Self-Doomed: A Novel

An aging master craftsman recounts the intertwined lives of his awkward apprentice Gideon Wolf, the innocent Katrine Loebeg, and the parish characters who shape their fates. Episodes move between domestic intimacy and public rumor, depicting courtship that confounds expectations, scenes of superstition and portentous dreams, and a gossiping community that interprets petty actions as moral trials. A stingy miser and other local figures provoke conflict, while proposals of adoption, a protective journey by the master, and efforts to free Katrine from harmful influence drive the plot toward reconciliation and a reconfiguration of household ties.