says about Shadow's mom and see if there's evidence.

Shadow's mom was an American diplomat to Norway. Being a queen, Frigg would be well-versed in diplomatic relations. Norway is one of the Norse countries.

She's most likely the American incarnation of Frigg, which explains her speech and her life cycle. I don't think many people in America believe in her as much so she began to age and then she began to die.

Wednesday mentioned that interbreeding is unlikely to unimaginable these days. So, being Wednesday's wife, he might have tried to knock up an unwilling Frigg a few times. Frigg was mad at Wednesday. Maybe because she disapproves of his scams. But it's safe to say that Wednesday and the American Frigg were no longer on speaking terms.

That's all I have. She may be Frigg. Of course, she may also be just a normal human. But that should mean that Shadow is Shadow and not an incarnation of Baldr.

What do you think?

I don't even remember mention of Shadow's mother, but from the sounds of it they straight-up say it's Frigg.

I need to brush up on my Norse mythology....

The book never really went into full detail about the identity of Shadow's mother. In fact, when looked on at face value, it suggests that Shadow's mother was indeed a normal human. All I'm saying is that IF Shadow is the American version of Baldr, then his mother MUST be Frigg or Freya or even a combination thereof because Frigg and Freya get so confused these days that most people think they're the same goddess! In fact, even in the days when the Norse faith had many adherants, some Norse peoples actually did consider Frigg and Freya the same goddess. Maybe Shadow's mom's name was Miss Friday like Odin was Mr. Wednesday. Hehe! Because like Wednesday is Wotan(Odin)'s day, Friday is Freya's or Frige's (Frigg) day. (going off subject I know)