Neel Doff
Encyclopedia
Cornelia Hubertina Doff (Buggenum, Netherlands, 27 January 1858 – Ixelles, Belgium, 14 July 1942) was an author of Dutch origin living and working in Belgium
and mainly writing in French. She is one of the most important contributors to proletarian literature
.
, Antwerp, Brussels
) facing a progressively worsening poverty. Determined to fight her way from underneath the rag and tether class she started modeling for a large number of renowned Belgian painters (James Ensor
, Félicien Rops
) and to a lesser extent sculptors (Charles Samuel
, Paul de Vigne
). She posed as Charles de Coster's character Nele by Charles Samuel (Monument Charles de Coster, Charles de Coster Monument Place Flagey Ixelles) and for Paul de Vigne, The Little Dutch Girl (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
), and highly probably for the identical Metdepenningen (Ghent
cemetery and Ben Cable Monuments Ben Cable Monument Chippiannock Cemetery, Rock Island in Illinois).
In these artistic circles she met Fernand Brouez
(1860–1900) whom she eventually married. Son of Jules Brouez, a rich notary and Victorine Sapin, Fernand Brouez financed and edited La Société Nouvelle, at that time considered the most valuable socialist economical magazine in the French language.
After Brouez's death she married Georges Serigiers, a prominent lawyer from Antwerp and family friend of the Brouez family. Years later, when looking at a cluster of youngsters through the window of the Serigiers stately home in Antwerp, the hurtful memories of her past came to life. She poured her heart and soul in her first book Jours de Famine et de Détresse (Days of Hunger and Distress). In picture like stories she tells the tale of a young girl, Keetje Oldema exposed to scorn and humiliation because of her hopeless misery, eventually forced into prostitution by her mother to feed her little brothers and sisters. Laurent Tailhade
became her greatest fan and, fascinated by this journey of annihilated youth, defended her work at the 1911 Prix Goncourt
. She lost the prize by one vote, but remained nevertheless very impressed with the honour of being nominated.
With Keetje and Keetje Trottin, Neel Doff finalised her autobiographical trilogy. She rounded the Doff saga off with various stories about her siblings in other works. In 1907 the Serigiers moved into their splendid new summer residence in Genk
. Inspired by the villagers, one family in particular, Neel Doff puts her pen to paper. Tallying her work and enjoying her life as ‘Grande Dame’ within a selected social circle, she published many short stories in various magazines and periodicals. She also translated three works from Dutch into French.
In December 1929 the following quote by Thibaud-Gersen appeared in Le Courier Littéraire: "When will they award the Nobel Prize
to the humble and genial Neel Doff"? These words were enough to spread rumours and speculation about the 1930 Nobel Prize awards. Unfortunately the myth that Neel Doff was nominated persists in various publications. (See "Neel Doff par elle même"; Marianne Pierson-Pierard; p. 21 and in the German translation published under the title Keetje Tippel from the Dutch text of Jours de Famine et de Détresse p. 5 introduction by Dr. Josh van Soer).
Many compared her work to that of Émile Zola
. In her own words in reference to Émile Zola: “He wrote about it while I lived it”. Also called “The Dostojevski of the North”, the character of Keetje parallels that of Sonja in Crime and Punishment
. Henri Poulaille, who becomes her editor after the death of her husband Georges Serigiers, praises her as surpassing Colette
. Neel Doff's somewhat brutish writing style on proletarian issues remains however controversial. She was an autodidact and wrote as she saw and felt. Emile Verhaeren
commented on Days of Hunger and Disress that it needed "galvanising". In 1930 Belgium paid tribute to her contribution to French Literature by appointing her Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
, one of Belgium's most prestigious awards.
On 14 July 1942, Neel Doff, embittered by the horrors of the war and suffering from kidney failure, died in her house, 16 rue de Naples in Ixelles. In order to secure her estate she only left the author rights of her work to her dear friend Mrs. Helen Temersen, who being Jewish saw her welfare and worldly belongings in peril. Helen Temersen sold the author rights in the early seventies to the publisher Meulenhoff in Amsterdam. The house in Ixelles was bequeathed to the children of Franz Hellens
, author and librarian, who took up residence at the house and wrote there as well. The remainder of her estate went to various individuals. Several art effects, including a James Ensor
, mysteriously disappeared from the Ixelles residence and are yet to be found.
