that those miserable creatures who need to be
redeemed belong to another parish, and accordingly cannot be reached by
St. Peter's. St. Peter's parish is aristocratic, exclusive, and keeps
its wickedness discreetly veiled. The horror of the secretary of the
society, when she hears that "the abandoned woman" who calls upon her
for aid, has a child without being married, is both comic and pathetic.
In fact, there is not a scene in the book which is not instinct with
life and admirably characteristic.

Besides being the author of some minor comedies and a full-grown drama
("The Professor"), Kielland has published several novels, the more
recent being "Poison" (1883), "Fortuna" (1884), "Snow" (1886), and "St.
John's Eve" (1887).

The note of promise and suspense with which "Snow" ends is meant to be
symbolic. From Kielland's point of view, Norway is yet wrapped in the
wintry winding-sheet of a tyrannical orthodoxy, and all he dares assert
is that the chains of frost and snow seem to be loosening. There is a
spring feeling in the air.

This spring feeling is scarcely perceptible in his last book, "Jacob"
(1890), which is written in anything but a hopeful mood. It is rather a
protest against that optimism which in fiction we call poetic justice.
The harsh and unsentimental logic of reality is emphasized with a
ruthless disregard of rose-colored traditions.

From the pedagogic point of view, I have no doubt that "Jacob" would be
classed as an immoral book. But the question of its morality is of less
consequence than the question of its truth. The most modern literature,
which is interpenetrated with the spirit of the age, has a way of asking
dangerous questions--questions before which the reader, when he
perceives their full scope, stands aghast. Our old idyllic faith in the
goodness and wisdom of all mundane arrangements has undoubtedly received
a shock. Our attitude toward the universe is changing with the change of
its attitude toward us. What the thinking part of humanity is now
largely engaged in doing is readjusting itself toward the world and the
world toward it. Success is but adaptation to environment, and success
is the supreme aim of the modern man. The authors who, by their fearless
thinking and speaking, help us toward this readjustment should, in my
opinion, whether we choose to accept their conclusions or not, be hailed
as benefactors. It is in the ranks of these that Alexander Kielland has
taken his place, a