Character guide

Pelle the Conqueror

major

Also known as Pelle, Uncle Pelle, Herre Pelle

A barefoot immigrant boy who learns to read the world's cruelty like weather, and refuses to let it harden him into obedience.

Father Lasse

major

Also known as Lasse, old Lasse, Little Lasse, Lasse Frederik, Lasse Karlsson

An aging, dreamy widower whose grand talk about fortune outruns his strength, leaving his son to grow up in the gap between promise and provision.

Ellen

supporting

Also known as Mother Ellen, Mistress Ellen

Pelle's steadfast wife, who takes in the children of his mistakes and asks for nothing grander than a man who can be relied upon.

Morten

supporting

Also known as Mr. Morten

A solitary shoemaker-turned-writer who keeps Pelle honest, preferring to be his conscience rather than his applause.

Maria

supporting

Also known as Fair Maria, Marie, Marie Nielsen, Little Marie

A deformed girl from the Ark who blossoms into beauty, gives Pelle her whole heart, and pays for his moment of weakness with her life.

Hanne

supporting

Also known as Bro-bro-brille-brid Hanne, Poor Hanne, Widow Hanne

A restless young woman who tests Pelle's devotion against the pull of a stranger, and finds her own heart harder to read than his.

Tommelilla

supporting

Also known as Johan Pihl, Johanna, Johanna Pihl, little Johanna

A schoolmaster's daughter who becomes a pivotal figure in Pelle's early life.

Jeppe Kofod

supporting

Also known as Master Jeppe Kofod, Old Jeppe, Jeppe, Per Kofod, Kofod

A cunning farmer whose thrift and small cruelties grind down the laborers in his charge, teaching Pelle early what power looks like when it owns the land.

Fris

supporting

Also known as Old Fris

An old quarry hand whose weathered patience and hard-won knowledge give the young Pelle his first honest model of what a working man can be.

Madam Stolpe

supporting

Also known as Stolpe, old Stolpe, young Madam Stolpe, Madame Stolpe

A landowning widow whose grip on her farm and her people is as firm as the soil she rents out to the poor.

Peter Dreyer

supporting

Also known as Peter

A steady fellow worker whose loyalty and plain decency give Pelle a companion as both of them are pulled toward the stirrings of organized labor.

Gustav

supporting

A magnetic, restless rebel whose talk of rights and defiance plants in Pelle the dangerous idea that the world might be remade.

Meyer

supporting

Also known as little Karl, Karl, Karl Meyer, Herre H. Meyer

A factory owner whose ledgers and machines turn human labor into profit, Meyer embodies the capitalist system Pelle must confront as he builds a life on his own terms.

Erik Erikson

supporting

Also known as Erik, the great strong Erik, little Erik

Erik Erikson is the kind of friend whose loyalty is tested by the world's cruelty and never quite broken. He shares Pelle's world of hard work and small wages, and his quiet strength becomes a counterweight to the betrayals and disappointments that surround them. His presence in the early and middle stretches of the novel gives Pelle something to hold onto when everything else is shifting.

Ferdinand

supporting

Ferdinand grows up in the alleys and doorways of the poor quarter, known to the police and loved by no one but his mother. He is strong, quick, and capable of real work, yet something in him always throws it up just when it might become a future. His goodness of heart, not his cunning, is what finally trips him, and his fate shadows Pelle's own choices about loyalty, work, and the price of staying free.

Master Andres

supporting

Also known as Andres

Master Andres runs a workshop where Pelle learns to cut stone, chase customers, and hold a business together while the master's attention drifts toward the harbor and its endless news. The trade is declining, and the apprentice ends up doing the delicate work while the master dreams of the sea. What Pelle takes from him is not just skill but the harder lesson of watching a man lose his grip on the thing he once loved.

Mr. Brun

supporting

Also known as Brun, Herr Brun, Old Brun, Kornelius Brun

Mr. Brun moves through the novel as a man of property and influence, the kind of figure whose favor can change a working man's prospects. He is not cruel, but his comfort rests on a system Pelle is learning to see clearly. Their encounters mark the widening gap between the world Pelle came from and the world he is trying to enter, and they force him to ask what success is really worth.

Brother Kalle

supporting

Also known as Kalle, Brother, Uncle Kalle

Brother Kalle belongs to the world of chapel and commandment, where sin is named plainly and mercy is rationed. He offers guidance that comes wrapped in reproach, and his certainty about how life should be lived collides with Pelle's own hard-won experience. Their friction is part of Pelle's education in what to keep from the old world and what to leave behind.

Howling Peter

minor

Also known as Peter, Howling, Per Kofod—Howling Peter

A loud, aggressive worker who causes trouble in the community.

Tailor Bjerregrav

minor

Also known as Bjerregrav, old Bjerregrav, Old Bjerregrav

A local tailor known for his gossip and sharp tongue.

Garibaldi

minor

A historical figure referenced as a symbol of freedom and revolution.

Kongstrup

minor

Also known as Fru Kongstrup

A wealthy landowner and his wife who interact with Pelle's family.

Rud

minor

Also known as So Rud

A fellow worker and activist in the labor movement.

Karna

minor

A kind-hearted woman who helps Pelle during his apprenticeship.

Johnsen

minor

Also known as Madam Johnsen, Widow Johnsen

A widow who runs a boarding house where Pelle stays.

Sort

minor

Also known as Preacher Sort

A preacher who delivers moral sermons in the community.

Jens Kure

minor

Also known as Jens, November Jens

A worker known for his gloomy demeanor and hard labor.

