This is a film about a middle class house wife (Nynke) at the start of the twentieth century, who is plagued by the hysteria and depressions caused by an empty life. In those days this mental state was fairly normal for married women, in particular since a divorce was awkward, and it was not uncommon to spend some time in mental hospitals. The story of Nynke is outstanding, in that she was the wife of Pieter Jelles Troelstra, the co-founder of the Dutch socialist party and the first leader of the democratic socialists in the Netherlands. Troelstra was an emotional and naturally ambitious man, who became a professional lawyer and an amateur poet. In this episode he met Nynke, and soon married her. It was the typical encounter and bond between a dominant man and a naive woman. After a few more years Troelstra became engaged in the budding socialist movement, and his ambitious nature brought about that the just cause seized almost his complete attention and available time. He was one of the founders of the SDAP (socialdemocrat workers (arbeiders) party, 1896), an in this role he became the Dutch equivalent of Bebel, Jaures, Morris, vanderVelde, and of course Gene Deps. His mission required that he was continuously on his way to all parts of the country, in order to give lectures and address meetings. After several years he also became a parliamentary representative of the SDAP. It goes without saying, that when Nynke married the poet, she had envisioned another life. Occasionally she accompanied Troelstra on his journeys, but she was not by herself addicted to the cause of the proletariat. Logically she and Troelstra grew apart, eventually also physically. This was a far-reaching chance in a time, when divorces were socially hardly tolerated. The disappointment and emptiness threw her into several depressions, caused by lack of self-esteem, which even required treatments by a psychiatrist. It must be noted, that Troelstra himself was sometimes also driven to the verge of a nervous breakdown, because the society pressure on the socialists was immense, and his ambition and perfectionism tended to exhaust him. The separation between Troelstra and Nynke became inevitable, when he started an affair with their housekeeper. Here the film ends. I believe, that Nynke afterward had a productive life as a writer of children's' novels (even while still living together with Troelstra she wrote the regional classic "Aafkes tiental"). For me the film was another illustration that professional success is often incompatible with stable intimate relations. Although the scenes are often emotional, the human touch is never lost, and the characters are strong enough to continue in the possession of glimmering hope. In addition the film gives insight into the manners of the upper middle-class, that ruled the democratic socialism (mostly sincere people, but also the suicide of the writer Cornelie Huygens). As far as I know, the theme of the family life of a leading politician makes this film unique in Europe. The nearest attempt was probably "Rosa Luxemburg" by Von Trotta.
