# XIII: The Churchyard explained — The Story of Gösta Berling

> Chapter companion for The Story of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf.

## What happens

On a beautiful August evening, Colonel Beerencreutz, Major Anders Fuchs, and little Ruster row across Lake Löfven to the neglected Svartsjö churchyard. They visit the grave of Acquilon, a gambler and former pensioner at Ekeby who committed suicide and was buried outside the churchyard wall. The three men sit by his grave, play cards, and pay their respects, showing a strange but heartfelt homage to their forgotten friend.

## Themes in this chapter

### Community and Belonging

The pensioners' visit to Acquilon's grave demonstrates a deep bond of loyalty and belonging, even beyond death and social rejection.

### Guilt and Remorse

Acquilon's suicide and burial outside the churchyard highlight themes of guilt, societal judgment, and the desire for atonement.

### Redemption and Penitence

The card game at the grave serves as a strange act of redemption, offering companionship and remembrance to a man denied Christian burial.

## Character check-ins

### Beerencreutz

Leads the expedition to Acquilon's grave, plays cards with the dead man, and shows loyalty to his fallen comrade.

### Anders Fuchs

Accompanies Beerencreutz to the grave, expressing indignation that such a man as Acquilon lies outside the churchyard.

### Little Ruster

The flute-player and former drummer, weeps for Acquilon and joins the card game at the grave.

## Key lines

> He is so lonely outside here, Johan Fredrik. He must long sometimes for a game.

Beerencreutz suggests that Acquilon, buried alone outside the churchyard, must miss playing cards.

_Reflects the pensioners' belief in maintaining fellowship with the dead through familiar rituals._

> It is a sin and a shame that such a man shall lie here.

Anders Fuchs condemns the injustice of Acquilon's burial outside consecrated ground.

_Expresses the pensioners' sense of loyalty and their critique of societal harshness._

> Next to you, colonel, next to you he was the finest man I have ever known.

Little Ruster praises Acquilon as second only to Beerencreutz in his esteem.

_Shows the deep personal regard the pensioners held for Acquilon despite his flaws._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii-the-churchyard
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters