1

‘De Aanslag goes beyond an emotional experience. It focusses on the sensitive and insoluble issues of
guilt, innocence, and responsibility.’ Discuss.

Harry Mulisch’s novel De Aanslag, first published in 1985, follows the life of Anton Steenwijk over a
period of thirty-five years, as he struggles to make sense of the brutal murder of his family during the
short synopsis
Second World War. The novel reveals the lasting psychological repercussions of the fateful night on
Anton, while his unexpected encounters with those involved in the incident lead him to ultimately
confront the truth and grapple with what this means for him, so many years later. Anton’s character
and tone often appear detached and indifferent, yet this enables Mulisch to move beyond superficial
layers of emotion and tackle the issues of guilt and responsibility which haunt Anton throughout the
novel. De Aanslag raises difficult questions about the perpetrators and victims of the War, as well as
about how individuals and nations come to terms with the suffering of their past.

The protagonist Anton Steenwijk remains the one constant in a novel which spans many
decades and is set across several Dutch cities. It is worth examining his character carefully, for this
leads one to question to what extent the novel can be described as an ‘emotional experience’. Anton
tends not to openly display signs of emotion, and even in the most harrowing of opening episodes,
the narrative remains factual and does not dwell upon Anton’s reactions. One learns later that Anton
specialises as an anaesthetist and the inclusion of this minor detail creates an insightful analogy. He
notes that the drugs make the patient not just insensitive to the pain, but rather unable to express it,
and ‘dat zij achteraf de herinnering de doorstane pijn wegnamen, terwijl de patient er toch door
veranderd was’.1 Much in the same way, Anton cannot entirely remember the sequence of events –
he has great difficulty recalling his conversation with Truus, for instance – but is evidently deeply
affected by them. The numbness induced by the anaesthetist’s needle can therefore be read as
Anton’s apparent numbness to his past. His guarded nature means however that the times when he
does visibly show emotion are especially poignant. Upon meeting Cor Takes and understanding that
the lady in the cell was his girlfriend, Truus, Anton cries, for as the narrator comments, ‘op dit moment
stierf zij voor hem, eenentwintig jaar geleden’.2 The juxtaposition of the elements of time, ‘op dit
moment’ and ‘eenentwintig jaar geleden’, draws attention to how profoundly this event in the past
affects Anton. Such instances of open emotion are rare and do not undermine Anton’s detached
character, but rather highlight central figures and themes, thus ensuring one does not only read the
text at a superficial level. one topic in the para
detachedness and expressions – so both sides
De Aanslag is therefore not merely a description of Anton’s emotional reaction to this
disturbing incident of his childhood, but rather an attempt to address something deeper and more
problematic, namely what lies at the root of his suffering. One quickly gains the impression that Anton
is restless and never quite manages to feel at ease; a sentiment best encapsulated by his realisation
that he owns four houses. The frequent changes in setting as Anton visits Haarlem from Amsterdam,
and even travels abroad to London and Tuscany, coupled with the presence of his two wives, Saskia
and Liesbeth, also add to the unsettled atmosphere of the novel. As one understands from his chance
meeting with Fake Ploeg, Anton is searching for answers and clarity, although this is perhaps not a
motivation he is actively aware of. Fake remains obstinate throughout their conversation, so Anton
asks him provocatively, ‘Is er niet bovendien een zeker verschil tussen de dood van jouw vader en die

1
Third Episode, Ch. 1.
2
Fourth Episode, Ch. 3.
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van mijn ouders?’, before adding, ‘Mijn ouders waren onschuldig.’3 His phrase ‘een zeker verschil’
creates a leading question; it is almost as if Anton expects Fake to pronounce his father guilty, and
thus despairs when he staunchly defends his father instead. This incident reveals how the concepts of
guilt and innocence are subjective, and although it seems obvious to Anton, and the reader is inclined
to agree, that Fake Ploeg was the guilty party, this is not at all the case for his son. Although Fake
mentions to Anton as he leaves that he will never forget Anton’s role in the incident in their classroom,
there is no moment of reconciliation and Anton’s search for the truth continues at later points in the
novel. This encounter suggests however that while issues of guilt and innocence are not simple, and
even impossible, to resolve, there is some value in confronting and tackling them.
guilt and innocence go well together, but responsibility has to be discussed seperrately
If one is to discuss the question of responsibility in De Aanslag, then one must consider the
Kortewegs, for the reader assumes, given that they move Fake Ploeg’s body in front of the Steenwijk’s
house, that they can be held responsible for the death of Anton’s parents and brother. Until the final
episode of the novel no evidence suggests otherwise – Mrs Beumer describes how the Kortewegs did
not even say goodbye when they emigrated to New Zealand, and even Cor Takes is perplexed when
he learns of this detail of the incident. When Karin Korteweg crosses paths with Anton during the
demonstration in Amsterdam however, she informs him that her father committed suicide in 1948.
Although Anton is at first aghast, one reads that this is soon replaced with ‘een gevoel van instemming
en bevrediging – alsof hij zich nu inderdaad gewroken had’.4 It initially seems that the novel has been
leading up to this moment; in a peculiar way, Anton has finally found peace in the knowledge of the
death of Mr. Korteweg. Unsurprisingly, this rather convenient conclusion is not the final blow of the
novel, but Karin divulges that the Aartses’ were hiding a Jewish family. Her father chose not to place
Ploeg’s corpse there in order to protect them, but in doing so ultimately inflicted death upon the
Steenwijk family. This revelation challenges and overturns the reader’s assumptions about who was
innocent or guilty, and who, if anyone at all, can be held responsible. Mr. Korteweg’s suicide
demonstrates the lasting psychological damage the War can inflict, while the insinuation that either
way, three innocent people would have lost their lives that night, underlines the futility and
devastating cost and impact of the war.

