45 pages • 1 hour read
Rainer Maria RilkeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Brigge remembers the times when he was sick as a young boy. Amid bouts of fever, he would feel briefly energized enough to play with his toy soldiers before quickly becoming exhausted again. His mother read him fairy tales, even though they disapprove of fantastical stories. They read together "to look busy" (86) for Brigge's father and, when they are alone, they give themselves up to the sharing of memories. Brigge remembers how his mother had hoped, for a time, that she would have a daughter. Brigge would pretend to be that daughter, entering her room "in the short, girlish house-frock" (87) and referring to himself as Sophie in a high-pitched voice. When swapping the memories, Brigge's mother wonders whether Sophie died. He insists that Sophie was not dead but had little evidence to prove otherwise.
Brigge is, to some extent, surprised that he was able to move past his debilitating fevers and return to his "highly communal life" (87) with his family. The family routine involved long walks, conversations in French, and awkward children's birthday parties. On days when his governess was sick, Brigge searched through his father's ceremonial outfits and antiques. He dressed himself in the cloaks and masks, examining himself in the mirror. One particular costume seemed especially captivating to him and began "dictating [his] movements, [his] facial expressions, even [his] ideas" (88) when worn. When wearing the masks and capes, Brigge was able to imagine himself as all sorts of characters. While dressed in one costume, however, he knocked over a table of expensive trinkets. Glass objects and a bottle of scent smashed on the floor, turning Brigge "absolutely frantic" (89). Staring into the mirror, his anger and frustration deepening, Brigge "lost all sense of [himself]" (90). This new costumed presence ran through the house until the servants found him. They laughed, rather than helped. Brigge cried until he fainted.
Brigge remembers how the local pastor Dr. Jespersen would visit the family house. The pastor was an awkward presence in the family but had the effect of turning Brigge's typically austere mother "almost playful" (91). Jespersen was present for her death. Brigge remembers his uncle Count Christian Brahe returning home to visit his dying sister. Brigge's father informed Count Brahe that his sister was "much disfigured" (91), and this statement chilled the young Brigge. Several years later, while visiting Urnekloster, Mathilde Brahe spoke fondly of Count Christian Brahe. Brigge suspects that her stories may have been embellished as his uncle led a mysterious and fanciful life as a military man. In a similar fashion, Brigge remembers developing an obsession with his aunt Christine Brahe (the woman who appeared as a ghost at the dinner table) and he snuck around his grandfather's castle at night, searching for her portrait by candlelight. While studying the pictures of historical figures, he bumped into his cousin Erik in the dark. Erik was also searching for "her portrait" (93) and hinted that he was searching for it in the attic, accompanied by Christine's ghost who wants to see herself. Erik cackled and grabbed hold of Brigge, revealing that he has found a mirror for Christine to see herself, but she does not appear in it. Brigge tried to reaffirm his friendship with his cousin, but Erik was indifferent. Despite the animosity between them, Brigge wonders whether Erik was his "only friend" (94). He cannot remember having another.
Brigge thinks about childhood and the strange relationships between his older relatives. His mother, he remembers, was "ill-suited to running a grand house" (95) but seemed forced to do so by her in-laws as a way to passive-aggressively tormenting her. His father publicly contravened with his mother "on only a single occasion" (96); knowing his wife's anxiety that the table cloth should not be stained by wine, he overpoured his own wineglass until the contents fell all over the table. Brigge's mother could do nothing but laugh, much to everyone's great relief. Brigge's grandmother disliked anyone in the house being ill, so sealed herself in her rooms while Brigge's mother was dying. She died some months after Brigge's mother and, in the wake of this second death, Brigge's father concocted a "terrible great illness" (97).
In the year after his mother's death, Brigge remembers how he became captivated by his unmarried aunt Abelone. She is disagreeable and ever-present in the family house but Brigge began to view her in a different light. Abelone sang and told stories to Brigge about his recently deceased mother. During this time, Brigge was sent to a boarding school. Alone at the school in Soro, he realized that he found Abelone to be beautiful and could not stop thinking about her. He wrote her love letters but then realized that she was in love with someone else. He does not want to harm anyone by retelling the story of himself and Abelone.
Instead, Brigge imagines Abelone sat with him. He imagines showing her a set of famous tapestries and compares her to the virtues and beauty depicted in each of them. However, he laments that these tapestries seem to have gone from his life now and he feels as though everything is being stripped away. He thinks about women he has observed in art galleries, women who sketch pictures and tapestries and who come from "decent families" (100) but seek their independence in the city. They do not realize, Brigge believes, that their drawing prevents them from truly embracing their "ineradicable life that is so radiantly laid before them" (100). Now, he observes that much has changed, and people must change as well.
