The following synopsis is presented to fill in the blanks that may be left after one reads the lyrics contained in the CD booklet for Kristina. These facts are gleamed from the four Emigrant novels written by Vilhelm Moberg. The musical version changes some things around and changes some minor facts in the book. I have tried to mention these as they come along. I have tried to show how the parts of the books compare with section of the musical. This is difficult in the second act when Ulrika's wedding is presented later than in the books. The section divisions have been inserted where they fit best. Each grouping of text explains what happens before and during the song listed after the text. The bulleted text is from the English program given to concertgoers in Minnesota in October 1996. Although the books are about many characters, Karl Oskar is the main focus with his wife Kristina as a very close second, unlike the musical. The books begin with a history of Korpamoen and end with Karl Oskar's death in the 1890's, some thirty years after Kristina's death in 1862. Act I Book One: The Emigrants Part One: Gates On The Road To America Karl Oskar's father, Nils, inherited Korpamoen - a small, 7-acre tract of land with so many rocks embedded in the soil that it was very difficult to grow enough food for the family to eat. Nils and Marta had three children, Karl Oskar, Axel Robert, and Lydia. (Karl Oskar and Lydia write often after his emigration to share news with each other.) Karl Oscar was a stubborn child who always insisted on doing things his way. At 14, he got in a fight with his father and left home to work as a laborer at another farm. During this time he meets Kristina, who was seeking medical help from the local "medicine woman" for her knee which was injured when she fell from a swing. He eventually asks her to marry him, but he has no place for them to live yet, so they wait.  In Korpamoen it looks like it has rained stones from the sky during all the six days when everything was created. Karl Oskar is hardly of age when he wants to take over his parents' farm. But ... if man wants to become a peasant, man needs a woman. 01. Prolog [Prologue]  Kristina from Duvem†la sits and swings and dreams. She sings of her fianc‚ Karl Oskar, on his way to her, over the fences and through the groves. 02. Duvem†la Hage [Duvem†la Meadow] A few years later, Nils is working to remove more rocks from his fields when one of them rolls onto his leg, breaking it. The break does not heal well, and Nils is no longer able to take care of the farm. It is decided that Karl Oskar, who is now 18, will receive his inheritance early and take over the farm. He is placed in charge of Robert's inheritance as well. (Lydia is married by this time.) His parents will remain in an upstairs room of the house supported by Karl Oskar on what are called "reserved rights," what we would call a "pension." Karl Oskar now has a place for he and Kristina to begin their lives together...  Then Karl Oskar comes and proposes to Kristina. Wedding celebrations in Duvem†la. Although Kristina would never admit it to Karl Oskar, she loves making love with him! But she knows that this carnal pleasure they share results in more mouths to feed. She reluctantly mentions this fact to Karl Oskar who answers that to deny themselves this pleasure is to deny their love for each other. 03. Min Lust Till Dej [My Desire For You]  Karl Oskar has a brother, dreamer Robert. He is sent out by his parents to serve Nybacken's Aron, but like a brook longs for a sea, Robert longs for freedom in the New World. As a child, Robert's parents had to place a cowbell around his neck because he had a tendency to wander off into the woods in a dreamlike state. Robert could not be more different from the self-willed Karl Oskar other than the fact that both children were a challenge for their parents. When Robert is old enough (about 16), his parents arrange for him to become a farmhand for Aron of Nybacken for a period of one year. Aron is a very demanding boss who will beat his farmhands if they make a mistake. Robert meets and becomes friends with Arvid, another Nybacken farmhand. They share accommodations in a lice infested stable. Arvid has his own troubles: when he turned down the opportunity to sleep with Aron's mother-in-law, she began to spread rumors that he had sex with cows instead, giving him the nickname "The Bull of Nybacken." On the way to report for this year of duty (which he is dreading) Robert stops by a stream. In the book, Robert remembers a boy who disappeared a couple years earlier. All the boy's family had found was his hat caught in the branches of a riverside bush. Robert gets the idea to fake his own death. He ends up being caught, however, and delivered to Aron of Nybacken anyway. 