# Loss of Faith and Meaning in Niels Lyhne

> Theme guide for Niels Lyhne by J. P. Jacobsen.

Niels Lyhne's spiritual journey from a childlike faith in God to a defiant atheism after his prayers fail to save his aunt Edele, reflecting the broader 19th-century crisis of religious belief and the search for meaning in a godless universe.

## Where it surfaces

- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/ii): Bartholine's growing disillusionment with her dreams and her cynical turn against romance reflect a loss of faith in the ideals that once gave her life meaning.
- [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/iv): Niels's prayer goes unanswered, leading him to reject God and feel forsaken.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/ix): Niels and Hjerrild debate atheism and the emptiness of a world without God, questioning the value of disillusionment over faith.
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/xii): Niels experiences a profound loss of purpose: 'No home on earth, no God in heaven, no goal out there in the future!'
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/xiii): Niels actively teaches atheism to Gerda, but the deaths of his wife and child lead him to pray to God in desperation, highlighting the struggle between belief and doubt.
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/chapters/xiv): Niels's crisis of faith after praying for his child leads him to feel he has betrayed his atheistic ideals; he dies refusing religious comfort.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/themes/loss_of_faith_and_meaning
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/niels_lyhne_se/themes