The Virgin Spring - Characters & Cast

Initially, his motivation is to live a pious Christian life and protect his family. After Karin's death, his motivation shifts entirely to exacting a merciless and absolute revenge on her killers.

Töre begins as a prosperous, devout, and loving Christian father. The murder of his daughter shatters his moral and spiritual foundation. He regresses from a man of God to a vengeful killer, embracing a brutal, pre-Christian code of justice. After enacting his revenge, he is plunged into a profound spiritual crisis, consumed by guilt and confusion over God's silence. His arc concludes not with certainty, but with a desperate act of faith—vowing to build a church as penance, seeking reconciliation with both God and himself.

Her primary motivation is a bitter resentment of her social and moral position compared to the favored, pure Karin. This jealousy motivates her to invoke pagan forces against her stepsister. Later, guilt becomes her driving force.

Ingeri starts as a sullen, resentful outcast, pregnant out of wedlock and secretly worshipping the pagan god Odin. Her jealousy of Karin leads her to curse her and abandon her in the woods. However, she is forced to witness Karin's horrific fate, which transforms her. Wracked with guilt, she ultimately guides the parents to Karin's body and is the first to seek purification from the miraculous spring, symbolizing her redemption and potential embrace of a new faith.

Her motivation is simple and pure: to please her parents and fulfill her religious duty by delivering candles to the church. Her inherent kindness and naivety lead her to trust the strangers who will become her murderers.

Karin is portrayed as a pure, somewhat spoiled, and naive virgin. Her character does not have a traditional arc of development; instead, she is a static symbol of innocence whose brutal violation is the catalyst for the entire plot. Her journey is one from pampered purity to tragic victimhood. Her death is akin to a martyrdom, which ultimately results in a miracle, transforming the site of her murder into a place of potential holiness.

Her motivation is her deep Christian faith and her powerful love for her daughter, Karin. She is concerned with duty, honor, and upholding the family's religious devotion.

Märeta is a pious Christian mother, deeply proud of her daughter but also aware of her vanity. She represents the steadfast, if sometimes anxious, heart of the Christian household. Her arc is one of suffering and grief. It is her recognition of Karin's stolen dress that confirms the tragedy. While Töre's response is violent action, hers is one of sorrow and enduring faith, culminating in the quiet cleaning of her daughter's face with the miraculous spring water.