Neel Doff biographie succinte at homepage.mac.com
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and mainly writing in French. She is one of the most important contributors to proletarian literature
Proletarian literature
Proletarian literature refers to the literature created by working-class writers for the class-conscious proletariat, published by the communist parties. It was a literature without literary pretensions....
.
Biography
Third born to a family of nine, Cornelia accompanied her family on its perennial successive moves (AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Antwerp, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) facing a progressively worsening poverty. Determined to fight her way from underneath the rag and tether class she started modeling for a large number of renowned Belgian painters (James Ensor
James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...
, Félicien Rops
Félicien Rops
Félicien Rops was a Belgian artist, and printmaker in etching and aquatint.-Early life:Rops was born in Namur as the only son to Nicholas Rops and Sophie Maubile. He was educated at the University of Brussels...
) and to a lesser extent sculptors (Charles Samuel
Charles Samuel
Charles Samuel was a Belgian sculptor, engraver and medalist.- Life :Samuel was born in Brussels and trained there. He studied engraving with Léopold Wiener, sculpture with Eugène Simonis, Joseph Jaquet and Charles van der Stappen, and medal-making with the goldsmith and sculptor Philippe Wolfers...
, Paul de Vigne
Paul de Vigne
Paul de Vigne , Belgian sculptor, was born at Ghent. He was trained by his father, a statuary, and began by exhibiting his Fra Angeico da Fiesole at the Ghent Salon in 1868. In 1872 he exhibited at the Brussels Salon a marble statue, Heliotrope , and in 1875, at Brussels, Beatrix and Domenica...
). She posed as Charles de Coster's character Nele by Charles Samuel (Monument Charles de Coster, Charles de Coster Monument Place Flagey Ixelles) and for Paul de Vigne, The Little Dutch Girl (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium , is one of the most famous museums in Belgium.-The museum:...
), and highly probably for the identical Metdepenningen (Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
cemetery and Ben Cable Monuments Ben Cable Monument Chippiannock Cemetery, Rock Island in Illinois).
In these artistic circles she met Fernand Brouez
Fernand Brouez
Fernand Brouez was the founder and publisher of La Société Nouvelle . He initially edited the magazine with Belgian-born Arthur James, whom he met at the Université Libre de Bruxelles', and after 1889 with various other individuals.The second son of Jules Brouez and Victorine Sapin, Fernand and...
(1860–1900) whom she eventually married. Son of Jules Brouez, a rich notary and Victorine Sapin, Fernand Brouez financed and edited La Société Nouvelle, at that time considered the most valuable socialist economical magazine in the French language.
After Brouez's death she married Georges Serigiers, a prominent lawyer from Antwerp and family friend of the Brouez family. Years later, when looking at a cluster of youngsters through the window of the Serigiers stately home in Antwerp, the hurtful memories of her past came to life. She poured her heart and soul in her first book Jours de Famine et de Détresse (Days of Hunger and Distress). In picture like stories she tells the tale of a young girl, Keetje Oldema exposed to scorn and humiliation because of her hopeless misery, eventually forced into prostitution by her mother to feed her little brothers and sisters. Laurent Tailhade
Laurent Tailhade
Laurent Tailhade was a French satirical poet, anarchist polemicist, essayist, and translator, active in Paris in the 1890s and early 1900s...
became her greatest fan and, fascinated by this journey of annihilated youth, defended her work at the 1911 Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
. She lost the prize by one vote, but remained nevertheless very impressed with the honour of being nominated.
With Keetje and Keetje Trottin, Neel Doff finalised her autobiographical trilogy. She rounded the Doff saga off with various stories about her siblings in other works. In 1907 the Serigiers moved into their splendid new summer residence in Genk
Genk
Genk is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the city of Genk itself...
. Inspired by the villagers, one family in particular, Neel Doff puts her pen to paper. Tallying her work and enjoying her life as ‘Grande Dame’ within a selected social circle, she published many short stories in various magazines and periodicals. She also translated three works from Dutch into French.