04. Ut Mot Ett Hav [Out Toward The Sea] * For two years things go well for Kristina and Karl Oskar. On the third year all the green is drowned by the rain and on the fourth year drought burns everything. Times are tough and the number of children grows. Karl Oskar dreams of a country where wheat sprouts, it feels like his homeland's ground is doomed. Maybe it is blessed in the New World. They have three children at this point: Anna (born 1845), Johan (1846), and Marta (1847). Marta was a twin, but her twin brother (unnamed) died at birth. Anna is clearly her father's daughter. She follows him everywhere and is interested in everything he does. He is very proud of her. Every once in a while Karl Oskar will catch Kristina in the barn swinging on a swing. But, there is famine in Sweden and they are barely able to scrape together enough sprigs of grain to last them the winter. Karl Oskar is so frustrated that he takes a handful of it and throws it towards heaven saying, "If this is all we get, then take the rest of it." Kristina is mortified at Karl Oskar's blasphemy and begs him to ask God for forgiveness, but Karl Oskar does not have the trust in God that Kristina does. After the meager harvest, lighting strikes their barn burning it down with all their winter food inside. Kristina, in the book, tells Karl Oskar that God had granted his wish and taken the rest of it. They get by only through the generous gifts of Kristina's uncle Danjel. 05. Missv„xt [Crop Failure or Famine (literally Misgrowth)]  Robert comes to Karl Oskar and Kristina. His master has beaten him. He wants his share of the inheritance; he wants to go to North America. Karl Oskar has similar thoughts, but Kristina says no. Robert, in an attempt to get some rest while digging a ditch, placed his cap on the end of his hoe, then laid down in the ditch so that only the cap could be seen. He is awakened violently by his master, Aron, who beats him severely. One particularly hard blow to Robert's ear left it ringing and bleeding from the inside. This ringing and drainage of his ear is a permanent injury that tortures Robert for the rest of his life. 06. Nej [No] Kristina's family has a blot in its history. Fifty years earlier her great uncle had lead a religious sect known as the Źkians. The Lutheran religion was the state sanctioned religion in Sweden and no other beliefs were tolerated. The Źkians were persecuted, fined, jailed, and sent to insane asylums because it was thought they had to be crazy to believe anything other than Lutheran teaching. With the death of Kristina's great uncle, the authorities assumed that the Źkian Heresy had ended. Kristina's uncle Danjel, however, has a vision one night of an angel of the Lord who tells him that he should minister to the outcasts of the community. He obeys. He starts a group of people who have been banned from entering the local Lutheran Church: Ulrika, the town whore who had been sold at auction when she was 4 years old to a man who raped her and pimped her; Ulrika's illegitimate daughter, Elin, who is the only one of Ulrika's four children to survive childhood; the town drunk; and some neighbors who see the good in Danjel. Danjel's wife Inga-Lena is also supporting her husband.  Kristina's uncle Danjel has a prayer meeting at his house. The meeting is interrupted by the priest, police and church master. Danjel is forbidden to have more meetings, and to follow his vocation. The priest is Dean Brusander, who wields a great deal of authority in the community. The constable does not feel that Dean Brusander's irritation with this little sect is necessary, but because he knows the law he arrests Danjel and his followers. The church master, who has been a customer of Ulrika's in the past, calls her a demon possessed of the devil when she accuses him of hypocrisy. 07. Lilla Skara [Little Sect] The group is fined and jailed, afterwhich, only Ulrika, Elin, and wife Inga-Lena remain allied with Danjel. Ulrika, who gave up her whoring ways when she joined Danjel's sect, promises her daughter that she will NEVER have to endure the sneers of the community that her mother has. 08. Aldrig [Never]  There's a need for food and everyone's hungry. Kristina has another child and collected some corn to make Christening porridge. When the oldest daughter Anna sees the porridge she cannot resist it, and eats it all. But starved as she is, she cannot cope with it. The porridge swells in her stomach and Anna dies. Kristina experiences eternal darkness -- she must get away. (It couldn't have been corn. This Native American food had not yet been planted in Europe much. The book says it was barley.) The new child is Harold, born in late 1849. Karl Oskar, in his denial and grief, refuses to build a coffin for Anna. Then, when he realizes he must, no pieces of wood are good enough. He keeps Anna's shoes as a reminder. With Anna's death, Kristina realizes she can not keep her children from harm, even on dry land, so she agrees to the dangerous journey to the New World. 