# Divine Ordinance explained — The Red Room

> Chapter companion for The Red Room by August Strindberg.

## What happens

Mrs. Falk hosts a meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Crèche 'Bethlehem' at her home, intending to impress her guests with new furniture and her husband's anticipated arrival with an admiral. The meeting, led by the Rev. Nathanael Skore, devolves into a tense debate about the propriety of printing donors' names in charity reports, with Lady Rehnhjelm arguing it is disgraceful to publicize charitable acts. The pastor manipulates the proceedings to secure a paid treasurer position for his relative. The meeting is abruptly ended when a letter from Mr. Falk arrives, causing Mrs. Falk visible distress and prompting the guests to leave hastily.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The Rev. Skore uses the charity meeting to appoint his relative as a paid treasurer, while the ladies debate the morality of printing donors' names, revealing self-interest masked as piety.

### Social Class and Inequality

Mrs. Falk's efforts to 'crush' her guests with new furniture and her husband's connections highlight class anxieties and the competition for status among the bourgeoisie and nobility.

### Illusion vs. Reality

Mrs. Falk's carefully staged meeting and her hope for her husband's triumphant arrival are shattered by the letter, exposing the fragility of her social performance.

## Character check-ins

### Eugenia Falk

Hosts the Crèche committee meeting, eager to impress and 'crush' her guests with new furniture and her husband's connections; becomes distressed upon receiving a letter from her husband.

### Mrs. Homan

Guest at the meeting; criticizes Mrs. Falk's new furniture and brings up Arvid Falk's poverty to needle her hostess.

### Rehnhjelm

Present as Lady Rehnhjelm; argues against printing donors' names in charity reports, calling it disgraceful to publicize good deeds.

### Nathanael Skore

The pastor leading the committee; manipulates the meeting to appoint his relative as treasurer with a salary, and deflects criticism of printing donors' names.

### Arvid Falk

Mentioned as Mrs. Falk's brother-in-law, a poet struggling in the world, discussed by Mrs. Homan and Mrs. Falk.

## Key lines

> but in my opinion it is disgraceful to print the fact that one has given a pair of woollen stockings.

Lady Rehnhjelm argues that it is shameful to publicly announce small charitable gifts.

_Highlights the tension between genuine charity and public vanity._

> Vanity is an evil, certainly; we turn the evil into good by transforming it into charity. Isn't that praiseworthy?

The pastor justifies using people's vanity to fund charity, claiming it turns a vice into a virtue.

_Exemplifies the theme of hypocrisy and moral compromise._

> I must ask your indulgence for being so late, but I'm a very busy man. I have to be at a meeting at Countess Fabelkrantz's at half-past nine, and I have come straight from my work.

The pastor apologizes for his lateness, citing his packed schedule of social and charitable engagements.

_Reveals the pastor's self-importance and the social circuit of the elite._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xiii-divine-ordinance
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters