# Alcoholism and Escapism in The Story of Gösta Berling

> Theme guide for The Story of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf.

Drinking is a central motif, serving as both a social ritual and a means of escaping harsh realities, as shown by Gösta's dismissal from the priesthood and the pensioners' carousing in the smithy.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Story of Gösta Berling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/the-story-of-g-sta-berling): Gösta's drinking and the cavaliers' carousing highlight the use of alcohol as an escape from guilt and societal expectations.
- [The Priest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/i-the-priest): Gösta's drinking is portrayed as a response to the harshness of his life and parish, and brandy is seen as a means of escape from misery.
- [Christmas Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-ii-christmas-eve): The pensioners' drunken dance and contract with the devil represent their desperate escape from poverty and responsibility.
- [V: La Cachucha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-v-la-cachucha): Music and memory serve as an escape from the grim reality of the pensioners' wing and physical decline.
- [Patron Julius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-x-patron-julius): Julius's dramatic farewell and subsequent return highlight the escapist tendencies of the pensioners, who use pleasure and drink to avoid facing their responsibilities.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/themes/alcoholism_and_escapism
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/themes