Maria Dermoût
Encyclopedia
Maria Dermoût was an Indo novelist, considered one of the greats of Dutch literature
and as such an important proponent of Dutch Indies literature
. In December 1958 Time magazine
praised the translation of Maria Dermoût
's The Ten Thousand Things
, and named it one of the best books of the year among several other iconic literary masterpieces such as: 'Breakfast at Tiffany´s' by Truman Capote, 'Doctor Zhivago' by Pasternak and 'Lolita' by Nabokov.
Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker wrote:
, Dutch East Indies
, and educated in the Netherlands
, who wrote in Dutch
. After completing her education she returned to Java, where she married and travelled extensively across Java and the Moluccas
with her husband. In 1933 her husband was pensioned, and the couple returned to the Netherlands. Maria Dermoût was widowed in 1952.
Dermoût died in The Hague
in 1962. She is the subject of the biography
Geheim Indië. Het leven van Maria Dermoût 1888-1962 ("The Secret East Indies. The Life of Maria Dermoût 1888-1962") in 2000 by the Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) author Kester Freriks.
(De tienduizend dingen 1955) and Days Before Yesterday — also published as Just Yesterday (Nog pas gisteren 1951). There are English
translations of her novels by Hans Koning
. Some of her short stories
were published in translation in magazines such as Vogue during the 1960s. In Dutch, five short-story collections by her were also published.
As things stand, she is viewed as one of the giants among Dutch-Indies literary
writers, and The Ten Thousand Things in particular is widely regarded as an idiosyncratic masterpiece. The book has been translated into thirteen languages. As Hans Koning puts it in his Introduction to the New York Review Books
edition of the novel:
Although not conventionally autobiographical
, both of her novels draw from Dermoût's own life. In particular, like the central character in The Ten Thousand Things, Dermoût lost her son in violent circumstances (he died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp
). The Javanese childhood experiences and reminiscences described in Days Before Yesterday are based on, but do not mirror, her own childhood in the tropics
.
Author Oek de Jonge appropriately wrote:
Dutch literature
Dutch literature comprises all writings of literary merit written through the ages in the Dutch language, a language which currently has around 23 million native speakers...
and as such an important proponent of Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature or Dutch East Indies literature is a section of Dutch literature encompassing Dutch language literature inspired by colonial and post-colonial Insulinde from the Dutch Golden Age to the present day. It includes Dutch, Indo-European and Indonesian authors...
. In December 1958 Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
praised the translation of Maria Dermoût
Maria Dermoût
Maria Dermoût , was an Indo novelist, considered one of the greats of Dutch literature and as such an important proponent of Dutch Indies literature...
's The Ten Thousand Things
The Ten Thousand Things
The Ten Thousand Things is a novel by the writer Maria Dermout. The story is a rich tapestry of family life against the exotic, tropical background of the Molucca islands of Indonesia. Although never explicitly stated, the main setting is probably Ambon Island...
, and named it one of the best books of the year among several other iconic literary masterpieces such as: 'Breakfast at Tiffany´s' by Truman Capote, 'Doctor Zhivago' by Pasternak and 'Lolita' by Nabokov.
Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker wrote:
"Mrs. Dermout, in the manner of Thoreau and the early Hemingway, is an extraordinary sensualist. [...] in passages of a startling, unadorned, three-dimensional clarity; often one can almost touch what she describes."
Life in a nutshell
Dermout is a Dutch novelist born on JavaCentral Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...
, Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, and educated in 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...
, who wrote in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. After completing her education she returned to Java, where she married and travelled extensively across Java and the Moluccas
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
with her husband. In 1933 her husband was pensioned, and the couple returned to the Netherlands. Maria Dermoût was widowed in 1952.
Dermoût died in 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...
in 1962. She is the subject of the biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
Geheim Indië. Het leven van Maria Dermoût 1888-1962 ("The Secret East Indies. The Life of Maria Dermoût 1888-1962") in 2000 by the Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) author Kester Freriks.
