The Rebel Generation by Johanna van Ammers-Küller
"The Rebel Generation" is a novel by Johanna van Ammers-Küller, first published in 1925, that chronicles the dynamics of a Dutch family, the Cornvelts, from 1840 to 1923 in Leyden, Netherlands. The narrative centers around Louis Cornvelt, a conservative Calvinist who imposes strict control over his family and employees, creating an atmosphere of submission among his wife and children. The arrival of his orphaned niece, Marie Elizabeth Sylvain, introduces a contrasting, more progressive ideology that sparks rebellion among the younger generation. Despite her influence, most of the Cornvelt children struggle to break free from their father's dominance, ultimately conforming to societal expectations and traditional roles.
As time progresses, the story explores the evolving relationships within the family, highlighting the changing societal norms regarding gender roles and the emergence of women's emancipation. Characters like Eliza Wiseman and Sarah Cornvelt challenge patriarchal constraints, seeking independence and professional fulfillment. However, the narrative also reveals the complexities of rebellion, as the next generation grapples with newfound freedom but sometimes longs for the stability of previous eras. The novel serves as a social chronicle, reflecting the tensions between tradition and modernity, and the ongoing quest for equality within a familial and societal context. While it received mixed reviews in its homeland, "The Rebel Generation" has gained recognition internationally and is noted for its exploration of Dutch middle-class life and the struggles for gender equality.
The Rebel Generation by Johanna van Ammers-Küller
- FIRST PUBLISHED: De opstandigen, 1925 (English translation, 1928)
- TYPE OF WORK: Novel
- TYPE OF PLOT: Social chronicle
- TIME OF WORK: 1840-1923
- LOCALE: Leyden, the Netherlands
The Story:
In 1840, Louis Cornvelt was a prosperous owner of a weaving mill in Leyden. Strongly orthodox and conservative in every way, he was a staunch Calvinist, whose beliefs colored his treatment of his family and employees. His wife, sons, and daughters were expected to be completely submissive to his will and the way of life he represented.
Outwardly, at least, they were submissive until the arrival in the Cornvelt home of an orphaned niece, Marie Elizabeth Sylvain. Reared in a much more permissive atmosphere in the home of her French father, she brought new ideas and an air of rebellion into the Cornvelt home. Three of the sons fell in love with her, but she refused their overtures of love and marriage, for she could not stand the idea of placing herself under the domination of a man. Her rebellion extended so far as to cause her to run away to France when her uncle refused to allow her to earn a living for herself; he felt that such a course might demean him and his family in the eyes of their friends and neighbors.
Marie Elizabeth Sylvain’s cousins, fired by her arguments and example, also tried to rebel, but in the end, each submissively accepted their father’s domination. Katie Cornvelt married a young medical doctor, William Wiseman, as her father wished, although she found the man’s profession and person repugnant. Nicholas Cornvelt ran his father’s woolen mill in the old way, as his father dictated, even though the younger man realized that more progressive methods were needed if the mill were to compete with more progressive business houses. Sarah Cornvelt gave up the young man she loved when their fathers refused to countenance their marriage. David Cornvelt, in love with his French cousin, gave her up too when his father demanded that he do so. The young people had been so used to domination that they could not break from the habit of obedience, even after they were grown.
By 1872, the children of Louis Cornvelt were themselves middle-aged and had children of their own who were approaching maturity. Having been reared in a home completely dominated by their father, the children attempted to rule their families in much the same way. They required the new generation's absolute obedience to parents and loyalty to a harshly conservative code. In their time, however, the new generation was supported and encouraged to rebel by changes in the life of the time. In Holland, as in other European countries, new liberality in politics, new theories in sociology, a breakdown of orthodox religion, and other changes contributed to an outlook that fostered rebellion against the paternal domination of children and the masculine domination of women.
Dr. William Wiseman and his wife were horrified when their daughter Eliza announced her wish to become a doctor, for such a career had previously been inappropriate for a woman. Although her father wanted a son to be a doctor, he could not imagine his daughter becoming one, and he fought to check her interest in medical studies.
Eliza Wiseman found help and encouragement when her mother’s cousin, Marie Elizabeth Sylvain, returned to Holland from France to work for the emancipation of women. Marie Elizabeth had received a considerable fortune, which she devoted to the cause of equality of the sexes, using the money to assist capable young women in gaining an education and publishing periodicals supporting feminine equality. Eliza Wiseman was not the only one in the Cornvelt clan to receive help from their cousin, who called herself Sylvia.
