Gustav Wied

This picture reveals Denmark at the second half of the 19th century in the way the literature of that period (the so called critical realism) does. Aristocratic family bears the brunt of the tyranny of its head, Nils Uldahl-Ege. Once madly in love with his wife he betrays her giving way to his primitive lust. From that moment on, life of the whole family increasingly becomes intolerable due to Niles's numerous adulteries and outbursts of sudden anger.

Denmark in the nineteenth century. Baron Helmuth von Leunbach returns home from Copenhagen with a young bride, Alvilda, who has a daughter from a previous marriage. The baron's widowed mother dominates her son and, weary of the misfortune of their lineage, disapproves of his character, but sees promise in his marriage. Alvilda, however, finds little interest in Helmuth's farming projects and instead turns to a common house guest, Count Scheele, for comfort. When Helmuth discovers her infidelity