Ominous signs and a strange visit home for Lucky Per

In section 4 of Henrik Pontoppidan's Lucky Per (1904), the highlight seem to be Per's journey back to his hometown for a final meeting with his cold and domineering father, a minister who made life in the household pure misery for the young, ambitious Per. Oddly, HP does not include any final conversation between Per and his father - the father is too far gone by the time of Per's arrival, and this omission seems at first a missed narrative/dramatic opportunity - but then we get an even better scene. As Per is preparing to leave to return to his life and his ambitions, he mother, always an invalid and a cold and distant presence, presents to Per the pocket watch that had been the prized possession of his father, along w/ some words about his father's love for Per. Per then leaves to catch the train - leaving behind the watch on a table, quite clearly not an oversight but a deliberate FY to the whole family. How will things work out for Per? So far, as the title suggests, he has been lucky - and he seems to be making important connections during his (2-year!) sojourn in Germany, leaving behind his fiancee, Jakobe. Two years is a long time, and as we might expect Per begins to have a roving eye. He's quite taken w/ a beautiful and very wealthy 19-year-old, and actually thinks of breaking off his engagement to the not-quite-as-wealthy J and pursuing the more advantageous match. He even thinks J will understand and approve! Se we see that he is a guy out for himself, a careerist and an unstable man. His luck will turn - but it's a matter of how, when, and how many will be injured in the process.