History Literature / TheEmigrants

* GiveMeASign: Having gone through seven pregnancies Kristina does not feel she can handle an eighth. She prays to God to spare her and when she realizes she's with child again she begins to doubt that God really exists. She prays to God to give her a sign of his existence and when [[spoiler:she miscarries and nearly dies in the process]] she takes it as Him giving her a sign as well as chastising her. The sequence when she prays to God for him to exist became a CrowningMusicOfAwesome in the musical.

** Also [[spoiler:Kristina and Karl Oskar when they learn another pregnancy would kill her.]]

!!The Movies provide examples of:

* DreamSequence: How we find out what happened to Robert and Arvid on the California Trail.

* ScreamingBirth: The birth of Karl Oskar and Kristina's son Danjel is shown on-screen and is a screaming one.

* EpilogueLetter

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Done with perfection by Max von Sydow in the scene where [[spoiler:Kristina dies following a miscarriage]].
-->'''Karl Oskar''': Kristina! Stay!

Two film adaptations were made, one in 1971 (''The Emigrants'') and one in 1972 (''The New Land''). The films are in Swedish, starring Creator/MaxVonSydow as Karl Oskar, Liv Ullman as Kristina (earned her an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination), Monica Zetterlund as Ulrika and several high ranking Swedish actors in the supporting cast. The films, both directed by Jan Troell, are generally considered among the finest in Swedish film making.

* AdultFear: Kristina and Karl Oskar lose one child to starvation and almost lose another when she walks off in a crowd[[labelnote:*]]a truly terrifying scene - Märta walks off while the riverboat is making a brief stop to bring on more supplies and her parents desperately search for her knowing the boat will be leaving any minute and that their sons are on board, ''and'' they can't speak English so they can't communicate with anyone to help find Märta or keep the boat waiting a little longer[[/labelnote]. They also come close to losing a son in a snowstorm.

* AdultFear: Kristina and Karl Oskar lose one child to starvation and almost lose another when she walks off in a crowd (a truly terrifying scene - Märta walks off while the riverboat is making a brief stop to bring on more supplies and her parents desperately search for her knowing the boat will be leaving any minute and that their sons are on board, ''and'' they can't speak English so they can't communicate with anyone to help find Märta or keep the boat waiting a little longer). They also come close to losing a son in a snowstorm.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: Karl Oskar, frustrated by the heat and lack of rain which is ruining the crops for the second year in a row, tosses hay towards the sky and tells God that since he took last year's harvest he might as well take this as well. A while later lightning strikes the old field house where they store the harvested hay... Kristina flat-out tells him that the lightning and subsequent fire was God's punishment.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution

* AdultFear: Kristina and Karl Oskar lose one child to starvation and almost lose another when she walks off in a crowd. They also come close to losing a son in a snowstorm.

* GoodShepherd: Pastor Jackson.

In 1995 a stage musical based on the books premiered, titled ''Kristina från Duvemåla'' (the English translation is simply known as ''Kristina''), written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of {{ABBA}}. The show became a huge success and made stars out of Helen Sjöholm (Kristina) and Peter Jöback (Robert), the former so beloved in the role that she was the only Swedish cast member in the concert version of the English translation (reprising her role as Kristina). The English translation premiered in concert in 2009, getting mixed reviews both from fans of the original and from reviewers who had never seen the show before.

* {{ABBA}}: Written by Björn and Benny.

Two films were made, one in 1971 (''The Emigrants'') and one in 1972 (''Unto a Good Land''). The films are in Swedish, starring Creator/MaxVonSydow as Karl Oskar, Liv Ullman as Kristina (earned her an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination), Monica Zetterlund as Ulrika and several high ranking Swedish actors in the supporting cast. The films are generally considered among the finest in Swedish film making.

* HowDoYouLikeThemApples: Kristina's astrakan apple tree carries great significance.

* HowDoYouLikeThemApples: The apples from Kristina's apple tree. Towards the end of the movie [[spoiler:the apples are finally ripe and Karl Oskar picks the first one for her when she lays dying. She holds the apple, takes a small bite and cries that she is home. Before she can swallow she dies, the apple falling from her hand.]]

* HowDoYouLikeThemApples: Kristina's astrakan apple tree (called "summer rose" in the English version). She even sings a song about it.

Two films were made, one in 1971 (''The Emigrants'') and one in 1972 (''Unto a Good Land''). The films are in Swedish, starring Creator/MaxVonSydow as Karl Oskar, Liv Ullman as Kristina (earned her an AcademyAward nomination), Monica Zetterlund as Ulrika and several high ranking Swedish actors in the supporting cast. The films are generally considered among the finest in Swedish film making.

