Marcellus Emants
Encyclopedia
Marcellus Emants 14 October 1923) was a Dutch
novelist who was one of the few examples of Dutch Naturalism
. He is seen as a first step towards the renewing force of the Tachtigers towards modern Dutch literature, a movement which started around the 1880s. His most well-known work is A Posthumous Confession, published in 1894.
), drawing, theatre
and literature
. He avoided the student scene in the Dutch university town of Leiden, but founded a literary club Quatuor with a few friends from The Hague
. His first publication would feature in the club’s magazine.
After his father’s death, he became financially independent, broke off his studies and took to travelling the world. He seemed better at ease in the Alps
than in the lowlands and as a result made yearly trips to the former. In Quatuor’s successor, Spar en Hulst (Pine and Holly) he wrote an essay entitled Bergkristal van Oberammergau (Mountain crystal of Oberammergua) in 1872 about the Passion plays which he had attended there. He himself was a bit surprised about the attention which his text had attracted, but kept on travelling and developed a genre of ‘travel account which is much more than a travel account.’ (Busken Huet)
Although he shared the Tachtigers vision of the arts' autonomy, Emants kept outside of their group, as he felt he could not participate in their elaborate use of language: ‘I have always wanted to aspire to, if I was reading a book, noticing the words as little as possible.’ Despite this ideal, he would still be called ‘the Johannes Baptista of modern literature' by Willem Kloos
, who was one of the leading figures of the 1880s.
Emants kept a sober style and a subject which was idealistically pessimistic. His examples were Emile Zola
, Hippolyte Taine
and Ivan Turgenev
, with the latter even keeping correspondence.
He was vice-president of the ‘Vereniging tot vereenvoudiging van onze spelling’ (Society for the Simplification of our Spelling) and wrote A Posthumous Confession. He attended the state commission for the reform of Dutch spelling as well, which did not succeed in its set-up however. 11 long years after his death, though, Minister of Education Marchant would still implement the proposals made by this commission anyway.
During the First World War, Emants felt locked up within the Netherlands
and when Armistice
was finally there, he made preparations to go and establish himself in Switzerland. On the 2nd of March 1920, he finally left The Hague forever and stayed in Switzerland alternatingly in hotels, spa
towns and sanatoria. Almost immediately he was struck by shingles, followed by a few strokes. He died on the 20th of October 1923 in the Grand Hôtel in Baden and was interred in The Hague on the General Cemetery.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
novelist who was one of the few examples of Dutch Naturalism
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
. He is seen as a first step towards the renewing force of the Tachtigers towards modern Dutch literature, a movement which started around the 1880s. His most well-known work is A Posthumous Confession, published in 1894.
Life and Work
As part of a dynasty of magistrates, Emants complied with his father’s wish and studied Law. He did well, but his heart lay with the arts, not with legal matters. Initially he could not choose between music (celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
), drawing, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. He avoided the student scene in the Dutch university town of Leiden, but founded a literary club Quatuor with a few friends from The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. His first publication would feature in the club’s magazine.
After his father’s death, he became financially independent, broke off his studies and took to travelling the world. He seemed better at ease in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
than in the lowlands and as a result made yearly trips to the former. In Quatuor’s successor, Spar en Hulst (Pine and Holly) he wrote an essay entitled Bergkristal van Oberammergau (Mountain crystal of Oberammergua) in 1872 about the Passion plays which he had attended there. He himself was a bit surprised about the attention which his text had attracted, but kept on travelling and developed a genre of ‘travel account which is much more than a travel account.’ (Busken Huet)
Although he shared the Tachtigers vision of the arts' autonomy, Emants kept outside of their group, as he felt he could not participate in their elaborate use of language: ‘I have always wanted to aspire to, if I was reading a book, noticing the words as little as possible.’ Despite this ideal, he would still be called ‘the Johannes Baptista of modern literature' by Willem Kloos
Willem Kloos
Willem Johannes Theodorus Kloos was a Dutch poet and literary critic, and is widely considered one of the great writers of the Dutch language....
, who was one of the leading figures of the 1880s.
Emants kept a sober style and a subject which was idealistically pessimistic. His examples were Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine was a French critic and historian. He was the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism, and one of the first practitioners of historicist criticism. Literary historicism as a critical movement has been said to originate...
and Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century...
, with the latter even keeping correspondence.
He was vice-president of the ‘Vereniging tot vereenvoudiging van onze spelling’ (Society for the Simplification of our Spelling) and wrote A Posthumous Confession. He attended the state commission for the reform of Dutch spelling as well, which did not succeed in its set-up however. 11 long years after his death, though, Minister of Education Marchant would still implement the proposals made by this commission anyway.
During the First World War, Emants felt locked up within the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and when Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
was finally there, he made preparations to go and establish himself in Switzerland. On the 2nd of March 1920, he finally left The Hague forever and stayed in Switzerland alternatingly in hotels, spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
towns and sanatoria. Almost immediately he was struck by shingles, followed by a few strokes. He died on the 20th of October 1923 in the Grand Hôtel in Baden and was interred in The Hague on the General Cemetery.