A Small Taste of Amsterdam's Literature
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
"Living in the Red-Light District"--Maarten 't Hart
bAs sad as it is, sex sells in society. Advertisers utilize women’s bodies and men’s muscles to sell products and teenage girls use their voluptuous curves and flirtatious manner to attract young men. In Maarten ‘t Hart’s “Living in the Red-Light District,” there are “men who stroll past the windows, gaping, for fifteen solid hours, ‘spending the whole day doing nothing but window shopping’” (98). Not to get up on my soapbox and preach, but it I could never ever imagine placing myself in such a position as to turn myself into an object of these men’s desires. While I have nothing against prostitution as an institution, I simply could not overcome the attachment to an individual with which you share something so personal as a sexual encounter. While I would feel exploited by these male customers, other women, as noted in the story, feel empowered by this job. One young prostitute, a college graduate, was quick to point out the enjoyment that she experiences in “squeezing as much money as you can out of a guy […] Here it’s the men who are exploited, not the women” (104). Perhaps in seeing this simply as a job with a customer-employee relationship, these women are able to exclude any personal feelings and emotions that might usually come with such intimate encounters. In Amsterdam’s Red Light District, where the police and government leave these women to perform their duties, sex is a good to be sold.
"The Light at the End of the Tunnel"--Gerrit Komrij
bSin is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, isnt sin just a socially constructed object derived from individual's feelings and morals? What is “bad” to one might be the lifestyle of choice to another. Thus, when Jacob, in Gerrit Komrij’s “The Light at the End of the Tunnel,” is lured to Amsterdam by “a secret circle of people who practiced this sin and debauch with full abandon,” it is sinful as so judged by society (132). As time passes, however, what is defined as morally corrupt changes, and so different actions become taboo or accepted. While Amsterdam, with its air of acceptance, is open to various life styles and cultures, there will always be those actions that are thought of as abnormal, if only because of the prematurity of a new movement. When Jacob went to Amsterdam, ready to fully avail himself to the homosexual movement, he was discontent with his struggles to quickly locate this society. However, because of the lack of full acceptance, the movement was still totally underground, a small “city within a city” (138). It is this concept of many smaller entities making up the larger Amsterdam that is so interesting to me. While in Seattle we have a select few clear cultural centers, Amsterdam is a collective body of many unique and substantial population groups each with their own customs and beliefs. The gay community, then, is a “fixed circuit, a ritual” among Amsterdam that gives these individuals a place to belong; a place to remove the camouflage and show one’s true colors.
"The Assault"--Harry Mulisch
bWorld War II sucked the spirit out of Amsterdam for many years, robbing the city of many of its citizens and cultural diversity. In Harry Mulisch’s, “The Assault,” the period of the resistance and occupation robbed him of his mother, father, and brother in an act of retaliation spurring from the assassination of a prominent leader of the Nazi occupation force in Holland. Having suppressed these memories for the greater part of his middle-aged life, Anton finds himself revisiting places and people that begin to piece those memories back together. While the pain of these memories might be hard to deal with, how does this suppression of memories affect the character of the country of the Netherlands, or the city of Amsterdam? In slowly forgetting those names and faces of those Jews taken to internment camps or those killed in fighting, you are losing a small piece of the country. You can’t know where you are going without knowing from where you have come.
bAs sad as it is, sex sells in society. Advertisers utilize women’s bodies and men’s muscles to sell products and teenage girls use their voluptuous curves and flirtatious manner to attract young men. In Maarten ‘t Hart’s “Living in the Red-Light District,” there are “men who stroll past the windows, gaping, for fifteen solid hours, ‘spending the whole day doing nothing but window shopping’” (98). Not to get up on my soapbox and preach, but it I could never ever imagine placing myself in such a position as to turn myself into an object of these men’s desires. While I have nothing against prostitution as an institution, I simply could not overcome the attachment to an individual with which you share something so personal as a sexual encounter. While I would feel exploited by these male customers, other women, as noted in the story, feel empowered by this job. One young prostitute, a college graduate, was quick to point out the enjoyment that she experiences in “squeezing as much money as you can out of a guy […] Here it’s the men who are exploited, not the women” (104). Perhaps in seeing this simply as a job with a customer-employee relationship, these women are able to exclude any personal feelings and emotions that might usually come with such intimate encounters. In Amsterdam’s Red Light District, where the police and government leave these women to perform their duties, sex is a good to be sold.
"The Light at the End of the Tunnel"--Gerrit Komrij
bSin is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, isnt sin just a socially constructed object derived from individual's feelings and morals? What is “bad” to one might be the lifestyle of choice to another. Thus, when Jacob, in Gerrit Komrij’s “The Light at the End of the Tunnel,” is lured to Amsterdam by “a secret circle of people who practiced this sin and debauch with full abandon,” it is sinful as so judged by society (132). As time passes, however, what is defined as morally corrupt changes, and so different actions become taboo or accepted. While Amsterdam, with its air of acceptance, is open to various life styles and cultures, there will always be those actions that are thought of as abnormal, if only because of the prematurity of a new movement. When Jacob went to Amsterdam, ready to fully avail himself to the homosexual movement, he was discontent with his struggles to quickly locate this society. However, because of the lack of full acceptance, the movement was still totally underground, a small “city within a city” (138). It is this concept of many smaller entities making up the larger Amsterdam that is so interesting to me. While in Seattle we have a select few clear cultural centers, Amsterdam is a collective body of many unique and substantial population groups each with their own customs and beliefs. The gay community, then, is a “fixed circuit, a ritual” among Amsterdam that gives these individuals a place to belong; a place to remove the camouflage and show one’s true colors.
"The Assault"--Harry Mulisch
bWorld War II sucked the spirit out of Amsterdam for many years, robbing the city of many of its citizens and cultural diversity. In Harry Mulisch’s, “The Assault,” the period of the resistance and occupation robbed him of his mother, father, and brother in an act of retaliation spurring from the assassination of a prominent leader of the Nazi occupation force in Holland. Having suppressed these memories for the greater part of his middle-aged life, Anton finds himself revisiting places and people that begin to piece those memories back together. While the pain of these memories might be hard to deal with, how does this suppression of memories affect the character of the country of the Netherlands, or the city of Amsterdam? In slowly forgetting those names and faces of those Jews taken to internment camps or those killed in fighting, you are losing a small piece of the country. You can’t know where you are going without knowing from where you have come.
posted by Erika at 9:47 PM
| Permalink |
| Permalink |
[ back home ]
Comments for A Small Taste of Amsterdam's Literature
