Pelle Erobreren 3: Den store Kamp by Martin Andersen Nexø
"Pelle Erobreren 3: Den store Kamp" by Martin Andersen Nexø is a novel written in the early 20th century. It likely follows the young shoemaker Pelle as he comes of age in industrial Copenhagen, awakening to the labor movement while balancing poverty, pride, and desire. Around him gather vivid working-class figures—Hanne, her mother, the feckless Pipmanden, and the idealistic Morten—framing a story of solidarity, love, and social struggle. The opening of the
novel plunges us into the tenement known as “Arken,” a damp courtyard world of children’s games, sewer-breath, and the flute of the haunted Vinslev. Pelle appears as a generous, curious newcomer to the city, delivering piecework, witnessing a confused worker protest and police pushback, and—spurred by a boss’s anti-union warning—joining the fragile shoemakers’ union. He reunites with Morten, who gives him a stirring view of the city and of workers’ power, and then spends an evening amid the Arken’s neighbors, drawn to Hanne’s teasing warmth. The next day brings comic misery (his trousers pawned by Pipmanden), a rescue by friendly neighbors, and an excursion to Dyrehaven: sunlight, forest, and a mass socialist rally that intoxicates Pelle while Hanne drifts into a trance-like fascination with a striking stranger; later, in a dance tent, Pelle jealously wards the man off, and the trio returns, the bond between Pelle and Hanne both tender and uncertain. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Jens Sadowski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net. This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.
