Viola Tricolor

by Theodor Storm

"Viola Tricolor" by Theodor Storm is a novella published in 1874. It tells the story of Rudolf, a forty-year-old widower who remarries a much younger woman named Ines. She struggles to find her place in the household, feeling like an intruder as her stepdaughter Agnes remains distant and the memory of the first wife looms large. When Ines faces a life-threatening illness after childbirth, the family must confront questions about memory, motherhood, and how to honor the past while embracing the present.