# Edele Lyhne — Niels Lyhne character guide

> Edele Lyhne in Niels Lyhne by J. P. Jacobsen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Edele, Edele Beatrice, Little Edele, Miss Edele

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

Niels's cousin, a fragile, luminous young woman whose presence awakens his first consuming love and his first great grief.

## Who they are

Edele arrives in Niels's world as a newcomer whose beauty and delicacy set her apart from the ordinary life around him, and she becomes the object of his earliest, most fervent devotion. Her frailty and the shadow of illness give their attachment a tender, precarious quality, and Niels's prayers for her become the first real test of his childhood faith. When death claims her despite his pleading, the loss strikes at the root of his belief and turns him toward the solitary, doubting path he will walk as a man.

## Relationships

### [Niels Lyhne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/niels_lyhne)

_family_

A tender, protective sibling bond with Niels as her devoted younger brother.

### [Bigum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/bigum)

_social_

A respectful acquaintance, with Bigum often visiting the Lyhne household and interacting with Edele.

### [Bigum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/bigum)

_social_

A respectful acquaintance, with Bigum often visiting the Lyhne household and interacting with Edele.

### [Niels Lyhne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/niels_lyhne)

_family_

A tender, protective sibling bond with Niels as her devoted younger brother.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/iii)

Dies in May after a long illness; her beauty and elegance had captivated both Niels and Mr. Bigum.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/iv)

Her death triggers Niels's crisis of faith and his rejection of God.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/v)

Edele's death six months prior sets the stage for Erik's arrival at Lønborggård.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/edele_lyhne
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters