Almayer's Folly
Encyclopedia
Almayer's Folly, published in 1895
, is Joseph Conrad
's first novel. Set in the late 19th century, it centers on the life of the Dutch
trader Kaspar Almayer in the Borneo
jungle and his relationship to his half-caste daughter Nina.
child and to running his trading post in Sambir in the Borneo
jungle. Lingard loses much of his fortune searching for a hidden treasure. Meanwhile Almayer's ventures constantly fail, most notably an expensive trading house, the "Almayer's Folly," that no one trades in.
A daughter named Nina was born to Almayer and his wife. The rest of the novel concerns Almayer's conflicting desires: his love for Nina, his effort at keeping her from her mother's Malay influence, and his desire for money and self-redemption.
Dain, a Malay prince, arrives at Sambir. Almayer tries to enlist Dain's help to find the treasure long sought by Lingard. Instead, Dain marries Nina and leaves Sambir with her, against Almayer's wishes. The loss of Nina and any prospect of wealth stuns Almayer. He spends the rest of his days in the empty trading house as his sanity slips away.
.
.
, Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River, Random House
, 1996.
1895 in literature
The year 1895 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* Carlyle's House in Chelsea opens to the public.* Robert Frost marries Elinor Miriam White.* Ernest Thayer recites his poem, Casey at the Bat, at a Harvard class reunion....
, is Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's first novel. Set in the late 19th century, it centers on the life of the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
trader Kaspar Almayer in the Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
jungle and his relationship to his half-caste daughter Nina.
Plot
Kaspar Almayer is a young Dutch trader taken under the wing of the wealthy Captain Lingard. Hoping to inherit Lingard's wealth, Almayer agrees to a loveless marriage to Lingard's adopted MalayMalay race
The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach , and classified as the brown race. Since Blumenbach, many anthropologists have rejected his theory of five races, citing the enormous complexity of classifying races...
child and to running his trading post in Sambir in the Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
jungle. Lingard loses much of his fortune searching for a hidden treasure. Meanwhile Almayer's ventures constantly fail, most notably an expensive trading house, the "Almayer's Folly," that no one trades in.
A daughter named Nina was born to Almayer and his wife. The rest of the novel concerns Almayer's conflicting desires: his love for Nina, his effort at keeping her from her mother's Malay influence, and his desire for money and self-redemption.
Dain, a Malay prince, arrives at Sambir. Almayer tries to enlist Dain's help to find the treasure long sought by Lingard. Instead, Dain marries Nina and leaves Sambir with her, against Almayer's wishes. The loss of Nina and any prospect of wealth stuns Almayer. He spends the rest of his days in the empty trading house as his sanity slips away.
Criticism
As Conrad's earliest novel, Almayer's Folly is often seen by critics as inferior to the author's later work because of its repetitive and at times awkward language. However, recent critics have paid more attention to Conrad's depiction of Nina as a self-determined female non-European character along with Aissa from Joseph Conrad's second novel, An Outcast of the IslandsAn Outcast of the Islands
An Outcast of the Islands is the second novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1896, inspired by Conrad's experience as mate of a steamer, the Vigar....
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Film
Filming started in November 2010 for a French-Belgian adaptation by Chantal AkermanChantal Akerman
Chantal Anne Akerman is a Belgian film director, artist, and professor of film at the European Graduate School. Akerman's best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles , exemplifies a dedication to the ellipses of conventional narrative cinema.-Early life:Akerman was born to...
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Sources
Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1996.