Herman Heijermans

Dutch playwright. Born in Rotterdam, he was of Dutch Jewish descent. He founded the literary magazine "Young Signpost" (1897-1901) and joined the socialist movement early on. His naturalistic novels are full of substance, but he was particularly skilled at writing plays, many of which express the misery of society frankly on stage without any external pretense. His representative plays include "Jewish Quarter" (1898), "The Seventh Commandment" (1899), "Tenyu Maru" (1900), which depicts the miserable lives of fishermen, and the impressive "Conclusion" (1907), which deals with the hallucinations of a seriously ill proletarian child. He also ran his own theater company.

[Kondo Noriko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

オランダの劇作家。ロッテルダム生まれのユダヤ系オランダ人。文芸誌『若き道標』（1897～1901）を創刊し、また早くから、社会主義運動に加わる。自然主義小説も充実した重量感があるが、とくに戯曲に長じ、社会の悲惨さをなんらの外面的繕いもなく、赤裸々に舞台に表現した作品が多い。代表的戯曲に『ユダヤ人街』（1898）、『第七戒』（1899）、漁民の悲惨な生活を描いた『天佑丸(てんゆうまる)』（1900）、重病のプロレタリア階級の子供の幻覚を扱った感銘深い『結末』（1907）などがある。自ら劇団も主宰した。

［近藤紀子］

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