Eva de Haas is one of the two main characters in the Dutch historical fiction novel The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, published in 2024.
In 1961 in the Netherlands, Eva de Haas is a typist and the girlfriend of Louis, the brother of the other main character, Isabel den Brave. Isabel lives alone in the family house in the Dutch countryside and over the years has practically become a recluse. When Louis must leave the country for a month due to a work conference, Eva comes to stay with Isabel during his absence. The two women do not get along at first, due to Isabel’s paranoia (this is nothing new; she also suspects the maid of stealing) and bumping heads with Eva’s bubbly personality and her making herself at home. However, the pair discover that they are attracted to each other, and begin an intense sexual relationship that comes as a surprise to both of them.
In Chapter 5, when discussing whether Isabel is attracted to the unwanted suitor Johan, Eva recalls past lovers before the two end up kissing, igniting their passion.
When Isabel admits she is unsure whether she wants to kiss someone, Eva tells her that sometimes the only way to find out is to try. She kisses Isabel lightly to prove her point, but the moment quickly becomes more intense, with Eva kissing her again and touching her shoulders and chest. Although Eva tries to explain the encounter by saying that Isabel resembles her brother, her actions make it difficult to dismiss her attraction to Isabel.
It is later revealed that Eva de Haas is Jewish and that her family once lived in Isabel’s house before they were displaced during World War II. Eva’s father died in the concentration camps and thus had fallen behind in the mortgage, so the bank re-sold the house to Isabel’s family. When Eva and her mother came back after the war to reclaim the house, Isabel’s mother turned them away. Eva’s mother died years later, and Eva always resented losing the house.
Before dating Louis, Eva describes being attracted to and dating other men in a secret diary that Isabel discovers. The diary details that in 1960, Eva discovered that Louis was still around town and started dating him to gain access to the house and, hopefully, steal back a few of her family’s belongings in a bid to reclaim some of her family’s heirlooms.
However, Eva did not count on falling for Isabel as part of her plan. In Part 3, Chapter 12 of the novel, this is confirmed in Eva’s diary, through entries from the day of that first kiss and the heady first few days of their sexual relationship.
Eva’s diary makes it clear that her attraction to Isabel is genuine and emotionally intense, rather than simply part of an attempt to manipulate her. She writes about being unable to stop thinking about their physical intimacy, feeling overwhelmed by guilt and confusion, and even praying for Isabel to lose interest in her. At the same time, she admits that she is deeply drawn to Isabel and affected by the way Isabel looks at and desires her.
Eva is smart, observant, bubbly, charming and funny, and kind. Considering the circumstances, she can also be seen as manipulative and conniving — but these are only out of necessity to recover what remains of her family after she has lost everything in a historical and unknowable amount of loss from World War II. Despite Isabel’s initial turn as suspicious and a paranoid filter for the narrative, the book does not judge Eva for her actions and finds great empathy for her and her plight. Van der Wouden also gives the two queer women a rare happy ending, with Isabel making sure she will inherit the house from her brother and then give it to Eva — no strings attached. The two also resume their relationship after this reveal and an emotional discussion, resulting in their pairing and Eva’s promise of her family’s inheritance.