The fairy tale book De kleine Johannes was written in 1884 by Frederik van Eeden.
This book is not just a fairy tale. The following elements play a role in this: the life stages of man; Contrasts (good / evil, idealism / materialism); The reduction motive; Criticism of human society; The search for happiness; Positivism and pantheism (God is present in everything). The story focuses on the development from child to adult and the struggle with the riddles of life. All this is an evolution of a person.
Frederik Willem van Eeden (3 April 1860, Haarlem 16 June 1932, Bussum) was a late 19th-century and early 20th-century Dutch writer and psychiatrist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers and the Significs Group, and had top billing among the editors of De Nieuwe Gids (The New Guide) during its celebrated first few years of publication, starting in 1885.