# XXXIII explained — Pelle the Conqueror

> Chapter companion for Pelle the Conqueror by Martin Andersen Nexø.

## What happens

Pelle infiltrates a factory where locked-out workers have been replaced by strikebreakers, giving a rousing speech that rekindles their solidarity and leads them to march out. Meanwhile, his relationship with Ellen remains strained until she wins lottery money, which temporarily restores warmth between them.

## Themes in this chapter

### Labor Movement and Solidarity

Pelle's speech reignites the workers' sense of unity and collective action, leading them to abandon strikebreaking and march out together.

### Poverty and Survival

The locked-out workers' families endure hunger and despair, and Ellen's lottery win provides a temporary escape from financial hardship.

### Fatherhood and Family

Pelle's concern for his ailing children and his strained relationship with Ellen highlight the personal costs of his labor activism.

## Character check-ins

### Pelle the Conqueror

Gives a passionate speech to the locked-in workers, rallying them to solidarity and leading them out of the factory. At home, he struggles with Ellen's coldness but finds temporary relief after her lottery win.

### Ellen

Distant and silent toward Pelle, she wins lottery money which transforms her mood, making her affectionate and supportive of his work for the Cause.

### Anna

Ellen's old friend who jointly enters the lottery with her, providing the money that changes Ellen's demeanor.

### Father Lasse

Mentioned as Young Lasse, Pelle's son, who cries in terror when Pelle approaches him after shaving off his moustache.

## Key lines

> Do you know of anything more infamous than to sell your mother-country? That is what you have done—before ever you set foot in it—you have sold it, with your brothers, your wives, and your children!

Pelle accuses the strikebreakers of betraying their homeland, their families, and their fellow workers by accepting the employers' terms.

_Pelle uses strong rhetoric to shame the workers into rejoining the strike._

> She was like the winter sun; the side that was turned away from her received no share of her warmth.

Ellen's coldness toward Pelle is compared to the winter sun, which only warms one side.

_Describes the emotional distance between Pelle and Ellen._

> I've won that in the lottery!

Ellen announces she has won money in a lottery, which she used to pay for the children's medical care.

_The lottery win temporarily relieves the family's financial strain and improves Ellen's mood._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters/xxxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pelle_the_conqueror_se/chapters