Turi, der Wanderlappe (1913)

The story is set in Lapland, in the north of Scandinavia. There, the Indigenous people wander with their reindeer herds, always in search of snow-free grazing grounds. To spare his daughter this arduous nomadic life, Turi, a Sami man, decides to entrust his daughter Maja to Pastor Holm’s care, so that he can look after her. Holm promises to treat Maja like his own child, and Turi can set off with his reindeer across the snow-covered winter tundra with a peaceful heart. Pastor Holm teaches Maja the basic ways of civilized life, and the girl finds her own personal happiness in playing the violin. Nevertheless, she feels lonely and, when she compares herself with other Sami girls, overlooked and unloved. One day, Dr. Engström visits the parsonage. Holm asks him whether he has a remedy for Maja’s homesickness and unhappiness. The doctor recommends only fresh air and exercise. Before long, the doctor, who is also a friend of music, and Maja grow closer. When Maja once again secretly makes her way to the frozen waterfall to indulge in the sadness born of her loneliness, Dr. Engström secretly follows her. When he embraces and kisses her there, the young girl knows that she, too, will be loved and happy. They eventually marry, and Maja becomes the mother of a daughter. One day, Dr. Engström has to travel to the nearest town, three days away, to replenish his medical supplies. During this time alone, Maja has the time and leisure to think about her father. In the meantime, Turi has been dealing with wolves roaming the area. They have scattered the reindeer herd and presumably killed some of the animals as well. Among the Sami, it is traditional not to simply shoot a wolf with a rifle; first, it must be caught with a lasso. This lengthy hunt makes it impossible for Turi to visit his daughter, even though he longs for Maja. So more than a year passes before Turi can set out again to see Pastor Holm, where he believes his daughter is in good hands. Maja, too, can no longer bear her longing for her father and her love for the nomadic life, which still runs deep in her despite the attempts to civilize her. She follows Turi back into the wilderness. When Engström returns and cannot find his wife and their child, and discovers only Maja’s cloth lying by the waterfall, he assumes that the two of them had an accident there and drowned. Although the nomadic life is what Maja has chosen for herself and her child, she also misses civilization a little—above all, Engström’s violin playing. Turi deeply dislikes this civilized streak in Maja, which he believes has driven a wedge between them. In a fit of jealousy, he burns the violin she has brought with her—a symbol of the supposedly alienating influence of civilization she has embraced. Frightened and shocked by Turi’s outburst of violence, Maja then secretly leaves with her child, intending to return to her husband. As she flees through the wilderness, she comes across the roaming wolves, which she feels threaten her, defenseless as she is. Then the reindeer she brought with her also goes missing. At the last moment, she finds refuge in a narrow rocky cave. When the wolves track her down, Maja lights a fire of brushwood, initially keeping the predators at some distance. Turi, however, rightly suspects that his daughter and grandchild were trying to return to her husband. He seeks out Dr. Engström, who learns this way that his wife and daughter are still alive. The two men now set out to search for Maja and the child. The last of the wood has burned, and soon there is no fire left to keep the wolves at bay between them and the two people. Just as the first animals are about to attack, shots ring out. Maja and her daughter are rescued and return home with Engström. Turi now knows that his daughter is in good hands, and returns to his homeland, the wilderness with its reindeer.