# Gunnar Hede — Short Fiction character guide

> Gunnar Hede in Short Fiction by Selma Lagerlöf.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Hede, Gunnar

**First appearance:** 0082-the-wedding-march

## Snapshot

A wandering bard whose stony heart cracks open when he sees the Princess Ingegerd, turning his war-songs into a scheme to marry her to a king.

## Who they are

Hjalte has lived rough and sung of war, his heart like a rocky waste where only dry mugworts grew, until the Court at Upsala shows him the noblest woman he has ever seen. His transformation — from stern skald to soft-spoken matchmaker haunting the Ladies' Bower — is the story's engine, a rose blooming in a wilderness. He matters because his hope of uniting Ingegerd and Olaf collides with the hatred between their fathers, making his gentle scheme the fragile hinge on which peace or war turns.

## Relationships

### [Ingrid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/ingrid)

_romantic_

Gunnar Hede is deeply in love with Ingrid, but their relationship is strained by his mental instability and her fear.

### [Gustaf Alin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/gustaf_alin)

_professional_

Gunnar Hede and Gustaf Alin are business partners, with Alin managing Hede's affairs during his mental decline.

### [Gustaf Alin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/gustaf_alin)

_professional_

Gunnar Hede and Gustaf Alin are business partners, with Alin managing Hede's affairs during his mental decline.

### [Ingrid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/ingrid)

_romantic_

Gunnar Hede is deeply in love with Ingrid, but their relationship is strained by his mental instability and her fear.

### [Ingrid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/ingrid)

_romantic_

Gunnar Hede is deeply in love with Ingrid, but their relationship is strained by his mental instability and her fear.

### [Gustaf Alin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/gustaf_alin)

_professional_

Gunnar Hede and Gustaf Alin are business partners, with Alin managing Hede's affairs during his mental decline.

## In the story

### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/short-fiction)

A key character in tales of love and sacrifice, facing personal and societal challenges.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/i)

A handsome student at Upsala, initially idle and devoted to violin playing, but confronted with the truth of his family's financial ruin.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/ii)

Protagonist who sacrifices his studies and music to save Munkhyttan by peddling, suffers mental breakdown after losing his goats and being rejected by his fiancée.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/iv)

The Dalar man who opens Ingrid's coffin, driven by his desire to restore his violin's melodies. He agrees to hide Ingrid in his pack in exchange for her promise to play the violin.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/v)

Referred to as the Dalar man; carries Ingrid to Anna Stina's, plays the violin outside, and later covers her with a shawl and leaves bread.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/chapters/vi)

His love for Ingrid breaks through the darkness of his madness, restoring his sanity and resolve.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters/gunnar_hede
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_50_se/characters