Smee: The hell or the paradise of history?

Charles De Coster’s story Smetse Smee, published in 1858 as part of his Légendes flamandes, centers on a popular motif from Flemish folklore. The motif of clever blacksmith who sells his soul to the devil and then successfully reclaims it occurs in the folk culture of many European countries. A leading promoter of Belgian national consciousness, De Coster creatively transforms the tale to relay the ideals of freedom close to his heart that nineteenth-century intellectuals often associated with peasant frankness and joie de vivre (which formed the backdrop for political debate between Belgian conservatives and liberals in the second half of the century). These traits are  juxtaposed with the demeanor of the “diabolical” opponents of these ideals, embodied in the story by the sixteenth-century suppressors of the protestant rebellion and considered to be “enemies of the people.” Is De Coster’s point of view merely testimony of by-gone conflicts, or does it reflect a moment in the process in which contemporary readers  of the tale of the brave valiant blacksmith from Ghent are still immersed in today?

Charles De Coster’s story Smetse Smee, published in 1858 as part of his Légendes flamandes, centers on a popular motif from Flemish folklore. The motif of clever blacksmith who sells his soul to the devil and then successfully reclaims it occurs in the folk culture of many European countries. A leading promoter of Belgian national consciousness, De Coster creatively transforms the tale to relay the ideals of freedom close to his heart that nineteenth-century intellectuals often associated with peasant frankness and joie de vivre (which formed the backdrop for political debate between Belgian conservatives and liberals in the second half of the century). These traits are  juxtaposed with the demeanor of the “diabolical” opponents of these ideals, embodied in the story by the sixteenth-century suppressors of the protestant rebellion and considered to be “enemies of the people.” Is De Coster’s point of view merely testimony of by-gone conflicts, or does it reflect a moment in the process in which contemporary readers  of the tale of the brave valiant blacksmith from Ghent are still immersed in today?