09. Kom Till Mig Alla [Come Unto Me All]  Before the trip Kristina is scared to death. She is scared of the water, the sea, which she hasn't seen before. Karl Oskar sees only possibilities. On the trip they're followed by Danjel and his family, the parish whore Ulrika and her illegitimate daughter Elin, Robert and his farmhand friend Arvid. Arvid had earlier escaped Aron of Nybacken and come to work as a farmhand on Danjel's farm. He brings along the only possession of worth he has - his father's watch. Danjel paid for the emigration of everyone on his farm (Inga-Lena, his children, Arvid, Ulrika, and Elin) Another character, Jonas Petter, is left out of the musical. He has a shrew for a wife, and he emigrates to get away from her. He is used as a storyteller in the book. Their journey begins early in April 1850. It takes them two days to reach the seaport by wagon. The roads lead from farm to farm and there is a gate at the edge of each one. These must be opened before continuing on the road and closed after they pass through. The metaphor is clear. On top of everything else, Kristina is again pregnant. The scene in the following song is not in the book. Karl Oskar is the only one in the book who goes to Dean Brusander for official recognition of his emigration from Sweden, as he feels he has no reason to apologize for his emigration. But this scene of the Authorities discouraging them is effective in explaining why each one is leaving. 10. Vi ™ppnar Alla Grindar [We Open All The Gates] Book One: The Emigrants Part Two: Peasants At Sea The entire second half of the first book describes the journey across the ocean, but the musical skips a lot of this. For example: Robert becomes interested in Elin. He tries to teach her English from the book he has, but she is uninterested. She believes the Lord will give her and all of Danjel's other followers the ability to speak English as soon as they arrive, just like the disciples in the Bible. Also, Fina-Kajsa, an old and somewhat dirty woman from another part of Sweden, in the book is accompanying her husband to America where they plan to move in with their son. Their son, Anders, has written that he is rich with a big house on a large piece of land. They have decided to end their lives in the splendor described by their son. Her husband is bringing a large grindstone from Sweden because they are supposed to be better than the ones available in America. The husband is one of the first to die on the long sea journey, and is left out of the musical. They just say that he died before Fina-Kajsa left Sweden. Fina-Kajsa is always saying during the journey, "Oh Me, Oh My, Will we ever get there?" On the overcrowded boat there is one room for the sailors, one room for the single men, one room for the single women, and one room for families. However, there is not enough room in the family area and Karl Oskar must sleep in the single men's area. He and Kristina are separated for the first time in many years. 11. B”nder P† Havet [Peasants At Sea]  It turns out to be an awful trip. Kristina discovers she has lice and accuses innocent Ulrika that she has spread them. On the ship is also Fina-Kajsa. She tells the passengers how the lice were created. There are awful storms. Ulrika is actually the only person on the ship spared the irritation of lice or seasickness. Danjel is also spared at first, but during the storm he momentarily thinks as the ship is rising out of the water that God is bringing him closer to Heaven, then the boat comes crashing down into the water and he is immediately overtaken with nausea. He feels he has sinned the sin of pride and spends the rest of the trip in deep prayer asking for forgiveness. The rocking of the boat feels like a swing that is out of control to Kristina. After this trip she no longer wishes to ride on a swing. Her motion sickness is so severe that she is unable to get out of her bed most of the time. 12. L”ss [Lice]  Kristina gets seriously ill with scurvy and Karl Oskar is scared of losing her. The captain of the ship does his best to staunch the blood that is hemorrhaging from Kristina's nose, ears, mouth, anus, and vagina, but he is not optimistic about it. 13. Stanna [Stay] Inga-Lena has also been sick with scurvy. She has been under much stress taking responsibility for all the chores while Danjel was preoccupied with doing penance for his sin. While Karl Oskar stays awake with Kristina, Danjel has also been staying with Inga-Lena. But unlike Kristina, Inga-Lena does not survive and there is another burial at sea. Ulrika then takes over the care of Danjel's children. 14. Begravning Till Sj”ss [Burial At Sea] This next song is a combination of events in the book that take place over several days. Arvid runs below to tell Robert "They see America!" Everyone comes onto the deck to catch their first glimpse of their new homeland. The first book ends with the immigrants sailing into the harbor of New York. Book Two: Unto A Good Land Part One: In Search Of Homes They must spend three days on the ship before going ashore in order to assure there is no plague present on the ship. They unload their stuff onto the docks near Battery Park (the southern most portion of Manhattan). The elite of the city are socializing in the park. Their fine clothes are a striking site to the farmers in their rags. Robert and Arvid take a tour of Manhattan that frightens them terribly. But along the way they see a ship that is leaving to sail around South America to California where gold has been discovered. Robert has a new dream.  