Literary Criticism: The Father

( A requirement in English 10 3rd Quarter )

Submitted by: Raziah Lee Torres

Submitted to: Edelyn Yap
Title: The Father
Author: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

I. History
 Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (8 December 1832 - 26 April 1910) was a
Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute
to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been
distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its
spirit". He was the first Norwegian Nobel laureate and a prolific polemicist in
Norwegian public life and Scandinavian cultural debate. In 1857 Bjørnson
published Synnøve Solbakken, the first of his peasant novels. In 1858 this was
followed by Arne, in 1860 by En glad Gut (A Happy Boy), and in 1868 by
Fiskerjentene (The Fisher Girls).

 "Faderen" (The Father) is a short story written by Norwegian writer

Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson and published in his collection Smaastykker in 1860. (Small
Pieces). The story is set in modern rural Norway, and its original audience was
most likely Christian and Norwegian in culture. As a result, the work contains
references that may be unfamiliar to modern readers from other cultures.

II. Structure
A. Characters

 Thord Overaas

- Thord Overaas was a proud, wealthy, loving, and conceited man. He

demonstrated it in the first part of the story when he paid a large sum of money for his
son to be baptized privately. It also appears throughout the story when he returns to the
priest a number of times to try to negotiate for his son’s sake. He was also fearless and
appealing, but when his son died, he transformed into a generous, kind, and thoughtful
man. He loved his son so much that he went above and beyond in order to leave a legacy
for him.

 Finn Overaas

-Finn Overaas is a successful son but was dependent to his father though it was
because his father give him everything even though he was not asking for it. It was a
tragic and dreadful for his father when he died. It was also sad that he died earlier than
expected and without getting married.
 The Priest
-The priest was a good man who wished for Thord's son to be a blessing to him,
but he was tempted and accepted Thor's offer, demonstrating that he bows down to
someone in authority. Finally, he declared that Finn was a true blessing for Thord
because of the donation Thord made specifically for his son to leave a legacy.

III. Settings

 The setting of Bjrnstjerne Martinius Bjrnson's story "The Father" was in the lake
and the parish where Thord goes every time he needs to ask the Priest a favor.
The lake where Thord's son, Finn, drowned and died is depicted at the end of the
story.

IV. Plot/Summary

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B8rnstjerne_Bj%C3%B8rnson#Sour
ces
2. https://www.slideshare.net/LuvilaAF/theme-and-characterization-of-
bjrnstjerne-bjrnsons-the-father
3.