previous            A–Z            next        Eduard Dekker Pseudonym:        Multatuli The Latin pseudonym adopted b the Dutch novelist Eduard Dekker (1820–1887) literally means ‘I have borne much’ or ‘I have suffered much’. His suffering was perhaps more social than physical or spiritual, with his most important work ‘Max Havelaar (1860) making a plea for justice to the natives in Java by the Dutch authorities. His main work, however, ‘Ideeën’ [Ideas] (1862–1877), shows him to have been an uncompromisingly radical thinker on many subjects, from the role of women in society to roulette. ‘Multatuli’ therefore, is a name that gives a clue to his intolerant and impatient nature. Source: Room, A. (1981), ‘Name Stories’, Naming Names, p.124 previous            A–Z            next