Finally, the emigrants reach New York. There are beautifully dressed people strolling around. They don't see the tired and worn out immigrants.. 15. A Sunday In Battery Park  When Kristina lands she gets an apple. It makes her remember Duvem†la's astrakhan apples and she longs for home. There her people are celebrating mid-summer now. 16. Hemma [At Home]  The trip continues with train and boat through days and nights. The immigrants decide to follow Fina-Kajsa to Minnesota where they hope her son will be able to help with their assimilation. They contract with a Swedish person who arranges their travel into the country. They take a steamship up the Hudson River to Albany, New York, then a train across to Lake Erie, and then another steamship through Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan to Chicago, Illinois. Then they took a riverboat from Chicago to St. Louis, Missouri, then up the Mississippi River to Stillwater, Minnesota. There were many different immigrant nationalities on the boat, and some had the plague. The boat had to stop frequently for a body (including that of Danjel's youngest daughter) to be carried into the forest and buried. During this trip the hatred between Ulrika and Kristina begins to lessen. Kristina, in guilt, shares some of her food with Ulrika during the train trip. Kristina's child Marta wanders away during a stop along the way, and Ulrika goes hunting for her and finds her. 17. Fr†n New York Till Stillwater [From New York To Stillwater] Book Two: Unto A Good Land Part Two: The Settling  One night the company reaches a wharf. It's dark and cold and nobody understands them. They're abandoned. Like a light from the darkness appears Baptist Pastor Jackson. He offers the little group room, warmth and food. The women wonder: can such a man exist. No one will come near them because people are afraid they may be infected with the plague. Pastor Jackson is the only person willing to help. He refuses to let any of the women or men help him with the cooking or chores. 18. T„nk Att M„n Som Han Kan Finnas [To Think Such A Man Can Exists] >From Stillwater the group of immigrants walk for three days to Taylor Falls, Minnesota, where Fina-Kajsa's son lives. His house is just a small shack and his fields are unkempt. The loneliness of a settler's life has overtaken him and he has become a drunk. Fina-Kajsa never quite recovers from the shock of her son's situation. She continues to say, "Oh Me, Oh My, Will we ever get there?" until her eventual death years later. Danjel and Karl Oskar venture out from Taylor Falls to choose suitable land for their farm. Danjel finds a suitable place five miles away, but Karl Oskar stubbornly looks for something better. He chooses a plot of land near a lake (Lake Ki-Chi-Saga or Chisago Lake) that is ten miles away from Taylor Falls. Kristina is irritated that Karl Oskar could not be happy with a place closer to other people. It is similar to his parent's frustration with his stubbornness. He builds a small shack for them to have shelter through the winter. It is small and drafty and they have little food and no money. But they finally have a place to call their own. Kristina and the children unpack their chest, which has been inlaid with Camphor and Lavender to keep the contents from rotting or being eaten by insects. 19. Kamfer Och Lavendel [Camphor And Lavender] Book Two: Unto A Good Land Part Three: To Keep Alive Through The Winter Robert realizes he has come all this way and only has a life of farmwork on Karl Oskar's farm ahead of him. This is no better than in Sweden. He and Arvid stay through the winter, then leave Karl Oskar's farm for the Gold Fields in California. Arvid, again, takes his watch.  Robert and Arvid decide, despite Karl Oskar's persuasions, to travel to California's gold fields and try their luck. Karl Oskar and Kristina continue to the lake Ki-Chi-Saga. There they build their new house. 20. Dr”mmen Om Guld [The Dream Of Gold] Kristina has her fifth child, Danjel, during the winter (1850). Ulrika serves as midwife during the birth, further helping the growing friendship between the two women. (Ulrika's courtship and marriage happen in this section of the book as well, but it comes later in the musical.) He is the first in their family to become a citizen of the United States of America and his passage across the water was free. But his life before his birth was difficult. Kristina sings to him... 21. Min Astrakhan [My Astrakhan (Apple)] Act II Book Three: The Settlers Part One: Foundation For Growth Their first full summer in America (1851) was very busy as each farmer breaks open new fields. In turn, every settler helps build a house for his neighbors. These were called House Raising or Barn Raising parties. Karl Oskar and Kristina's new home is much nicer with its three rooms than their first shack. They are there own bosses and no one is telling them how to live their lives. 