
In a quiet rural district court, a weary judge presides over a dispute that reveals the harsh realities of country life. A shy, impoverished farmer’s daughter stands trembling before a dashing, well‑to‑do husband, demanding support for a child she claims is his responsibility. The tension between the defendant’s confident denial and the plaintiff’s quiet dignity sets the stage for a study of honesty, pride, and the weight of community judgment.
The story follows this young woman's struggle to assert her truth amid the unforgiving social codes of her marsh‑bound village. As the case unfolds, the reader is drawn into the stark landscape of the wetlands, where loyalty and compassion are tested against greed and misunderstanding. Through simple yet powerful narration, the novel explores how a single act of courage can begin to reshape the lives of those around her.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (301K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2012-11-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1858–1940
A pioneering Swedish storyteller, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909. Her novels and tales blend folklore, moral drama, and a vivid sense of the Swedish landscape.
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