ART EXHIBITION

On view through 26 Aug, 2007

Woutertje Pieterse is about the open, highly imaginative boy named Woutertje who grows up in 19th-century middle-class Amsterdam. He is not understood by the people around him who are convinced that he will not amount to anything. When he reads about the bandit chief Glorioso and schoolmaster Pennewip assigns him to write a poem, he draws inspiration to write his own Bandit's Ballad. Its content shocks his family and friends.

With vividly portrayed events and personalities Multatuli offers a subtle satirical portrait of a narrow-minded 19th-century bourgeoisie reminiscent of the work of his English contemporary Charles Dickens.

Multatuli and Woutertje Pieterse
Multatuli (pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker, 1820-1887) was famous in his day as the author of Max Havelaar (1860). In this novel he described the abuses he had encountered as a civil servant in the Dutch East Indies. Its success persuaded him to become a professional writer in the hope of promoting social change.

Originally, the story of Woutertje Pieterse was not a novel. It began as part of Multatuli's magnum opus, Ideën (Ideas, 1862-1877). This diverse collection of over 1.300 texts, including essays, fairytales and letters appeared in seven volumes, with Woutertje Pieterse featuring as a serial amid the various items. It was only in 1890, after Multatuli's death, that his widow decided to publish Woutertje Pieterse as a separate book.

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