In Great Waters: Four Stories

"In Great Waters: Four Stories" by Thomas A. Janvier, is a group of short stories from the late 1800s that take place near the sea and show people dealing with love, death, and fighting against the power of nature. The first story, "The Wrath of the Zuyder Zee," is about Old Jaap Visser, a man who can’t forget a terrible storm that killed his family. This story uses old stories and looks at what happens when someone puts a curse on another. The story starts by showing the town of Marken, where people are scared and feel sorry for Old Jaap because they think he’s crazy after what happened to his family. As the fishermen go about their lives, Jaap's sad personality is shown, mostly when his son-in-law, Krelis Kess, bothers him. Jaap gets angry and curses Krelis, saying bad things will happen to him. The town starts to believe Jaap's curse is real, and the story then looks at fate and how angry nature can be, mixing human feelings with the impressive but scary sea.