f Knights is turned into a chemical laboratory, and the
daylight is allowed to pour unobscured into all its murky recesses.
Through the dim and lofty passage-ways resounds the laughter of
children; on the scenes of so many hoary crimes the prattle of innocent
girls is heard; a multitude of scientific instruments labor to
demonstrate the laws of nature, and to simplify the problem of existence
which the crimes of the Kurts had tended to complicate. Thomas Rendalen,
profoundly impressed as he is with his responsibility as the last
descendant of such a race, takes up this educational mission with a
lofty humanitarian enthusiasm. He has spent many years abroad in
preparing himself for this work, and possesses, like his
great-grandfather, the gift of lucid exposition. But his perpetual and
conscious struggle with his heritage makes him nervous and ill-balanced.
He conceives the idea, fostered both by observation and by the study of
his own family history, that unchastity is the chief curse of humanity,
and the primal cause of the degeneracy of races. He believes that the
false modesty which leaves young people in ignorance of one of the most
important natural functions is largely responsible for the prevailing
immorality, and he advocates, as a remedy, fearless and searching
physiological study. His inaugural address as superintendent of the
school deals uncompromisingly with this subject, and excites such
universal indignation that it comes near wrecking the promising
enterprise. A great speech in a small town, Bjoernson hints, is always
more or less risky. But we are also given to understand that though
Rendalen obviously speaks out of the author's heart, this very speech
is in itself a subtle manifestation of the Kurt heritage. Rendalen is as
immoderate in virtue as his ancestors have been in vice. The violent
energy which formerly expended itself in lawless acts now expends itself
in an excessive, ascetic enthusiasm for self-conquest and lofty
humanitarian ideals. As a piece of psychology this is admirable.
Prudent, well adapted or adaptable to the civilization in which he
lives, the scion of the Kurts is not yet; but as a promise of the
redemption of the race he represents the first upward step. It is highly
characteristic of Bjoernson's respect for reality that he makes Rendalen
neither agreeable, handsome, nor lovable; nay, he dwells again and again
on the bad relations which temporarily exist between him and his mother