A Love Story
In the “At Home with Cuypers” exhibit, you’ll find the first edition of the book *Blank en Geel*, along with the wedding photo of Mia Cuypers and Frederic George Taen Err Toung. Mia’s decision to marry a man of Chinese descent caused quite a stir in the family. The love story even became the basis for a book!
The story “Blank en Geel” was written by Lodewijk van Deyssel, a pseudonym for Karel Alberdingk Thijm, the son of Mia’s mother’s brother. As her cousin, he was naturally privy to all the family’s troubles. The story was published as a serial in the weekly magazine *Eigen Haard*. In March 1894, the book *Blank en Geel* was published under the pseudonym A.J.. The first printing of the book, with a print run of 750 copies, sold out within a year. The book uses fictional names, and not all descriptions and events are based on truth. But it’s not hard to draw a connection to the dramatic love story of Cuypers’ daughter, Mia. Mia herself is not happy with the book. She has always admired her cousin’s writing talent but wonders how he could have botched such a poignant, rich, true story full of romance into such a mundane little serial! At that time, she is still happily married.
Pierre Cuypers had many objections to the relationship: Frederic has a Chinese father, isn’t Catholic, and Cuypers doesn’t know the Taen family. In the end, he does consent to the marriage. Unfortunately, his objections were confirmed in 1897 when it turned out that Frederic was unfaithful, and Mia wanted a divorce. At a time when women’s emancipation was still virtually nonexistent, this was a major step.
