HERMANN HESSE AND THE DIALECTICS OF TIME Salvatore C. P. ...

HERMANN HESSE AND THE DIALECTICS OF TIME
Salvatore C. P. CAMPISI
School of Languages
University of Salford, Salford, UK
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, September 2010

Contents
Acknowledgements ___________________________________i
Declaration _________________________________________ ii
Abbreviations______________________________________iii
Abstract_________________________________________ i v
Introduction __________________________________ 1
Chapter 1 Hesse's dialectics and creative process ___________ 13
1.1 Thinking in polarities: Origins __________________________ 14
1.2 Thinking in polarities: Significance ________________________ 18
1.3 Paradoxes _______________________________________ 22
1.4 Magical thinking __________________________________ 27
1.5 Intellectualismvs naivety _____________________________ 28
1.6 Hesse's novels: Autobiographies or reflections of his soul?__________ 30
Chapter 2 Writing 'musically' _______________________ 37
2.1 A matter of senses __________________________________ 39
2.2 Writing as composition ______________________________ 43
2.3 Theme and variations ________________________________ 49
2.4 Leitmotif _______________________________________ 51
2.5 Sonata form and counterpoint: Hesse between Romanticism and Classicism 55
2.5.1 'Ungestaltbare Gestalt': On the verge of paradox ______________ 63
Chapter 3 Music, ethics, and aesthetics _________________ 67
3.1 Hesse's musical taste and its evolution ______________________ 67
3.2 Music: 'Das bedeutet: die Welt hat einen Sinn' _________________ 74
3.3 Wagner, Hesse, and Existentialism ________________________ 81
3.4 Jazz and the dissolution of art___________________________ 92
3.5 Whistling and dancing _______________________________ 98
Chapter 4 Memory, metamorphosis, and epiphany__________ 106
4.1 Identity ______________________________________ 108
4.2 Hesse and memory _______________________________ 110
4.3 Memory and childhood ______________________________ 112
4.4 The need to remember and forget: Memory and morality __________ 117
4.5 Metamorphosis _________________________________ 121
4.6 Epiphany ______________________________________ 131

Chapter 5 Eternity_____________________________ 135
5.1 Between time and timelessness_________________________ 139
5.2 Simultaneity___________________________________ 142
5.3 Circles, cycles, and spirals: Images of infinity ________________ 148
5.4 Time changes to space _____________________________ 155
5.5 The weightlessness of eternity _________________________ 159
Chapter 6 Humour, Romantic irony, and laughter: Ingredients for
eternity _____________________________ 163
6.1 Humour: In search of a definition ________________________ 164
6.2 Evolution of Hesse's 'Humor' __________________________ 169
6.3 Ideal vs reality: 'Galgenhumor' and Romantic irony _____________ 173
6.4 The mirror _____________________________________ 181
6.5 Pablo and Mozart: Two faces of the same fool _________________ 185
6.6 The limitations of Hesse's narrative irony and the claim of his artistry to
immortality_____________________________________ 191
Conclusion _________________________________ 197
Bibliography_______________________________________ 204

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank my supervisors, Dr. Gillian Ania and Mr. Andrew Hollis, for their
support and attentive criticism throughout these years. I owe them an intellectual
and linguistic synergy to which I ascribe the merits of this thesis. I would also like to
acknowledge Dr. Gillian Ania's contribution towards the translations of excerpts
from Claudio Magris' 'II sorriso dell'unita ovvero Hermann Hesse fra la Vita e la
vita' (1977).
My gratitude goes to Professor Andrew Basden as well for his kind
permission to cite from his lectures notes 'Human factors of information systems and
human-computer interface and interaction' (2005) in the context of 'epiphany'
(Chapter 4, section 6 of this thesis) and for pointing me to Herman Dooyeweerd's
notions of time and eternity.

Declaration
The discussion on Tablo and Mozart: Two faces of the same fool' (Chapter 6, section
5) takes its cue from my article The Unbearable Lightness of (Being) Mozart, or
Mozart in Steppenwolf (2007), details of which are given at the outset of the relevant
section.
11

Abbreviations
Dem: Demian, in SW 3, pp. 233-365
ESM: Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht, in SW 1, pp. 167-218
GB: Gesammelte Briefe, ed. by U. Michels and V. Michels in collaboration with
Heiner Hesse, 4 vols (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1973-1986)
Ger: Gertrud (Definitive Fassung), in SW 2, pp. 281-435
Glas: Das Glasperlenspiel, in SW 5, pp. 7-703
GS: Gesammelte Schriften, 7 vols (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1968)
HL: Hermann Lauscher, in SW 1, pp. 219-325
KF: Kleine Freuden: Verstreute und kurze Prosa aus dem Nachlafl, ed. by V. Michels
(Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1977)
Kli: Klingsors letzter Sommer, in SW 8, pp. 284-333
KM: Die Kunst des Mufliggangs: Kurze Prosa aus dem Nachlafl, ed. by V. Michels
(Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1973)
Kur: Kurgast, in SW 11, pp. 37-127
KuW: Klein und Wagner, in SW 8, pp. 210-83
Mor: Die Morgenlandfahrt, in SW 4, pp. 533-92
NR: Die Nurnberger Reise, in SW 11, pp. 129-82
NuG: Narzifl und Goldmund, in SW 4, pp. 269-531
PC: Peter Camenzind, in SW 2, pp. 5-134
PV: Tiktors Verwandlungen', in SW 9, pp. 188-192
Rofi: Roflhalde, in SW 3, pp. 4-142
Sid: Siddhartha, in SW 3, pp. 369-472
Ste: Der Steppenwolf, in SW 4, pp. 5-203
SteMat Materialien zu Hermann Hesses "Der Steppenwolf', ed. by V. Michels (Frankfurt
a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1972)
SW: Samtliche Werke, ed. by V. Michels, 20 vols (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 2001-
2007)
UR: Unterm Rad, in SW 2, pp. 135-280
iii

Abstract
This thesis explores Hermann Hesse's relation with temporality, as both a spiritual
and historical category, and examines his pendulation between time and the timeless
as an expression of his all-pervading dialectics. The topic is approached through a
preliminary discussion of Hesse's dialectical framework (Chapter 1), followed by the
examination of five interrelated themes which have time, or the timeless, as a
common denominator. Music is the point of departure of the investigation (Chapters
2 and 3), which leads into a discussion on the temporality of memory and
metamorphosis (Chapter 4), before focusing on eternity (Chapter 5) and its links with
Hesse's 'Humor' and narrative irony (Chapter 6).
Concentrating primarily on Hesse's prose fiction, this study rests on the
assumption, discussed in the first chapter, that his novels and short stories are
characterised by a pronounced biographical imprint. The traditionally literary
background and approach of this dissertation are complemented with different
perspectives from other fields such as neuroscience (memory), linguistics (humour),
musicology and music theory. In discussing the various strands, attention has been
drawn to underlying temporal patterns that highlight an evolution in Hesse's
thought or artistry.
This work, which seeks to extend knowledge in an area of research where only
few scholars (e.g. Shaw, Karalaschwili, Moritz) have engaged directly or primarily
with the question of temporality in Hesse, underlines the coalescence of the spatial
and the temporal, the visual and the auditory in Hesse's poetics and aesthetics, and
concludes that time and the timeless interlock, as a consequence of Hesse's dialectical
framework, and as experienced by his characters in exceptional moments of
revelation.
IV

Introduction
[Z]um Spielen fehlte mir dies, namentlich brachte das Zahlen der Takte michfast zur Verzweiflung
('Abschied' 1908; SW 7,195)
The end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, in broad terms the time
when Hesse's work is situated, encompasses an exceptionally complex and
multifaceted period of human history defined by two crucial historical events, the
world wars, as well as by advancements in virtually every field of knowledge, from
science to philosophy. 1 The crucial impact of Einstein's theory of relativity along with
the findings in quantum physics, the influence exerted by thinkers such as Nietzsche
and Bergson, the advent of psychoanalysis, and the major role played by ideologies
(e.g. Marxism) contributed to shaping the destiny of the world and Europe in
particular. 2 One of the consequences of this period of upheaval and rapid
transformation in the West was a challenge to traditional beliefs and faiths which
was counterbalanced by a renewed spiritual impetus. Existentialism, which appeared
at this stage, proclaimed the need to face the 'absurdity' of life without faith or other
surrogates.3
Characteristic of this epoch is also a pronounced attention to the idea of time.
Henri Bergson's elaboration on the concept of 'duration', as expressed in Time and
free will (Essai sur les donnees immediates de la conscience) of 1889, and Einstein's theory
of relativity, developed between 1907 and 1915, with its crucial challenge to the
notion of simultaneity, deeply affected any speculation on time from the early 20th
1 The discourse of memory as a trauma (see Chapter 4) originates in the ordeals individuals and groups lived
through during the wars.
2 In music, dodecaphony challenges traditional tonality, the potentialities of which seemed to be exhausted in the
early decades of the twentieth century.
3 As captured by Ziolkowski in Modes of faith (2007): '[T]he crisis that shook Europe in the decades before and
after World War![...] differed appreciably from earlier ones inasmuch as the prevailing religious faith was
threatened not by a single new one monotheism in antiquity, the Reformation in the late Middle Ages, the
Enlightenment in early modern centuries but by a congeries of possibilities: Marxism, modern science,
Nietzschean ideas, and critical theology among others' (XI). Ziolkowski also singles out five main responses to
the challenges of the early twentieth century to canonical religion: 'art for art's sake, the flight to India,
socialism, myth, and Utopian vision' (XI).
1

