De nachtcactus

…seen in his early story De nachtcactus (1888; “The Night Cactus”), with the flower representing ephemeral desire that blooms for one night and then dies. In his later work Feesten (1902; “Celebrations”), he appears more objective, describing scenes from lower-middle-class life; and in his autobiographical Jaapje (1917), Jaap (1923), and…