Pastoral Setting (Visual and Olfactory Imagery)
The novel uses intimate, lengthy descriptions of the natural world to evoke a romanticized pastoral setting. These descriptions of the natural world help strengthen the contrast between the village and the world around it, heightening the emotional stakes as characters are introduced to industrialization and new ideas. The text opens with a description of Big Ingmar "plowing his field one summer morning" when "the sun shone, the grass sparkled with dew, and the air was so light and bracing that no words can describe it." This fantastical description of Ingmar's farm establishes how important ancestral land is to the characters while also creating situational irony; on the surface, it seems unlikely that great tragedies, like Brita murdering her child, can occur in such a bucolic setting.
Mount Flack (Auditory Imagery)
While the village youngsters, including Ingmar and Gertrude, gather in Strong Ingmar's house for a dance, an unexpected storm and avalanche pass through the valley, frightening them. The text creates a frightened, threatening atmosphere using auditory imagery that describes the sound of the storm and avalanche, a "piercing sound" like a "howling wind" or a "blast from a horn." The imagery then becomes poetic and metaphorical, comparing the cacophony to "roaring and tramping and snorting," a force that "came dashing down from the mountain with an awful roar" as if "the whole mountain had come tumbling into the valley." By comparing the sound of the avalanche to a beast that howls, snorts, roars, and traps, the text highlights the violence of the event and how the villagers interpret the sound as an evil force with agency, as they are accustomed to viewing their world through signs and omens.
The Loss of L'Univers (Auditory Imagery)
As Mrs. Gordon is about to die during the shipwreck, she notes the chaos of a "medley of confusing noises around her," including "the surging of the waves, the murmur of the wind, the shrieks of the drowning, and the noises made by the colliding of the various objects that were drifting around on the water." This auditory imagery evokes a feeling of chaos, despair, and panic. However, Mrs. Gordon experiences a spiritual awakening, contrasting with the frightening, lethal situation around her. Later, when Mrs. Gordon's role in the Jerusalem commune is revealed, the reader understands that her survival of such a traumatic experience compelled her to embrace religion fully.
Holy Light (Visual Imagery)
"Religious Devotion" is a vital theme used throughout the text as characters negotiate their individual relationships to faith and community. The text describes religious rituals and gatherings using evocative, sacred descriptions. Notably, these descriptions highlight the use of light to create a holy space and convey a sense of spiritual intoxication. For example, as the Hellgumists prayerfully decide to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the sun "shot its piercing rays into the room," creating a "crimson glow" and a "blood-red glare upon the many blanched faces." The Hellgumists interpret this light as a favorable sign from God. However, the description also uses the visceral language of "blood" on "blanched faces" to demonstrate the high cost of the Hellgumists' spiritual beliefs.
