On the Absence of Nature: Writing on Nature and Ecocriticism in the Netherlands

Key words: Dutch literature, absence of nature, Dutch ecocriticism, Frederik van Eeden, Ton Lemaire, dwelling, tourism, sublime, materiality, multicultural landscape.The traditional Dutch self-understanding is one of a nation of sober, pragmatic city-dwellers, indifferent towards Romantic nature. Their very landscapes have been seen to reflect an absence of ‘nature’. Yet a body of writing worthy of study can be found, in literature, theory and journalistic writing on Dutch landscapes, plants and animals. Pastoralism has dominated historically – promoting a bleak sense that nature has virtually... Mehr ...