The hero of the novel, Daniel Olson Solport, is a young farmer. He met many obstacles on his way to study in the city. Get no respect and sympathy in social life. Wherever he goes, there are contemptuous eyes everywhere. People don't treat him as a college student, but only think that he is a "hillbilly in a different suit".
Danielle originally wanted to go back to her hometown as a priest after graduation, but when she found that the ideal society was so mean and vulgar, she decided to give up her previous beliefs. He wants to marry a rich young lady, although he doesn't love her, just for the sake of successful career in the future.
In the novel, the author describes the social life in Norway in the19th century. Danielle, the hero, lost her lofty ideal and became a person who went with the flow. At the same time, he broke off contact with his former friends and completely betrayed his class, which clearly reflected the ideological mood of the democratic intellectuals at that time.