Tulip Fever
Deborah Moggach
Dell Publishing
1999
Ms. Hen read this novel because she is interested in the
history of Dutch art in the 17th century, and someone told her this is worth reading. Ms. Hen would like to go to Holland some day to see the
tulips. She does not have any plans right now, but she is considering it.
This novel is told from different characters’ perspectives.
One is Sophia, the wife of Cornelis, who is unhappy in her marriage. She meets
Jan, the young, virile painter who steals her heart. The story also includes
Maria, Sophia’s maid, and Willem, her paramour. The chapters are formed around
the different characters and Ms. Hen gets to know their varying points of view.
Cornelis hires Jan to paint his and Sophia’s portrait. When
Jan comes to the house, he is immediately entranced by Sophia. She feels the
same, but she tells her husband not to let him back in the house. Cornelis is
old and Sophia married him so she could save her family from impoverishment.
She deals with him because she has no choice.
Maria carries on with Willem unbeknownst to Sophia and
Cornelis. Willem, a fish seller, wants to marry Maria, but he tells her he
wants to wait until he has enough money. He gambles his wages on tulip
speculation, which is the tulip fever of the novel’s title. Tulip prices are
through the roof, and investors can make a lot of money if they put their money
on the right type. Willem does, but misfortune follows him.
Sophia, a crafty woman, comes up with a ludicrous plan for
her and Jan to be together. Ms. Hen did not know what was going to happen, but
when she found out, she was shocked. This novel is not written like typical
literary novels, even though Ms. Hen thinks it is literary enough. It’s written
like a thriller, though the prose is beautiful and the storyline is historical,
this novel surprised Ms. Hen. She didn’t know what to expect from it, but she
had an idea how the end would come about. The characters seemed destined to
fail.
This is a well-paced novel. Ms. Hen found that she could
read it quickly, and the chapters were different enough to paint a picture of
the life in Amsterdam at that time from various perspectives. Ms. Hen could
see the buildings reflected in the canals and she could smell the stench of the
water. She thought it was curious that a horn rang at ten o’clock at night and
everyone had to go home. She’s sure that doesn't happen in the city now.
Ms. Hen found some chickens in this novel. One example
refers to the shopkeepers, “They dream that their fingers slide under a
chicken’s skin, sliding the fingers into a glove.” Ms. Hen likes this
because it is strange and perverse. Another is a quote from a contemporary play
from that time, quoted in Z. Herbert, STILL LIFE WITH BRIDLE, which talks about
investing in tulip bulbs and how to go about it, “Do exactly as I say. Go to
the Inn at the Lion. Ask the innkeeper where the tulip vendors meet. You will
enter the room he indicates. Then someone will say in a very thick voice, (but
don’t you dare be put off by it.) ‘A stranger has come in.’ In answer to that,
cluck like a chicken.” Ms. Hen thinks this is a strange passage, but she
believes it is true because chickens are known to have secret knowledge, and
clucking like a chicken can help people along the path to greatness.
Ms. Hen adored this novel, but she doesn’t know what to make
of it. It’s campy and a little like a soap opera, and quite unrealistic, but
it’s fun. She doesn’t want to be a spoiler, but she thought the ending was
beautiful. Some things in life don’t turn out the way we want, but that's the
way life is sometimes.
