God's Wrath

The misfortunes that befall the Vaark household often are referenced in a way that characterize them as results of God's vengeance or wrath. Every member of the household either stubbornly rejects or does not actively adhere to the Christian faith. Instead of devoting his life to God, Jacob focuses on profits as a means to procure material luxuries. When given a chance to accept the religious practices of the community surrounding her, Rebekka is angered by them and treats them with contempt. It can be argued, as I'm sure it would have been by the Anabaptists of the community that God was punishing the Vaarks by taking away four of their children. Members of the Christian community will not even associate with the household after the first child dies from fever. This "plague" is revisited more harshly upon Jacob and Rebekka, both of whom were stricken with smallpox. As Rebekka lays in the midst of her delirium and looks into the tarnished silver mirror, a symbol of Jacob's useless materialistic nature, she looks upon her face and apologizes to it, although she makes no clear indication of the reason for her apology. Perhaps she is apologizing for her faithlessness to the God that she began praying to when she was stricken with her fever.