century onwards.4 The discussion on the concept of time reverberates too across the
arts, where it can be argued that there are few works which do not, either directly or
indirectly, relate to or deal with the concept of time. 5 Thematically, time surfaces in
surrealist art such as Dali's The Persistence of Memory (1931), where warped clocks,
portrayed as in the process of melting, are scattered across a beach landscape.
Eisenstein's pioneering experimentation with film editing essentially a narrative
time technique opened up new possibilities for the newly-introduced medium of
cinema. In literature, Proust's concern with memory, which is a facet of his
preoccupation with time, is at the forefront of the monumental ^4 la recherche du temps
perdu, published between 1913 and 1927. In its own author's words, Thomas Mann's
Der Zauberberg (1924) is a 'Zeitroman' ('Einfiihrung in den Zauberberg: Fur
Studenten der Universitat Princeton', 1939). 6 T. S. Eliot's elaboration on time
permeates the Four Quartets, appeared between 1936 and 19427
As a corollary of the discourse on time, new orientations emerge in relation to
the idea of eternity, the attention to the fleeting being an aspect of this new attitude. 8
Between the classical perspective on eternity, exemplified by Faust's longing for a
moment that expands and lingers indefinitely ('Verweile doch, du bist so schon!';
Goethe, 57), and the Romantic aspiration for the liberation from time, a new attitude
comes to the fore. This approach, which we may call 'Existentialist' in view of its
4 Beja notes: 'More than any previous period, perhaps, the first half of the twentieth century saw philosophical
problems largely in terms of time' (54). Heidegger contributes greatly to the debate on time, as witnessed by his
essay 'Der Begriff der Zeit' (1924) and, above all, Sein undZeit (1927).
5 'The arts are littered with references to time. Fiction and non-fiction, poetry, the visual arts, music: all of them
relate to time in the sense that what we read, or see, or hear was created at some past time, be it recent or far
removed. [...] Literature, whatever its nature, is all something from the past. It was, itself, written in the past. In
historical writing the concern is obviously directly with past events' (Holland, 41).
6 'Er [Der Zauberberg] ist ein Zeitroman in doppeltem Sinn: einmal historisch, indem er das innere Bild einer
Epoche, der europaischen Vorkriegszeit, zu entwerfen versucht, dann aber, weil die reine Zeit selbst sein
Gegenstand ist, den er nicht nur als die Erfahrung seines Helden, sondern auch in und durch sich selbst
behandelt' (Mann 1924, XIII-XIV).
7 As an echo of the troubled times in which both Der Zauberberg and the Four Quartets were conceived, not
only time is scrutinized and called into question but also the weather appears disrupted. At the sanatorium in
Mann's novel, it snows in August, and seasons merge with one another forming a continuum: 'Aber die Sache ist
die, daB die Jahreszeiten hier nicht so sehr voneinander verschieden sind, weiBt du, sie vermischen sich
sozusagen und halten sich nicht an den Kalender' (Mann 1924, 111). Seasons are similarly disarranged in Eliot's
poem, where he wonders: 'What is the late November doing | With the disturbance of the spring | And creatures
of the summer heat, | and snowdrops writhing under feet' (1944, 'East Coker', II, 14).
8 For a discussion of the fleeting as a manifestation of the eternal, see 'Epiphany' (4.6) and the introductory
section to Chapter 5.

emphasis on earthly life, discards the whole concept of eternity. 9 Despite its temporal
distance from the period in question, Wim Wenders' Der Himmel uber Berlin (1987)
offers perhaps one of the most powerful and poetic formulations of this attitude. In
the film, the angel Damiel longs to abandon the sphere of eternity and to plunge
himself into the finitude of human existence and time:
Es ist herrlich, nur geistig zu leben und Tag fur Tag fur die Ewigkeit von den
Leuten rein, was geistig ist, zu bezeugen - aber manchmal wird mir meine
ewige Geistesexistenz zuviel. Ich mochte dann nicht mehr so ewig
driiberschweben, ich mochte ein Gewicht in mir spiiren, das die
Grenzenlosigkeit an mir aufhebt und mich erdfest macht.
Ich mochte bei jedem Schritt oder Windstofi »Jetzt«, und...
»Jetzt« und »Jetzt« sagen konnen und nicht wie immer »seit je« und »in
Ewigkeit«. (Wenders; Handke, 19-20)
Hermann Hesse, who in 'Geist der Romantik' (1926) distinguishes between the
Classical and Romantic standpoints 'die klassische Einstellung [...] wird sich
bemiihen, den Augenblick auszuschopfen und zu verewigen. 10 Die romantische
Einstellung wird [...] auf das Zeitlose zielen' (KF, 204) oscillated between the
Classical and Romantic tension towards eternity and the Existentialist dismissal of
any timeless reality. On the one hand, he sought a realm beyond time, where life's
discords and contrasts could be overcome (see Chapter 5).n On the other, as Chapter
3 (section 3) will seek to show, he was aware of the inherent risks of a life detached
from reality and time, and his message therefore resounds as one of commitment to
life, as illustrated by Knecht in his letter of resignation to the educational authority
('Erziehungsbehorde') in Kastalien: 'Wir sind selbst Geschichte und sind an der
Weltgeschichte und unserer Stellung in ihr mitverantwortlich' (Gla, SW 5, 323).
9 The two attitudes, the Classical and Romantic longing for eternity and the Existentialist focus on life within the
boundaries of time, have an illustrious antecedent in the antithetical views of Plato and Aristotle, portrayed in
Raphael's School of Athens (c. 1510), where the former points his finger upwards (towards the 'hyperuranium')
while the latter's palm points downwards, expressing Aristotle's more immediate concern with the reality of the
material world.
10 As Abrams notes, Friedrich Schlegel first introduced the distinction between 'classic' and 'romantic', 'which
[...] turned out to be equally indispensable and unmanageable to literary critics and historians' (Abrams, 237).
11 An excerpt from 'Kofferpacken' (1926) captures effectively Hesse's yearning to break free from time: 'die
ra'umliche Flucht, das Laufen auf Wanderschuhen und das Fahren auf Eisenbahnen und Schiffen [bringen] mich
nicht ans Ziel [...] sie [ftihren] nicht aus der Zeit hinaus' (KF, 210). The flight from time is a major theme in
Siddhartha too (see below in this section).
3

An interest in eternity is not Hesse's only connection with his time. As a
writer, he grappled with notions of time and was attentive to the complexities of his
epoch too, to which, as an intellectual and writer of renown, he responded with his
fiction, poems, essays and articles. As Weibel states in relation to a selection of
Hesse's essays published under the title of 'Krieg und Frieden' (1946):
Dass Hesse inmitten seiner Zeit steht, dass seine Probleme ihre Probleme sind,
zeigen sehr eindriicklich die Aufsatze, die fur die Gesamtausgabe unter dem
Titel 'Krieg und Frieden' in einen Band vereinigt wurden. 12 (Weibel, 6)
Hesse's time, whether explicitly or not, is woven into the fabric of his works. The
Great War makes its way into Demian (1919). Der Steppenwolf (1927) foreshadows
World War II, and Kastalien, Hesse's Utopian vision in Das Glasperlenspiel (1943),
represents his reaction to the aberrations of the Nazi regime and the mayhem of the
Second World War.
The narrator of the 'Vorwort des Herausgebers' in Steppenwolf explicitly refers
to the protagonist's ' Aufzeichnungen' as a document of the epoch and a record of its
dysfunctions ('Krankheit'):
Ich sehe in ihnen [Harry Hallers Aufzeichnungen] aber etwas mehr, ein
Dokument der Zeit, denn Hallers Seelenkrankheit ist das weifi ich heute
nicht die Schrulle eines einzelnen, sondern die Krankheit der Zeit selbst, die
Neurose jener Generation, welcher Haller angehort. (SW 4, 23)
In 'Danksagung und moralisierende Betrachtung' (1946), Hesse's message of thanks
for the Goethe Prize, he identifies the hypertrophy of technology and the excesses of
nationalism, which he also refers to as 'Zeitkrankheiten', as the two major maladies
of his epoch:
Zwei Geisteskrankheiten namlich sind es nach meiner Meinung, denen wir
den heutigen Zustand der Menschheit verdanken: der Grofienwahn der
Technik und der Grofienwahn des Nationalismus. (GS VII, 457)
In Die Nurnberger Reise (1927), Hesse is an outspoken opponent of the monetization
of time, a corollary of the bourgeois glorification of work, and of the consumerist
turn taken by contemporary society:
12 As Mann writes in Der Zauberberg: 'Der Mensch lebt nicht nur sein personliches Leben als Einzelwesen,
sondern, bewuBt oder unbewuBt, auch das seiner Epoche und ZeitgenossenschafV (1924, 37).

