The Interlopers

The story is told in the third person with the point of view centering primarily on Ulrich. The forest is his, and his grandfather initiated the lawsuit against the Znaeym family. Ulrich is proud and harbors anger and hatred against Georg Znaeym, whom he refers to as a poacher, marauder, and thief. He is prepared to kill him should they encounter each other. He does not think of Georg as a person but as a beast that must be put down. Raised in the context of the feud, Ulrich has taken it to new levels by making it a matter of “personal ill-will” (16). Though he is a landowner, his impulse to kill Georg shows that he is as much a beast as a gentleman. However, Ulrich is also the one who initiates the change in their relationship, first by offering Georg wine from his flask and then by declaring that if his men arrive first, he would have them rescue Georg. Pity, it appears, moves Ulrich to put an end to the multi-generational dispute. Though it is not stated explicitly, being trapped for several long minutes in pain and suffering with Georg and seeing him struggle humanizes his enemy for him.