Literary Genre of the Plot - Love | Stockholm 1960s
Main characters
The novel tells the love story between Erik, a young son of an influential Stockholm businessman, and Ingrid, a simple girl with a passion for literature and the daughter of a factory worker. Erik is charming, cultured, and has a future already written thanks to his wealthy family, while Ingrid is a tenacious, intelligent, and dreamy girl who aspires to become a writer.
At the beginning of the novel, Erik and Ingrid live parallel and separate lives, influenced by the rigid social division of the time. Erik attends exclusive parties and lives a comfortable existence, while Ingrid works as a saleswoman in a bookstore to support her family financially and nurture her dream of becoming a writer.
The call to adventure
Fate brings Erik and Ingrid together in the bookstore where Ingrid works. Despite their social differences, the two fall in love at first sight and begin dating in secret. However, their love is thwarted by the opposition of both of their parents, who feel that the relationship is inappropriate because of their differences in social class.
Erik and Ingrid struggle with the inner conflict between the desire to live out their love and the fear of the consequences their relationship could have on their respective families (whom they both love) and their futures.
Meanwhile, Erik's twin brother urges him to follow the voice of love, but with the sole intention that he will be disinherited and the family fortune will remain all for himself.
The conflict
Throughout the novel, Erik and Ingrid face two main challenges: the first is to protect their love from external pressures, such as parental expectations and the conservative society of the time. The second challenge is to find the courage to live their love story authentically and sincerely, while being aware of the difficulties they will face.
The climax of the novel occurs when Erik and Ingrid decide to defy social conventions and confront their families, asking for their support and understanding. But both refuse.
The key
In the novel's finale, though Erik and Ingrid's parents realize the intensity and purity of the love between the two young people and decide by mutual agreement to drive them apart, not without difficulty. Erik, urged on by his brother, renounces the family inheritance. He manages to find Ingrid and with her he elopes and marries.
But Erik's mother does not want to give up her son's love and the joy of a grandson; therefore, she finances the two boys to realize their dream. The couple buys a small store and sets it up as a photography studio so Erik can follow his passion, while Ingrid gets a publishing contract for her first novel.
In the finale it will be understood that time is a powerful medicine: first it will be the two mothers who meet at the store, then it will be the parents' time. The children's strength will unite the families. And even Erik's brother will repent.
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