# Erik Erikson — Pelle the Conqueror character guide

> Erik Erikson in Pelle the Conqueror by Martin Andersen Nexø.

**Role:** supporting

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

**First appearance:** 0006-iv

## Snapshot

A strong, loyal friend whose steady presence and quiet courage stand beside Pelle through the hard seasons of labor, poverty, and the long climb toward dignity.

## Who they are

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.

## In the story

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xii)

Briefly mentioned in Pelle's fantasy of tossing strong Erik about.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xiii)

Boasts of his strength, eats twenty herrings, and defies the bailiff's orders.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xiv)

Erik is a central figure in the confrontation with the bailiff, is struck with a whiffletree, and is carried unconscious to the mangling-cellar.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xviii)

Reluctantly joins the outing after being coaxed by the bailiff.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxiv)

Erik is seen on a ridge imitating the bailiff with foolish gestures.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/ii)

Erik has regained his speech and is recovering at Stone Farm.

### [The Great Struggle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/book-iii-the-great-struggle)

A strong comrade in the workers' movement.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/v)

Earl, Marie's other brother, sells morning papers and does occasional work.

### [Book IV: Daybreak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/book-iv-daybreak)

A strong but simple-minded worker in the Ark, who befriends Pelle and later dies tragically.

## Links

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