Selma lagerlöf writing style

The ghostly story takes place in the area around Karlstad. Much focus is on the gold ring he received from Charles the twelfth. The ring was the general's most prized possession, and when he dies he is buried with it. They are then haunted by misfortunes that drive the whole family into poverty and into the wasteland into a shanty town. The dean escapes but loses the ring, and then alarms Hedeby about what happened.

In the forest, they meet the Ivarsson brothers with their foster son Paul, who is carrying the dead Ingilbert on a stretcher. The three men say that they met Ingilbert and that he tripped in terror and hit himself so badly that he died immediately. However, the ring is gone and the three men do not want to admit that they have seen it.

The horseman's desire for revenge then drives him to have the innocent men arrested and executed. When she accidentally finds the general's ring sewn into Ingilbert's cap, she sees her chance for revenge. Hedeby begins to be haunted by the general's ghost. A few years later, maiden Malvina Spaak comes to Hedeby to work as house manager. She is terrified of ghosts but soon discovers that the general's spirit seems to be kind to her.

She also falls in love with the now grown Adrian, who confides in her that he hopes to free his ancestor and give him peace.

Selma lagerlöf introduction

But when Adrian meets the general one night, he is so frightened that he falls into a coma. Malvina desperately turns to Marit for help, but is first met with total refusal. However, Marit softens when she realizes that Malvina loves Adrian, and then realizes that she cannot put another young girl through the same pain that she herself went through.