who has written extensively on the subject of the naturalistic novel, did classify Van de koele meren as naturalistic, he noted that the novel did not meet all seven of his defining characteristics for a naturalistic novel: the novel contains no instances of erlebte Rede, and the positive ending (the "salvation" of Hedwig) is "of course completely un-naturalistic." Another way in which van Eeden does not follow naturalistic tradition is that he "completely and consciously ignored the influence of hereditary factors." Indeed, according to one critic, the novel sets out to prove that "people are capable of changing their destiny." The novel's position on women's sexuality and the sexual education of women has been studied extensively. Dutch critic Hannemieke Stamperius, for instance, saw in one of Hedwig's dreams a critique of the repressive way in which contemporary women were given sexual education. In an article published in Dutch feminist magazine Opzij, Stamperius praised Van de koele meren as one of the most beautiful novels with a female protagonist written by a man. Adaptations and translations A movie of the same name was made by Nouchka van Brakel, starring Renée Soutendijk. The novel was translated into English and published in 1974 as The Deeps of Deliverance, and again in 2009 as Hedwig's Journey. References External links Van de koele meren des doods, text in the DBNL 19th-century Dutch novels Psychological novels Dutch novels adapted into films Novels set in the Netherlands Novels about French prostitution Masturbation in fiction Sexual addiction in fiction 1900 novels