Ich konnte auch dies erwahnen, dafi meine Zeitvergeudung nicht blofi
Faulheit und Unordnung, sondern auch bewufiter Protest gegen den
irrsinnigsten und heiligsten Satz der modernen Welt sei: dafi Zeit namlich
Geld sei. 13 (SW 11,136)
The scientific debate penetrates his works, and the narrator of Die Morgenlandfahrt
(1932) indirectly stresses the interdependence of time and space (a tenet of the theory
of relativity) through his description of the journey as a travelling in time as well as
space. 14
The role of history and its study are major themes of Das Glasperlenspiel, as
indirectly suggested by Knecht's words above. 15 In his intellectual confrontation with
Knecht, Tegularius articulates his belief that greed and brutality dominate history, to
which, betraying his Romantic slant, he opposes 'das Zeitlose', the eternal realm of
'Geist' where the human soul is freed from its servitude to time ('Zeitknechtschaft'):
Weltgeschichte sei ein Wettlauf in der Zeit, ein Rennen um Gewinn, um
Macht, um Schatze [...]. Geistestat, Kulturtat, Kunsttat dagegen sei genau das
Gegenteil, es sei jedes Mal ein Ausbruch aus der Zeitknechtschaft, ein
Hinuberschliipfen des Menschen aus dem Dreck seiner Triebe und seiner
Tragheit auf eine andere Ebene, ins Zeitlose, Zeitbefreite, Gottliche, ganz und
gar Ungeschichtliche und Widergeschichtliche. 16 (SW 5, 253-54)
Time has further connotations in Hesse's works which should be mentioned briefly.
In his opposition to businessmen and their monetization of time (referred to above),
Hesse depicts himself as an idler ('Ich habe zwar Zeit zum Nichtstun') who, in Die
Nurnberger Reise, maintains a rather unconcerned, laidback attitude towards time:
Was mich betrifft, so glaube ich, dafi kein anstandiger und arbeitsamer
Mensch mehr mir die Hand geben wiirde, wenn er wiisste, wie wenig Wert
13 It should be noted that Hesse's criticism of the bourgeois system does not imply his endorsement of the
Marxist vision: 'Ich Hebe, weiB Gott, diesen Marxismus nicht und seine diinne Verniinftigkeit' ('Tagebuch vom
Juli/August 1933', SW 11, 676).
14 See note 40 in Chapter 5. For a discussion of the interrelation of the temporal and spatial in Hesse's works, see
'Time changes to space' (Chapter 5, section 3).
15 In this context, it is worth mentioning that the historian Jacob Burckhardt provided the mould for the character
of Pater Jakobus. Hesse's method of disguising real people by camouflaging their names will be discussed in
Chapter 1, section 6.
16 As for Tegularius, time is an oppressive burden and origin of all human suffering for Siddhartha too: 'O, war
derm nicht alles Leiden Zeit, war nicht alles Sichqualen und Sichftirchten Zeit, war nicht alles Schwere, alles
Feindliche in der Welt weg und iiberwunden, sobald man die Zeit Uberwunden hatte, sobald man die Zeit
wegdenken konnte?' (SW 3, 443).

die Zeit fur mich hat, wie ich die Tage und Wochen, ja Monate vergeude, mit
welchen Spielereien ich mein Leben vertue. (SW 11,135)
Time is associated with fear and a sense of horror vacui in Taedium Vitae' (1908): 'Seit
Jahren war ich nicht mehr in dem scheufilichen und unwiirdigen Zustand gewesen,
dafi ich die Zeit fiirchtete und verlegen war, wie ich sie umbringe' (SW 7, 232).
Hesse's idea of time as an illusion is especially indebted to his contact with 'the
Orient', and this attitude, which can be traced back to Goethe and to Schopenhauer's
theories on and interest in Indian spirituality, emerges particularly in Klingsors letzter
Sommer (1919), Siddhartha (1922), and Der Steppenwolf. Time is described as the
'schlimmste Tauschung' (Kli, SW 8, 317) in the first story. As expressed in the
dialogue between Siddhartha and Vasudeva, the river suggests to Siddhartha that
time is an illusion: '»Hast du«, so fragte er [Siddhartha] ihn [Vasudeva] einst, »hast
auch du vom Flusse jenes Geheime gelernt: dafi es keine Zeit gibt?«' (SW 3, 443). As a
character in Der Steppenwolf, Goethe explicitly contrasts eternity with time, therefore
implying that the former is a dimension outside any temporality rather than an
endless succession of moments (see below).
Time' therefore assumes a crucial role in Hesse's reflection and artistry to
which secondary literature has certainly drawn attention, whether referring to
Hesse's relation with history and his time (e.g. biographies) or with regard to the
temporality in his works, as in Boulby's reflection on the inverse relation between
narrated and narrative time in Hesse's portrayal of moments of awakening (see
Chapter 4, section 6). Time', however, is not the overarching concern of any
published study on Hesse's works to date, with the exception of Shaw's article Time
and the Structure of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha' (1957), Karalaschwili's chapter
'»Die Verwandlung von Zeit in Raum« Zeitgeriist der Erzahlung' (1986; 221-48),
and two sections of Moritz's 'Die musikalische Dimension der Sprachkunst' (2007). 17
This thesis seeks to fill this gap in knowledge by illustrating the centrality of 'time'
within the framework of Hesse's aesthetics; furthermore, in view of the elusiveness
17 Shaw's article is relevant in the context of Chapter 5, where the discussion on the interplay of time and space
in Hesse's imagery ('Time changes to space', section 4) also draws on the contributions of Karalaschwili and
Moritz. Exact reference to Moritz's sections will be given in note 65 of that chapter.

of time and the intrinsic difficulty of its definition, it pursues an indirect approach. 18
Indeed, the way Hesse's characters relate to their memories, for example their mixed
feelings towards their past, often offer more important insights into the character's
appreciation of time than do their dialogues. Hesse's use of the literary device of
'epiphany' is at times more revealing of his attitude towards time than are his direct
statements on the subject. His descriptions of timeless music and his idea of humour
as a feature of immortality can achieve a much more vigorous poetic formulation
than any of his direct pronouncements on eternity.
The exploration of temporality will therefore draw on five interconnected
themes, five inflections of time within Hesse's works: music, memory,
metamorphosis, eternity, and humour. These themes, which share the same
elusiveness of time it is equally difficult to pin down and describe their essence as
well as the psychological responses they trigger might seem completely unrelated,
at first glance. However they all point to time, as this thesis shall show, and interlock,
to a greater or lesser degree, in Hesse's literary production. First and foremost, tempo
and rhythm are primary elements of music which, like writing, unfolds through
time; and time, in turn, participates in the very essence of music as noted by Hesse:
'das Wesen der Musik [ist] Zeit' (Letter of c. 1940; Musik, 177). Scholars (Valentin,
Diirr, Ziolkowski, Moritz, Karalaschwili), biographers (Freedman, Limberg), and
Hesse himself, have repeatedly stressed the importance of music in his life and work,
as Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 will illustrate.
Chapter 4 focuses on memory first and then on metamorphosis. 19 Memory,
which is inconceivable without the concepts of past and present, acts as a bridge to
the childhood of many of Hesse's characters and, in a perspective redolent of
Rousseau's theories, Hesse identifies the ability to reconnect to childhood as being
the true gift of a poet: 'es ist den Dichtern gegeben, dafi sie sich mehr als andere
18 Although we all tend to have an instinctive, empirical knowledge of what time is, it is difficult to come up
with an exhaustive definition. In Confessiones (c. 397 A.D.), Saint Augustine gives a measure of the elusiveness
of the subject in his well-known answer to the question of what time is: 'Provided that no one asks me, I know.
If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know' (Book XI, 230).
19 The emergence of 'epiphanies' in Hesse's work will be discussed at the end of the chapter (section 6) as a link
with the discourse on the fleeting at the beginning of Chapter 5.

