# Brother Kalle — Pelle the Conqueror character guide

> Brother Kalle in Pelle the Conqueror by Martin Andersen Nexø.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Kalle, Brother, Uncle Kalle

**First appearance:** 0004-ii

## Snapshot

A religious elder of the family whose stern faith and hard judgments press against Pelle's growing sense of what a man owes himself and others.

## Who they are

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.

## In the story

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/vii)

Kalle is a stone-breaker living in a humpbacked cottage; he greets Lasse warmly and jokes about poverty.

### [Pelle's First Days at School and the Changing Seasons at Stone Farm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/x)

Visits Lasse at the stable, cheerfully discusses Grandmother's eye injury and the pleasant evening they had.

### [Grandmother's Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxi)

Grandmother's son-in-law, jokes with her and supports the family during her final hours.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxii)

Kalle made Grandmother's funeral a festive day with abundant food and drink, and used the occasion to ask Madam Olsen to legitimize their relationship.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxvi)

Kalle attends Alfred's wedding, squeezed among the hindmost chairs, wearing a new gray suit.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxii)

Pelle reflects on Uncle Kalle's smile as a shield against life's harshness.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/characters/brother_kalle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/characters