Act 1, Scene 2 Summary

Brand walks along a mountain pass, commenting in soliloquy that he recognizes the site of his old home village and that it seems so small and dull. He also comments on how alone he felt as a child, how he felt his soul was inhibited from living in its true spirit and how in coming home he feels his strength leaving him. He sees a procession of people going into an old stone church in a valley below, speaks at angry length about their emptiness of faith and prepares to move on - but then someone throws a stone at him.

Gerd appears, continuing to throw stones and revealing in disjointed speech that she's trying to chase away a predatory hawk. Brand says he can see no hawk, and it can be understood that Gerd is chasing away something imaginary. She...