Menschen ihres fruhesten Lebens erinnern' (ESM, SW 1,185). Metamorphosis, which
like memory is closely connected with the identity of a person, certainly implies a
transformation in time. In Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf (1921-1924), metamorphosis
appears as the ability of the artist, as well as of the child, to manipulate the external
reality of the material world. Siddhartha comes to the realisation that all creatures
and objects of creation take part in an ongoing process of transformation in the
eternal flux of being (section 5). In Piktors Verwandlungen (1922), metamorphosis is
represented as the only condition for happiness: '[w]enn [alle Wesen] nicht die Gabe
der Verwandlung besitzen, verfallen sie mit der Zeit in Traurigkeit und Verkumme-
rung und ihre Schonheit geht verloren' (SW 9,190).
Hesse's perspective on eternity and its images in his works will be discussed
in Chapter 5. An Artist's concern with immortality relates to an interest in a possible
dimension beyond death. By implication, this interest also betrays the hope that, by
virtue of some imperishable quality in their work, it may stand the test of time and
transcend the boundaries of their epoch. It is no accident, therefore, that, in Der
Steppenwolf, Mozart and Goethe are explicitly portrayed as members of what Hesse
terms 'die Gemeinschaft der Unsterblichen' (letter of 1959, Musik 188). Hesse
conspicuously draws on music to illustrate those qualities which, in his opinion,
make a work of art of everlasting significance. 20 Musical forms, furthermore, such as
the fugue foster his imagination and elicit images of eternity (see section 5.2 on
'simultaneity').
Mozart and Goethe, as Immortals, share two further interdependent qualities
in Der Steppenwolf: self-transcendence and humour, the latter being the main thread
for the concluding chapter (Chapter 6). As Goethe puts it, seriousness is an incidental
characteristic of time, which stems from its overestimation on men's part, while
humour informs the realm of eternity:
Der Ernst [...] ist eine Angelegenheit der Zeit; er entsteht [...] aus einer
Uberschatzung der Zeit. [...] In der Ewigkeit aber [...] gibt es keine Zeit; die
20 In this context, see Chapter 3, especially in connection with Hesse's appreciation of Wagner (section 3) and
jazz (section 4).
8

Ewigkeit 1st blofi ein Augenblick, gerade lange genug fur einen Spafi. 21 (SW 4,
96-97)
Hesse's 'Humor', as scholars such as Freedman, Ziolkowski, Boulby, and Hollis point
out, stems from Romantic irony and serves the purpose of bridging the gap between
the ideal and reality, this coming to the fore in works such as Die Nurnberger Reise,
Kurgast (1925), and Der Steppenwolf. In the close of the chapter (section 6.6), Hesse's
narrative irony will be under scrutiny and its limitations underlined as a hindrance
to the attainment of that immortal status for which Hesse, along with most of his
characters, express a fervent longing.
While drawing on the interrelation of the abovementioned themes (music,
memory, metamorphosis, eternity, and humour), as well as their connections with
time within Hesse's work, this thesis investigates a further feauture of temporality,
namely dialectics, which informs Hesse's thought at various levels. The antithetical
nature of time, which is both a creator and a destroyer, resonates powerfully with the
dialectics underpinning Hesse's theoretical framework (see Chapter I). 22 As noted
above, the interplay of the ideal and reality is the blueprint of Romantic irony as well
as the backbone of virtually all works by Hesse, whose dialectics unfolds through the
dynamic confrontation of polar opposites and the attempt to reconcile them, in an
ideal synthesis. Hesse's artistry draws on the pendulation between antitheses (light
and darkness, mind and matter, separation and unity, life and death) and his
dialectical approach extends to music, memory, metamorphosis, and eternity.
Hesse's fascination with the sonata form and the fugue can be traced back to the
dialectical interaction of themes of the former and the simultaneous interplay of
21 In this context, it should be noted that, although laughter is a distinctive feature of the Immortals, the Tractat
vom Steppenwolf identifies 'Humour' as an attribute of time, an intermediate, earthly stage for those individuals
who are not yet ready to abandon the contentment of the bourgeoisie ('die Atmosphare der Biirgererde'; SW 4,
57) in order to follow the path to that leads to eternity ('ins Kosmische'; ibid.). Section 6.4 seeks to show that
these seemingly contradictory facets of Hesse's 'Humor' are in fact complementary.
22 The dialectial nature of time finds expression in cultures of various epochs and regions. In Greek mythology,
time is linked with Kronos and Khronos, often considered as two sides of the same divinity. The former was a
titan (father of Zeus) associated with his destructive power since he overthrew his father Ouranos and then, for
fear he would suffer the same fate, ate his own offspring. The second, also known as Aeon, was the
personification of time and eternity. The figure of Kronos who devours what he generates resonates with the
Hindu god Shiva 'India's Lord Shiva is called 'great time' and 'all-devouring time'; he embodies universal
energy, both active and destructive. [...] Through his dance Shiva awakens inert matter, animates the inanimate
world and brings forth the cycles of time: birth and death, creation and destruction' (Adam, 7). As indicated in
section 3.5, 'Whistling and dancing', Shiva is part of Hesse's imagery.

subject and countersubject in the latter (see 2.4); forgetfulness, or the need to forget, is
the necessary complement of remembering in Hesse's discourse on memory;
permanence and transience find expression in the idea of metamorphosis; the
fleeting is the perfect foil for the eternal.
The discussion of these themes will draw on various writers and thinkers
whose works have proved relevant to our investigation and, in some cases, on more
than one occasion. 23 Among Hesse's predecessors, Saint Augustine has a pivotal role
not just because of his speculations on time but also for being the initiator of the
genre of autobiography as a literary 'confession' (see Chapter 4). The influence of
cornerstones of German literature and thought such as Goethe, Novalis, and
Nietzsche permeates Hesse's works to such a degree that it is almost reductive to
single out specific aspects of their legacy; however, we will call on Goethe especially
in relation to the theme of polarities (see 1.1). Novalis' 'Magischer Idealismus' will be
discussed as the blueprint of Hesse's 'Magisches Denken' (1.4). Nietzsche, together
with Dostoevsky, will be mentioned for their seminal role in the formation of the
Existentialist thought (3.3) and as a source for the concept of eternal recurrence (5.3).
Lastly, Bergson's considerations in Matter and memory (Mattere et memoire, 1896) and
Laughter (Le rire, 1900) are relevant to the discussion on memory (Chapter 4) and
humour (6.1) respectively. 24
Among Hesse's contemporaries, Thomas Mann is certainly the author whose
poetics and aesthetics show the closest affinities with Hesse's artistic aims. Mann's
reflections on time, as noted above, permeates Der Zauberberg, and his elaboration on
music and on the interrelation between ethics and aesthetics in Doktor Faustus (1947)
parallels Hesse's concern with music and the role of art in Das Glasperlenspiel (1943).25
T. S. Eliot praised Hesse's Blick ins Chaos (1920), to which he explicitly refers in The
23 With regard to memory, humour, and music, literary material has been supplemented with texts from other
fields of knowledge, from especially neuroscience (Schmidt and Lee, Cohen, Basden), linguistics (Raskin),
music theory (Nielsen) and musicology (Rosen, Grout).
24 Bergson appears along with several other authors and thinkers in Hesse's ' Vom Biicherlesen' (1920; GS VII,
248).
25 As Bishop notes: '[The] similarities [between Doktor Faustus and Das Glasperlenspiel] include 'a complex
time-horizon; [...] a coming-to-terms with cultural history; [...] the thematic concern with the relation between
ethics and aesthetics' (228). For further elements of comparison between the two novels, see Chapter 3,
especially note 29.
10

waste land (1922), and his Four quartets prompts several comparisons in relation to
music, time, and eternity. 26 Rilke, who expressed his encouragement to the young
author of Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht (1899), is relevant to the discussion on
metamorphosis for Die Sonette an Orpheus (1923) and, in the context of our discussion
on eternity in Chapter 5 (section 4), for the poem 'An die Musik' (1918). 27 Moreover,
we will refer to Camus' The myth of Sisyphus (1942) with regard to Hesse's
connections with Existentialism (see especially Chapter 3, section 3) and eternity
(Chapter 5, section 3). 28
Three further observations on the scope, approach, and methodology have to
be made by way of conclusion. Firstly, although dreams are connected with Hesse's
idea of time, and both Freud and Bergson registered similarities between the
psychological mechanisms underlying humour and dreams, no specific discussion
on dreams has been included, since this would have excessively widened an already
broad area of investigation, not allowing adequate scrutiny of each single strand and
eventually resulting in an approximate and non-cohesive study.
Secondly, although we have not intentionally restricted our investigation to a
specific genre or category, most of our observations and references are to Hesse's
narrative fiction which, more than his prolific poetic production, has attracted our
attention and stimulated our reflection. Moreover, the reader will certainly notice
that a large part of our arguments draws on or points to Der Steppenwolf which, for
reasons that will be justified throughout this thesis, we tend to regard as the pinnacle
of Hesse's narrative production. 29
26 Attention is drawn to similarities between Hesse's and Eliot's concept of eternity, especially in Chapter 5
(sections 2 and 4).
27 Rilke's praise of Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht was not, however, without reservations on the overall poetic
qualities of Hesse's small collection of poems (see Freedman 2005, 83-84). Furthermore, Rilke's response to
Hesse's poetry, which he often regarded as stylistically 'flach und uninteressant' (Freedman 2005, 86), was
generally rather tepid.
28 Despite Hesse's veneration for Mozart and Bach, and his consistent reference to their music as an unsurpassed
fusion of aesthetic and ethical qualities, it is Wagner, whose music Hesse often criticises, who offers significant
elements of comparison with Hesse's artistry in Chapter 3 (section 3).
29 The originality of Der Steppenwolf rests on the modernity of its structure (see Chapter 2) and also on the
poetic aims and orientations it expresses (see Chapter 3). The novel deals with all the themes with which this
research project is concerned: the clash between ideal and reality, also articulated as the contrast between time
and eternity; humour and music, central themes in the autobiographical Kurgast too; memories as a burden, and
metamorphosis (see the 'transformation' of Pablo into Mozart in Chapter 4, section 5).
11

