What was Heidenstam's central idea about national identity?
My central conviction, which I strove to imbue in my writings, is that a nation's true identity is not found in its economic ledgers or its fleeting political decrees, but in its legends, its myths, and the enduring spirit of its people. The soul of a people is woven from the golden threads of its ancestral sagas and the silent grandeur of its natural world. Works like *Hans Alienus* sought to explore this inner landscape, where the collective memory and the heroic archetype resonate more profoundly than any ephemeral social construct. True national character is a living flame passed down through generations, kindled by stories of valor and the deep communion with the earth. This is the wellspring from which a people draws its strength and its eternal song.
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