Geeft ons kracht

Summary

Hélène, an attractive adventuress, has gotten Van Wijk, a young lawyer, into her toils. The large amounts of money he spends on her, land him and his mother in financial difficulties. Even though Hélène is continually deceiving him, she is able to convince him of her sincerity. Van Wijk feels that she will be his undoing, but he lacks the strength to part with the designing woman.

One day he has to visit a client in gaol, a young criminal, whose elderly mother has begged Van Wijk to plead her son's cause in court. Prisoner no. 884 tells Van Wijk how, driven by jealousy because of his sweetheart's fickleness, he lost control of himself and committed his crime. In the story of this simple labourer's life, Van Wijk sees a similarity to his own situation. This gives him the strength to put an end to a relationship that would be fatal to him and his mother.