Finally, dates of publication have been consistently added to situate a given
work in time, and where an argument is illustrated by means of several citations,
these are usually arranged chronologically to highlight underlying patterns in the
evolution of Hesse's thought or artistry.
12

Chapter 1 Hesse's dialectics and creative process
Every work of art functions as a system, the components of which are structured and
integrated in a coherent whole with both internal and external connections.
Symmetry and proportion help to shape the internal relations of a painting, and
repetition plays a similar role in music and literature (e.g. refrains, anaphoras).
External associations range from the historical or social context to references to other
works of art (e.g. the use of allegory and parody). A work of art is thus a network of
intra-, inter-, and extratextual elements: it consists of internal relations and
correspondences as well as connections with the world outside itself. Referring to the
novel, Karalaschwili points out that a work of art expresses an individual vision of
the world endowed with a sort of universal resonance: '[Djer Roman ist, wie eine
beliebige kiinstlerische Form, ein Weltmodell' (77). Within this vision, certain stylistic
and poetical elements will more than others define and characterize the specific
'Weltbild' of an artist. 1
To a critic or indeed to anyone who is merely familiar with Hesse's work, the
title of this thesis, 'dialectics of time', will immediately bring to mind one of the
signature aspects of his art, the theme of opposites. Binary oppositions inform
Hesse's thought and creative process, as well as his writing on a formal level (e.g.
metrical patterns), to such an extent that his art comes to resemble a complex and
dynamic network of antinomies. 2 Hesse's reception has been marked by similarly
divergent, almost diametrically opposed, opinions: 'Das bipolare Prinzip wirkt sich
in der Rezeption auch dahin aus' (Moritz, 69). There has always been a hiatus
between the general appreciation of Hesse's vast readership and the more sceptical
approach of some critics; his great international renown is at odds with his more
limited reputation in his native country.3
1 'Weltbild' is part of the subtitle of Karalaschwili's text.
2 'Es [das Polar itatsdenken] ist ein holistisches Konzept, das sowohl einen iibergreifenden weltanschaulichen
Lebensentwurf reflektiert als auch konkrete Manifestation auf sprachstruktureller Ebene fmdet [...] Hesses Werk
[ist], kein polares, sondern ein multipolares Netzwerk' (Gommen, 20 and 45).
3 Oscillating between enthusiasm and rejection, Hesse's readership is similarly divided over the quality of a
given work. As Hesse observes in a letter of July 1930: 'Wer mir zum "Siddhartha" gratulierte, lehnte meistens
13

This chapter explores this intriguing feature of Hesse's thought and creative
process. I engage with the existing literature on the origins of Hesse's dialectics
(section 1.1) and define its significance within his oeuvre (1.2). Three topics, all
related to the idea of conflict or polarities, are examined in the subsequent sections:
paradoxes (1.3), 'magical thinking' Hesse's 'formula' to bridge the gap between the
inner reality of the self and the outer sphere of the world (1.4) and the contrast
between intellectualism and naivety (1.5). The last section deals with another
fundamental aspect of Hesse's artistry that has captivated his critics:
autobiographical references and resonances in his works (1.6).
1.1 Thinking in polarities: Origins
The idea of polarities has a pervasive influence on Hesse's art, and it is difficult to
think of a scholar who has not commented on it, either extensively or in passing.4
While Moritz deals with it in a preliminary discussion in Die musikalische Dimension
der Sprachkunst: Hermann Hesse, neu gelesen (2007), Gommen gives it sustained
attention in her monograph, Polaritatstrukturen im Werk Hermann Hesses: Lyrik, Epik,
Drama (2006). Karalaschwili's chapters (1986) "'Coincidentia oppositorum": Zur
Poetik des Erzahlschlusses' (160-88) and, above all, 'Yin und Yang: Charakter und
Weltbild des kunstlerischen Modells' (77-104) represent his main contributions to the
topic. Wright draws analogies between Hesse and the Russian novelist Bulgakov in
his article of 1983, where he identifies 'the theme of polarities' as a common
denominator between the two writers. Binary contrasts are the focus of Field's article
of 1974, 'Hermann Hesse: Polarities and symbols of Synthesis'. Stolte, whose title
Hermann Hesse: Weltscheu und Lebensliebe (1971) hints at the polarised dynamics
underlying the ebb and flow of Hesse's love for life, focuses on this aspect in his
den "Demian" oder den "Klingsor" ab. Wer den "Steppenwolf' liebte, der fand den "Kurgast" schwach. Wer mir
Lobspriiche tiber den "Goldmund" sagte, der tat es meistens nicht ohne durchblicken zu lassen, daI3 niemand mir
auf den so unerfreulichen und miflgliickten "Steppenwolf hin ein so ansta'ndiges Werk zugetraut hatte' ('An
einen Leser', GS VII, 493).
4 For Karalaschwili, 'So ware dies die Idee der Polaritat, die bis in die kleinsten Details des kunstlerischen
Systems dringt und den Charakter der in Hesses Romanen dargestellten Wirklichkeit bestimmt' (78).
14

chapter on Unterm Rad, 'Giebenrath und Heilner oder das Prinzip der polarischen
Spaltung' (41-51). 5
Thinking in oppositional terms is a prominent feature of German Romanticism
and, to some degree, of the classical period too: 'Das Polaritatsdenken [...] wurde
mehr oder weniger von der ganzen deutschen Klassik und Romantik geteilt'
(Karalaschwili, 78). 6 Goethe, who was deeply fascinated by the phenomenon of
polarities in electromagnetism, paid special attention to this mode of thought (see
Gores, 102). 7 Gommen points to Goethe and Romanticism, as well as Pietism (see
below), as the main sources of influence of Western culture on Hesse: '[D]ie
abendlandischen Urspriinge von Hesses Polaritatskonzept [sind] bei Goethe und in
der Romantik zu finden (30). On the other hand, Karalaschwili, who does not rule
out Romantic resonances in Hesse, excludes any direct connection with either Goethe
or the Romantics: 'Und trotzdem ware es falsch, wollte man denken, es gabe eine
direkte Verbindung zwischen Hesses Polaritatsdenken und dem des grofien
Weimaraners' (87). Karalaschwili's argument is untenable when we consider
Goethe's metaphor of life as a respiratory act, as expressed in Einwirkung der neueren
Philosophie (see Gores, 100):
Das Geeinte zu entzweien, das Entzweite zu einigen, ist das Leben der Natur;
dies ist die ewige Systole und Diastole, die ewige Synkrisis und Diakrisis, das
Ein- und Ausatmen der Welt, in der wir leben, weben und sind. (Goethe 1955,
488)
This could well be an excerpt from Hesse's 'Geist der Romantik' (1926):
Alle Gestalten der Erscheinungswelt werden empfunden nicht als an sich
seiend und notwendig, sondern als Spiel, als ein fliichtiges Spiel von rasch
verganglichen Bildungen, die mit Gottes Atem aus- und einstromend das
Ganze der Welt zu bilden scheinen, wahrend doch jede dieser Gestalten, ich
5 In this context, see also Field's section 'Portraits and Polarities in Das GlasperlenspieV (1970, Chapter 10).
6 'Zu «Antinomien» bilden sich innerhalb der deutschen Romantik die «Weltanschauung», die «Theorie», das
Programm auf der einen, die Dichtung auf der anderen Seite' (Schultz, II, 350). Ziolkowski (1965, 341)
distinguishes between historical and typological Romanticism. Whilst the former is connected to specific literary
themes and features, confined to the span of time between the end of the eighteenth century and the early
nineteenth, the latter transcends any chronological definition and lies more in an attitude of the soul towards life.
Henceforth, Ziolkowski's convention of using capital 'R' for the historical literary movement and small V for
typological romanticism will be adopted.
7 'Er [Goethe] defmiert es in seinen Naturbetrachtungen als Grundprinzip der Natur, welches auf einem
Wechselspiel von gegensatzlicher Anziehung und Aufspaltung beruht und letztendlich nach Erganzung und
Vereinigung strebt' (Gommen, 31).
15

