Four Stories is an honest, uncontrived portrayal of everyday life in early twentieth-century Norway.
- In Selma Brøter, as a spinster becomes involved in the love affair of her two coworkers, Undset draws a powerful, heartrending contrast between her delusion and their bliss.
- In Simonsen, an aged clerk gains support from his son and daughter-in-law, but learns it could come at a steep price.
- In Miss Smith-Tellefesen, a housekeeper finds happiness (and love), until a sudden change results in the loss of everything she has found.
- In Thodolf, a childless sailor’s wife adopts a baby boy. The sudden appearance of the boy’s birth mother sets off a series of events with an affecting conclusion.