Summary
Highlights
The video introduces Jeroen Brouwers' 1981 novel 'Bezonken rood.' It explains that the book is set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during World War II, where European populations, especially Dutch individuals, were interned in concentration camps. The author dismisses historical debates about the camps' severity, emphasizing the novel's literary nature.
The central theme of 'Bezonken rood' is the breakdown of the mother-son relationship. The child, a biographical representation of Brouwers himself, experiences the profound destabilization of his world when his mother is tortured by the Japanese. This event shatters the child's perception of his mother as an invulnerable source of safety, leading to a deep-seated inability to love and emotional numbness. A key quote, 'Nothing exists that does not touch something else,' encapsulates the novel's philosophy of interconnectedness.
The grown-up protagonist struggles with deep-seated issues stemming from this childhood trauma. He harbors hatred towards his mother, avoids her funeral, and experiences anxiety, bitterness, and an inability to feel emotions. He medicates with psychopharmaceuticals, alcohol, and is angry at the world. The inability to feel, particularly the lack of sadness or grief, is identified as his core problem, preventing him from healing. He constantly questions 'How did I become who I am?'
The story unfolds through flashbacks to the internment camp, constantly intertwining with memories of his mother and thoughts about his girlfriend, Liza. The novel uses symbolism like perpetual mist and wind to represent the interconnectedness of all things. The camp scenes depict horrific tortures, including forced 'frog-jumping,' where internees were made to jump in a crouched position until their internal organs were damaged. The child protagonist initially doesn't grasp the impact, sometimes laughing at the suffering of others, which causes him later remorse.
Brouwers employs incantatory language as a means of 'bewitchment' or coping with overwhelming emotions. This is manifested in three ways: the recurring 'quack quack' of a frog, symbolizing the camp commandant and violence; quotes from the children's book 'Daantje gaat op stap,' which holds warm memories; and the repeated use of Roman Catholic prayers, which serve as a protective ritual rather than a display of faith. These prayers were learned during his post-internment period at a boarding school, where he was sent to re-socialize.
The concept of 'octavity,' derived from the number eight, further illustrates the idea that 'nothing exists that does not touch something else,' symbolizing endless cycles and connections. The novel ultimately details the protagonist's complex farewell to his mother, who, as a form of psychological torture by the Japanese, had to endure the temporary separation from her son. On the day of his mother's cremation, he takes his own symbolic farewell at a lake, reflecting on his emotional hardness and asking for intervention, signifying his ongoing struggle with emotional numbness.
The speaker concludes by stating that the protagonist's inability to feel and his emotional suffering, though he attempts a form of farewell, will persist. All his problems are traced back to the camp and his mother's torture. The title 'Bezonken rood' (Sunk Red) refers to the deeply ingrained, 'sunk' blood from his mother's wounds, inflicted by 'the land of the rising sun' (Japan), represented by its red sun flag. The video emphasizes Brouwers' intricate connection of elements within the novel.