und Du, Freund und Feind, Tier und Mensch nur augenblickliche
Erscheinungen, nur fliichtig inkarnierte Teile des uranfanglichen einen sind
und stets in dasselbe zuriickkehren miissen. 8 (KF, 202-203)
Karalaschwili takes a similar view with regard to a possible direct influence of
Pietismus on Hesse's concept of polar opposites:
so kann man sich schwer der Versuchung entziehen, eine genetische
Verbindung von Hesses dialektischer Weltauffassung mit dem
Polaritatsdenken der pietistischen philosophischen Tradition zu postulieren
(79).
Considering the neat dividing line Pietism draws between categories such as 'good'
and 'evil', 'paternal' and 'maternal', 'spiritual' and 'sensual', and the strong
polarization of these categories in Hesse, Karalaschwili misses the point. As
underlined by Gommen:
Hesse war somit seit seiner fruhsten Kindheit mit der dualistischen Denkart
des Pietismus vertraut. Es war ein wertender Dualismus, in welchem dem
geistig-ref lektierten und kontrollierten Handeln hoherer Wert beigemessen
wurde als dem intuitiv-naturlichen (39).
In keeping with his reference to the concept of yin yang, Karalaschwili points to
Eastern, and particularly Chinese, spirituality and culture as Hesse's main point of
departure for his network of antitheses:
der Dichter selbst [berief] sich wiederholt auf die Schriften der altchinesischen
Denker als auf die wichtigste Quelle [...], die in starkem Mafie die
Ausgestaltung seiner polaren Weltempfindung beeinflusste [...] Buchstablich
die gesamte chinesische Geistigkeit ist von der Idee der Polaritat
durchdrungen. (79-80)
Without disregarding the importance of either the Indian or Chinese forms of
influence, I am inclined to endorse Gommen's view that Hesse's 'Polaritatsdenken'
stems from the confluence of various influences and sources:
8 Moreover, Hesse indirectly acknowledges his indebtedness to Goethe in relation to the theme of polarities in
his 'Dank an Goethe' (1932), where Goethe is described as the incarnation of antitheses: 'In dieser, fur mich
hOchsten Goethegestalt vereinen sich die Widerspriiche, sie deckt sich nicht mit der einseitig apollinischen
Klassizita't noch auch mit dem die MUtter suchenden, dunklen Faustgeist, sondern besteht eben in dieser
Bipolarita't, in diesem Uberall-und nirgends-Zuhausesein' (GS VII, 381).
16

In einem Netzwerk von Interdependenzen und Analogien zu Goethe und der
Theorie der Romantik, C. G. Jung und Freud, Buddhismus und Daoismus
konstituiert sich Hesses dynamisches Polaritatskonzept. (20)
I would also claim that a further source should be taken into account: music or, more
specifically, the counterpoint technique and the sonata form. Although counterpoint
originated and developed in the Baroque period, and the sonata form reached its
pinnacle during Romanticism, both forms are relevant to the classical and Romantic
periods, which are amongst Hesse's most praised periods of German music (see 2.5). 9
The counterpoint technique, built on the sequential interplay of Voices' on a given
theme (subject), often accompanied by a second (countersubject), and the sonata
form, which revolves around the polar tension between its (usually two) themes,
were internalized through the medium of music and contributed towards shaping
Hesse's idea of polarization as argued in 2.5. The aforementioned scholars mostly fail
to pick up on this connection. A passage from Kurgast cited and commented on at
length by critics in connection with Hesse's interest in music clearly expresses the
underlying relation between polar opposites and the musical forms mentioned
above:
ware ich Musiker, so konnte ich ohne Schwierigkeit eine zweistimmige
Melodie schreiben, eine Melodie, welche aus zwei Linien besteht, aus zwei
Ton- und Notenreihen, die einander entsprechen, einander erganzen, einander
bekampfen, einander bedingen, jedenfalls aber in jedem Augenblick, auf
jedem Punkt der Reihe in der innigsten, lebendigsten Wechselwirkung und
gegenseitigen Beziehung stehen. 10 (SW 11,125)
9 Henceforth, we will distinguish between 'Classic', 'classical' (lower initial), and 'Classical' (capital initial)
music. 'Classic' refers to the music of the period that encompasses the lives and works of Haydn, Mozart and
Beethoven (before his Romantic turn in the early 19th century), while 'classical' will here be employed as an
equivalent of what Hesse calls 'klassisch' in music, which contrasts with 'romantisch'. The term 'classical'
therefore describes 'music that is considered to be part of a long especially formal tradition and to be of lasting
value' ( , Cambridge Advanced Learner's
Dictionary [accessed 22 August 2010]) and includes the works of Bach and the Baroque period. Finally,
'Classical' refers to the musical genre, as opposed to jazz, rock, etc.
10 A similar concept is expressed in Das Glasperlenspiel in relation to the dynamics of the 'Bead Game':
'Beliebt war bei einer gewissen Spielerschule lange Zeit namentlich das Nebeneinanderstellen,
Gegeneinanderfuhren und endliche harmonische Zusammenfuhren zweier feindlicher Themen oder Ideen, wie
Gesetz und Freiheit, Individuum und Gemeinschaft, und man legte groBen Wert darauf, in einem solchen Spiel
beide Themata oder Thesen vollkommen gleichwertig und parteilos durchzufuhren, aus These und Antithese
moglichist rein die Synthese zu entwickeln' (SW 5, 35). See section 2.5 for further elaboration on this excerpt.
17

Karalaschwili accounts for this passage as a musical analogy to the theme of
polarities and Hesse's creative powers rather than one of their sources:
die Bipolaritat [mufite] kraft der Ubereinstimmung des kunstlerischen
Modells mit dem Original zur untrennbaren Eigenschaft und zum alleinigen
Gestaltungsprinzip von Hesses Erzahlwerken werden. Dafi der Dichter gerade
in der Erzielung einer solchen Analogic und Ubereinstimmung seine
dichterische Aufgabe erblickte, davon zeugen neben anderen Aufierungen
auch die letzten Seiten des »Kurgasts«. (87)
Musical influences, eastern philosophy and spirituality, Goethe and Romanticism,
and Pietism indicate the range of complexity of the origins of the role of antitheses in
Hesse.
Although this theme is a feature of Hesse's entire corpus, early works are
marked by stronger polar tensions than his late ones, where they are more softened
and modulated. As Gommen notes:
Wahrend sich beispielsweise in Hesses Fruhwerk Peter Camenzind Gegensatze
noch unversohnlich als Entweder-oder gegentiberstehen, so emanzipiert sich
der Autor in seinen spateren Werken von dieser Ausschliefilichkeit, wie
anhand der Gesprachspassage iiber die unterschiedlichen Wege aus Narzift
und Goldmund dargestellt. 11 (42-43)
1.2 Thinking in polarities: Significance
Hesse's conceptualisation and treatment of polarities does not depart significantly
from his sources and influences. However, he blends different tendencies and
strands to suit his own vision of the world, and I will now consider the main features
of this process.
In the first place, thinking in opposites is for Hesse an epistemological need. 12
Human beings, he argued, learnt primarily through contrasts and differences: 'wir
alle vermogen zu erkennen nur in Gegensatzen, wir sind Individuen, sind an Tag
und Nacht, an Warm und Kalt gebunden, brauchen einen Gott und einen Teufel'
11 As noted by Boulby, 'the fundamental pattern of the two spheres, light and dark, may be traced as far back as
"Julius Abderegg'" (90). 'Julius Abdereggs erste und zweite Kindheit' dates back to 1901-1902 (SW 1, 550-75).
12 In his account on 'Polarita't und Harmonie bei Goethe', Gores highlights that, to Goethe, 'eine Trennung, ein
Gegensatz [ist] erforderlich [...], damit iiberhaupt etwas erkennbar werde' (98).
18

('Die Briider Karamasoff; GS VII, 165). 13 The gap or distance between opposites is a
source of knowledge and insight for Hesse, whose detachment from writing, which
he juxtaposes with painting, at the end of 1920s helped him become a better writer. 14
Das Malen veranderte Hesses Schreiben. Durch Reflexionen der Tatigkeit in
einem andern Medium wandelte sich seine Wahrnehmung. Hesse gewann
mittels Malerei »allmahlich eine Distanz« zur Literatur, wie er in einem Brief
an Georg Reinhart vom 5. Juni 1924 schrieb. Abschliefiend resiimierte Hesse:
»Als Dichter ware ich ohne das Malen nicht so weit gekommen«. 15 (Gommen,
47)
A second point is that while the distinction between man and woman, or the
succession of day and night and the consequent contrast between light and darkness,
are grounded in the objective reality of nature, the clash between such categories as
'good7 and 'evil 7 springs from the mind. 16 Hesse, who seeks to portray the abolition
of the gap between the external world and the inner reality of the self, is not inclined
to differentiate between polarities inherent in the reality of natural phenomena and
those generated in the mind. His narrators and characters tend to internalize external
antitheses (see 1.4 on "magical thinking') and regard contrasts in nature as
manifestations of the dichotomies in their personalities. In Demian, for example, the
spheres encompassed by 'light' and 'dark' have strong moral overtones. This is
stressed by Gommen:
Die zwei Welten stehen sich polar gegeniiber. Sie bilden Gegenwelten mit
diametralen ethischen Grundsatzen. Die Zuordnung basiert auf moralischen
Mafistaben, welche nicht natiirlich generiert, sondern von Menschen als solche
konzipiert wurden. (22)
An important consequence of this epistemological premise is that polar opposites are
interdependent and complementary. Hesse, as a man, had to face up to the fact that,
13 'Die Briider Karamasoff oder Der Untergang Europas: Einfalle bei der Lekture Dostojewskijs' (1919). Hesse's
statement echoes Goethe's: 'Was in die Erscheinung tritt, muB sich trennen, um nur zu erscheinen' (cited in
Gores, 98).
14 Hesse's interest in painting dates back to the time of his therapeutic sessions with Dr J. B. Lang in 1917. The
disciple of Jung invited Hesse to start painting his dreams along with self-portraits in an attempt to connect the
writer with his unconscious (See Arzeni, 98-99).
15 The letter cited is from Hermann Hesse als Maler, ed. by V. Michels (Frankfurt a. M: Suhrkamp, 2002), p.
110.
16 Categories such as 'day' and 'night' entail some level of abstraction too, since these are distilled mental
images of phenomena, the boundaries of which fluctuate on the real-life plan as in the intermediate phases of
dawn and dusk. I believe, however, that the distinction between polarities rooted in the more objective plan of
nature and those entirely generated from the mind is still tenable.
19

