# Gerda — Niels Lyhne character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** little Gerda

**First appearance:** 0004-iii

## Snapshot

Niels's young cousin, all white and pink and blonde, whose trusting love briefly makes life seem simple enough to live.

## Who they are

Gerda is the twelve-year-old who sings teasing songs in the garden and grows into a tender, appealing young woman with a low, dreamy forehead and eyes as clear as a shallow lake. Niels falls in love with her openness and marries her, guarding her childlike faith as if it were a ewe lamb in a parable. She represents the one happiness Niels believes he can hold without irony — which is precisely why her presence in the early middle of the book carries such weight.

## Relationships

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

_romantic_

A youthful, idealistic romance that fades as Niels becomes disillusioned with her innocence.

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

_romantic_

A youthful, idealistic romance that fades as Niels becomes disillusioned with her innocence.

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

_romantic_

A youthful, idealistic romance that fades as Niels becomes disillusioned with her innocence.

## In the story

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/xiii)

Seventeen-year-old daughter of Councillor Skinnerup, admires Niels, becomes his wife, embraces his atheistic beliefs, dies after illness.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/xiv)

Niels thinks of her on his deathbed, recalling the strange, cool look in her eyes when he last held her.

## Links

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