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Karl Oskar to Kristina, twice.
* ThePromisedLand: As it often was in those days, America is treated as a near-mythical promised land for the poor and outcast. They do indeed find their promised land, but the price is ''very'' high, and Kristina never stops longing for her home in Sweden...

* FakeNationality: Liv Ullman is Norwegian.

* PlayingAgainstType: In one film known and anticipated for its quiet serious drama, it made heavy use of inexperienced actors or actors mostly known for comedies.
** Hasse Alfredsson, one of Sweden's most beloved comedians, played Jonas Petter. While Jonas Petter delivers some comic relief from time to time for the most part it is a dramatic role far from the comedy Alfredsson is normally associated with.
** Monica Zetterlund was mostly known as a jazz singer, had little acting credentials, and those in comedies, when she was cast as Ulrika.

* RealLifeRelative: Ulrika and her daughter Elin are played by real life mother and daughter Monica and Eva-Lena Zetterlund.
** Märta, Karl Oskar and Kristina's second daughter, is played by Liv Ullman's daughter Linn.

* ThePromisedLand

The suite tells the story of a group of people who became the first in their parish to move from Sweden to America during the mid-19th century. They emigrate for a variety of reasons; some to find gold and become rich, some to avoid religious persecution, some to get away from stigmas that follow them in their home parish. But the main focus in the books lies on a family that emigrates to escape poverty.

Two films were made, one in 1971 (''The Emigrants'') and one in 1972 (''Unto a Good Land''). The films are in Swedish, starring Max von Sydow as Karl Oskar, Liv Ullman as Kristina (earned her an AcademyAward nomination), Monica Zetterlund as Ulrika and several high ranking Swedish actors in the supporting cast. The films are generally considered among the finest in Swedish film making.

* GiveMeASign: Having gone through seven pregnancies Kristina does not feel she can handle an eighth. She prays to God to spare her and when she realizes she's with child again she begins to doubt that God really exists. She prays to God to give her a sign of his existence and when [[spoiler:she miscarries and nearly dies in the process]] she takes it as Him giving her a sign as well as chastising her. The sequence when she prays to God to exist became a CrowningMusicOfAwesome in the musical.

The suite tells the story of a group of people who became the first in their parish to move from Sweden to America during the mid-19th century. They emigrate for a variety of reasons, some to find gold and become rich, some to avoid religious persecution, some to get away from stigmas that follow them in their home parish. But the main focus in the books lies on a family that emigrates to escape poverty.

Karl Oskar and Kristina are a young married couple with an ever growing family who cannot make do on what little farm land they own. Their debt keeps growing, their crops keep failing and their situation keeps getting more desperate. Karl Oskar is very eager to move to America where they can farm as much land as they want and prosper from their hard work but Kristina doesn't want to go. She doesn't want to subject their children to the risks involved, pointing out that they don't know for sure what will happen in America or if they will even get any farm land there. She also reminds him that if they move they leave behind everything and everyone and will never get to see their parents, siblings and friends again. But when their oldest child dies from starvation Kristina agrees to move. Coming with them is Karl Oskar's brother Robert, his friend Arvid, Kristina's uncle Danjel and his family, the former town whore Ulrika and her daughter Elin, and Karl Oskar and Kristina's neighbour Jonas Petter.

The four books chronicle the group's journey across the Atlantic, their travels across America until they find a place they can settle down and how they build a new community in the New Land. The large cast of characters allows Moberg to explore several different versions of the dream of the New Land, such as Robert's pursuit of gold, but the heart and focus of the story stays with Karl Oskar and Kristina. Karl Oskar loves his new home and all the opportunities it brings, the perfect example of a happy immigrant. Kristina on the other hand never grows to like America and spends her life longing back to Sweden, the perfect example of an unhappy immigrant.

The series has a lot of gut-wrenching moments, having many tragedies befall the various characters. It gives an honest portrayal of life in the mid-19th century and lets you get to know the characters really well. It is also very funny at times, with some witty dialogue and a character who loves to tell dirty stories. And the love story between Karl Oskar and Kristina is one of the simplest yet most captivating ones ever put on paper.

* OrphansOrdeal: Ulrika was orphaned at four and sold at an auction.

* {{Narm}}: Most of the English lyrics.

The suite tells the story of a group of people who became the first in their parish to move from Sweden to America during the mid-19th century. They emigrate for a variety of reasons, some to find gold and become rich, some to avoid religeous persecution, some to get away from stigmas that follow them in their home parish. But the main focus in the books lies on a family that emigrates to escape poverty.

* TheMigration