The Art and Mind of O. E. Rølvaag

This study is primarily a discussion of the novels of the Norwegian-American writer, O. E. Rølvaag. Though one cannot read his books without recognizing their importance as historical documents and social criticism, my main objective has been to consider his merit as a literary artist rather than to evaluate his cultural program. I have quoted frequently from his letters, many of which here appear for the first time, in order to reveal the development of ideas that recur as dominant themes in the novels