Intelligence Squared The Safekeep, with Women’s Prize-winner Yael van der Wouden
Jul 23, 2025
Yael van der Wouden, a Dutch-Israeli author and Women’s Prize for Fiction winner, discusses her acclaimed debut novel, The Safekeep. She explores the complexities of identity and belonging in a post-war context, challenging the Dutch narrative around World War II's impact on Jewish communities. With insights on the emotional struggles faced by returning Dutch Jews, she highlights collective amnesia's role in shaping contemporary identities. Yael also shares her journey navigating sudden fame and its effects on her creative process.
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House and Control Symbolism
- Isabel's relationship with the house symbolizes her precarious control over her family and future.
- The novel explores themes of seeming control versus the reality of unknowable self and fate.
Domestic Space as Identity Symbol
- The domestic garden symbolizes control, status, and national identity performance.
- Dutch window transparency reflects Calvinist ideals of conformity and safety in community.
Childhood Encounter with War Memory
- A stranger stopped Yael at 13 and shared a haunting memory of Nazi soldiers collecting Jews as he was a child witness.
- Yael was often mistaken for Anne Frank due to her appearance, leading to many such encounters.
