Summary
Though their preacher is mediocre, the Imgarssons' parish congregation is extremely devoted, gathering in all weather and forming a strong sense of community. However, religious awakenings in surrounding towns incorporate an enticing "new baptism" and "new sacrament," threatening the parish's status quo.
The schoolmaster, Storm, a well-respected member of the community, meets frequently with the parson to discuss impending changes to religious life and doctrine. One evening, Storm reveals his plan to build a mission house in the village to provide a space for the people to engage with theology and thus prevent "heretics" from invading the village church. The parson, threatened and insulted, leaves. However, he notices Storm's twelve-year-old daughter, Gertrude, building a model of Jerusalem and is immediately inspired to support Storm's vision.
During the spring thaw, the Dal River overflows, destroying buildings and trees. Ingmar Ingmarsson, now nearly sixty years old, watches as debris and children on rafts float by. Despite his age, Ingmar rescues the children from the raging waters. However, he is hit by a massive log, and "he felt that his chest had been crushed." Ingmar is then rushed to his deathbed and is visited by the doctor, the parson, and his close friend, Strong Ingmar. Big Ingmar and Strong Ingmar reminisce about an occasion when they went on a walk one night and "had a vision of Paradise." Strong Ingmar promises to follow Ingmar into the afterlife after Ingmar's son "returns from the pilgrimage," and Big Ingmar, satisfied, passes away. At Strong Ingmar's cryptic words, Mother Stina suggests that Strong Ingmar has the power to "see into the future."
In Autumn, Karin, Big Ingmar's daughter, brings her younger brother, also named Ingmar Ingmarsson, to the schoolmaster's house. Karin's husband, Elof Ersson, becomes a "drunken wretch" after Big Imgar's death. With no father-in-law, Elof experiences his first feeling of freedom, having been abused and overworked his entire life. To protect her family from Elof's behavior, Karin arranges "to marry off" her sisters, "the two younger ones she sent to America."
Though Elof insists that "Ingmar shall be a farmer, like his father," and not return to school, Karin brings Ingmar to enroll in school and live with Storm and Stina after Elof takes the young boy on his drinking sprees and tricks him into drinking liquor, endangering the child's life.
At the schoolmaster's house, Karin meets Tims Halvor, her ex-fiancé whom she rejected, fearing he would become an alcoholic like his father. Halvor is uncomfortable in Karin's presence and quickly departs. He then returns to Storm and Stina's home a week later to show off his new watch. Young Ingmar watches the adults discuss the watch with interest before shyly asking if his own watch, an "ugly and clumsy" object, could ever be repaired. When pressed, Ingmar explains that it was his father's watch, damaged when Big Ingmar was struck by the log. Big Ingmar requested his son repair the watch and present it to Tims Halvor, whom Big Ingmar believed he "wronged." Young Ingmar gives Halvor the watch, and Halvor, overcome with emotion, gives Ingmar his own expensive watch in exchange.
One day, as a group gathers in Halvor's shop to hear the story of Ingmar's watch, Elof steals the watch from Halvor and suffers a terrible fall, breaking his back. Unable to use his legs, he is bedridden and verbally abuses his wife as he detoxes from alcohol. Karin suffers this abuse for a year and a half until Halvor visits her and offers to care for Elof, as Elof was injured on Halvor's property. At the kindness of his offer, Karin falls in love with Halvor but rejects his romantic advances. A few months into Halvor's care, Elof dies.
Soon after Elof's funeral, many wealthy and important men begin to court Karin. Halvor, worried he may lose his chance to be with her, interrupts a meeting with Karin's suitors. Though Karin is overjoyed at his arrival, she worries his sudden appearance will spark rumors that Halvor neglected Elof in order to bring about his death to be with Karin. When Karin does not stand up for Halvor against the other men, she fears she will lose him forever and announces her intention to marry him.
Analysis
Book Two immediately establishes the connection between religious devotion and the development of a strong community. The villagers of Dalarna prioritize attending religious services, which are a vital venue for socialization. As the novel states, the villagers are drawn to these services not because of the preacher's prowess or the expectation of miracles but because religious devotion is an expression of community identity. The villagers also demonstrate a protectiveness over their religious rituals that evidences the role religion plays in creating a sense of unity. For example, the villagers resist change to their rituals and dogma, refusing to accept new customs and taking offense at criticism of their beliefs. By establishing this communal atmosphere developed through religion, the novel creates tension and high stakes when newcomers threaten the religious status quo.
In the schoolmaster's home, Gertrude plays alone, enjoying the process of creating a microcosm of her town out of blocks. To describe this process of imaginative creation, the text alludes to the Biblical Book of Genesis, in which the Abrahamic God created the world and "saw that it was good." Similarly, Gertrude regards her creation and "thought it all very beautiful." However, Gertrude then tears down the model of her parish "in order to build a Jerusalem." As he is accustomed to seeing the world in terms of "signs and omens," the parson interprets this act as a sign that Storm's challenge to the status quo will bring about greater religious harmony and spiritual fulfillment. However, Gertrude's act of destruction and rebuilding also foreshadows the future destruction of the church, as John Hellgum divides the parish congregation in pursuit of his idealized "New Jerusalem."
The Dal River, a source of abundance for the village, overflows during the thaw and is described as being "strangely weird and threatening." The waters of the river, usually "shiny and placid," "kept rising higher and higher, and rolled onward with greater and greater force." This imagery serves multiple purposes in the text. First, by describing the acute danger the river presents, the text highlights the bravery of Big Ingmar's sacrifice when rescuing the children, establishing him as a paragon of morality and courage. Secondly, the imagery foreshadows the eventual dissolution of the village's social unity. Industrialization, social change, and religious revival threaten the town, flowing into conversations and relationships much like the waters of the Dal River overrun the town. Particularly, the religious revival, led by John Hellgum, destroys the community and nearly ends the Ingmarsson legacy, just as the flood damages the town's physical structures and kills Big Ingmar.
When Big Ingmar lies on his deathbed, he calls for his close friend, Strong Ingmar, to visit him. Together, they recall a shared mystical experience where they "stood on the bridge and saw heaven open." Though the content of Big Ingmar and Strong Ingmar's vision is unclear, it establishes the two men as authorities of spirituality and morality, as the community puts great stock in visions, signs, and omens. In fact, in response to hearing this story, Mother Stina replies that "it has been said of Strong Ingmar that he can see into the future," ascribing great power and wisdom to his predictions. Throughout the text, characters who live in the wilderness are described using mystical, esoteric language. Maintaining the motif of Christian imagery, Strong Ingmar assumes a role parallel to John the Baptist, Jesus's cousin who witnessed "the heavens open" with Jesus and who lived in the wilderness, criticizing organized religion.
Jerusalem is notable for its strong use of situational irony. Karin Ingmarsson's experiences exemplify the novel's sophisticated use of this literary device. Karin rejected Tims Halvor because she feared he would develop an alcohol addiction, like his father. However, when Karin marries the ostensibly temperate and upstanding Elof Ersson, she dooms herself to a far worse fate than if she had married Halvor, as Elof indulges in alcohol, gambling, and abuse, stealing Young Ingmar's inheritance and nearly bankrupting the family. To add to the irony, Karin, who was lukewarm to Halvor during their engagement, falls in love with him after he cares for Elof. Though Karin and Halvor enjoy a "happy ending" to their romance, their experiences prime them to accept Hellgum's teachings. This adds a final layer to the irony. However, Halvor and Karin both receive the life they wanted when they were initially engaged; the process of obtaining that life changes them fundamentally, and their marriage, though happy, does not reflect what they envisioned.