The role of chance in the novel must also not be overlooked, for in suggesting that there is not
always a rational logic to explain an event, the focus is shifted away from finding an individual to hold
responsible. The most evident allusion to the significance of chance can be found in the recurring
symbolism of the dice. At the very end of the first episode, Anton sticks his hand into his pocket, ‘waar
hij iets voelde dat hij niet thuis kon brengen. Hij keek: het was de dobbelsteem.’5 The die represents
the cruel but also kind role chance has played that night; he has lost his family through no fault of their
own, but has himself been kept alive, due to what seems like an oversight on the part of the Germans.
The dice return in the final episode, but in the form of the decoration on the lamp in his Italian house.
They are nevertheless enough to trigger an anxiety attack of sorts, suggesting that the image of the
dice in his pocket and its meaning has continued to haunt Anton. Many of the events of the novel
themselves also revolve around chance; Fake Ploeg just happens to be blocking his apartment, Cor
Takes at the funeral of his father-in-law’s friend, and Karin Korteweg at the demonstration which the

3
Third Episode, Ch. 3.
4
Fifth Episode, Ch. 3.
5
First Episode, Ch. 4.
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dentist bribes him to attend. In this way Mulisch is perhaps subtly indicating the powerlessness of man
to fully control his life, and thus the role chance plays in deciding one’s fate.

It is finally worth considering the novel in its entirety and to reflect upon what the reader is
left with at its close. Despite the various hints Anton gleans about the truth behind his family’s murder,
De Aanslag is not written like a detective story. The plot does not hinge around his search for answers,
but rather follows his mundane daily existence which occasionally leads to these conversations. It is
also important to keep the time span of the novel in mind; although these chance encounters may
seem frequent, they are spaced over a period of almost forty years. The novel is concerned with how
Anton lives while repressing his questions about the past, and the way in which he eventually tackles
them. Several contemporary political references are also scattered throughout the novel, such as the
release of Willy Lages, head of the Dutch Gestapo, and these force both Anton and the reader to
confront the issue of guilt and the importance of taking responsibility for the immense loss of life and
suffering in The Netherlands during the Second World War. In the Prologue to the novel, a rather banal
scene of a man driving a barge is described, and one reads, ‘Dat vond Anton altijd het mooist: een man
die naar achteren liep om iets naar voren te duwen, en tegelijk op dezelfde plaats bleef.’ This image
serves as an apt metaphor for what will lie at the core of the novel; the journey of Anton attempting
to confront his past in order to be able to move forward, at least psychologically, with his own life.

De Aanslag succeeds in breaking down the mental barriers Anton, and to a certain extent,
Dutch society, has raised to block out the memory of the pain experienced during the War. The
external narrative perspective, as well as the character of Anton, who appears ambivalent to his past,
allow Mulisch to shift the reader’s attention away from superficial relationships and the consuming
emotions of the characters, and instead to focus on the more profound questions of guilt and
responsibility. Anton’s conversations with Cor Takes and Fake Ploeg reveal how subjectivity influences
perceptions of guilt and innocence, while the role of chance questions whether it is even fair to claim
that one individual is entirely to blame. The development of Anton’s character and the outcome of De
Aanslag suggest however that while these issues may indeed remain unanswered or irreconcilable, it
is essential to address and challenge such questions in order to form a better understanding of both
the present and the future.

novels are usually considered as a whole or at least in bigger units, but some
close reading of certain phrases or just the discussion of an actually relevant
paragraph would have been nice

maybe could have included some secondary literature or other works of art of the
period – not sure though