Jenny · Chapter
VII explained
Jenny remains with Mrs.
What happens
Jenny remains with Mrs. Schlessinger, grieving the death of her baby. She is restless and unable to work, receiving advice from Gunnar to go to Italy. She discovers a book of Italian poetry with notes from Gunnar, which inspires her to leave. She travels through Berlin and Munich, where she sees Rembrandt's 'Holy Family' and writes a farewell letter to Gert Gram. She then takes a train to Florence, and eventually to Rome, where Gunnar meets her at the station.
Themes in this chapter
Motherhood and Unwanted Pregnancy
Jenny's grief over her baby's death is central to the chapter. She remembers the days she had the boy, and her thoughts are consumed by him. She is disconsolately mourning its death.
Loneliness and Isolation
Jenny is isolated in her grief, unable to connect with the compassionate ladies or find purpose. She is restless and feels forlorn, even in the galleries of Munich.
Artistic Identity and Work
Jenny is unable to work, not pleased with her sketch. She longs to feel free and strong again, alone save for her work. Gunnar's notes in the poetry book call her back to life and work.
The Past and Its Ghosts
Jenny's memories of her baby and the time she had him haunt her. She also finds a book with Gunnar's notes from before she knew him, which feels like a message from the past.
Characters to notice
- Jenny Winge
Grieving the loss of her child, she is restless and unable to work. She decides to leave Germany and travel to Italy, eventually arriving in Rome.
- Gunnar Heggen
Writes to Jenny from Italy, advising her to come. His notes in a book of Italian poetry inspire her to leave. He meets her at the station in Rome.
- Cesca Jahrman
Wants Jenny to go to Sweden.
- Gert Gram
Jenny writes him a long, sad, and tender letter bidding him farewell forever.
- Mrs. Schlessinger
Jenny remains with her in Germany, where it is cheap.
Key passages
“She had to take a decision—even if it came only to throwing herself into the sea one night from the pier.”
Jenny felt she needed to make a choice, even if that choice was to end her life by drowning.
Shows Jenny's desperation and the stakes of her decision.
“It was as if he had sent her a message more intimate than any of his letters. Young, sound, firm, and active, he was calling her, asking her to come back to life—and work.”
Gunnar's notes in the book felt like a personal call to her, urging her to return to a vibrant life and to her art.
Highlights the inspirational role Gunnar's past self plays in Jenny's decision to move forward.
“She did not look at it from a painter’s point of view; she only looked at the young peasant woman who, with her garment still drawn aside from her full bosom, sat looking at her child sleeping on her lap, and holding his foot caressingly in her hand.”
Jenny was not analyzing the Rembrandt painting as an artist, but was instead drawn to the intimate, human image of a mother with her child.
Shows Jenny's emotional state, as she is still preoccupied with motherhood and her loss.