Peter Jörgensen

minor

Also known as Jörgensen

A fellow stonecutter and colleague of Pelle.

Anna

minor

Also known as Little Anna, Fine Anna, Cousin Anna

A young girl who becomes a childhood friend of Pelle.

Manna

minor

Also known as the old Manna

An elderly woman who shares stories and wisdom with the children.

Anker

minor

Also known as Crazy Anker, Per Anker, XIX The crazy Anker

A mentally unstable man who causes chaos in the village.

Karl Johan

minor

Also known as Karl, Johan

A Swedish worker who joins Pelle in the labor struggle.

Ström

minor

Also known as Ström the diver

A diver who works in the harbor and tells tales of the sea.

Mons

minor

Also known as Only Mons

A solitary worker known for his strength and silence.

Due

minor

Also known as Coachman Due

A coachman who transports people and goods in the area.

Anders

minor

Also known as Swedish Anders

A Swedish immigrant worker who befriends Pelle.

Sister

minor

Also known as Little Sister

Pelle's younger sister who dies in childhood.

Emil

minor

A young boy who plays with Pelle in the village.

Albert

minor

Also known as Per Olsen, Albert Olsen, Olsen

A worker and friend who participates in strikes and meetings.

Otto Stolpe

minor

Also known as Otto, Stolpe

The son of Madam Stolpe who inherits the estate.

Bengta

minor

Also known as Mother Bengta

An elderly woman who cares for Pelle and his family.

Bodil

minor

Also known as the pretty Bodil

A beautiful young woman who attracts attention in the village.

Alfred

minor

Also known as King Frederick, the King, Frederick, Whereat Alfred

A king referenced in historical context; also a minor character named Alfred.

Karen

minor

Also known as poor Karen, little Karen

A poor girl who struggles alongside Pelle's family.

Thatcher Holm

minor

Also known as old thatcher Holm, Holm

A thatcher who works on roofs and tells stories.

Pipman

minor

Also known as The Pipman, old Pipman, Old Pipman

A mysterious old man who plays a pipe and frightens children.

Little Boy Comfort

minor

Also known as Boy Comfort, Boy

A young boy who is a friend of Pelle in the early chapters.

Old Ole Köller

minor

Also known as Ole

An old farmer who clashes with Pelle's family over land.

Per Olsen

minor

Also known as Madam Olsen, Olsen, bo'sun Olsen

A boatswain and worker who joins the labor movement.

Nilen

minor

Also known as little Nilen

A fearless and aggressive young boy who fights recklessly.

Master Beck

minor

Also known as Beck

A master craftsman who oversees workers in the quarry.

Madam Frandsen

minor

Also known as Old Madam Frandsen

An elderly widow who lives in the village and gossips.

Baker Jörgen

minor

Also known as brother Jörgen, old Jörgen, Jörgen, Uncle Jörgen

A baker who provides bread and companionship to the community.

Henry Bodker

minor

Also known as Henry

A cooper who makes barrels and interacts with Pelle.

Vinslev

minor

Also known as crazy Vinslev

A mentally disturbed man who lives on the fringes of society.

Hans Peter

minor

Also known as Hans, Peter

A worker who participates in the labor strikes.

Albinus

minor

A minor character who appears in the later part of the book.

Paul

minor

Also known as little Paul

A young boy who is a friend of Pelle in childhood.

Stonemason Jörgensen

minor

Also known as Jörgensen

A stonemason who works alongside Pelle in the quarry.

Grandmother

minor

Pelle's grandmother who lives with the family briefly.

Peter Funck

minor

Also known as Peter

A minor worker who appears in the later chapters.

Mason Stolpe

minor

A mason who works on building projects in the area.

Merry Jacob

minor

Also known as Jacob, Thieving Jacob, Jacob Kristian

A jovial but dishonest man who causes trouble.

Valde

minor

Also known as Druk-Valde

A drunkard who wanders the village causing scenes.

Knut

minor

Also known as Knut Engström

A Swedish worker who becomes a close ally of Pelle.

Niels Köller

minor

Also known as Niels

A member of the Köller family who opposes Pelle.

Librarian Brun

minor

Also known as Brun

A librarian who provides books and knowledge to Pelle.

Petersen

minor

Also known as Herre Petersen

A minor landowner who interacts with Pelle's family.

Sjermanna

minor

A woman who appears briefly in the village scenes.

Jomfru Köller

minor

A young woman from the Köller family.

Bergendal

minor

Also known as the mighty Bergendal

A powerful landowner who dominates the region.

Lars Hansen

minor

A minor character mentioned in passing.

Wooden-leg Larsen

minor

Also known as Larsen

A sailor with a wooden leg who tells sea stories.

Elvira

minor

A woman who appears briefly in the narrative.

Janus Köller

minor

Also known as Janus

A member of the Köller family who plays a minor role.

Hansie

minor

A young child who appears in the village.

Dampe

minor

A minor character mentioned in the later part of the book.

Sören

minor

A minor worker who appears in the labor scenes.

Monsen

minor

Also known as Shipowner Monsen

A shipowner who employs workers in the harbor.

Actor West

minor

Also known as West

An actor who performs in the local theater.

Old Klaus Hermann

minor

Also known as old Klaus, Klaus, Klaus Hermann

An old man who lives in the village and shares tales.

Blakka

minor

A minor character who appears briefly.

Lively Sara

minor

Also known as Sara, Handsome Sara

A lively young woman who attracts attention.

Blom

minor

Also known as Madam Blom

A woman who runs a local shop or household.