Captain Mansana & Mother's Hands

A newspaper report draws a traveller back into the fortunes of an Italian family he knew thirteen years earlier. The remains of the patriot Mansana are being returned from Rome to his birthplace, where public honours await them. Among those following the procession are his two sons, whose appearance brings old household scenes to the narrator's mind. This opening connects private memory with the political struggles behind Italy's unity.

Published here alongside Mother's Hands, Captain Mansana also follows an officer whose confidence can turn into suspicion. His dealings with Lieutenant Luigi Amorin expose a sharp sensitivity to laughter, while his attachment to Amanda complicates his approaching marriage to Theresa. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's preface presents the captain as a character drawn from life and stresses his psychological development. Both stories are translated from Norwegian. The captain's tale offers readers a study of pride and affection within a world of military rank and family loyalties.