Madame Dorthea Newman the sweeping expanse of her

the sweeping expanse of her intellectual powers

as Maritain notes in the Preface

the philosophical structure of his literary world—the “metaphysic of love”

With his 1956 novel The Last Hurrah

Madame Dorthea Newman the sweeping expanse of herBy Sigrid Undset Madame Dorthea, a powerful period piece set in eighteenth century Norway, follows the title character as her happiness and security is thrown into disarray by a sudden and unforeseeable tragedy. With her final novel, Undset produces vivid tableaus of the social mores and practices of the time, as well as of the untamed grandeur of her native landscapes, before which unfolds a frank portrayal of the human experience in all its baseness