22. ™verheten [The Authorities] Kristina is dumfounded that night comes so quickly in North America. At home night came slowly. The sun went down, but it stayed light for quite a wile longer before nightfall. The quick and dark evenings are depressing for Kristina and she longs for Sweden. Karl Oskar has been wondering why Kristina is so sad. When he finally understands Kristina's longing he tries to cheer her up by deciding to finally name their new farm. They choose the name, New Duvem†la.  Kristina looks to be alone with her homesickness, but Karl Oskar noticed it. He shows Anna's shoes. They remind him of why they left their home country. 23. Ljusa Kv„llar Om V†ren [Light Evenings In Spring] Eventually, new immigrants begin to take over the land surrounding New Duvem†la. The vast majority are Swedish. Soon plans are made for a proper Lutheran church and an eventual school. Four men of the community (including Karl Oskar) search the area for a proper cemetery for the new community around Lake Ki-Chi-Saga. As all this expansion of white settlement continues, the Native Americans (Indians) get pushed farther and farther West and off their land. They no longer have their hunting ground for food, and life becomes ever more difficult for them. Kristina and Karl Oskar have another child in 1853, a girl, and name her Ulrika. In the book, the Christmas where Karl Oskar and the children give Kristina her new stove is not the same day they have the party where Karl Oskar fights with N”jd.  It is Christmas and Karl Oskar and the children surprise Kristina with a new stove - the Queen of the Prairie. Guests arrive to celebrate Christmas but the party ends up with a quarrel between Karl Oskar and fur hunter N”jd, who claims that the land is stolen from the Indians. 24. Pr„riens Drottning [The Queen Of The Prairie] Kristina can see that deep down Karl Oskar is troubled by the truth in N”jd's harsh words. Karl Oskar, however, justifies himself and defends his right to the land he has tamed. 25. Vildgr„s [Wild Grass] Book Three: The Settlers Part Two: Gold And Water  Robert returns from the gold fields, alone and as a broken man. He tells Kristina how he lost Arvid and finally accepted his destiny. Robert returns with well over four thousand dollars in bank notes that he gives to Karl Oskar and Kristina. They have never seen so much money at once and are very worried about it. As soon as Karl Oskar can get away from the farm, he travels to the bank in Stillwater to cash in the bank notes. While he is away, Robert, who is severely stricken with Yellow Fever, and Kristina talk about how Robert's life and attitude have changed due to his journey. He tells her that he has learned there wasn't a thing he could have done to change his life. It was all preordained and it was stupid for him to try and change it. So he gave up - he had reconciled with his fate. This conversation has a profound effect on Kristina and influences many of her future decisions. 26. Jag Har F”rlikat Mej Till Slut [I Have Reconciled Myself To My Fate] Robert's adventures are told in flashback style each night as Robert's injured ear "speaks" to remind him of his horrible trip. He and Arvid had traveled south on the Mississippi to St. Louis but were too late in the summer to begin their journey over the mountains to California. So they become farmhands in St. Louis so they can raise some extra money. While there they realize just how far away California is. Arvid really wants to go back to Minnesota, but Robert refuses. The next Spring a Hispanic American on his way to California to dig for gold hires them to help with his supplies. They all set out to St. Joseph, Missouri, (just north of Kansas City, Missouri), which was the starting point for the northern path to California. While on the way they come to a desert. (Moberg chose to ignore the desertless geography of Missouri in the name of "literary license!" His American publisher and translator begged him to change this, but he refused.) Some of the horses run away while Arvid is sleeping, so Robert and Arvid go looking for them and get lost for several days. There is no water and they almost die. They come upon a pond of water and Arvid rushes to it and drinks and drinks. Robert almost drinks, but it smells bad. Then he sees the sign indicating this pond was poisonous. Robert begs Arvid to vomit up the water, but he refuses because he feels refreshed. Later that evening Arvid dies painfully as the poison slowly attacks his organs. Soonafter, their boss finds Robert. Robert takes Arvid's watch to remember him by. He is wrought with guilt for the rest of his life for not letting Arvid go back to Minnesota when he wanted to. Robert and his boss continue on their journey making it to a city in western Nebraska when the boss becomes ill with Yellow Fever. Robert stays with him and cares for him until he dies. Upon the man's death, Robert became a rich man. Robert gave up ever reaching