# Barbro — Growth of the Soil character guide

> Barbro in Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Brede, little Barbro, Brede's girl Barbro, Fröken Barbro Bredesen

**First appearance:** 0021-i

## Snapshot

Brede Olsen's headstrong daughter, a child of the wilds who has tasted town life and now works her way through the settlement's households.

## Who they are

Barbro is Brede's girl, confirmed and restless, carrying the memory of a great town and a steamer voyage that grows more distant the longer she stays upcountry. She is involved with Axel Ström, and her presence in his house and on the farm stirs gossip, jealousy, and trouble that neither of them fully controls. She matters because her divided loyalties — to her feckless father, to Axel, to the vanished world below — make her the unsettled, modern counterpoint to Inger's rooted strength.

## Relationships

### [Eleseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/eleseus)

_romantic_

Former lovers, with Barbro ultimately choosing Axel over the impractical Eleseus, creating lingering tension.

### [Heyerdahl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/heyerdahl)

_romantic_

A brief, flirtatious affair with the engineer Heyerdahl, reflecting Barbro's restless and opportunistic nature.

### [Isak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/isak)

_social_

Distant acquaintances; Barbro briefly works near Isak's farm but has little direct interaction with him.

### [Oline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/oline)

_psychological_

Oline uses Barbro's secrets and scandals as fodder for gossip, manipulating the community's perception of her.

### [Isak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/isak)

_social_

Distant acquaintances; Barbro briefly works near Isak's farm but has little direct interaction with him.

### [Eleseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/eleseus)

_romantic_

Former lovers, with Barbro ultimately choosing Axel over the impractical Eleseus, creating lingering tension.

### [Oline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/oline)

_psychological_

Oline uses Barbro's secrets and scandals as fodder for gossip, manipulating the community's perception of her.

### [Isak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/isak)

_social_

Distant acquaintances; Barbro briefly works near Isak's farm but has little direct interaction with him.

### [Oline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/oline)

_psychological_

Oline uses Barbro's secrets and scandals as fodder for gossip, manipulating the community's perception of her.

### [Heyerdahl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/heyerdahl)

_romantic_

A brief, flirtatious affair with the engineer Heyerdahl, reflecting Barbro's restless and opportunistic nature.

### [Eleseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/eleseus)

_romantic_

Former lovers, with Barbro ultimately choosing Axel over the impractical Eleseus, creating lingering tension.

### [Heyerdahl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/heyerdahl)

_romantic_

A brief, flirtatious affair with the engineer Heyerdahl, reflecting Barbro's restless and opportunistic nature.

## In the story

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/xviii)

Flirts with Eleseus at Axel's farm, plays guitar, and shows off her town manners.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/i)

Heavy and sharp-tongued, she speaks bitterly about Axel and the auction, and later invites Eleseus and Sivert for coffee, wearing a gold ring.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/ii)

Barbro is evasive about the child's death, shows little remorse, and is increasingly dissatisfied with farm life, longing for Bergen and town life.

### [Chapter VII: The Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/vii)

The accused; she speaks favorably of Axel and takes the blame for the child's death.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/viii)

Barbro is acquitted in court and avoids Axel, having disposed of the rings he gave her.

### [Barbro's Return to Maaneland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/chapters/x)

Returns to Maaneland after leaving service at the Lensmand's, seeking to resume her relationship with Axel.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters/barbro
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/growth_of_the_soil_se/characters