TNTL 113

H.T.M. van Vliet

De overwinnaar overwonnen
Couperus' De stille kracht

Abstract - Louis Couperus wrote his novel De stille kracht (The hidden force, 1900) during his stay in the Dutch East Indies. In the novel he incorporated current affairs of those days. The description of the colonial government was based upon information given by Couperus' brother-in-law, Gerard Valette, resident on Java. The anti-colonial point of view however is from Couperus himself. It is connected with the theme of his whole work: the Fate. The structure of De stille kracht is like a dramatic scheme. The story itself also has many dramatic effects. For the elaboration in detail Couperus used all forms of repetition.