This Earth of Mankind

“In front of us stood a girl, white-skinned, refined, European face, hair and eyes of a Native. And those eyes, those shining eyes! (‘Like a pair of morning stars,’ I called them in my notes.) If this was the girl Suurhof meant, he was right: Not only could she rival the queen, she triumphed over her. And she was alive, flesh and blood, not just a picture.

‘Annelies Mellema.’ She held out her hand to me, then to Suurhof.

The voice that came from her lips left an impression that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

By nature, 18-year-old protagonist Minke is suspicious. His awkward encounter with Robert Mellema, the friend of his classmate Robert Suurhof, stokes his defenses, putting him on edge until Robert M.’s sister suddenly appears. The clearest indication of Annelies’s great beauty is the manner in which she completely, instantly disarms Minke. There is no other individual in the narrative who provokes his quick acceptance. As the novel progresses, Minke’s cautious comments and nature appear continually. With Annelies, however, he cannot keep himself from telling her how beautiful she is, then kissing her on the cheek twice.

“On one occasion, one of the girls who sat beside me, Vera, pinched my thigh as hard as she could, as a way of getting acquainted. I screamed in pain.

Mr. Rooseboom’s eyes popped out frighteningly, and he yelled:

‘Quiet, you monk … Minke!’

From that day, everyone in the class called me Minke, the one and only Native. My teachers followed suit. Then my friends from all the other classes. Also from outside school.”

The protagonist’s real name is not given anywhere in the narrative. He reveals that he comes from ancient Javanese royalty, though he does not want to be defined by this. He does not want to be pigeonholed by either the Dutch, some of whom expect him to become an important bridge between European and Javanese society, or the Natives, who take for granted that he will become a regional governmental authority. As part of this resistance, he strictly identifies himself as “Minke”—the gibberish half-curse bestowed upon him by an irritated teacher.