Envishetens pris – Gabriels döttrar
Svenska – English
Från bortom havet – Alfortsläktens historia.
Kapitel 4
Envishetens pris – Gabriels döttrar
© Esben Alfort 2014-2023
Gabriel Gyllenståhls viljestyrka och vägran att bli motsagd eller åsidosatt var ett drag som ärvdes av hans äldsta dotter Hedevig Margareta Gyllenståhl. Faderns och dotterns starka viljor var dömda att kollidera förr eller senare, och denna konflikt med dottern påverkade honom överraskande mycket så han försvagades både fysiskt och psykiskt.
En så förmögen man som Gabriel var naturligtvis förberedd på att hans döttrar skulle kunna bli uppvaktade av olämpliga män som ville åt deras förmögenhet, och faktiskt fick ingen av deras tre döttrar okomplicerade giftermål. Hedevig kämpade mot sin pappas vilja, som vi ska få se, och Marias äktenskap med kapten Erik Alfort var allt annat än lyckligt. Erik betedde sig våldsamt och aggressivt mot henne, och deras son Gabriel tvingades mäkla mellan dem när det blev obehagligt. Allt detta var en oerhört stor påfrestning för morfar Gabriels nerver, och han försvagades med åldern. Den tredje dottern Märta hemlighöll sin förlovning medan pappan levde, och det var nog tur det, för han var döende, och fler bekymmer skulle nog ha tagit livet av honom.
Det är högst sannolikt att han var ganska vresig som äldre. Han hade blivit rätt korpulent, och det började hindra honom från att närvara vid möten och delta i viktiga beslut, något som självklart skulle irritera en dominerande man som Gabriel Gyllenståhl och göra hans ålderdom mindre tillfredsställande.
Näs Säteri
A self-made investor of the 17th century
Svenska – English
From beyond the seas – A history of the Alfort family.
Chapter 3
A self-made investor of the 17th century – Gabriel Gyllenståhl
© Esben Alfort 2014-2023
Erik Alfort’s father-in-law Gabriel Gyllenståhl is one of the most interesting personalities of his time, and perhaps also a somewhat misunderstood person, as his childhood has recently been shown to have been very different from what had previously been supposed. Indeed, he seems to have been the son of entirely different parents. He married wealth, and had the skill that allowed him to invest cleverly and make more money at a time when money was scarce among the nobility. He eventually achieved nobility for himself, but he never had a surviving son, despite marrying twice, so the line went extinct with his decease. He witnessed some remarkable events, such as an illegal duel which ended in cold-blooded murder and the revenge burning of an entire village during wartime. According to a wide-spread legend he once captured the Danish war chest, which is supposed to have made him immensely rich at a stroke. But are the legends really to be believed?
The price of wilfulness – Gabriel’s daughters
Svenska – English
From beyond the seas – A history of the Alfort family.
Chapter 4
The price of wilfulness – Gabriel’s daughters
© Esben Alfort 2014-2023
Gabriel Gyllenståhl’s willpower and refusal to be gainsaid or overruled was a personality trait inherited by his eldest daughter Hedevig Margareta Gyllenståhl. The two wills of father and daughter were doomed to eventually clash, and perhaps surprisingly this conflict with his daughter hurt him deeply and weakened him both physically and mentally.
Being such a rich man, Gabriel was naturally aware of the very real risk that his daughters would be courted by a lot of unsuitable men who were only after their money. In fact, none of Gabriel and Maria’s three daughters had uneventful and uncomplicated marriages. Hedevig fought against her father’s wishes, as we shall see presently, and Maria’s marriage to captain Erik Alfort was thoroughly unhappy. Erik became violent and aggressive towards her over the years, and their son Gabriel was forced to act as a mediator between them when things got rough. All of this was an enormous strain on Gabriel’s nerves, and his strength weakened as he grew older. The third daughter, Märta, kept her engagement secret from her family, which was perhaps as well, given that Gabriel was dying at the time, and more worries of that kind might have finished him off on a bad note.
Very likely he was decidedly grumpy in his old age. He had become very stout, and this started to keep him from going to meetings and presiding at important decisions – something which would naturally have annoyed a domineering man like Gabriel Gyllenståhl and made his old age less agreeable.
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