In December 1929 the following quote by Thibaud-Gersen appeared in Le Courier Littéraire: "When will they award the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
to the humble and genial Neel Doff"? These words were enough to spread rumours and speculation about the 1930 Nobel Prize awards. Unfortunately the myth that Neel Doff was nominated persists in various publications. (See "Neel Doff par elle même"; Marianne Pierson-Pierard; p. 21 and in the German translation published under the title Keetje Tippel from the Dutch text of Jours de Famine et de Détresse p. 5 introduction by Dr. Josh van Soer).
Many compared her work to that of Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
. In her own words in reference to Émile Zola: “He wrote about it while I lived it”. Also called “The Dostojevski of the North”, the character of Keetje parallels that of Sonja in Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
. Henri Poulaille, who becomes her editor after the death of her husband Georges Serigiers, praises her as surpassing Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
. Neel Doff's somewhat brutish writing style on proletarian issues remains however controversial. She was an autodidact and wrote as she saw and felt. Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism....
commented on Days of Hunger and Disress that it needed "galvanising". In 1930 Belgium paid tribute to her contribution to French Literature by appointing her Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
, one of Belgium's most prestigious awards.
On 14 July 1942, Neel Doff, embittered by the horrors of the war and suffering from kidney failure, died in her house, 16 rue de Naples in Ixelles. In order to secure her estate she only left the author rights of her work to her dear friend Mrs. Helen Temersen, who being Jewish saw her welfare and worldly belongings in peril. Helen Temersen sold the author rights in the early seventies to the publisher Meulenhoff in Amsterdam. The house in Ixelles was bequeathed to the children of Franz Hellens
Franz Hellens
Franz Hellens, born Frédéric van Ermengem was a prolific Belgian novelist, poet and critic...
, author and librarian, who took up residence at the house and wrote there as well. The remainder of her estate went to various individuals. Several art effects, including a James Ensor
James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...
, mysteriously disappeared from the Ixelles residence and are yet to be found.
Works
- Jours de Famine et de Détresse. (Days of Hunger and Distress) - Multiple publications in Paris and Brussels throughout the decades.
- Translated in Dutch:
- Dagen van Honger en Ellende. Trans. Anna Van Gogh-Kaulbach;1915.
- Dagen van Honger en Ellende. Trans. Wim ZaalWim ZaalWim Zaal is a Dutch journalist, essayist, translator and literary critic. He was literary editor of Elsevier for years.He has edited anthologies from the works of many authors, from Joost van den Vondel to Erich Wichman...
. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1970 and 1971.
- Portuguese:
- Dias de Fome e de Angùstia. Trans. Amélia Pato. Lisboa: Ediçào Liber, 1975.
- Russian:
- 1925 and 1926: no data available.
- German:
- under the title Keetje Tippel. Translated from Wim Zaal's Dutch translation. Trans. Hanna Mittelstäd. Preface by Dr. Josh van Soer: Nautilus/Nemo Press, 1982.
- Contes Farouches. (Bitter Tales) Paris: Ollendorf, 1913. Basac: Plein Chant, 1981. (One tale: ‘Lyse d’Adelmond’ a fictional story was omitted in this publication)
- under the title Keetje Tippel. Translated from Wim Zaal's Dutch translation. Trans. Hanna Mittelstäd. Preface by Dr. Josh van Soer: Nautilus/Nemo Press, 1982.
- Translated in Spanish:
- under the title of the first story "Stientje". Trans. J. Garcia Mercadal. Madrid: Collecciön Babel, 1921.
- Dutch:
- under the title De Avond dat Mina me meenam. Trans. Wim ZaalWim ZaalWim Zaal is a Dutch journalist, essayist, translator and literary critic. He was literary editor of Elsevier for years.He has edited anthologies from the works of many authors, from Joost van den Vondel to Erich Wichman...
. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1974.Selected from tales out of Contes farouches, Angelinette (Young Angela) and Une fourmi ouvrière (The Work Ant).
