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Hubertus
"This is the second volume in the remarkable series of novels...which deal with early colonial life in the West Indies..."
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1954
5 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Mittelholzer
37 books39 followersEdgar Mittelholzer is considered the first West Indian novelist, i.e. even though there were writers who wrote about Caribbean themes before him, he was the first to make a successful professional life out of it. Born in Guyana (then British Guiana) of Afro-European heritage, he began writing in 1929 and self-published his first book, Creole Chips, in 1937.
Mittelholzer left Guyana for Trinidad in 1941, eventually migrating to England in 1948, living the rest of his life there except for three years in Barbados, and a shorter period in Canada. Between 1951 and 1965, he published twenty-one novels, and two works of non-fiction, including his autobiographical, A Swarthy Boy.
"Mittelholzer's novels include characters and situations from a variety of places within the Caribbean. They range in time from the earliest period of European settlement to the present day and deal with a cross section of ethnic groups and social classes, not to mention subjects of historical, political, psychological, and moral interest. In addition, eight of Mittelholzer's novels are non-Caribbean in subject and setting. For all these reasons he deserves the title of "father" of the novel in the English-speaking Caribbean" - Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Among Edgar Mittelholzer's many honours was to have been the first West Indian to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Writing (1952). He died by his own hand in 1965, a suicide by fire predicted in several of his novels.
He published The Mad MacMullochs, written in 1953 and first published in 1959, under the pseudonym H. Austin Woodsley.
Excerpts from:
Peepal Tree Press
http://www.peepaltreepress.com/
Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook by Daryl Cumber Dance.
Mittelholzer left Guyana for Trinidad in 1941, eventually migrating to England in 1948, living the rest of his life there except for three years in Barbados, and a shorter period in Canada. Between 1951 and 1965, he published twenty-one novels, and two works of non-fiction, including his autobiographical, A Swarthy Boy.
"Mittelholzer's novels include characters and situations from a variety of places within the Caribbean. They range in time from the earliest period of European settlement to the present day and deal with a cross section of ethnic groups and social classes, not to mention subjects of historical, political, psychological, and moral interest. In addition, eight of Mittelholzer's novels are non-Caribbean in subject and setting. For all these reasons he deserves the title of "father" of the novel in the English-speaking Caribbean" - Encyclopedia of World Biography.
Among Edgar Mittelholzer's many honours was to have been the first West Indian to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Writing (1952). He died by his own hand in 1965, a suicide by fire predicted in several of his novels.
He published The Mad MacMullochs, written in 1953 and first published in 1959, under the pseudonym H. Austin Woodsley.
Excerpts from:
Peepal Tree Press
http://www.peepaltreepress.com/
Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook by Daryl Cumber Dance.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 22, 2017
Originally published in 1954 as "The Harrowing of Hubertus", and as "Hubertus" the following year in the US, this is Edgar Mittelholzer's second book of the Kaywana Trilogy. It's also known by the titles "Kaywana Stock" and "Kaywana Heritage" in later paperback editions. The original title suits the novel perfectly, because this is mainly what Hubertus van Groenwegel is going through: he is harrowed.
Hubertus is harrowed by many conflicts: being loyal to the flesh and the spirit is the main cause of conflict within himself throughout the book. Being loyal to the spirit is set by the rules of morality imposed by the church; rules which Mittelholzer criticizes as not being realistic or in accordance to the nature of the flesh. Humans should also be loyal to the flesh, for it is part of human nature, a nature that God Himself created. Men created morality, which prevents them from being happy and which clashes and contradicts the nature God created. In chapter 7, Mittelholzer states:
"What troubles me is not the moral or ecclesiastical aspect of the matter - but myself. My own personal code. My spirit is vulnerable in that it is wounded when my personal code - the special, particular philosophy I have shaped fo myself - seems to me to have been contravened... This is what depresses me. This is what brings me closer to the grave. Every time I contravene my personal code some part of me crumbles and Death takes two paces towards me."
Hubertus is well admired in the community of Dutch and British planters and respected for being a man of wisdom. However, is it wise to keep "contravening" his personal code if this continually harrows him? Being loyal to the flesh is something Hubertus is not willing to give up, so to listen to him complaining about how this harrows him from beginning to end makes him not exactly a likeable character. Grandma Hendrikje - from "Children of Kaywana" - was a devilish woman, and yet she seemed a more interesting character because, while brutal and cruel, she stuck to her "personal code". Edward van Groenwegel, Hubertus's younger cousin, at some point in the book, cannot stand Hubertus' double standards, which made me think: "Oh, so I'm not alone with this same feeling".
The novel has a historical setting and time. It is set in Guiana during the end of the 1700's. Slavery, plantations, the economy and the politics of the time are part of the story, although this plays a second role.
I was looking forward to reading this novel. I like novels about characters in crisis and this promised to be a good one. I have read his sixth novel, "The Life and Death of Sylvia", which is also about a character in crisis and loved it. "The Harrowing of Hubertus" is still a good novel to read, especially if you are a fan of Edgar Miteelholzer, for its depth in this contradiction of men between God and human nature. However, I didn't finish reading it with the feeling I have had with his other novels: "I cannot wait to read it again".
Hubertus is harrowed by many conflicts: being loyal to the flesh and the spirit is the main cause of conflict within himself throughout the book. Being loyal to the spirit is set by the rules of morality imposed by the church; rules which Mittelholzer criticizes as not being realistic or in accordance to the nature of the flesh. Humans should also be loyal to the flesh, for it is part of human nature, a nature that God Himself created. Men created morality, which prevents them from being happy and which clashes and contradicts the nature God created. In chapter 7, Mittelholzer states:
"What troubles me is not the moral or ecclesiastical aspect of the matter - but myself. My own personal code. My spirit is vulnerable in that it is wounded when my personal code - the special, particular philosophy I have shaped fo myself - seems to me to have been contravened... This is what depresses me. This is what brings me closer to the grave. Every time I contravene my personal code some part of me crumbles and Death takes two paces towards me."
Hubertus is well admired in the community of Dutch and British planters and respected for being a man of wisdom. However, is it wise to keep "contravening" his personal code if this continually harrows him? Being loyal to the flesh is something Hubertus is not willing to give up, so to listen to him complaining about how this harrows him from beginning to end makes him not exactly a likeable character. Grandma Hendrikje - from "Children of Kaywana" - was a devilish woman, and yet she seemed a more interesting character because, while brutal and cruel, she stuck to her "personal code". Edward van Groenwegel, Hubertus's younger cousin, at some point in the book, cannot stand Hubertus' double standards, which made me think: "Oh, so I'm not alone with this same feeling".
The novel has a historical setting and time. It is set in Guiana during the end of the 1700's. Slavery, plantations, the economy and the politics of the time are part of the story, although this plays a second role.
I was looking forward to reading this novel. I like novels about characters in crisis and this promised to be a good one. I have read his sixth novel, "The Life and Death of Sylvia", which is also about a character in crisis and loved it. "The Harrowing of Hubertus" is still a good novel to read, especially if you are a fan of Edgar Miteelholzer, for its depth in this contradiction of men between God and human nature. However, I didn't finish reading it with the feeling I have had with his other novels: "I cannot wait to read it again".
Displaying 1 of 1 review