Character Analysis
Is it just us, or does Jacob (a.k.a. Jacob's grandpa) seem pretty darn perfect? His wife, Sarah, never married anyone else after he died, and never missed an opportunity to tell Jacob and his dad how perfect the guy was. Even fifty years later, she's still singing his praises, even though they were only married for a couple years. Then add Geertrui's feelings to the mix—she too cares deeply for Jacob decades after his death, even though she only knew him for a short time. But how great can one guy really be?
Hero or Zero?
It's clear everyone idolizes the guy, but is this just their way of not speaking ill of the dead? Was he really that amazing? Well, it depends who you ask. Daan seems to think everyone talks about him the way they want to remember him, not the way he really was—and Jacob's dad feels the same way. Jacob tells us his dad is always rolling his eyes at Sarah's praise for her late hubby. But Jacob doesn't think any of this is fair. As he says:
Maybe she sees him through rosy spectacles now, after all these years. Sarah too. But something big happened between them then. Something true. Something existed which wasn't a fantasy. They haven't made it up. You can't deny that. (21.47)
Jacob says this to Daan about Geertrui's relationship with his grandpa, but we're not sure Daan is convinced. The truth is a funny thing—and sometimes it's different things to different people. For Sarah and Geertrui, the truth is that Jacob was an amazing guy, but for Daan, he doesn't think that can be true for both of these women. After all, they were sleeping with the same guy… while he was married to one of them. It's interesting that Daan—Mister Free Love—questions Jacob Sr.'s awesomeness, while Jacob—Mister Confused About Romance—does not.
Ultimately, we're not given a straight answer about the original Jacob. We don't get his perspective of how it all went down—just Geertrui's, with hints from Sarah here and there. Yet again, the author asks us to decide what really happened. Perhaps this is another tale of things not being what they seem—everyone thinks Jacob is this too-good-to-be-true fella, and it turns out that he indeed is. Or perhaps it's simply subjective. To Sarah and Geertrui, the guy will always be a hero; but to Daan and Tessel, the guy's pretty much a zero.
We've just got one question left for you then. Which does Jacob think his grandpa is? He starts out thinking he's a brave fighter in the war, but does he change his opinion about the dude after he visits his grave or reads the memoir?