Summary

The novel’s prologue begins close to the end of the main narrative. The prologue opens in the icy ocean near Alaska. A freight schooner called the Impeccable is momentarily stranded in the frozen waters. Håkan Söderström, a Swedish immigrant and member of the crew, takes an ice bath in the waters. The other crew members talk about Håkan, referring to him as “the Hawk” (4). Håkan seems to be a semi-legendary figure, and the crew members speak of his various rumored, outlandish exploits. Håkan boards the ship. He is extremely tall, but his manner seems gentle. He has overheard the men, and he sits down to tell them his true story. Chapter 1 begins at the star of the main narrative, in the mid-1800s. Håkan is born on and isolated a farm in Sweden. He lives...