ABSTRACT

A number of analyses have been published Wilhelm Raabe’s attitude towards German colonialism. There is a general consensus that Raabe felt colonial adventures posed great dangers for Germany, and that a number of his works show the catastrophic results which the subjugation of non-European peoples by various European countries created for that continent's mother- and fatherlands. Despite the considerable attention Raabe scholars, especially in recent years, have paid to his attitude towards colonialism, his particular focus on Dutch colonialism and Dutch colonial topoi appears to have been ignored. Dutch colonialism imbues Die schwarze Galeere with a subtle but suggestive narratological agency, thereby creating a clear dramatic tableau which allows its principal male and female Dutch protagonists to emerge both heroic and redeemed. The connection to Dutch colonialism in Meister Autor begins with this novella's subtitle: Die Geschichten vom versunkenen Garten. The tableau of a sunken garden was inspired by the contemporary Dutch-style landscaping in 'Batavia', the colonial name of Djakarta.