The Black Tulip · Chapter
VI: The Hatred of a Tulip-Fancier explained
This chapter delves into the obsessive envy of Isaac Boxtel towards his neighbor Cornelius van Baerle, a successful tulip-grower.
What happens
This chapter delves into the obsessive envy of Isaac Boxtel towards his neighbor Cornelius van Baerle, a successful tulip-grower. Boxtel's jealousy transforms his passion for tulips into a consuming hatred, leading him to sabotage Van Baerle's garden by throwing tied cats into the flowerbeds. Despite the destruction, Van Baerle's prized tulips survive, intensifying Boxtel's rage. The chapter also introduces the Haarlem Tulip Society's prize for a black tulip, which both men pursue, setting the stage for future conflict.
Themes in this chapter
Jealousy and Revenge
Boxtel's intense jealousy of Van Baerle's success drives him to commit acts of sabotage, such as throwing cats into the garden, illustrating the destructive power of envy.
Obsession and Ambition
Both Boxtel and Van Baerle are obsessed with tulips—Van Baerle with cultivation and innovation, Boxtel with ruining his rival—highlighting the consuming nature of their ambitions.
Characters to notice
- Isaac Boxtel
Consumed by envy and hatred, Boxtel sabotages Van Baerle's tulip garden by throwing tied cats into the beds, but his plan fails to destroy the prized tulips.
- Cornelius van Baerle
A successful and innovative tulip-grower, Van Baerle remains unaware of Boxtel's enmity and continues his horticultural pursuits, including the quest for a black tulip.
Key passages
“From that moment Boxtel’s interest in tulips was no longer a stimulus to his exertions, but a deadening anxiety.”
Boxtel's passion for tulips turned into a source of torment after Van Baerle's success.
Illustrates Boxtel's shift from enthusiasm to envy-driven misery.
“How often had the miserable, jealous man to observe in Van Baerle’s beds tulips which dazzled him by their beauty, and almost choked him by their perfection!”
Boxtel frequently watched Van Baerle's tulips, which both amazed and suffocated him with their excellence.
Emphasizes Boxtel's tortured admiration and jealousy.
“One evening he tied two cats together by their hind legs with a string about six feet in length, and threw them from the wall into the midst of that noble, that princely, that royal bed...”
Boxtel tied two cats together and tossed them into Van Baerle's prized tulip bed to cause destruction.
Describes Boxtel's malicious sabotage attempt.