Often, novels provide insights into life's private spheres which are otherwise inaccessible. In this paper, I will study the historical novel The Surgeon's stories, first published in 1851, as a producer of religious ideals in the private sphere. By examining some of the Catholic characters in Topelius' story and how they relate to the private sphere and how the tensions between public and private entangle them, I will examine how the author depicts Finland's Roman-Catholic past and the role of Catholicism in the Finnish national narrative. The Surgeon’s stories have been read by generations of readers in both Finland and Sweden. By creating a national past with religious ideals for 19th century Finland, the author Topelius shapes the image of the past. In the novel, Catholicism is gendered and depicted as primarily private. As Topelius creates a private sphere for certain religious denominations, he discusses both the place of religion in society and the role of religion in the narrative of the Finnish nation at large. Throughout The Surgeon's stories, romantic encounters, witch trials, and tales of dying men are all part of constructing the private sphere and religious ideals for the Finnish people. The paper presents my work with a thesis on Church History at Uppsala University.