Rechten der jeugd

Summary

Herman van Hogelanden, the only son of the famous painter Gerard van Hogelanden, is in love with Dora, the daughter of a forester. He is afraid that his father will not give his permission for a marriage because the girl is below his station in life. To his surprise, his father has no objections. "I shall tell you my own story," he tells his son, "so that you can avoid the rocks on which my life was almost wrecked." "When I was twenty, I lived only for the art of painting, but my father, who despised artistes, wanted to make a merchant of me. Father Hendrix, the parish priest of our village, lived with his niece in a cottage on the edge of our estate. Maria was my childhood sweetheart and, as we grew up, our affection for each other developed. For my father the relationship was unacceptable, and to prevent my keeping company with Maria, he sent me to the university. I wasn't interested in studying and spent all my time painting. My father left me to sink or swim. It was a difficult time for me. Art-dealers thought my work showed talent, but was not yet ripe enough to attract buyers."

Gerard then tells his son how his father forced him into a marriage with a woman who only married him for his money and then reduced him to beggary. When his wife died after falling from a horse, Gerard was rescued by a friend of former days, Paul van Beek, who took him into his house and gave him the courage to start a new life in his studio. Thanks to Paul's help, Gerard was again able to devote himself energetically to his painting.

Then, one day, when he was busy with his favourite painting - an unfinished portrait of Maria - the young woman suddenly appeared in front of him and said that nothing would make her happier than to pose for him once more. The finished painting won a first prize at a competition and then nothing stood in the way of his marrying the woman he had always loved. Gerard finishes his story by saying: "My son, your mother had no riches other than her good heart, her purity and her simplicity. If the girl of your choice has the same virtues I shall greet her lovingly as my daughter."