Doppelgänger dilemmas : Anglo-Dutch relations in early modern English literature and culture

The Dutch were culturally ubiquitous in England during the early modern period and constituted London's largest alien population in the second half of the sixteenth century. While many sought temporary refuge from Spanish oppression in the Low Countries, others became part of a Dutch diaspora, developing their commercial, spiritual, and domestic lives in England. The category "Dutch" catalyzed questions about English self-definition that were engendered less by large-scale cultural distinctions than by uncanny similarities. Doppelgänger Dilemmas uncovers the ways England's real and imagined proximities with the Dutch played a crucial role in the making of English ethnicity. Marjorie Rubright explores the tensions of Anglo-Dutch relations that emerged in the form of puns, double entendres, cognates, homophones, copies, palimpsests, doppelgängers, and other doublings of character and kind. Through readings of London's stage plays and civic pageantry, English and Continental polyglot and bilingual dictionaries and grammars, and travel accounts of Anglo-Dutch rivalries and friendships in the Spice Islands, Rubright reveals how representations of Dutchness played a vital role in shaping Englishness in virtually every aspect of early modern social life. Her innovative book sheds new light on the literary and historical forces of similitude in an era that was so often preoccupied with ethnic and cultural difference.

The Dutch were culturally ubiquitous in England during the early modern period and constituted London's largest alien population in the second half of the sixteenth century. While many sought temporary refuge from Spanish oppression in the Low Countries, others became part of a Dutch diaspora, developing their commercial, spiritual, and domestic lives in England. The category "Dutch" catalyzed questions about English self-definition that were engendered less by large-scale cultural distinctions than by uncanny similarities. Doppelgänger Dilemmas uncovers the ways England's real and imagined proximities with the Dutch played a crucial role in the making of English ethnicity.

Marjorie Rubright explores the tensions of Anglo-Dutch relations that emerged in the form of puns, double entendres, cognates, homophones, copies, palimpsests, doppelgängers, and other doublings of character and kind. Through readings of London's stage plays and civic pageantry, English and Continental polyglot and bilingual dictionaries and grammars, and travel accounts of Anglo-Dutch rivalries and friendships in the Spice Islands, Rubright reveals how representations of Dutchness played a vital role in shaping Englishness in virtually every aspect of early modern social life. Her innovative book sheds new light on the literary and historical forces of similitude in an era that was so often preoccupied with ethnic and cultural difference.

"The Dutch were culturally ubiquitous in England during the early modern period and constituted London's largest alien population in the second half of the sixteenth century. While many sought temporary refuge from Spanish oppression in the Low Countries, others became part of a Dutch diaspora, developing their commercial, spiritual, and domestic lives in England. The category "Dutch" catalyzed questions about English self-definition that were engendered less by large-scale cultural distinctions than by uncanny similarities. Doppelgänger Dilemmas uncovers the ways England's real and imagined proximities with the Dutch played a crucial role in the making of English ethnicity. Marjorie Rubright explores the tensions of Anglo-Dutch relations that emerged in the form of puns, double entendres, cognates, homophones, copies, palimpsests, doppelgängers, and other doublings of character and kind. Through readings of London's stage plays and civic pageantry, English and Continental polyglot and bilingual dictionaries and grammars, and travel accounts of Anglo-Dutch rivalries and friendships in the Spice Islands, Rubright reveals how representations of Dutchness played a vital role in shaping Englishness in virtually every aspect of early modern social life. Her innovative book sheds new light on the literary and historical forces of similitude in an era that was so often preoccupied with ethnic and cultural difference." from publisher's website Cover 1 Contents 8 Introduction: Double Dutch 10 Chapter 1. Going Dutch in London City Comedy 47 Chapter 2. ‘‘By Common Language Resembled’’: Anglo-Dutch Kinship in the Language Debates 65 Chapter 3. Double Dutch Tongues: Language Lessons of the Stage 98 Chapter 4. Dutch Impressions: The Narcissism of Minor Difference in Print 119 Chapter 5. London as Palimpsest: The Anglo-Dutch Royal Exchange 171 Chapter 6. Doppelgänger Dilemmas: The Crisis of Anglo-Dutch Interchangeability in the East Indies and the Imperfect Redress of Performance 198 Coda: A View from Antwerp 244 Notes 250 Bibliography 310 Index 336 A 336 B 336 C 337 D 338 E 339 F 340 G 340 H 340 I 341 J 341 K 341 L 341 M 342 N 343 O 343 P 343 Q 344 R 344 S 344 T 345 U 346 V 346 W 346 X 346 Y 346 Z 346 Acknowledgments 348 The Dutch were culturally ubiquitous in England during the early modern period and constituted London's largest alien population in the second half of the sixteenth century. While many sought temporary refuge from Spanish oppression in the Low Countries, others became part of a Dutch diaspora, developing their commercial, spiritual, and domestic lives in England. The category "Dutch" catalyzed questions about English self-definition that were engendered less by large-scale cultural distinctions than by uncanny similarities. __Doppelgänger Dilemmas__ uncovers the ways England's real and imagined proximities with the Dutch played a crucial role in the making of English ethnicity. Content: Introduction: Double Dutch Chapter 1. Going Dutch in London City Comedy Chapter 2. "By Common Language Resembled": Anglo-Dutch Kinship in the Language Debates Chapter 3. Double Dutch Tongues: Language Lessons of the Stage Chapter 4. Dutch Impressions: The Narcissism of Minor Difference in Print Chapter 5. London as Palimpsest: The Anglo-Dutch Royal Exchange Chapter 6. Doppelganger Dilemmas: The Crisis of Anglo-Dutch Interchangeability in the East Indies and the Imperfect Redress of Performance Coda: A View from Antwerp Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments Examining literary and dramatic puns, double entendres, and other doublings, Marjorie Rubright uncovers the ways early modern England's real and imagined proximities with the Dutch played a crucial role in the making of English ethnicity.