Her residence of five years in the United States after her divorce,
and before her second marriage, had, no doubt, accustomed her to a
greater freedom of intercourse between man and woman, and thereby
disposed her to trip rather lightly over the stumbling-blocks of
prudence.
The history of Kallem's sister, Josephine, and her husband, the Reverend
Ole Tuft, which is closely interwoven with the above, furnishes us with
two more characters deeply felt and strongly realized. It is they who
are the chief instruments of Ragni's martyrdom. As the upholders of
social purity, and, as it were, professional guardians of morals, it
would seem that Tuft and his wife had scarcely any choice but to condemn
marriage with a _divorcee_. When, however, after Ragni's death, they
discover whom they have slain--how much purer, nobler, and of more
delicate nature she was than either of them--they are dissolved in shame
and remorse. A tremendous crisis in their spiritual lives is produced by
the mortal peril of their only child, whom Kallem saves by a skilful
operation.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141