Settlers of the Marsh: Analysis of Major Characters
"Settlers of the Marsh: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the lives and relationships of key figures in a pioneering agricultural community in Manitoba. Central to the narrative is Niels Lindstedt, a Swedish immigrant who embodies determination and ambition. His journey reflects his struggles with love, guilt, and redemption, particularly in his relationships with Ellen Amundsen, a strong-willed neighbor who grapples with her mother's past and societal expectations, and Clara Vogel, a widow whose contrasting nature leads to a complex marriage. Bobby, Niels's loyal employee, represents the themes of hard work and loyalty, eventually achieving his own stability despite the challenges he faces. The analysis offers insights into the dynamics of rural life, the challenges of settling new lands, and the personal growth of characters shaped by their experiences and relationships. Overall, it highlights the nuanced interplay of ambition, love, and societal pressures within the context of early settler life.
Settlers of the Marsh: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Frederick Philip Grove
First published: 1925
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Canadian prairies
Plot: Regional
Time: The turn of the twentieth century
Niels Lindstedt, a pioneer farmer from Sweden. Niels likes to conceive a plan and then carry it out. Remembering his mother's poverty, he makes his dreams come true by clearing a homestead near Minor and Balfour, in the marsh area of Manitoba. His first sight of Ellen inspires his visions of a wife and children in a comfortable home. He makes a plan to be ready to have Ellen accept his proposal of marriage. This vision motivates Niels, who is ever ready to help neighbors, a steady worker even in winter, and a fair employer who pays his help well. When Ellen makes it clear that she does not want to be married, he leaves and works even harder, even though he is despondent. His lapse with Mrs. Vogel causes him, for the rest of his life, to be plagued by a strong sense of sin because he gave way to his passion. Once out of prison, he goes to Ellen to say that he would accept being a brother to her but is quietly overjoyed with her outpouring that she would attempt to be a wife. Both are very happy, for now they share the same vision.
Ellen Amundsen, the daughter of a neighboring pioneer farmer. Ellen actively works like a man for her father, but she had observed her mother lifting and working too hard, efforts that brought on many miscarriages. Others see Ellen as unusual because after her father's death she continues to farm. She even issues neighbors permits to take off hay and, alongside men, plows a fire break. Although always correct and conservative in her behavior, Ellen loves Niels. She expresses a freer spirit in a pastoral romantic scene: They go through the woods and fields to share a vista from the top of a haystack, then huddle together in a hollowed-out niche during a downpour. She refuses Niels's offer of marriage, however, unable to overcome her memories of her mother's grief at having to leave two children in Sweden to be reared by grandparents, of her mother's hard life with her father, and of her own promise to her mother never to marry. That she loves Niels is very evident, because she wants him to continue to be her one and only friend. Years later, she still loves him, and she attends to his house until he returns from prison. When he calls, she finally tells him that she was wrong: She will try marriage and wants his children.
Clara Vogel, a widow who marries Niels. Clara had inherited a farm near his homestead. Portrayed as a well-dressed woman whose eyes look for men and whose voice is ready with repartee, Clara first meets Niels at the Lunds' Sunday gatherings. She chances on Niels and intercepts him in the hall of the hotel. Just refused by Ellen, he succumbs to Clara's advances. The next morning, he proposes, and Clara, with only a slight hesitation, accepts. In the farmhouse, she gets meals for several months but eventually keeps to her room, which is furnished with her boudoir frills. Niels tolerates her laziness and primping. Although Clara might have responded to being ordered about by Niels, he treats her too well. When she ignores his best friend, Nelson, and his family during their visit at Christmas, she no longer restrains her disinterest and isolation. Later, she lets herself be found in compromising situations with men, until Niels finally shoots her.
Bobby, Niels's faithful employee and friend. At first, Bobby worked for his foster father, Mr. Lund. His brother-in-law Nelson, married to his sister Olga, then paid Bobby to work for him, until Niels offered full regular pay. Bobby, still in his teens, is happy when his steady work with Niels earns wage increases for him as time and circumstances warrant. On Sundays, he goes visiting, especially after Niels marries Clara, whose presence makes Bobby blush. Young, hardworking, and faithful, Bobby eventually not only takes care of Niels but also establishes his own farm. He marries a capable wife, and they have five children. Although he is poor, Bobby looks after Niels's farm during the six and a half years that Niels is in prison and banks its profits. His honesty and reliability are rewarded by the fair Niels, and Bobby is given comfortable affluence.