No Disturbing the Peace

No Disturbing the Peace is a recurring informal rule enforced by Christiania's police and private citizens against the protagonist, who is repeatedly ordered to stop loitering, sleeping in public, or causing commotions, reflecting the city's systematic exclusion of the destitute.

Enforcement by Police

The rule is most often invoked by police officers who patrol the streets and public spaces. When the protagonist sits on a step late at night, a policeman approaches him and says, "Good-night," then asks where he lives, and when the protagonist gives his old address, the officer advises, "you had perhaps better be getting home now; it's cold lying here" . This is a polite but firm order to move on, not an arrest. Later, when the protagonist creates a disturbance near the Tivoli by trying to give his waistcoat to an organ-girl, a policeman pushes through the crowd and commands, "No disturbance in the street," then shoves him on his way . The officer does not arrest him but enforces the rule by physical coercion and verbal command. When the protagonist stands under a lamp-post writing at night, a constable plants himself nearby and watches, spoiling the protagonist's concentration until he leaves . The police also enforce the rule indirectly: when the protagonist is homeless and seeks shelter, a policeman tells him he must "go to the guard-house and report yourself as homeless" , channeling him into the official system for vagrants rather than allowing him to remain in the street.

Enforcement by Private Citizens

The rule is not only enforced by police. When the protagonist, in a state of extreme hunger and desperation, tries to pawn his eyeglasses and then his blanket, the pawnbroker refuses and finally says, "Oh, God help you, go your way!" and motions him off with his hands . This is a private citizen invoking the same logic of exclusion: the protagonist's presence and requests are a disturbance to be dismissed. When the protagonist is thrown out of his lodging house, the landlady threatens to "fetch the police" if he does not leave immediately , and the protagonist himself notes that the landlord warns him that "it won't do to turn folk out at night; do you know one can be punished for doing that?" , indicating that even the threat of police is used to enforce the rule of no disturbance within the home.

Consequences for the Protagonist

The repeated enforcement of this rule deepens the protagonist's isolation and desperation. He is never allowed to rest, to sit still, or to seek help without being moved along. The rule is not a formal law with a clear penalty but a flexible, informal power that police and citizens wield to keep the streets orderly by removing the visibly poor. The protagonist internalizes this: he becomes afraid to be seen, hides in doorways, and avoids public spaces where he might be noticed. The rule contributes to his sense of being hunted and unwelcome, a key element of his psychological breakdown. When he finally signs on to a ship and leaves Christiania, he is escaping not only hunger but the constant enforcement of this rule that made the city uninhabitable for him.