California. Also in the city is another Swedish man who had been on the same boat with our emigrants. He invites Robert to help him at his hotel in a nearby city. He convinces Robert to invest his $2000 in his hotel and he would pay him back double! Robert, who admittedly knew little about money agreed. After two years in the hotel, Robert also came down ill. Robert decided it was time to return to Minnesota and asked the hotel owner for his money. The hotel owner gave him $4000 in Wild Cat Money saying it was the name for money easily and freely made. With money in hand Robert returned home... 27. Guldet Blev Till Sand [The Gold Has Turned To Sand]  The money he gives to Karl Oskar turned out to be counterfeit. Karl Oskar gets furious, and offended Robert withdraws. For Karl Oskar this is the last straw for a worthless brother who never had use for honest and decent work. This was the last lie he would ever believe from Robert. Robert tries to say he didn't know he was being swindled, but Karl Oskar tells him to shut up. Then Karl Oskar decides to shut Robert up with his fist. He punches Robert in the stomach. He immediately realizes he has gone too far with his anger, however, and is sorry. 28. Wild Cat Money Horrified and broken, Robert runs out of the house and keeps running until he doesn't know where he is. He comes upon a stream and remembers a previous stream in his life... 29. Ut Mot Ett Hav (encore)  He is sick and at a wharf, he dies... Robert is not found until a couple days later lying dead by the stream. He becomes the first settler to be buried in the new cemetery. He was 22 years old. The story of Ulrika's courting and marriage is actually told in Book Two, Part Three. There are very few women in the wilderness and many single men. Ulrika is asked by and turns down three different suitors because each one does not seem right for her.  Ulrika has many suitors. 30. Vill Du Inte Gifta Dej Med Mej [Will You Not Marry Me] One day she takes a trip with Uncle Danjel to Stillwater for supplies and meets up again with Pastor Jackson. She realizes that God has led her to this man. Later Kristina visits Danjel's farm and finds that Ulrika has been crying, but they are tears of joy. They sing of the wonderful and close friendship that has grown between them. 31. Ett Herrans Underverk [A Miracle of the Lord]  She tells Kristina that she has finally decided to get married to Pastor Jackson, and she'll let herself be baptized into the Baptist church. Kristina is worried that some jealous person may tell Pastor Jackson about Ulrika's past, but Ulrika says she had already told him. He had not been upset, as he had also been a sinner in the past. He had been jailed for theft. God had saved both of them and they had been reborn. There is a great scene in the book that occurs shortly after one neighbor family finds out that Kristina's best friend, Ulrika, is a Baptist. The husband and wife pay a visit to Kristina and Karl Oskar on a matter of grave urgency, warning them of the dangers of socializing with purveyors of false religions. Nowhere in the books is Kristina angrier than at her neighbor's arrogance! It is one of the few times she loses all her composure as she kicks them out of her house. Later she laughs when she wonders if her neighbors would be this concerned if they knew that Ulrika had been a whore! In the book, Kristina is unable to attend Ulrika's baptism in the St. Croix River because she had just given birth to Danjel (during their first winter in America, 1850). Then, a number of years later, Kristina visits Ulrika and finally witnesses a typical baptism. She thinks it is very strange but still a moving ceremony. At this time Kristina confides in Ulrika about the pains she is having in her lower abdomen after her latest child's birth (Frank in 1856). Ulrika warns her to see a doctor, but Kristina refuses. The order of these events is changed somewhat to make the story more concise. 32. Down to the Sacred Wave Book Three: The Settlers Part Three: Blessed Woman During the early spring of 1859, Kristina is once again pregnant. But while she is doing her spring washing in the lake a sharp pain tears through her abdomen and back. As her children take her to the house Karl Oskar goes to the neighbors for help. When he returns with one of the neighbor women, Kristina has already hemorrhaged again and given birth to a lifeless child. Karl Oskar quickly takes it to the forest and buries it. Soonafter Kristina finally goes to see a doctor with Ulrika along to translate. The doctor says that Kristina is all torn up on the inside. Another pregnancy would kill her. He gives her some medicine that will help her regain her strength. Ulrika tells Karl Oskar that it is his responsibility if he wants to keep his wife alive - no sex, as another pregnancy would be her death. Kristina and Karl Oskar are once again separated from each other.  Kristina has a miscarriage and the doctor says she can never get pregnant again - it would mean death. 