Antisemitism in Roald Dahl’s The Witches

by Mila Polderman
Roald Dahl is perhaps one of the most famous children’s book writers, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) and Mathilda (1988) being just two examples of his successful works. Many of his books were also adapted into movies, one of the most recent being The Witches (2020).

Why so many prostitutes in recent Dutch novels?

Which types of characters populate the fictional society of Dutch literature? When thinking about literature in terms of demographics, questions arise with regards to the literary representation of certain social groups. Why are certain professions for characters in recent Dutch novels so popular? And what does that say about the potential emancipatory and progressive powers of literature?