# Mr. Brun — Pelle the Conqueror character guide

> Mr. Brun in Pelle the Conqueror by Martin Andersen Nexø.

**Role:** supporting

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

**First appearance:** 0056-ii

## Snapshot

A wealthy merchant and landowner whose money and manners open doors for Pelle, and whose world quietly measures the distance between them.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Pelle the Conqueror](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/characters/pelle_the_conqueror)

_professional_

Mr. Brun is a factory manager and Pelle's superior, representing industrial authority.

### [Pelle the Conqueror](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/characters/pelle_the_conqueror)

_professional_

Mr. Brun is a factory manager and Pelle's superior, representing industrial authority.

### [Pelle the Conqueror](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/characters/pelle_the_conqueror)

_professional_

Mr. Brun is a factory manager and Pelle's superior, representing industrial authority.

## In the story

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

Engages Pelle in a provocative discussion about money, debt, and class, revealing his own unconventional views as a 'degenerate upper-class man.'

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/ix)

The old philosopher offers capital to Pelle and worries about his lethargy.

### [Daybreak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/x)

Brun helps Pelle arrange the purchase of a business, discussing cooperative principles and cheap capital.

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

Brun visits daily, brings gifts for Johanna, and is deeply affected by her suffering.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xv)

Supports Pelle's ventures, including the leather shop, and is eager for more conflict with the manufacturers.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xvi)

Brun has been converted by Pelle's approach, offers Peter a room, and defends his own method of placing his fortune at the poor's disposal.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xvii)

Sits vigil by Anna's bedside, writes through the night, and joins the family in relief after the crisis.

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

Brun proposes the cooperative housing plan, advances money for plots, and mediates between Pelle and Ellen over property.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xix)

Works tirelessly on cooperative building projects, joins the family after finishing his work.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xx)

Shares his family's history of decline and scandal, and becomes deeply invested in the construction project and Pelle's company.

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxi)

Brun is now elderly and frail, but still involved in the project; he is a companion to Boy Comfort.

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

Brun visits the workshop to sign papers and discusses his health and longing for 'Daybreak'.

### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxiii)

Writes a heartfelt letter from his sickbed, expressing gratitude to Pelle and bequeathing his fortune to Pelle and Morten.

## Links

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