Page 212 - DENG501_LITERARY_CRITICISM_AND_THEORIES

Literary Criticism and Theories

Notes native soil is saturated with the past (literally, through the image of the corpses buried in the
ground) and even acquires a holy character. Likewise, time becomes charged with historicity as
well: the battle that is to take place the next day, '[zal] de onafhankelykheid der Vlamingen
vereeuwigen, of hen op nieuw met boeijen overladen' ('will perpetuate the independence of the
Flemings, or put them back in chains'). However, Ronsse importantly does not succeed in
introducing this historicity into the descriptions of the actual novelistic space. The historical
chronotope in Arnold van Schoorisse is only created in the imagination of the characters, it is not
realised in the novel's 'reality' (in its chronotope): in the description of the battle the next day, the
space of the native country once more completely disappears into the background, and actions
such as 'rushing forward', 'fleeing', 'hastening to help', 'gaining ground', 'recoiling', 'pursuing',
'surrounding' and 'cutting short' all take place against a completely abstract background. This
abstract quality of time and space is a necessity in any adventure novel of ordeal. As Bakhtin
explains, it is a prerequisite for the ruling principle of 'chance' to be able to operate to its fullest:
Every concretization, of even the most simple and everyday variety, would introduce its own rule-
generating force, its own order, its inevitable ties to human life and to the time specific to that life.
Events would end up being interwoven with these rules, and to a greater or lesser extent would
find themselves participating in this order, subject to its ties. This would critically limit the power
of chance; the movement of the adventures would be organically localized and tied down in time
and space.
Plot
The amorous plot-line is however still introduced in the first chapter, in the story of Arnold's and
Isabella's marriage and Isabella's subsequent abduction, and at the end the motif is even doubled
by the introduction of another couple (Oda van Schoorisse and Frans Ackerman) about to get
married. The deep indebtedness of Arnold van Schoorisse to the Greek romance reveals itself in
the fact that Ackerman is first introduced as Oda's lover (and thus as a hero in the amorous plot-
line), and is to figure as a historical character only in the next chapter. Further in the novel,
however, it will become clear that Arnold's unremitting (and uncritical) loyalty to the Count of
Mâle largely stems from a curse that 'de zwarte ridder' ('the black knight'), a long-time persecutor
of Arnold's family who had abducted Arnold's wife Isabella seventeen years before, has laid upon
Arnold's daughter Oda. The black knight had added a stipulation to this curse, promising that if
Arnold should ever succeed in being knighted by the Count as a reward for his faithful service, he
himself would honour the precepts of knighthood, and would respect and even protect Oda,
because from then on she would be 'het erfdeel eens ridders' ('the inheritance of a knight') (I, 38).
The reason for Arnold's loyalty is therefore primarily to be situated on the 'individual' (and
predominantly amorous) plane of events, not on the political plane. As in the traditional adventure
novel of ordeal, the faith of the main characters is for the most part never under debate in Arnold
van Schoorisse: the whole novel is conceived as a proof of this faith, rather than as a test in which
the heroes might fail.
Central Motif
The central motif of faith also informs the many oaths sworn in this novel - the crucifixes in the
bedrooms of the 'persecuted maidens' Isabella and Oda seem to be present for this purpose only.
Characters in the novel are, moreover, often evaluated on the basis of their trustworthiness and
sincerity: they are characterized as honest and sincere, or as 'lasteraer' ('slanderer'), 'schynheilig'
('hypocritical') or 'valschaert' ('imposter'). This opposition receives its clearest expression in Oda's
characterization of her respective suitors Frans Ackerman and Walter van Herzeele (Arnold's best
friend, who will later turn out to be none other than the black knight). The words of Ackerman are
'waer als het H. Evangelie' ('as true as the gospel'); in Walter's words on the contrary 'schuilt iets
listigs' ('they contain something cunning and deceitful'), and Oda remains on her guard against
the 'listen en lagen' ('cunning schemes') of the 'valschaert'.

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