Elsbeth von der Weyde has never known a life free from care. From childhood, she shoulders the burdens of her failing family—a weak-willed father, ailing mother, and feckless brothers. When love arrives in the person of Paul, a kind and steady suitor, Elsbeth must choose between her own happiness and the crushing weight of duty. As she pours herself into the service of others, the allegorical figure of Dame Care—a relentless, shadowy presence—tightens its grip on her life. This is a poignant, unsparing story of a woman who gives everything until there is nothing left. Sudermann's classic novel, now retold in vivid, natural English, speaks across generations about the price of selflessness and the quiet tragedy of a life lived for others. Part of Timeless Classics.