paradoxically, his personal 'freedom' was in direct relation to the degree of his
'renunciation': 'Wie jeder mufite ich das Plus an personlicher Freiheit, das ich mir
nahm, teils durch Verzichte und Entbehrungen bezahlen, teils aber durch erhohte
Leistung' (my emphasis). 17 Hesse's character Harry Haller, torn between
transcendence and immanence is eventually led to realize that "Transcendenz" gains
its main value from the pull of "Immanenz"' (Hollis 1973,119). 18 By implication,
then, each pole is as important as its opposite:
[EJine Polaritat [besteht] keineswegs aus sich ganzlich fremden Elementen,
sondern - so andersartig diese auf den ersten Blick auch scheinen mogen - aus
zusammengehorigen, wesensverwandten Teilaspekten. Eine Wertung und
Hierarchisierung findet nicht statt. Die Pole einer Polaritat sind paritatisch. 19
(Gommen, 31)
Particularly relevant to my discussion (see 5.4) are those polarities involving
space-time coordinates such as 'past' and 'present', 'life' and 'death', 'protestant
northern Europe' and its mainly 'catholic south', or the antithesis between the
'technology-driven West' and the 'spiritual Far East', as Hesse notes in 'Erinnerung
an Asien' (1914): 'Der ganze Osten atmet Religion, wie der Westen Vernunft und
Technik atmet (KF, 110-11). 20 Most polarities also entail a temporal succession.
Siddhartha plunges into the world of senses after his long spiritual training, which
proved deficient, and returns to follow his saintly route when he is jaded with
sensuality. Moreover, although polar opposites complement each other, they cannot
be fully experienced at the same time:
nirgends war Einatmen und Ausatmen, Mannsein und Weibsein, Freiheit und
Ordnung, Trieb und Geist gleichzeitig zu erleben, immer mufite man das eine
mit dem Verlust des anderen bezahlen. (NuG, SW 4, 475)
In other words, Hesse's characters cannot experience 'unity' except for those sudden,
fleeting moments of 'awakening' during which opposites temporarily overlap, as in
17 'An Herrn T.G.M. Glatz', letter of 9 August 1929 (GS VII, 487).
18 See considerations on the finale of Der Steppenwolf included in 3.3 and 3.4.
19 '[I]mmer war das eine [ein Pol des Lebens] so wichtig und begehrenswert wie das andere!' (NuG, SW 4, 475).
20 Hesse illustrates the polarization of the points of the compass south / north in the first lines of 'Kirchen und
Kapellen im Tessin' (1920): 'Zu den Zaubern des Sudens, die den protestantischen Nordla'nder in den Gegenden
siidlich der Alpen begrUBen, gehort auch der Katholizismus' (KM, 198).
20

the process of recollection, which bridges the distance between present and past (see
sections 4.6 on epiphany and 5.2 on simultaneity). 21
Polarities are not hierarchically structured, and boundaries between opposites
are fluid. 22 None of the contrasts (life-death, transience-eternity, masculine-feminine,
ideal-reality, or good-evil) in Hesse's work appear to be of prime significance; in
some cases, they seem to be interlinked as in a long semantic chain: the contrast
between 'light' and 'dark' stands as a metaphor for 'life' and 'death', or for 'good'
and 'evil'; 'ideal' and 'reality' reflect the contrast between 'immanence' and
'transcendence'. 'Freedom' and 'order' resonate in the polarisation of 'feminine' and
'masculine', as well as the related 'maternal' and 'paternal'. Polarities are not fixed
either. Different terms can be juxtaposed and brought into comparison with each
other: 'Geist' and its connotations (e.g. masculine, spiritual, rational) are often
contrasted with 'Seele' (feminine, sensual, irrational); yet 'Gesetz' is the main term of
comparison for 'Geist' in Unterm Rad (see Stolte, 48).
Im Bezug auf die Konstituenten des Gesamtwerks Hesses handelt es sich um
dynamische Polaritaten. So lassen sich Lyrik und Prosa gegeniiberstellen,
beide zusammen konnen jedoch auch einen Gegenpol zu Hesses
nichtfiktionalem Schaffen bilden, alle drei einen Gegenpol zur Malerei.
(Gommen, 48)
Finally, as with the works of Goethe, a number of Hesse's characters, drawn in
couples, embody opposite tendencies:
was im eigenen Inneren als spannungsvoller Widerspruch, als Polaritat eines
und desselben Charakters empfunden wird, zerlegt sich im gestalteten Werk
in zwei polarisch einander zugleich widersprechende und erganzende
Personen. Hier sind es Hans Giebenrath und Hermann Heilner, spater werden
es Klein und Wagner, Narzifi und Goldmund und manche andere
Personifizierungen sein. 23 (Stolte, 44)
21 In Goethe too polarities unfold chronologically, as emerges from An Schwager Kronos, which hinges on
images of ascent and descent, and Gesang der Geister tiber den Wassern, with its central theme and metaphor of
the water cycle.
22 'Polarita't [ist] kein starres Konstrukt, sondern ein Perpetuum mobile' (Gommen, 35).
23 In the context of Das Glasperlenspiel, Diirr observes 'in den beiden [Knecht und Plinio] verkb'rpern sich zwei
verschiedene Welten' (96). Referring to those narrative figures in Goethe's oeuvre who are the incarnation of
opposite inclinations (e.g. Clavigo and Carlos, Tasso and Antonio, Werther and Albert), Gores similarly points
out: 'Einzelne Gestalten sind in sich polaren Gegensatzen ausgeliefert [...] Goethe selber [fuhlte] zwei Seelen in
sich [...], aber solches »Doppelwesen« in den meisten Fallen seiner dramatischen und epischen Dichtung in zwei
Figuren auffa'cherte' (107).
21

As Boulby perceptively notes, characters may also provide a comparison in terms of
more than one quality, as if multiple opposite inclinations and appetites were infused
into them:
In the figures of Narziss and Goldmund are caught many contrasts, that
between the priest and thinker, and the artist and Don Juan; that between the
homosexual and the heterosexual; the hermetic opposition between animus
and anima. (234)
1.3 Paradoxes
The fluidity and flexibility of polarities in Hesse, as suggested in the previous
section, create ambivalent positions and statements which, in certain cases, verge on
paradox and apparent contradictions. 'Gesetz', not 'Seele', is the main term of
comparison of 'Geist' in the context of Unterm Rad, where 'law' is imbued with
negative connotations (e.g. narrow-minded views and stifling rigour). However,
'law' has diametrically opposed connotations, especially in Hesse's later works,
where it is associated with 'order' and, ironically, with 'Geist' too.
'[Ljaw', for Hesse, is always an ambiguous term, it may refer to the sublime
patterns of the Glass Bead Game, the epitome of 'spirit' and of form, but it
may also be weighted with the dross of the common world, of society which
constantly strives, through the mechanism of convention, to give itself the
appearance of truth and permanence. (Boulby, 59)
Similar ambiguities can sporadically be detected in Hesse's private documents. The
influence that Romanticism exerted on his artistic development is well documented,
and Hesse acknowledged this debt, defending Romanticism against its detractors, as
he does, for example, in 'Eine Arbeitsnacht' (1928):
Warum denn ist Romantik etwas Minderwertiges? War Romantik nicht das,
was die besten Geister Deutschlands getrieben haben, die Novalis, Holderlin,
Brentano, Morike, und alle deutschen Musiker von Beethoven iiber Schubert
bis Hugo Wolf. 24 (SW 12,125)
24 Aspects of the Romantic legacy in connection with music will be discussed in Chapter 3, especially section 3.
22

