Downstream · Chapter
XI: The Spanish Saint explained
Hedvig, now a nurse known as Sister Hedvig, tends to the ailing Percy Hill at his villa.
What happens
Hedvig, now a nurse known as Sister Hedvig, tends to the ailing Percy Hill at his villa. Percy, a convalescent art patron, compares her to a Spanish saint and a Byzantine mosaic, unsettling her with his aesthetic sensibilities. Hedvig, deeply religious and repressed, is disturbed by the worldly art in the villa, especially a painting of Saint Sebastian. Their relationship deepens as Percy proposes a marriage that remains platonic, focusing on companionship and convalescence. Hedvig agrees, seeing it as a sacrifice and an escape from her family. Later, at Selambshof, Percy visits for the second reading of the banns, and Stellan's visit stirs Hedvig with visions of wealth and freedom, but her fear and repression ultimately lead her to accept a marriage without physical intimacy.
Themes in this chapter
Sexuality and Repression
Hedvig's religious gloom and horror of nudity contrast with Percy's sensual art; their platonic marriage is a 'Selamb insurance' against life's demands, highlighting repressed desires.
Death and Mortality
Percy's convalescence and near-death experience, Hedvig's attraction to sickbeds and deathbeds, and the shadow of death pervade the chapter.
Money and Power
Stellan's talk of wealth and Percy's art treasures underscore the role of money in Hedvig's decision to marry, seeking security and escape from poverty.
Characters to notice
- Hedvig
Now Sister Hedvig, a nurse with religious gloom, she is repulsed by Percy's art and worldly atmosphere but agrees to a platonic marriage as a sacrifice and escape.
- Percy Hill
A convalescent art patron who compares Hedvig to a Spanish saint and Saint Sebastian; he proposes a marriage of companionship, acknowledging his own frailty.
- Stellan Selamb
Visits Percy and Hedvig, praising Percy's wealth and art while subtly encouraging Hedvig to embrace a life of luxury; rides a horse named 'Ace of Spades.'
- Laura
Present at Selambshof during Percy's visit, but her chatter is silenced by Hedvig's severe demeanor.
- Peter Selamb
Greets Percy at Selambshof; his gross figure startles Percy, and they have had no communication for years.
Key passages
“And this growth she felt as an ever-present gnawing ache in her inmost being. In the end this dark groping fear had become so much a part of her that every glimpse of happiness, liberty, spaciousness only seemed to her a mockery.”
Hedvig's internal fear had grown so pervasive that any hint of joy or freedom felt like a cruel joke to her.
Describes Hedvig's deep-seated anxiety and its effect on her perception of happiness.
“He who sees, need not brood. That was why the sick bed and the death bed held such a strange attraction for her.”
Because seeing a clear cause for fear relieves the need to worry, Hedvig was drawn to scenes of illness and death.
Explains Hedvig's morbid fascination with suffering as a form of relief from vague dread.
“She trampled on her old fear, loneliness, and humiliation, and felt as if she had truly her old fear under her foot. But she could not trample it to death. One does not trample a shadow to death. It can only be killed by light.”
Hedvig felt she had conquered her fear and shame, but realized they could not be destroyed by force, only by illumination.
Metaphor for Hedvig's ongoing struggle with her inner demons, which she cannot simply suppress.