29. A similar conclusion is drawn by Frans Ruiter and Wilbert Smulders in their introduction to Alleen blindgeborenen kunnen de schrijver verwijten dat hij liegt. Over het schrijverschap van Willem Frederik Hermans (Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2009), p. 19: ‘This splendid book [Abrams’s The Mirror and the Lamp] has been introduced in Dutch literary studies by Sötemann. By some unhappy whim of fate, however, it was introduced in a way that subtly took the sting out of Abrams’s argument. [...] By dropping the historical moment of Abrams’s argument, Sötemann annuls the dramatic narrative of Abrams’s thesis.’ Translation by Aukje van Rooden.