In Jan Troell’s 1971 epic *The Emigrants* (and its sequel *The New Land*), the audience’s emotional alignment is carefully constructed through the lens of realism and survival. The film avoids traditional Hollywood melodrama, instead using the sheer weight of historical hardship to guide viewer sympathy.
### Characters the Audience Roots For
**1. Karl Oskar Nilsson (Max von Sydow)**
* **Why:** Karl Oskar is the embodiment of the "rugged provider." The audience roots for him because his motivations are selfless and his work ethic is monumental.
* **Specific Actions:** In the film’s opening, we see him back-breakingly prying massive boulders from his field just to plant a few seeds. His "blasphemy" (cursing God when his barn burns down) actually makes him *more* sympathetic to a modern audience; it highlights his frustration with a "divine plan" that seems to only offer starvation. His decision to leave Sweden is framed not as abandonment, but as a heroic rescue mission for his family.
**2. Kristina Nilsson (Liv Ullmann)**
* **Why:** She is the emotional anchor and the moral center of the film. Audiences root for her because of her resilience in the face of maternal grief.
* **Specific Actions:** The most pivotal moment for audience sympathy is the death of her young daughter, Anna, who dies after eating raw, swelling porridge because the family is so hungry. Kristina’s transition from a woman who fears leaving her homeland to one who bravely faces a terrifying ocean voyage for her surviving children’s sake is a powerful arc that demands support.
**3. Robert Nilsson (Eddie Axberg)**
* **Why:** Robert is the "underdog dreamer." He represents the intellectual and hopeful spirit that is crushed by the rigid Swedish class system.
* **Specific Actions:** He is indentured to a cruel farmer named Aron. When Robert is physically abused and suffers a permanent ear injury (which leads to lifelong hearing loss), the audience's protective instinct is fully engaged. His "naïve" optimism about the "green meadows" of America provides a necessary contrast to the grim reality of the other characters.
**4. Ulrika (Monica Zetterlund)**
* **Why:** Known as the "parish whore," Ulrika is an outcast who shows more character than the "pious" people who judge her.
* **Specific Actions:** During the harrowing ship voyage, she remains strong while others crumble. She eventually earns the audience's (and Kristina's) respect when she rescues one of Kristina’s children on the journey across America, proving her worth through action rather than reputation.
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### Characters the Audience Roots Against
**1. Aron (The Farmer)**
* **Why:** He is the primary physical antagonist in the first act. He represents the exploitative nature of the Swedish landed gentry.
* **Specific Actions:** His brutal treatment of Robert—specifically striking him so hard it causes a permanent disability—marks him as a villain. He views the poor not as people, but as replaceable tools.
**2. Provost Brusander and the Religious Hierarchy**
* **Why:** They represent the "villainy of the system." While they believe they are doing God’s work, the film portrays them as cold, bureaucratic, and oppressive.
* **Specific Actions:** Brusander persecutes Danjel (Kristina’s uncle) for holding private prayer meetings, eventually forcing him into exile. The "Dean" also criticizes Karl Oskar for his "spirit of discontent," essentially telling him it is his religious duty to remain in poverty. The audience roots against them because they use faith as a weapon to maintain social control.
**3. The Land and the "Old World"**
* **Why:** In a film focused on survival, the "antagonist" is often the environment itself.
* **Specific Detail:** The rocky soil of Småland is filmed as a malevolent force. Every time Karl Oskar hits a rock with his plow, it feels like a personal attack. The audience roots against the stagnation and "smallness" of 19th-century Sweden, supporting the characters' "discontent" as a righteous rebellion against a system designed to keep them hungry.
### Summary of Audience Perception
The audience roots for **individual agency and family survival** (represented by the Nilssons) and roots against **institutional cruelty and environmental hopelessness** (represented by the Church, the abusive Aron, and the unyielding rocks of the farm).