The Story of Gösta Berling · Chapter
XIX: The Broom-Girl explained
The chapter describes the search for a mentally troubled girl who disappeared after being jilted by Gösta Berling.
What happens
The chapter describes the search for a mentally troubled girl who disappeared after being jilted by Gösta Berling. A large crowd gathers, initially seeking revenge against the pensioners at Ekeby, but they are pacified with food and drink. The young Countess Elizabeth, now Gösta's wife, is revealed as the mistress of Ekeby. The chapter ends with a tense confrontation between Gösta and Elizabeth over his past actions and her shame.
Themes in this chapter
Guilt and Remorse
Gösta feels guilt over the broom-girl's fate, and Elizabeth is consumed by shame for her past love.
Community and Belonging
The community unites to search for the lost girl, and later the pensioners use hospitality to defuse the mob's anger.
Love and Sacrifice
Elizabeth's love for Gösta leads her to sacrifice her pride and endure shame, while Gösta's jesting love causes harm.
Characters to notice
- Gösta Berling
The mad priest whose jesting engagement to the broom-girl led to her disappearance and the mob's anger.
- The Young Countess
Now Gösta's wife, she is the gentle mistress of Ekeby who tries to calm the mob and is later overcome with shame about her past love for Gösta.
- Beerencreutz
One of the pensioners who helps pacify the crowd with food and drink.
- Löwenborg
A pensioner who guards the young countess during the mob's attack.
- Uncle Eberhard
A pensioner who guards the young countess during the mob's attack.
Key passages
“No one knows the place in the lee of the mountain where the pines grow thickest and deep layers of moss cover the ground. How should anyone know it? No man’s foot has ever trodden it before; no man’s tongue has given it a name.”
A hidden, untouched spot in the forest is described, emphasizing its isolation and mystery.
Sets the scene for the search in the vast, unknown forest.
“She has seen that mad priest, Gösta Berling, and loved him for many years. She knew no better. God had taken away her wits.”
The broom-girl's love for Gösta is attributed to her mental impairment, as if God had taken her reason.
Explains the broom-girl's obsession and the community's view of her condition.
“Oh, Gösta, Gösta, how could you! ... It is true what I said. I have never promised the broom-girl to marry her. ... It is not my fault that she cared for me.”
Elizabeth confronts Gösta about his past, and he denies responsibility for the broom-girl's feelings.
Highlights the tension between Gösta's casual actions and their serious consequences.