The Netzflickerin

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The Netzflickerin is a novel by the Dutch writer Maarten 't Hart . The original edition was published in 1996 under the title De nakomer . The German translation by Marianne Holberg was published by Arche Verlag in 1998; in 2000 a paperback edition was published by Piper Verlag . The German version has been slightly revised compared to the original in consultation with the author.

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The main character of the novel is the pharmacist Simon Minderhout. The three main parts of the book are devoted to different periods of his life.

Simon was born in Groningen in 1914 as the last and basically no longer expected child of his parents Jacob and Neletta Minderhout. In 1918 the family moved to the countryside in the village of Anloo , so the rural environment became a defining factor for his childhood. Long rides on his bike and walks across the wide fields give him space for various considerations, which soon extend into the philosophical and culminate in the realization that “God does not exist”. When he causes a scandal at school, his father has to smooth things over and advises his son not to be too frank about his views. After successfully attending secondary school, Simon finally decides to study pharmacy in Leiden because he can also attend philosophical lectures there.

The plot of the second part begins in 1939. Simon Minderhout starts working as a pharmacist in the small town of Maassluis . His father gives him good advice about the peculiarities of the residents on a walk through the streets. Despite his professional recognition, as a free spirit and art lover , Minderhout remains an outsider in his environment, which is characterized by strong piety. So he did not manage to get in touch with resistance groups after the German invasion in 1940. An attempt organized by him to enable several refugees to cross to England on a fishing cutter fails miserably. Unexpectedly, he comes into contact with the underground when a young woman who calls herself Hillegonda repeatedly comes to his pharmacy to get medicine for wounded or sick resistance fighters. When she goes into hiding with him for a while, it comes to a night of love that neither of them will forget for a lifetime. But just as suddenly as the Netzflickerin appeared, it also disappears again. Simon's attempts to determine her whereabouts or to find out how closely she is allied with the young conspirators are unsuccessful and come to an abrupt end when the group, who thinks they are persecuted by him, beats him violently one evening in Schiedam .

The third part takes place almost 50 years after the war. Simon Minderhout has long since left his professional life and his marriage and lives in an old people's apartment. On one of his usual walks he is harassed by a group of young motorcyclists. The leader asked him to pay 10,000 guilders in hush money, otherwise he would inform the public that Minderhout was responsible for the death of a group of eight as a traitor during the war. Simon does not respond to this, but soon afterwards read an article in the newspaper that connects him with the shooting of eight resistance fighters in Schiedam. Other papers take up this accusation, even on television there are reports about Minderhout's past and speculation about his alleged anti-Semitism. When the hostility also increased in his surroundings, he left his apartment at night and took refuge with his friend, the musician Aaron Oberstein. A persistent journalist who calls herself Wendela Tervuuren seems to have a sincere interest in clearing up the case and takes Simon on a trip to the sites of his youth and childhood - her article later in fact rejects most of the allegations and speculations. The case takes an unexpected turn at the end when the young blackmailer is the victim of an accident and Aaron succeeds in determining his identity: he is a grandson of Hillegonda. In the final chapter, Simon Minderhout pays the former net flicker a visit. She tells him that at the time of their first meeting she was already engaged, but not to one of the underground fighters, and on the other hand admits that she recently told her grandson in a thoughtless moment what she had kept to herself for around 50 years: namely that, in their opinion, Simon actually betrayed the young men to the Germans out of jealousy or because he wanted to take revenge for the beatings. The reunion ends ambivalently: Hillegonda, who is actually only called Hilde, has not forgotten the night of love with Simon all her life (because she never experienced anything comparable), but he cannot convince her that he was completely at risk of the death of the eight young men is innocent.

interpretation

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The book echoes most of the motifs that are typical of 't Hart's works: his great love for the Dutch places and landscapes in which he grew up, while at the same time criticizing the narrow horizons of many of its residents, an examination of the entanglements of resistance and collaboration during the time of the German occupation , a great appreciation of classical music and a certain sympathy for social outsiders as well as the preoccupation with philosophical and theological questions with simultaneous criticism of religious zeal and sectarianism . The central theme of this novel, however, is the individualist's helplessness towards groups that remain alien to him, be it certain religious sectarians, the German occupying power or groups of young people who want to take action against them or their supposed collaborators. As a free spirit and art lover, Simon Minderhout remains an outsider in the country and in small towns, he offends and is suspected. He cannot translate his willingness to do something against the German occupiers into effective action because as a loner he does not have the right contacts. He is also helpless in the face of later suspicions and accusations and can only flee. The opposite worlds, where he can escape the "raging of the whole world", are fulfilled love and friendship, the open landscape and music.

In this book, the author concentrates on the content-related aspects; in terms of narration, this novel is rather conventional. The entire plot - apart from a short prologue - is described from the perspective of the authorial narrator and, in principle, unfolded chronologically. However, there are various references to its predecessor, Das Rügen der Welt . The characters Simon Minderhout and Aaron Oberstein were also among the main characters there, and the failed attempt to escape with the Vroombout brothers' cutter, initiated by Minderhout, was of central importance. While 't Hart retrospectively examines the events of 1940 to 1945 from the perspective of a late-born child in the first attempt, in his second discussion he over-selects a protagonist who is a generation older, i.e. one of the perpetrators, victims or witnesses of that time which was discussed again at the beginning of the 1990s (not least because of the Waldheim affair ). Certainly it can be assumed that Maarten 't Hart wanted to build on its success with the audience with a thematic connection to The Rage of the Whole World , but it can also be interpreted in such a way that the author approaches this delicate section of history from different perspectives, to demonstrate that there are no simple truths, no clear allocation of guilt and innocence and that only someone who has thoroughly investigated the respective case can allow himself to be judged.

Book editions

  • Maarten 't Hart: The Netzflickerin. Translated from the Dutch by Marianne Holberg.