- under the title De Avond dat Mina me meenam. Trans. Wim Zaal
- Russian:
- 1925 and 1926: no data available.
- Keetje. (Keetje) - Several publications in Paris and Brussels.
- 1925 and 1926: no data available.
- Translated in Dutch:
- Two publications under the title Keetje Tippel. Trans. Wim ZaalWim ZaalWim Zaal is a Dutch journalist, essayist, translator and literary critic. He was literary editor of Elsevier for years.He has edited anthologies from the works of many authors, from Joost van den Vondel to Erich Wichman...
.
- Two publications under the title Keetje Tippel. Trans. Wim Zaal
- Spanish:
- under the title Historia triste de una mujer alegre (Keetje) Trans. J. Garcia Mercadal, 1923
- English:
- Keetje. Trans. Frederick WhyteFrederick WhyteSir Alexander Frederick Whyte KCSI was a British civil servant, Liberal Party politician, writer, and journalist.-Biography:...
, no reference to Sir Alexander Frederick Whyte. London: Hutchinson, 1930.
- Keetje. Trans. Frederick Whyte
- Russian:
- 1925: no data available.
- Keetje Trottin. (Keetje The Errand Girl) - one publication in Paris and one in Brussels.
- Angelinette. (Young Angela) Paris: Crès, 1923.
- Campine. (Campine) Paris: Rieder, 1926.
- Elva, suivi de Dans nos bruyères. (Elva, followed by In our Heather Fields), Paris: Rieder, 1929.
- 1925: no data available.
- Translated in Dutch: In our Heather Fields under the title Bittere Armoede in de Kempen. Trans. R. de Jong-Belinfante: Amsterdam; Meulenhoff, 1983, includes the translation of Je voulais en faire un homme (I Wanted To Turn Him Into A Man).
- Une Fourmi Ouvrière. (The Work Ant) Paris: Au Sans Pareil, 1935.
- Quitter Tout Cela! suivi de Au Jour le Jour. (Leaving Al This! followed by From Day To Day) Paris-Nemours: Ed. Entre Nous, 1937.
- Translated in Dutch: Afscheid, gevolgd door Van Dag tot Dag. Trans. R. de Jong-Belinfante. Amsterdam, 1975.
Translations made by Neel Doff from Dutch
- L’Enfant Jésus en Flandre. (The Child Jesus in Flandres). (Felix TimmermansFelix TimmermansLeopold Maximiliaan Felix Timmermans is a much translated author of Flanders.Timmermans was born in the Belgian city of Lier, as the thirteenth of fourteen children in the family. He died in Lier, aged 60. He was an autodidact, and wrote plays, historical novels, religious works, and poems. His...
: Het Kindeke Jesus in Vlaanderen) Paris: Rieder 1925. - La Maisonnette près du Fossé. (The Little House near the Ditch). (Carry van Bruggen: Het Huisje aan de Sloot) Paris: Ed. Du Tambourin, 1931. Paris: Lire; Roman inédité et complet, 1931.
- De Vieilles Gens. (About Old Folks and the things that pass ...). (Louis CouperusLouis CouperusLouis Marie-Anne Couperus was a Dutch novelist and poet during the Belle Époque. There is a wide variety of genres in his oeuvre, which contains poetry, fairy tales, psychological novels, and historical novels...
: Van oude menschen, de dingen, die voorbij gaan...). Lost unpublished manuscript. - Many short stories and other writings by Neel Doff were published in various periodicals. These texts were cited in various references: i.e. two of the three biographies written about Neel Doff. In 1975, Dutch filmmaker, Paul Verhoeven created the movie Katie TippelKatie TippelKatie Tippel is a 1975 film by Paul Verhoeven. The film is based on the memoirs of Neel Doff and was the most expensive Dutch film produced up to that time...
. The movie holds elements of the trilogy, ‘Days of Hunger and Distress’; ‘Keetje’ and ‘Keetje The Errand Girl’. It must be noted that some of these publications were only very recently discovered and that no record of some of them, the Spanish, English and Russian translations were found in either of Neel Doff’s residences.
Homage
Franz Hellens: Le Disque VertNeel Doff biographie succinte at homepage.mac.com