# Anna Stjärnhök — The Story of Gösta Berling character guide

> Anna Stjärnhök in The Story of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Anna, Bel, Miss Anna

**First appearance:** 0006-part-i-ii-christmas-eve

## Snapshot

A young woman of good family whose heart is caught between Gösta Berling and the safe future laid out for her, she is nicknamed Bel for her beauty.

## Who they are

Anna Stjärnhök moves in the same gentry circles as the Sinclairs and becomes entangled with Gösta Berling at a moment when he is still entangled with her. Her struggle is between the respectable marriage her world expects and the dangerous pull of a man she knows will ruin her. Her choices in the early chapters ripple outward, shaping Gösta's reputation and setting up the romantic conflicts that dominate the middle of the book.

## In the story

### [Gösta Berling, Poet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-iv-g-sta-berling-poet)

The proud heiress engaged to old Dahlberg, she is humiliated at the ball and falls in love with Gösta, fleeing with him.

### [VI: The Ball at Ekeby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-vi-the-ball-at-ekeby)

Present at the ball, described as more beautiful than ever with a gentle dreaminess since the wolf hunt.

### [Ghost-Stories](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-xi-ghost-stories)

Sacrifices her beloved to protect Gösta's soul, confronts Sintram, and later faints at Berga.

### [Ebba Dohna's Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-xii-ebba-dohna-s-story)

Reveals Ebba Dohna's story to Countess Elizabeth, then regrets her cruelty to Gösta and vows to protect him.

### [II: The Paths of Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-ii-the-paths-of-life)

Reflects on the countess's actions, concluding that God can make a man of Gösta Berling without her help.

### [III: Penitence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-penitence)

Mentioned as the one who told Elizabeth the story that led to her involvement with Gösta, though she does not appear directly in the chapter.

### [XV: Death, the Deliverer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xv-death-the-deliverer)

Ferdinand's bride, walks in a bridal procession to the grave, later consecrates herself to him by leaving her veil and wreath.

### [The Forest Cottage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xxii-the-forest-cottage)

Referred to as Anna Lisa, the energetic maid who confronts the pensioners about the shame heap and urges them to action.

### [Margareta Celsing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xxiii-margareta-celsing)

Mentioned as one of the rich women helping Gösta Berling to relieve the poor in the district.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/characters/anna_stjarnhok
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/characters