The general's ring
The General's Ring (original title: Löwensköldska ringen ) is a novel by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf . The novel was published in 1925 and forms the first part of the Löwensköld trilogy . It is set in 18th century Sweden and is about the fateful curse that lies on an old ring. The curse continues through the generations in the entire novel trilogy.
action
Bengt Löwensköld rose from simple soldier to major general in the Swedish army in the Great Northern War . King Charles XII. not only ennobled him as a reward for his military services and awarded him the Hedeby estate, but also gave him a valuable ring. General Löwensköld takes this ring, of which he is very proud, to the grave.
One day the farmer Bård Bårdsson and his wife steal the ring from the grave. Since then, Bård Bårdsson has been haunted by misfortune: his farm burns down, animals perish, the grain freezes, the woman commits suicide. On the death bed, Bård Bårdsson confesses to the provost that he stole the ring and gives the ring to the clergyman. But Bård Bårdsson's son Ingilbert overheard the conversation and robbed the provost of the ring.
The next day, three farmers, Erik Ivarsson, his brother Ivar Ivarsson and Erik's foster son Paul Eliasson, are found in the forest with Ingilbert's body. They are suspected of murdering Ingilbert and stealing the ring. Although the ring is not found, they are charged with murder and robbery. Since all three deny the act, by order of the king it should be determined by divine judgment who of the three committed the murder. However, God's judgment does not provide a clear result, and so the king is asked again for advice. At the instigation of Rittmeister Löwensköld, the son of General Löwensköld, the divine judgment is interpreted in such a way that all three should be executed, although none of them had shown a sense of guilt. Immediately before the execution, Paul Eliasson gives his hat to his fiancée Marit Eriksdotter, the daughter of Erik Ivarsson.
Thirty years later, Marit found out by chance that in the tassel of the cap, which she had once received from Paul Eliasson, there was the stolen ring, which she believed Ingilbert Bårdsson had woven into it without Paul Eliasson being aware of it took the hat because of its colorfulness. Marit wants to get revenge on the Löwenskölds for the death of her father, her uncle and her fiancé and uses an opportunity to smuggle the ring into Hedeby. Hedeby has been haunted since that day: the general's ghost is looking for the ring there. The student Adrian Löwensköld, grandson of the now deceased Rittmeister Löwensköld, wants to help the spirit and follows its desperate waving. But in doing so he collapses. He is dying, no one can do anything for him. Only Marit Eriksdotter, who is highly regarded for her medicine, would be able to do this. The young housekeeper of the Löwenskölds, Malvina Spaak, goes to Marit and asks her to help Adrian. But Marit refuses, because she hates all Löwenskölds. Malvina bursts into tears because she loves Adrian. This makes Marit soft because she remembers her own love for Paul Eliasson. She promises to help. She alone knows where the ring is and secretly brings it back to the general's grave. At that moment Adrian will get well again. But when Adrian thanks Malvina, Malvina learns from him that he is engaged to another woman.
meaning
The general's ring is a haunted story that Selma Lagerlöf loved. Mr. Arnes Schatz and Der Fuhrmann des Todes contain similar elements of ghostly and ghostly apparitions and the motif of guilt and atonement or punishment. At the same time, The General's Ring also bears traits of a love story and a detective story. The story varies the old motive that injustice committed leads to revenge and new injustice.
The short novel, about a hundred printed pages, covers a period spanning almost a century from the wars of Charles XII. until the late 18th century. It is written in a concise, laconic, simple style that gives the novel something of an old legend. In the scene in which Paul Eliasson says goodbye to Marit, the deep love in the face of death is portrayed in a haunting manner that recalls Hector's departure from Andromache in the Iliad .
Selma Lagerlöf also works skilfully with omissions: The question of how the ring finally got into Paul Eliasson's hat remains open or is only examined from the perspective of the novel's protagonists. In one scene the plot stops and the narrator speaks up: He describes the story as an old legend that he once heard. Here the personal narrative situation , which characterizes the novel over long distances and gives it a modern character, changes to the first- person narrative situation , which here - since the narrator is only an intermediary and not a figure within the narrative - coincides with the authorial narrative situation .
The general's ring forms the prelude to the following two novels in the trilogy, Charlotte Löwensköld and Anna, the girl from Dalarne . The theme that is carried out in the subsequent novels is posted here, namely selfishness and narcissism. The ring, acquired through warlike deeds and thus blood-stained, repeatedly arouses people's greed. Even the dead general's ghost shows wild and lustful features when he shows himself to young Adrian. Again and again the ring only brings harm to people. The fact that the ring acquired during the war only brings disaster with it also refers back to Selma Lagerlöf's pacifist confession in The Holy Life . At the same time, Der Ring des General's is also about serious social conflicts: The noble family of the Löwenskölds repeatedly brings misery to ordinary people and attracts their hatred.
Shortly before the end of the novel, in a typical way for Selma Lagerlöf, everything seems to be going well and love to conquer hate: Marit renounces her revenge when she feels reminded of her own love for Paul Eliasson by Malvina Spaak's love for Adrian . But Malvina's love and with it Marit's expectations are disappointed. What consequences this has for the further fate of the Löwenskölds and the curse on the ring will only become clear in the further course of the trilogy.
The symbol of the ring is a frequently used motif, for example in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . The immediate model for Selma Lagerlöf, however, was the ring from Zacharias Topelius ' Tales of the Feldschers .
literature
- Vivi Edström: Selma Lagerlöf. Nature and Culture, Stockholm 1991, ISBN 91-27-02261-7 .
expenditure
Swedish
- Selma Lagerlöf: Löwensköldska wrestling; Charlotte Löwensköld. Bonnier, Stockholm 2005, ISBN 91-0-010743-3 .
German
- Selma Lagerlöf: The Löwenskölds. Novel. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1983, ISBN 3-404-10298-3 .
- Selma Lagerlöf: The Löwenskölds. Novel. Heyne, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-453-44025-0 .