Sibylla

Sibylla by A. Vollmar is a novel written in the late 19th century. It is a coming-of-age and social story that contrasts a stark North Sea village with glittering Berlin salons, following Wulf Ericksen’s struggle between filial duty and his calling to heal. Around him move his practical mother Esther, the fragile and devout Ingeborg Nielsen, and the aristocratic Kahring family, while the brilliant, sharp-tongued Sibylla von Herbig embodies the allure and peril of the capital’s society. The opening of the novel follows Wulf, an inquisitive student forced home by his mother to take up seafaring after family losses; in obedience he burns his books and returns, deeply unhappy. On the coast he works hard, studies navigation and science with retired Captain Nielsen, quietly helps the sick, and then falls gravely ill—an ordeal that softens his mother’s resolve. When the Kahrings summer nearby, Arnold’s reckless sailing capsizes a boat; Wulf rescues Arnold, Eugenie, and Ingeborg, earning their gratitude and an invitation that rekindles his ambitions. His mother, loving but silent, decides not to hinder him, and he leaves to prepare for medicine. We glimpse Ingeborg’s weakened health and serene faith, her bond with “mother Esther,” and Theodora Kahring’s dignified kindness. Reaching Berlin, Wulf is dazzled by salons, flattered and feted, and at a grand reception meets the incisive Sibylla and the cynical Dr. Uhlhart, sensing both the charm and emptiness of fashionable talk and charity even as his vanity is stroked.

Sibylla, by A. Vollmar. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77545.