I was getting teary-eyed but still managing until the child appeared and hugged him. I lost it, I can't stop crying now. Whatever you may feel against Bjorn, please put it aside for a moment.
This was a beautiful chapter. Not only hearing his honest and deepest thoughts, but understanding that the man who was raised to be perfect chose the least emotional way to deal with his own feelings, to the extent he couldn't and didn't want to sympathize with the mother of his (now gone) unborn child. But he was aware, is aware, of how much damage that inflicted on him and how much more terrible the entire ordeal was for Erna who didn't have anyone to grieve with. He was raised to deal with everything himself and expected Erna to act the same way. I can understand his POV better and I'm glad he not only come to terms with it himself but that he's finally understood that the only way to try and fix Erna's wounds (which he inflicted himself) is to be sincere and acknowledge her feelings, something he himself had never done before. I think that is beautiful.
Disclaimer, I'm not saying he should be forgiven, that he is right, or that this negates everything that he did or said. Not at all. I'm saying that we can acknowledge how meaningful and beautiful this exploration of his feelings, as a character, is. It's rare to find stories that do such a good job exploring human relationships and their character.
I was getting teary-eyed but still managing until the child appeared and hugged him. I lost it, I can't stop crying now. Whatever you may feel against Bjorn, please put it aside for a moment.
This was a beautiful chapter. Not only hearing his honest and deepest thoughts, but understanding that the man who was raised to be perfect chose the least emotional way to deal with his own feelings, to the extent he couldn't and didn't want to sympathize with the mother of his (now gone) unborn child. But he was aware, is aware, of how much damage that inflicted on him and how much more terrible the entire ordeal was for Erna who didn't have anyone to grieve with. He was raised to deal with everything himself and expected Erna to act the same way. I can understand his POV better and I'm glad he not only come to terms with it himself but that he's finally understood that the only way to try and fix Erna's wounds (which he inflicted himself) is to be sincere and acknowledge her feelings, something he himself had never done before. I think that is beautiful.
Disclaimer, I'm not saying he should be forgiven, that he is right, or that this negates everything that he did or said. Not at all. I'm saying that we can acknowledge how meaningful and beautiful this exploration of his feelings, as a character, is. It's rare to find stories that do such a good job exploring human relationships and their character.