33. Missfall [Miscarriage] In the book, Kristina prays to God shortly after Frank was born to spare her any more pregnancies. His birth had been the hardest on her and she had not recovered adequately after it. For a while she believes God has answered her prayer. But then she realizes she is again pregnant, and her faith is shaken. In a moment of weakness she questions whether God even exists. When she has the miscarriage she realizes that God has both punished her for her faithlessness and answered her original prayer for no more children. In the musical, she does not question God's existence until after the miscarriage.  For the first time in her life Kristina doubts the existence of God. He has taken away her child and her husband, she feels herself a stranger in this new country. But she overcomes her doubt, and decides to put her life in the hands of God. 34. Du M†ste Finnas [You Must Exist] Book Four: The Last Letter Home Part One Life moves on. Kristina regains her strength. Karl Oskar builds yet a third house for his family - this one even larger and nicer than the last with several rooms. A town has been founded at Lake Ki-Chi-Saga called Center City. Most of the children are in school. Abraham Lincoln is elected president in 1860. The Civil War with the southern states begins in 1861. Kristina and Karl Oskar still sleep on opposite sides of the room. It is a difficult time for both of them. 35. Sk”rdefest (instrumental) [Harvest Festival] Kristina remembers her conversations with Robert when he returned from his journey. He had reconciled himself to his fate. Kristina did not truly believe what the doctor had told her about her condition. God had always taken care of her before. It had been her lack of faith that resulted in the miscarriage. It was the right of a married couple to be with each other. As her faith in God was restored, she knew God would take care of her.. She returns to Karl Oskar that night, confident in the protection of her God. Karl Oskar protests her advances, but is unable to dissuade her. 36. H„r Har Du Mej Igen [You Have Me Here Again] Book Four: The Last Letter Home Part Two: The Astrakhan Apples Are Ripe  Soon she is pregnant again. The return of Karl Oskar and Kristina to their marriage bed leads to the most blissful and wonderful period of their marriage. Never before had Kristina been so truly happy and confident. But inevitably, she becomes pregnant for the ninth time. Kristina prays to God for the strength to console Karl Oskar, who she knows will be distraught with guilt. She wants help from God to convince Karl Oskar that God will take care of her. Meanwhile, the rumblings from the Indians have grown louder. They had been squeezed as far as they could stand... Uncle Danjel's oldest son had married and moved to the western edges of Minnesota settlements and begun his family. During one of Uncle Danjel's visits to his son's family the entire homestead is besieged by Indians with guns who shoot and kill all the men outside then move into the house and kill all the women and children. Similar scenes were played out all across the frontier. Only one person survived the attack on Danjel's son's house. He jumped into the nearby lake and breathed through a reed until danger had passed. Then he ran to the nearest fort to warn the army that the Indians were on the warpath! 37. Red Iron / Hj„lp Mej Tr”sta [Help Me Console] As the Indian war continues, Kristina is again struck with a miscarriage. The doctor's warnings were correct. Her body is so worn out that the miscarriage takes all her strength. While all their neighbors are fleeing into Wisconsin to escape the rampaging Indians, Karl Oskar stays home with his ailing wife. 38. Var Hor Vi Hemma [Where Is Our Home] Kristina moves in and out of lucidity but is mostly unconscious. During her last moments she regains some consciousness and talks with Karl Oskar. He gives her an apple from her Astrakhan tree. Kristina says she will wait for him by the Duvem†la gate, but until then Karl Oskar should not worry. She will be in good keeping.  Kristina has got astrakhan seeds from home and has planted her own apple tree. During the first three summers the tree blooms, but a freeze kills the flowers. On the fourth year the apples ripen - 39. I Gott Bevar [In Good Keeping]  - now Kristina's life is completed. It is August of 1862. She was 36. Book Four: The Last Letter Home Part Three Karl Oskar never forgives God for "tricking" his wife Kristina. Marta is old enough to help with the household chores and the other children also help. One day while Karl Oskar and his sons were cutting down some trees in order to clear another field, a tree fell and trapped Karl Oskar under it. Like his father, his leg is broken and he is never able to work again. Eventually each child gets married, but not necessarily to other Swedish people. Some of Karl Oskar's grandchildren are half-German or half-Irish (with red hair). He eventually moves back into the family's second home, while Johan stays in the third house with his family. In December of 1890, Karl Oskar dies. He was 67.