Body of work
Dermoût is arguably one of the great "what-ifs" of twentieth-century literature: she turned to writing early in life, but remained largely unpublished until she was 63. She wrote two novels, both of which were not published until she was in her sixties: The Ten Thousand ThingsThe Ten Thousand Things
The Ten Thousand Things is a novel by the writer Maria Dermout. The story is a rich tapestry of family life against the exotic, tropical background of the Molucca islands of Indonesia. Although never explicitly stated, the main setting is probably Ambon Island...
(De tienduizend dingen 1955) and Days Before Yesterday — also published as Just Yesterday (Nog pas gisteren 1951). There are English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translations of her novels by Hans Koning
Hans Koning
Hans Koning , author of over 40 fiction and non-fiction books, was also a prolific journalist, contributing for almost 60 years to many periodicals including The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, Harper's, The New Yorker, and De Groene Amsterdammer.-...
. Some of her short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
were published in translation in magazines such as Vogue during the 1960s. In Dutch, five short-story collections by her were also published.
As things stand, she is viewed as one of the giants among Dutch-Indies literary
Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature or Dutch East Indies literature is a section of Dutch literature encompassing Dutch language literature inspired by colonial and post-colonial Insulinde from the Dutch Golden Age to the present day. It includes Dutch, Indo-European and Indonesian authors...
writers, and The Ten Thousand Things in particular is widely regarded as an idiosyncratic masterpiece. The book has been translated into thirteen languages. As Hans Koning puts it in his Introduction to the New York Review Books
New York Review Books
New York Review Books is the publishing house of The New York Review of Books. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, and The New York Review Children's Collection....
edition of the novel:
"Dermoût was sui generis, a case all her own. She did not write about her Indies as a Dutch woman, or as a Javanese or an AmboneseAmbon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
. Hers was a near-compassionate disdain for the dividing lines, the hatreds and the fears ... She painted landscapes, still lifeStill lifeA still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s and people in a world of myth and mystery."
Although not conventionally autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, both of her novels draw from Dermoût's own life. In particular, like the central character in The Ten Thousand Things, Dermoût lost her son in violent circumstances (he died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
). The Javanese childhood experiences and reminiscences described in Days Before Yesterday are based on, but do not mirror, her own childhood in the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
.
Author Oek de Jonge appropriately wrote:
"Still, Maria Dermoût an author for the happy few. Is she a writer's writer? Certainly not. She is a storyteller par excellence. Her stories are subtle, but they are also accessible. Nonetheless she remains an author for the happy few, equal to the greats of Dutch prose, but much less known than they are. There are many reasons for her modest literary reputation: her own modesty, the small body of her work, the brevity of her literary career. But it is mainly her work itself that is the cause. It possesses something that wards off hordes of readers, yet still manages to attract a handful, who then embrace it and spread the word of its exquisite nature. The shell seekers among the readers, the slow walkers, those who stop and turn and bend over to pick up that one beatiful shell - they recognize her extraordinary work."
Other Indo authors
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(1879–1950) - Edgar du PerronEdgar du PerronCharles Edgar du Perron, more commonly known as E. du Perron, was a famous and influential Dutch poet and author of Indo-European descent. Best known for his literary acclaimed master piece ‘Land van herkomst’ of 1935...
(1899–1940) - Beb VuykBeb VuykElizabeth Vuyk was a Dutch writer of Indo descent. Her Indo father was born in the Dutch East Indies and had a mother from Madura, but was ‘repatriated’ to the Netherlands on a very young age. He married into a typically Calvinist Dutch family and lived in the port city of Rotterdam...
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(1946- ) - Ernst JanszErnst JanszErnst Gideon Jansz is one of the founding members and frontmen of Doe Maar. Doe Maar is a Dutch 1980s ska/reggae band, and is considered one of the most successful bands in Dutch pop history....
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(1952- )