The story soars, @grindan, even as it tears at our hearts for the crushed Lars. This story satisfies the prompt in more than one way. Of course, the mother's spirit lives on and bullies Lars. But there is the relevance of spirit in reference to Lars, also. His spirit is destroyed. Even in his mother's absence he cannot acknowledge the most basic of impulses. She rules from the grave and it seems always will.
One hopes (unrealistically) the one day a smile from Rose, or someone else, will awaken his spirit. But from your description, it does not seem that this is possible.
Thank you for sharing this remarkable story with us. We appreciate that you engage with other authors in the community.
Thank you very much 💚