Herman Heijermans and His Dramas

276 Pages·1954·8.02 MB·English

by  Seymour L. Flaxman (auth.)

HERMAN HEIJERMANS AND HIS DRAMAS
HER MAN H E IJ E R MAN S
D
MARTINUS NIlHOFF PUBLISHER - THE HAGUE
SEYMOUR L. FLAXMAN
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
HERMAN HEIJERMANS
AND HIS DRAMAS
In spite of his outstanding qualities as a journalist, novelist, short~
story writer, and above all as a dramatist, relatively little has been
written on Herman Heijermans, the greatest playwright of modern
Holland whose place no one has yet taken. He brought into Dutch
theatre the new creative ideas which lay behind the renaissance
of the European stage during the last two decades of the nineteenth
century and the first two decades of the twentieth.
The present work is the first full~length study of Heijermans in
any language and the only book about hirn in English. It presents
a biographical sketch, and a review and critical analysis of his entire
dramatic work. Special features are the bibliographies of Heijerrnans'
works and of his translations of them into other languages.
The biographical section takes up his parentage, childhood, and
youth, and describes his mature years as a businessman, journalist,
novelist, dramatist, and theatrical producer. Thus attention is also
given to his narrative prose and his journalism, especially in their
relationship to his dramatic works.
Heijermans the dramatist is portrayed against the background of his
own life and the theatre in Europe of his day. There is an evaluation
of foreign influences, especially those of Ibsen and Hauptmann, but
what is characteristic of Heijermansand his Dutch background remains
the central subject of the book. The reader will find a detailed exami~
nation of the plays, with special consideration of themes and characters.
Their reception by the critics is discussed, and the literary reputation
at horne and abroad of Holland's greatest dramatist is indicated. In
this connection it is allowed to mention here his most famous play
Op Hoop van Zegen (The Good Hope) which won hirn an inter~
national reputation. In this 'play of the sea' as we1l as in his other
works Dutch reality was put upon the stage, not with photographic
flatness. but with sincere emotion and imagination.
IX and 266 pages. roy. 8vo. Cloth Guilders 14.50
Olle guilder is $ 0.265 or. sh 1/11
MARTINUS NIJHOFF - PUBLISHER - THE HAGUE
Dutch Library. The. 4 vols. sm. 8vo. Per vol. Guilders 5.-
I. A beautiful play of Lancelot of Denmark. Translated from the
Middle Dutch by P. Geyl. X and 50 pp.
Not to be had separa tely.
11. An ingenious play of Esmoreit. The King's Son of Sicily.
Translated from the Middle Dutch by H. M. Ayres. With an
introduction by A. J. Barnouw XXXU and 58 pp.
IB. A marvelous history of Mary of Nimmegen. Who for more
than seven year lived and had ado with the devil. Translated
from the Middle Dutch by H. M. Ayres. With an introduction
by A. J. Barnouw. XXVI and 78 pp.
IV. The tale of Beatrice. Translated from the Middle Dutch by
P. Geyl. V and 47 pp.
Gillhoff. G. A •• The Royal Dutch theatre at The Hague. 1804~ 1876.
XI and 205 pp. roy. 8vo. Guilders 4.20
Junkers. H •• Niederländische Schauspieler und Niederländisches
Schauspiel im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert in Deutschland. XI and 304
pp. With 1 facsimile. roy. 8vo. Guilders 7.50
Riet. F. G. van der. Le theatre profane serieux en langue flamande
au moyen age. IV and 155 pp. With 1 facsimile. roy. 8vo.
Guilders 2.50
SIR MAX BEERBOHM
MAN AND WRITER
by
J. G. R lEW A L D
XXXII and 369 pp. roy. 8vo. Cloth 27.50 Dutch guilders
'The first all-round critical assessment of 'the greatest living handler of the
English language", with abrief life and a comprebensive bibliography (131 pp.)
Oue guilder is $ 0.265 or sh. 1/11
Obtainable through any bookseller or [rom the publisher
SEYMOUR L. FLAXMAN
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
HERMAN HEIJERMANS
AND HIS DRAMAS
11
MARTINUS NIJHOFF / THE HAGUE / 1954
ISBN 978-94-011-8441-0 ISBN 978-94-011-9155-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-9155-5
Copyright I954 by Martinus Nijhott, The Hague, Holland
All rights reserved, including the rights to translate or to reproduce
this book or parts thereof in any form.
Softcover reprint oE the hardcover 1St edition 1954
TO MY PARENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study arose out of a suggestion made by Professor Adriaan
J. Barnouw, until recently Queen Wilhelmina Professor at
Columbia University. After his retirement I was fortunate in
obtaining the advice of his successor, Professor Benjamin
Hunningher, who, with his expert knowledge of the Dutch
theatre, has been most helpful and encouraging to me.
I am particularly grateful to the playwright's wife, Mevr.
A. Heijermans-Jurgens, and his sister, Mej. H. A. Heijermans,
for making available to me hitherto unpublished material and
for their memories and impressions of his career. To his daughter,
Mevr. M. de Vos-Heijermans, I am indebted for assistance in
many ways. Other members of the Heijermans family have also
been kind enough to furnish information. I should like to thank
Frans Mijnssen for discussing several points in Heijermans' life
and work with me, and I am also grateful to Dr. R. L. Drilsma
and Mr. W. Ph. Pos.
Professor Carl F. Bayerschmidt and Professor Andre von
Gronicka of Columbia University offered their suggestions and
criticisms after reading the original manuscript. Professor Henry
Brennecke of New York University has encouraged and helped
me during the course of this work, and I owe hirn sincere gratitude.
Severallibraries and their staffs have aided me in my research
and I should like to thank the Columbia University Library, the
New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Konink
lijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, the Library of the University
of Amsterdam, and the Letterkundig Archief of the Gemeente
lijk Museum in The Hague.
Through the Ministerie van Onderwijs, Kunsten en Weten
schappen the Govemment of The N etherlands has generously
offered its financial support and made publication possible.
The list of acknowledgments would not be complete without
VIII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
a special expression of gratitude to my wife, Ruth Krantz
Flaxman, whose aid, encouragement, and self-sacrifice have
greatly contributed to the completion of this book.
University College s. L. F.
New York University
May 1953
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION . • • • • • • •
11. HERMAN HEIJERMANS - A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 15
III. PROTESTS AGAINST RELIGIOUS CONSERVATISM AND
INTOLERANCE. • • • • • • • • • • • • 64
IV. "THE MEN HEMMED IN WITH THE SPEARS" 80
V. MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY 128
VI. "THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL" • 162
VII. FANTASIES AND SATIRES • 188
VIII. THE INFLUENCE OF IBSEN AND HAUPTMANN 217
IX. THEORY, STYLE, AND TECHNIQUE 228
NOTES ••••• 236
BIBLIOGRAPHIES 255
INDEX ••.•• 263