Novel
Arnold de Droomer
Not translated into English
Eugeen Zetternam · 1852
Opening lines
De heide zag my geboren worden en de eerste verstandige blik, dien ik om my wierp, ontmoette eene grenzelooze vlakte en een ondoorpeilbaren blauwen hemel.
The heath saw me born, and the first conscious glance I cast around me met a boundless plain and an unfathomable blue sky.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from dbnl.org
Synopsis
Arnold the dreamer: a first-person narrative, addressed to a beloved woman, Emma. The narrator, a frail child, grows up on the heath, loved by his mother and hated by his father. An old gentleman from the town, whom the father calls their landlord, comes often and showers him with gifts. The priest teaches him the sciences, languages and history, but never how to govern himself. After the father's death, on a stormy night, the dying mother blesses him and forbids him ever to love another man's wife. In Antwerp, among young painters, he meets Emma Wouwerman, wife of a wealthy merchant.
Context
The narrative presents itself as a confession addressed by its hero to Emma. It marks a turning point: after books devoted to the workers of Antwerp and Ghent, the author turns to artistic idealism. His complete works appeared in 1876 in two volumes, with a biography by F. Jos. Van den Branden; in 1881, the Ghent socialist leader Edward Anseele was still calling, in the preface to his own novel, for the coming of a second Zetternam.
Who it is for
A fictional confession in Dutch from before the spelling reforms; the text can be read online, and it exists in neither French nor English.
Prizes and reception
Singled out by critics, together with another of his books: these two earn their author a place in the history of Flemish letters.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.