Sarah Cornvelt had married a retired army officer. When her husband died, leaving her with almost no income and several daughters almost grown, Sarah’s brothers attempted to take over her affairs, offering her a small allowance from their pockets in return for their domination. Encouraged by her French cousin, Sarah refused to accept the men’s proposals and established herself and her daughters as professional dressmakers. Sarah, like her sisters, had submitted to too much domination under the rule of her father and husband to accept the domination of her brothers.
David Cornvelt, a distinguished professor, found rebellion in other quarters than his sister Sarah’s household. In his own home, the younger generation refused to follow his dictates, even though rebellion hurt them and other family members. David’s son Louis became a political radical and wrote pamphlets that kept his father from being appointed to a post in the national cabinet. David’s daughter Clara persisted in her career as a social worker among the lowest classes, even though she gave in to her father in matters of love.
In 1923, the senior members of the Cornvelt family found themselves faced with a generation of young people who were in rebellion against their parents. By this time, even the older generation was dissatisfied. The changes in family relationships were unsatisfactory. As far as women were concerned, emancipation and equality with men had been achieved. Dorothy Cornvelt, married to Dr. Eliza Wiseman’s nephew, was a lawyer and a member of Parliament. Nevertheless, her home life was empty, for both her husband and children were indifferent to her professional and political life. Her husband, Stephen Cornvelt, became infatuated with Millicent Cornvelt, a distant cousin from a family branch that had migrated to England. His infatuation with the girl was so great that he asked for a divorce, and neither he nor the young girl could see why his wife should deny the request.
The children of Stephen and Dorothy Cornvelt also felt that life was too loose for them. Although well-educated and free from most parental restraints, they were unhappy. They felt a need to return to the safety of a stable home and the guidance of older people, even though they disliked interference from their elders. When Stephen tried to dissuade his daughter Kitty from a career as a dancer, she rebelled as violently as any earlier Cornvelt had done. Her sister Puck, however, a successful businessperson, indicated by her behavior the course that later generations might take. She gave up her career to marry the man she loved, expecting to find happiness in family life and the influence of her husband. She also rebelled, but her rebellion was against too much freedom rather than too little.
Critical Evaluation:
The Rebel Generation, by Johanna van Ammers-Küller, was the first volume of one of the author’s two trilogies dealing with Dutch family life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Though not a success in its native country, this particular novel received worldwide attention and was a bestseller in several languages. The reader sees in the novel a series of portraits of strong-willed men and women who are related more by ideas and behavior than by the apparent familial connection. Ammers-Küller, though not a strictly feminist writer, has portrayed the struggle of women for equality in a way that blends in well with her overall picture of Dutch manners and morals of the era. She has perhaps not been listed with some of the great feminist writers of the early part of this century because, while she beautifully illustrates women’s struggle for equality, she also shows how at least one generation of the Cornvelt family reversed the trend by their own desires.
One of the book's flaws that strikes the contemporary reader is that the author has sacrificed imaginative writing for her message. Plot, characterization, and even, to some extent, setting are all subservient to the central theme of rebellion within three generations of one Dutch family. Her lack of subtlety will not bring her to the forefront of great writers of the twentieth century, and her faltering feminism will not allow her to be accepted as a champion of women’s liberation either. Ammers-Küller will be remembered for her solid novel of Dutch middle-class life, which has not been overdone and is little known outside the Netherlands.
The Rebel Generation is usually considered Ammers-Küller’s greatest success. It has been translated into several languages and has had a successful production on the stage.
Principal Characters:
- Louis Cornveltan upper-middle-class Hollander
- David CornveltLouis' son
- Katie CornveltLouis' daughter
- Dr. William CornveltLouis' son
- Dr. Eliza Cornvelthis daughter
- Marie Elizabeth Sylvain (Lysbeth, “Sylvia”)his niece
- Louis WisemanKatie Cornvelt’s husband
- Clara Wisemanthe daughter of William and Sarah
- Millicent Cornveltthe daughter of William and Sarah
- Stephen CornveltDavid’s son
- Dorothy CornveltStephen's wife
- Kitty CornveltMillicent’s cousin, in love with her
- PuckCornveltthe daughters of Stephen and Dorothy
Bibliography
"Ammers-Küller." Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, Jan. 1995. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=17283473&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
"Jo van Ammers - Küller." Anne Frank Stichting, research.annefrank.org/en/personen/e5ba66d3-012c-414f-ae54-ae10642d70c7/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
"The Rebel Generation." Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, 4th Edition, May 2015, p. 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=102943812&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Struthers, Irene. "Johanna van Ammers-Küller." Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition, Jan. 2003, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=164522233&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.