Bitter Bonds: A Colonial Divorce Drama of the 17th Century

Rating:
Summary: Bitter Bonds
Review: In Times Literary Supplement's "Books of the Year" (2002), Felipeo Fernandez-Armesto writes:
"Bitter Bonds is the most intriguing work of micro-history since The Return of Martin Guerre."

In 17th-century Batavia, Cornelia van Nijenroode, the daughter of a geisha and a Dutch merchant in Japan, was known as "otemba" (meaning "untamable"), which made her a heroine to modern Japanese feminists. A wealthy widow and enterprising businesswoman who had married an unsuccessful Dutch lawyer for social reasons, she discovered that just after her wedding, she and her husband were at each other's throats. Cornelia insisted on maintaining independent power of disposal over her assets, but legally her husband had control over her possessions and refused to grant her permission to engage in commerce. He soon began using blackmail, smuggling, and secret accounts to channel her wealth back to the Dutch Republic.

Cornelia fought back and tried to get a divorce. The struggle - complete with legal subterfuge, mutual recriminations, and even public brawls - would drag on for fifteen years and culminate in only a partial victory for Cornelia.

"Melodramatic and ripe for Hollywood" - Suddeutsche Zeitung

"Blusse's fine research has given us a fresh picture of a woman living between worlds and of the cultural and economic crosscurrents in the Pacific." - Natalie Zemon Davis, author of The Return of Martin Guerre

Rating:
Summary: An emotional, turbulent true story
Review: Winner of the 1998 Golden Owl award for nonfiction, Bitter Bonds: A Colonial Divorce Drama Of The Seventeenth Century by Leonard Blusse (Professor of History of European-Asian Relations, University of Leiden) is the compelling story of Cornelia van Nijenroode, the strong-willed daughter of a Dutch merchant and a Japanese geisha. Cornelia married a Dutch lawyer for social reasons, yet was soon betrayed by her husband, who sought to plunder all her personal wealth. Cornelia strove to obtain a divorce in an era when the law and customs were especially stacked against women, after a grueling fifteen-year-struggle, Cornelia emerged with only a partial success, and in the process, became a footnote to the history of women's rights. An emotional, turbulent true story of betrayal and the quest for independence, Bitter Bonds is ably translated into English by Diane Webb and a highly recommended contribution to academic Women's History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.