Old People and the Things That Pass

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Couperus, Louis, 1863-1923

Contributor:

Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander, 1865-1921

Standardized Title:

Van oude mensen, de dingen, die voorbijgaan. English

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Old People and the Things That Pass" by Louis Couperus is a novel written in the early 20th century. The book explores the emotional landscape of aging, focusing on the complex relationships within an elderly family as they navigate love, loss, and the passage of time. Central characters include Ottilie, a woman grappling with the realities of her old age, her son Lot, who is preparing to marry Elly, and Steyn, Ottilie's second husband, highlighting themes of jealousy, loneliness, and the struggle to connect with loved ones. The opening of the novel introduces us to Ottilie as she interacts with her son Lot over coffee and prepares for his impending marriage to Elly. There is a palpable tension in Ottilie's emotions; she feels a mix of jealousy and sadness at the prospect of losing Lot. As they converse, Ottilie's reflections reveal her insecurities about aging and the changes in her family dynamics, particularly her complicated relationship with her husband Steyn. Lot, while affectionate, expresses his conflicting feelings about marriage, pondering why he proposed to Elly. The scene sets the stage for deeper explorations into the nuances of family bonds and the inevitability of aging as the narrative unfolds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

E-text prepared by Clare Graham, Annemie Arnst, and Marc D'Hooghe (http://www.freeliterature.org) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 83.4 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Release date is 2015-02-15