The Grim Reaper

In their usual manner they had withdrawn to a corner where they stood, holding each other’s hand, their eyes meeting every time the door to the professor’s room opened and a hollow, pale figure slipped in or out. But as the assistant finally called out their number and they themselves were about to enter, Ane, fearful, suddenly grabbed Simon’s arm, as though wanting to hold him back.

After several years of hard labour, Simon and Ane are finally able to pay the last instalment on their bank loan. It is supposed to be the time for the couple to relax a little more and perhaps have children. But Ane has a strange feeling: an illness is growing inside of her.

Biography

Henrik Pontoppidan (1857-1943) was one of the finest prose writers at the turn of the century. His most famous novel, Lykke-Per (1898-1904) is considered the quintessential Danish coming-of-age novel and is often given as a gift to high school graduates.

Pontoppidan was a writer of modern life. Thematically, he concerned himself with religion, tradition, class struggles and social disruption, elevating these themes to become existential questions. In 1917, he was the first Danish author to win the Nobel prize.