Day of Wrath

In 1623, the elderly Herlof's Marte is accused of witchcraft, shattering the village's fragile peace. The accusation pulls Anne, the pastor Absalon's young wife, into the center of the storm as suspicions rise. The event marks the beginning of a chain of loyalties and moral tests that will reshape the household.

Marte seeks refuge in Anne's care, entering the house under the shadow of suspicion. She hints that Anne's mother, who died before these events, was accused of witchcraft but spared thanks to Absalon's intervention. This history casts a shadow over Absalon's marriage and his motivations, foreshadowing the strain to come.

Marte's whispered legacy awakens in Anne a curiosity about power and life and death. Anne begins to question her own life with Absalon as the old stories linger. The atmosphere in the house thickens with new, dangerous ideas.

Martin, Absalon's son from a previous marriage, returns from abroad. Anne and Martin are drawn to each other, and Anne wonders if her marriage truly fulfills her. The rekindled attraction threatens the carefully balanced household.

Meret watches from the shadows as Marte, under pressure, confesses to witchcraft and to wishing harm on others. She tries to use Anne as leverage to secure mercy, reminding Absalon of the past intervention that spared Anne's mother. The confession deepens the sense that old power plays still rule the household.

Marte's plea for mercy is denied and she is burned at the stake in the village square while onlookers witness the punishment. Absalon bears the weight of guilt for having previously saved Anne's mother and allowing Marte to die. The ritual of execution cements the personal and communal costs of coercive superstition.

Over the following days, Anne and Martin grow closer as Meret's suspicions mount. Anne is seen laughing in Martin's company, signaling a private longing she has kept from Absalon. The household's tension intensifies as the grandmother's influence grows.

Absalon reflects on the life he has imposed on Anne and offers a heartfelt apology for how he has treated her. He recognizes the distance between them and the potential costs of neglecting her happiness. The moment deepens the rift between duty and desire.

A violent storm erupts while Absalon is away visiting a dying parishioner named Laurentius, whose fate Marte had foretold. Laurentius dies, reinforcing the sense that the past is intruding on the present with deadly force. The storm and the prophecy heighten the feeling of doom.

Anne and Martin discuss what the future could hold, and she admits that she has sometimes wished for her husband's death. She stops short of acting on such thoughts, but the confession unsettles both her and those around her. The tension in the home tightens around a possible act that could ruin them all.

Absalon returns to a revelation as Anne reveals her feelings and confesses that she wishes Martin dead. He collapses in shock and dies, uttering Martin's name before losing consciousness. His death becomes the fulcrum of tragedy that seals the fate of the marriage.

At Absalon's open coffin, Meret publicly accuses Anne of witchcraft during the funeral. Martin's allegiance to his grandmother shifts the balance against Anne. In a final, grave admission, Anne confesses that she murdered Absalon and insinuated that Martin was aided by the Devil.

The village grapples with the weight of old superstitions and the consequences of desire, loyalty, and culpability. The community's judgments close in, and Anne's fate is sealed by the collective fear of power and transgression. The story ends with the unraveling of a life, a family, and a village that once prided itself on order.