DICKENS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Bernt Luger
We have now reached the end of a day
which has taken us to times and places far
removed from here. I shall not weary you
with lengthy quotations and innumerable
references to Dutch authors - some major,
most of them minor - who once said
something or other about Dickens. Nor
shall I inform you exhaustively, in every
sense of the word, about the impact of
Dickens on the Netherlands. Perhaps an
account of this kind might be readable,
though I have my doubts about that, but it
would certainly not make enjoyable liste
ning.
I consider myself all the more absolved
from repeating the exact details about how
Dickens was received in Holland in the
years following 1837, since I believe 1
have covered the subject of the first fifty
years of Dickens's reception in Holland in
more than adequate detail in the bilingual
issue of Cees van Steynen's Haarlem
Dickensian Gazette.1
Instead, 1 would like to tell you about
some of the highlights of Dickens's career
in the Netherlands. And I would like to
present a hypothesis, a vision which may
go some way to explaining the remarkable
fact that all of you have come such a long
way to be here, in this very town and in
this very auditorium. For I believe that
there is a deeper meaning to all this.
Moreover, it is an ancient rhetorical
precept that speakers should base their
arguments on circumstances, place and
time. So to begin with, let me give you a
summary of the conclusions I have reached
to date.
It was thanks to the poet-essayist Potgie
ter, who was always looking out for new
literature from abroad, that Dickens was
introduced to Holland even before the
completion of his 'Pickwick Papers'.
Potgieter translated various fragments, and
before long the magazine owner and pu
blisher Frijlink joined forces to help make
Dickens available to an ever wider audien
ce. After a brief period of hesitation - not
dissimilar to Dickens's reception in Ger
many - his work caught on, and it was
soon given a warm reception by critics and
public alike.
This initial enthusiasm began to give way
to a more critical approach, in Potgieter's
case sooner, although somewhat later for
other critics. As in Germany, Dickens was
frequently compared with Jean Paul, who
was also very popular in Holland. Moreo
ver, there was the inevitable question of
what original material the Netherlands had
to offer in reply to Dickens. Potgieter, in
particular, was always quick to leap to the
defence of his country's honour and was
irritated by the number of simple Dutch
imitations.
Written criticism gradually began to set
different standards for literary realism than
those which Dickens had applied, and in
their In Memoriam-articles at his death
both Potgieter's young friend Busken Huet
and the critic Simon Gorter rated George
Eliot superior to Dickens. Nevertheless,
the reading public decided otherwise, and
refused to be robbed of their old favourite.
Busken Huet and Gorter were both ex-
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