Chapters 19-20 Summary

In Chapter Nineteen, Minke receives a letter from Robert Suurhof, in which he confesses his love of Annelies and begs forgiveness, and indicates that he is leaving Java in order to try to forget her. Minke and Annelies live a few months in undisturbed happiness, but that ends with news that Nyai and Annelies are being brought to court. After much confusion, it is discovered that Maurits Mellema is claiming his inheritance as Herman's only legitimate son. He has gotten the Dutch courts to give him his share of the estate, and to also oversee Annelies and Robert's shares as they are illegitimate. The final blow is that since Annelies is still a minor, Maurits is going to bring her to the Netherlands, and also that since the marriage was neither Dutch nor Christian and because of her illegitimacy, the marriage...