# XXV: Checkmate explained — The Red Room

> Chapter companion for The Red Room by August Strindberg.

## What happens

Arvid Falk, now a journalist for the Workman's Flag, struggles with his conscience and the corrupt practices of the press. He is drawn into a cynical scheme by editors of the Copper-Snake to write false reviews and attack innocent people, all while grappling with his own moral decline and despair.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The editors of the Copper-Snake openly admit to writing false reviews, slating authors without reading their work, and manipulating public opinion for profit and spite, revealing the deep corruption in the literary and journalistic world.

### Artistic Integrity vs. Commercialism

Falk is pressured to write dishonest criticism for commercial gain, highlighting the conflict between artistic truth and the demands of a profit-driven press.

### Ambition and Moral Compromise

Falk's descent into hack journalism, where he must compromise his principles to keep his job, illustrates the moral decay that accompanies ambition in a corrupt system.

## Character check-ins

### Arvid Falk

Now a permanent staff member of the Workman's Flag, Falk appears disheveled and morally conflicted, participating in corrupt journalism while feeling trapped and loathing himself.

### Ygberg

Falk's old friend, now working as a proofreader in the same editorial office, dressed in a ragged black coat.

### Struve

The stout editor of the Copper-Snake, who cynically instructs Falk on how to write false reviews and boasts about the paper's unscrupulous methods.

## Key lines

> If I praise your enemy you writhe like a worm and tell me that I have no judgment; if I praise your friend, you tell me that I have.

The editor argues that public opinion is fickle and driven by personal bias, not fairness.

_Reflects the cynical manipulation of public sentiment by the press._

> He fancied that he was sitting in his grave, breathing brandy fumes and kitchen smells, eating the funeral repast at the burial of his youth, his principles and his honour.

Falk feels as though he is burying his own integrity and youth in the squalid, corrupt environment of the newspaper office.

_Highlights Falk's despair and moral crisis._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxv-checkmate
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters