# Erik Refstrup — Niels Lyhne character guide

> Erik Refstrup in Niels Lyhne by J. P. Jacobsen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Erik

**First appearance:** 0005-iv

## Snapshot

Niels's oldest friend and a painter whose slender talent is drying up, he summons Niels to Mariagerfjord with a letter that confesses more than he means.

## Who they are

Erik and Niels grew up blowing up toy ships and dreaming of greatness together, but Erik's gift was always the smaller stream. Married to Fennimore and stuck at a fjord villa among neighbors he calls dromedaries about art, he writes to Niels in a voice so unlike himself that Niels drops everything to come. His need for rescue — and his blindness to what Niels's arrival will cost — makes him the hinge on which the novel's central betrayal turns.

## Relationships

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

_friendship_

A close childhood friendship that becomes strained by rivalry over Fennimore.

### [Fennimore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/fennimore)

_romantic_

A troubled marriage built on Erik's adoration and Fennimore's growing resentment.

### [Frithjof](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/frithjof)

_friendship_

A casual friendship among the young men in Niels's social circle.

### [Mrs. Boye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/mrs_boye)

_social_

Brief social encounters through Niels, with no significant personal connection.

### [Consul Claudi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/consul_claudi)

_professional_

Erik's employer, a businessman who provides him with a position and financial support.

### [Fennimore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/fennimore)

_romantic_

A troubled marriage built on Erik's adoration and Fennimore's growing resentment.

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

_friendship_

A close childhood friendship that becomes strained by rivalry over Fennimore.

### [Frithjof](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/frithjof)

_friendship_

A casual friendship among the young men in Niels's social circle.

### [Fennimore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/characters/fennimore)

_romantic_

A troubled marriage built on Erik's adoration and Fennimore's growing resentment.

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

_friendship_

A close childhood friendship that becomes strained by rivalry over Fennimore.

## In the story

### [Niels Lyhne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/niels-lyhne)

Niels's cousin, a charismatic and impulsive figure who later becomes entangled in a tragic love triangle.

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

Erik arrives at Lønborggård, dominates the boys with his practical skills and artistic talent, and leaves after a year to study sculpture in Copenhagen.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/vi)

Now a sculptor with a moustache, introduces Niels and Frithjof to Mrs. Boye in his studio; expresses skepticism about Shakespeare.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/vii)

Mentioned as not being home when Niels considers visiting him.

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

Retains a boyish friendship with Niels, preserved by a mutual spiritual modesty and reserve that prevents overfamiliarity.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as traveling in Italy on a scholarship, not in Copenhagen.

### [Erik Refstrup's Return and the Dawning of Love](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/x)

Returns from Italy as a painter, described as having a self-limiting artistic gift that produces small, intimate canvases. He is in love with Fennimore.

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

Becomes increasingly neglectful and turns to drinking and gambling, leaving Fennimore isolated.

## Links

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