31 quotes
The Devil himself must have a hand in it when a man’s wife goes to his brother for confession!
The Wife (1921)
Many a man is given what was intended for another, but no one is given another man’s fate.
The Cross (1922)
It must be bitter for a woman of good family to arrive on the arm of the landowner, only to leave with the farm hand.
The Wreath (1920)
It’s useless to be frightened; fearful men are half dead already.
The Cross (1922)
No one has the same color of hair or temperament in the rain as in the sun.
The Wreath (1920)
Ever since the infant had died, she had wondered why she should pray.
The Cross (1922)
Peace—perhaps the king’s peace would be possible up there someday, but in his lifetime there would be peace only when the Devil attended mass.
The Wife (1921)
They headed across the courtyard and over toward the cookhouse. Without thinking, they both walked as lightly and carefully as they could in the new snow.
The Cross (1922)
Through the great darkness that would come, she saw the gleam of another, gentler sun, and she sensed the fragrance of the herbs in the garden at world’s end.
The Wife (1921)
Father, Mother, you were both young once. Don’t you remember that it’s not easy to guard yourself against the sin that love provokes?
The Wreath (1920)
Her eyes have been opened to the fact that after the burdens and toil of a young mother comes a new kind of fear and concern for the aging mother.
The Cross (1922)
“But is he still a handsome man, my kinsman Bjørn?”
“No,” said Kristen. “He looks like a mound of hay that has lain on the ground all winter long.”
The Wreath (1920)
All fires burn out sooner or later.
The Cross (1922)
“It’s good when you don’t dare do something that doesn’t seem right,” said Fru Aashild with a little laugh. “But it’s not so good if you think something isn’t right because you don’t dare do it.”
The Wreath (1920)
It was easy for someone to stay young if he refused to learn, refused to adapt to his lot in life, and refused to fight to change his circumstances in accordance with his will.
The Cross (1922)
It could be that the woman knew more than was good for the health of her soul—and yet one should not forget that ignorant people often spoke of witchcraft as soon as a woman showed herself to be wiser than the councilmen.
The Wreath (1920)
Lord, if only you would give me this and this and this, then I will thank you and ask for nothing more except for this and this and this.…
The Cross (1922)
I hated school so intensely. It interfered with my freedom. I avoided the discipline by an elaborate technique of being absent-minded during classes.
With this last ring, she felt as if he were marrying her again. Now the she would soon sit beside his lifeless body, he wanted her to know that with this ring he was committing to her the strong and vital force that had lived in this dust and ashes.
The Wife (1921)
They sat in silence for a while, and then Ragnfrid asked, “What does he look like, this Erlend of Husaby?”
“Oh,” said Lavrans, hesitating, “he’s a handsome fellow—in a way. But he doesn’t look as if he were much good for anything but seducing women.”
The Wreath (1920)