Brigge remembers studying his mother's collection of pieces of lace. The patterns seemed so enchanting to him that he was sure the patterns' female creators had "surely gone to heaven" (102). Brigge remembers visiting the neighboring Schulin family, whose castle had burned down, forcing them to economize, but which had not prevented them from hosting guests. Brigge's mother joined the visit, even though this was during the onset of her fatal illness. Brigge remembers feeling a desperate desire to explore the castle that had burned down. He was convinced that, somehow, it was there, but his plans were foiled, and he was dragged back to the "cramped, overheated rooms" (104) to sit and listen to the adults' conversation. He felt drawn to his mother in that moment.
Among the incredible experiences of Brigge's childhood, birthdays were his favorite. He remembers the excitement of cake, presents, and the struggles of other family members to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Brigge laments that he has never heard anyone tell him a proper story. He remembers Abelone sharing her memories with him, but he does not consider her to be a real storyteller. She told him about her childhood, about her father Count Brahe who did not pay any attention to his daughters. Therefore, Abelone was shocked when he invited her to help him one day in his study. As he dictated his childhood memories, she transcribed everything with the assistance of a strange servant named Sten, whose family reportedly had "dealings with the spirit world" (107). The count was caught be occasional mood swings, but the transcription continued regularly until, one day, she is simply not summoned and the writing ends.
Brigge remembers how his domestic life changed, even before his father's death. By that time, the family had lost ownership of the castle in Ulsgaard. Brigge was away in boarding school when his father died and arrived home too late. He remembers the days surrounding the funeral service, however, including the arrival of the doctors who arrived to ritually perforate his father's heart, a custom performed to ensure that the deceased is definitively dead. Brigge insisted on watching the ritual, which is carried out "swiftly and unemotionally" (110). The ritual assures Brigge that, assuredly, his father's life is over.
Brigge's close relationship with his mother leads to him dressing in girl's clothing and adopting the identity of Sophie. He knows that his mother always wanted to have a daughter so, by becoming Sophie, he is able to temporarily provide her with the child that she never had. This change in identity speaks to Brigge's insecurity. He knows that his existence is a reminder to his mother of what she wanted but did not get: a daughter. Brigge and Sophie cannot co-exist, so Brigge must change himself to please his mother. The idea of Sophie contains within it the absence of Brigge, as both identities cannot co-exist. By dressing up as Sophie, Brigge is subtly reminding himself that his existence is a disappointment to his mother. Her delight at his antics is a brief glimpse into another world where Brigge has not denied his mother the potential to be truly happy. While he enjoys spending time with his mother and while he has fun playing games with her, the portrayal of Sophie is Brigge's attempt to create a better world for his loved ones and this better world happens to be one in which—by definition—he cannot exist. Brigge may never acknowledge this, but his mother's ideal world is one in which Sophie, rather than Brigge, is her real child. By playing Sophie, Brigge indulges his mother's dark fantasy at the expense of his own existence.
Brigge's relationship with his aunt is also complicated. In the aftermath of his mother's death, Brigge lacks a feminine role model in his life. He seeks to fill the void left by his mother by becoming increasing fascinated by his aunt. Abelone was previously something of a non-entity in his life. The loss of his mother, coupled with his adolescent misunderstanding of sexuality and romance, creates a confused tension in Brigge. He develops an intense affection for Abelone and spends more of his time with her than ever before. Unlike the time he spent with his mother, there is a pronounced sexual tension in their relationship with Abelone treats as teenage naivety. Even when Brigge writes love letters to his aunt, she seems to tolerate his attention with a bemused air. She understands tumultuous emotions and, like many members of the family, does not know how to discuss complicated emotional issues. Instead of talking to her nephew about their relationship, Abelone tolerates Brigge's attention. Brigge, in a further effort to understand the world, comes to view Abelone as a definitive presence in his life. The one-time distant aunt becomes the center of his universe, at least temporarily. Brigge, stricken by emotions he does not understand, reorientates his world to accommodate the growing complexity of his life. This upheaval is never properly processed, like so many of Brigge's emotions. As a result, he is left with half-understandings of half-formed emotions that fester and metastasize in his psyche, further alienating him from society.
Brigge's memory of family birthday parties also illustrates the subtle tensions and complexities that define the family's inability to confront their emotions. Rather than being happy occasions, birthdays are fraught with anxiety for Brigge. The prospect of gifting the wrong present or making a social faux pas is more pronounced than the joy of giving or receiving. No one is having fun at these parties. Rather, the participants are simply relieved when nothing goes wrong. Brigge presents these events to the audience like he does with many of his observations, by adopting a negative lens. Brigge can only focus on the difficulties of parties rather than their pleasures, just as he focuses on the suffering of the society because he cannot see the joy. The parties function as a metaphor for Brigge's perception of the world, showing the audience that Brigge tends to take a pessimistic viewpoint to the extent that his approach defines everything about him. With so much of the world filtered through this negative lens, there is no surprise that Brigge should take such a pessimistic position on everything around him.
By Rainer Maria Rilke