The Twilight of the Souls by Louis Couperus

Neuroses of the Dutch

Louis Couperus (1863–1923) is one of the most prominent authors in modern Dutch literature, and many of his works have been published in English translation. His novel The Twilight of the Souls, published in 1902, is the third book in a series of four novels known as The Books of Small Souls, the first two volumes being Small Souls and The Later Life. These novels chronicle the lives of the fictional Van Lowe family. The eight Van Lowe siblings grew up on the East Indian island of Java, where their father was Dutch governor general. When the first novel begins, the father is deceased, the siblings are now in their thirties, forties, and fifties and residing in The Hague, most with children of their own. Collectively, the prestige and fortunes of the Van Lowes have taken a gradual downward turn since Papa’s glory days in the diplomatic service.

The first two novels concentrated primarily on Constance van der Welcke (née van Lowe) and her immediate family. The Twilight of the Souls broadens its focus to other members of the Van Lowe clan, allowing the reader to learn more about siblings who were barely mentioned in the two previous volumes. The family gathers weekly at elderly Mama van Lowe’s house for Sunday dinner and card games. Her children do their best to keep Mama unaware of the family’s problems, but some scandals and tragedies are too big to sweep under the rug. In the opening chapter of The Twilight of the Souls, we find that Ernst van Lowe is going mad. A bachelor who leads a largely solitary life, Ernst is hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. He envisions scores of “souls” chained to him, wailing in pain, whom he must guard and protect. The rest of the family comes to Ernst’s aid in finding him psychiatric help. He is not the only Van Lowe, however, experiencing mental problems in this novel.

At times in this novel, Couperus gives a somewhat romanticized depiction of mental illness, in that the hallucinations described are almost operatically dramatic. There’s nothing here beyond the realm of realism, however; Couperus almost invariably draws his characters with an authentic psychological verisimilitude. The reader has no trouble believing or relating to the psychological maladies of the characters—Gerrit’s depression, Paul’s OCD and germaphobia, Mama’s forebodings of death. In the Van Lowe family, Couperus has created an ensemble cast with whom the reader can identify and become emotionally invested. While The Twilight of the Souls is a very fine novel in its own right, its merits are compounded by the foundation that Couperus built in the first two novels, upon which this third installment productively builds.

The whole idea behind the concept of “small souls” is that these characters are shaped and controlled by rather petty concerns—social climbing, family squabbles, keeping up appearances, and so on. This never feels shallow or inconsequential, however, because it is a reflection of real life, or most of our real lives, anyway. In each novel, certain characters strive to rise above the “smallness” of their lives to find a deeper meaning and a more fulfilling existence. Most readers can identify with such endeavors, especially when revealed with the sensitivity and insight that Couperus brings to these books. In the saga of the Van Lowes, one is sure to find some engaging parallels to their own personal and family dramas.

Another plot thread taken up in this book is that Adriaan van der Welcke, now 16 or 17 years of age, has decided that he does not wish to pursue a career in the diplomatic service and instead wants to become a physician. This leads us to volume four in the series, entitled Dr. Adriaan.