Oostwaarts. Over de rol van de omgeving van Nederlands-Indië op een representatie van de eind-negentiende- en vroeg-twintigste-eeuwse koloniale identiteit in De stille kracht van Louis Couperus.

Abstract

This thesis analyses how the environment of the Dutch East Indies contributed to the formation of the identity of the Dutch coloniser in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, as described by Louis Couperus in De stille kracht. As such, this research falls within the framework of ‘environmental history’. De stille kracht offers valuable insights into the construction and maintenance of identities formed in relation to the environment of the Dutch East Indies. Couperus paints a picture of the Indies that is hostile to the Dutch coloniser, affecting his physical and mental well-being and causing shifts in his relationships, behaviour and beliefs. The characters' European identity shaped by Christian ideals and moderate rationalism is challenged by the environment. Boundaries between indigenous and non- indigenous identities prove more fluid than suggested by the Dutch coloniser; the diverse landscapes, ethnic groups and cultures of the colonial Indies represented, highlight the complexity of the colonial context. The fading of these boundaries contributes to the formation of a Dutch hybrid identity shaped by its surroundings, that is unique to the colonial environment of the Dutch East Indies.