Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde

Koen Rymenants

'Ik zie hem zingen maar hoor hem niet'
Een lectuur van de 'Opdracht' bij Elsschots Tsjip (1934)

Abstract -- Willem Elsschot’s novel Tsjip (1934) is preceded by a concise text entitled ‘Opdracht’ (‘Dedication’). In this article, I present a close reading of the ‘Opdracht’ which aims to show that it is crucial not only to Elsschot’s poetics, but also to the interpretation of Tsjip itself. In addition, I argue that the identity of its I-narrator is far more problematic than is usually assumed and that Elsschot studies could benefit considerably from closer attention to textual detail.

TNTL 120-3 (september 2004), 258-276