He would, however, make a clear distinction between Romanticism and its harbinger
in music, Beethoven, on the one hand, and what he considered as the blooming
period of German music, epitomized by Bach and Mozart:
Ich empfinde Beethoven absolut nicht als zu Bach und Mozart gehorig,
sondern als Beginn des Niedergangs, einen grandiosen, heldischen, herrlichen
Beginn, aber doch als etwas mit halb negativem Vorzeichen. (letter to Ludwig
Finckh of 1932, Musik, 157)
Hesse's views on ethics (see Chapter 3, especially section 2) provide a further
example. Deeply fascinated by Nietzsche, Hesse was drawn to an ideal of morality
beyond the categories of 'good' and 'evil', and he also felt that a person's actions and
beliefs should be judged not on conventional moral grounds but in terms of the
strength of that person's commitment to those beliefs.
Ich [...] halte es nicht fur das Wichtigste, welchen Glauben ein Mensch habe,
sondern, dafi er iiberhaupt einen habe, dafi er die Leidenschaft des Geistes
kenne, dafi er bereit sei, seinen Glauben, sein Gewissen zu verteidigen gegen
die ganze Welt, gegen jede Majoritat und Autoritat. (Die Einheit hinter den
Gegensatzen, 189)
On the other hand, his moral code, shaped by his religious upbringing, would lead
him instinctively to separate good from evil and what was of outstanding value from
the ordinary:
Wenn Lehar gleich Mozart ist, warum soil dann nicht Hitler gleich Jesus oder
Sartre gleich Sokrates sein. Die Welt braucht, das haben wir erlebt, Moral
notiger als Gescheitheit. (letter of 1947; Musik, 184)
Contradictions crop up throughout Hesse's works and private papers, and if we
restrict ourselves to Hesse's major works of fiction, paradoxes play a prominent role
in those structured as legends (Siddhartha, Das Glasperlenspiel) or with a legendary
ending (Klingsors letzter Sommer).25 This is partly explained by the tendency of
legends which, like fairy tales, feature heroes who, and this is a significant point of
divergence from fairy tales, are also holy persons or saints, as in Siddhartha or Das
Glasperlenspiel. In portraying the extraordinary life of its hero, a legend occasionally
relates incredible, nearly implausible events. As Karalaschwili notes:
25 In this context, see Karalaschwili, 168.
23

[D]ie Legende [1st] jene Literaturform, die, ohne die Kontinuitat der
biographischen Entwicklung zu unterbrechen, im Schlufiteil der Erzahlung die
Beschreibung von iiberwirklichen, wunderbaren, auf Treu und Glauben
angenommenen Ereignissen moglich macht. (167)
Julia Mortiz, in her study on the musical qualities of Hesse's prose, aligns the
emergence of paradoxes with the musicality of Hesse's texts and magical thinking
(see 1.4 in this thesis). 26 In her analysis of Siddhartha, she underlines how paradoxes
appear as a structural element of the text, as in the case of the conflicting relation
between 'learning' and 'knowledge'.27 Siddhartha remains sceptical about the
possibility of learning from others, although he has turned to several mentors for
guidance (see Moritz, 224). 28 A similar antithesis is discernible in Siddhartha's mixed
feelings towards the 'Kindermenschen', whom he envies and despises for their
ordinariness, and is modulated through Hesse's subtle playing with the different
connotations of 'kindlich', which moves between 'childlike' (Gotama, Vasudeva) and
'childish' (Kindermenschen, Kamala). 29 The 'Kindermenschen' who, mutatis
mutandis, appear as 'Burger' in Der Steppenwolf, cling on to their principium
individuationis, while Siddhartha, like Knecht and other protagonists in Hesse's
novels, is portrayed in his journey to annihilation.30 This contrast leads to another
26 See Moritz, especially section 2.3, 'Paradoxe Poetologie: musikalische Poetik', 119-41.
27 '[KJnowledge may indeed exist, but learning is impossible' (Boulby, 136). This paradox is inflected
differently throughout the novel, refracted in the impossibility of'finding' when 'searching', 'Suchen heifit: ein
Ziel haben. Finden aber heifit: frei sein, offen stehen, kein Ziel haben' (Sid, SW 3, 463) as well as in the
mutually exclusive relation between 'Werden und Sein' (Moritz, 312), someone can indeed 'be' but not
'become' enlightened. Govinda ('Werden'), like Siddhartha, strives to reach Gotama's and Vasudeva's ('Sein')
state of grace. Significantly, Siddhartha, who Govinda finds in a blissful state at the end of the novel, embodies
this paradox: he has 'searched' and 'found', he 'is' and 'has become'. As Magris observes, paradox is the
foundation of any mysticism (see 1977, XXX), and Saint Augustine's teachings and reflections, as noted in the
Introduction to this thesis, are often couched in paradoxical aphorisms. As an example which resonates with the
incompatibility of'finding' and 'searching' in Siddhartha, see the opening lines of Book I of the Confessiones,
where Saint Augustine states that '[i]n seeking him [the Lord] they find him' (3).
28 In Siddhartha's own words: 'ich [kam] schon als junger Mann [...] dazu [...], den Lehren und Lehrern zu
mifitrauen und ihnen den Rttcken zu wenden. [...] Dennoch habe ich seither viele Lehrer gehabt' (Sid, SW 3,
464).
29 'Er [Siddhartha] sah die Menschen auf eine kindliche oder tierhafte Art dahinleben, welche er zugleich liebte
und auch verachtete' (Sid, SW 3, 419); the adjective 'kindisch' occurs once only in the novel (see Sid, SW 3,
459).
30 The principium individuationis which, as highlighted by Ziolkowski, 'Hesse has consciously borrowed from
Schopenhauer by way of Nietzsche and Jung' (1965, 56), characterizes the evolution of human beings, from their
childhood, when their personality is not yet fully developed, to adulthood, that is to that stage when they are
individuals. This, as underlined by Ziolkowski, is for Hesse a 'mixed blessing' (1965, 65). On the one hand, this
process of individuation marks a progress towards the evolution of a single person as well as of a society; on the
other, it drives an individual (as well as a society) out of an early state of harmony and innocence symbolised,
for Hesse, by childhood (see also note 35 on the process of 'Menschwerdung').
24

crucial and antithetical point in Hesse: the main characters of his novels aspire to
such an intensification of their individuation which borders on its opposite, leading
to the dissolution of their personality. 31 As observed by Boulby in relation to
Siddhartha and Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse's leading characters strike an unmistakeable
note of 'personality' in seeking to free themselves from their 'ego': 'we know since
Siddhartha that legend is the ultimate refuge of that utter paradox, the supreme
"impersonal individual," the artist-saint' (282). 32
In reality, a coherent set of ideas underlies these contradictions, and what
seems to strike a discordant note is, put into perspective, in perfect agreement with
the rest. Hesse stresses on several occasions that, for him, a truth is such only if its
opposite remains true too: taken together, opposite truths are twin components of an
underlying unity. 33 As with opposite proverbs, truths have to be contextualized: the
validity of 'he who hesitates is lost' does not undermine or contradict the veracity of
'act in haste, repent at leisure', as long as these are considered under appropriate
circumstances. 34 Hesse's statements on Romanticism can be seen to agree with each
other by means of a slight shift in emphasis. Hesse's defence of a significant period of
German literature and music does not conflict with his preference for Baroque and
Classic music rather than Romantic. Similarly, in line with his idea of
'Menschwerdung', Hesse stresses that individuals should follow their own path in
life and take their stands regardless of the authority or general trend in society. On
31 This is in analogy with Jung's idea of the 'self as a paradox: 'Jung charakterisiert das Selbst als »absolute
Paradoxie«, indem »es in jeder Beziehung Thesis und Antithesis und zugleich Synthesis darstellt«'
(Karalaschwili, 95).
32 Referring to Das Glasperlenspiel, Boulby comments: 'The biography of a Castalian by a Castalian for
Castalians should by definition be but a history of function, in a sense an exemplary, skeletal vita [...] but in
practice, of course, a strongly personalized impression of Joseph Knecht is conveyed, all the same. The apparent
avoidance of personal detail applies only to trivialities; at each vital point the function has personality, the
skeleton has flesh' (277).
33 '[V]on jeder Wahrheit ist das Gegenteil ebenso wahr!' (Sid, SW 3, 465).
34 The reference to proverbs and parables is not accidental, as these often contain teachings couched in
paradoxes. This is, for instance, the case of Hsiang-lin's pithy reply to a monk in 'Joseph Knecht an Carlo
Ferromonte' (1961), where Hesse, using the name of Knecht, relates an anecdote from the pre-Buddhist Chinese
tradition to Karl Isenberg (Carlo Ferromonte): 'Ein Monch fragte Hsiang-lin: Was ist der Sinn davon, daB fern
vom Westen her der Patriarch gekommen ist? Hsiang-lin erwiderte: Vom langen Sitzen miide' (SW 12, 687).
The humorous overtones of Hsiang-lin's response indirectly shed light onto the mechanism of humour, the
matrix of which is the juxtaposition of antithetical ideas (see 6.1). In the context of Hesse's camouflage of actual
names, see 1.6.
25

the other hand, he is convinced that every human action must be subject to
judgement, whether moral or aesthetic.
The appraisal of a truth is therefore subject to the context or frame of reference
in which the truth is evaluated. With Hesse, the frame of reference is usually
temporal, since time is the determining factor, and this holds true in two, ironically
opposite, directions. On the one hand, time and its unfolding explain and dissolve
contradictions; on the other, the abolition of time, which is an illusion, leads to the
unification of opposites.
In 'Bin Stuckchen Theologie' (1932), Hesse outlines three progressive stages
through which the psychology of an individual evolves: childhood, the time when
the process of individuation is in an embryonic phase, and the child lives in harmony
with the outer world; adulthood, when a pronounced individuation brings about a
rift with the external world; and a third level, bestowed on those who have
developed their personality to the point where they can renounce it and merge with
the totality of the world. This final communion, however, takes place on a higher
plane than the harmony experienced during childhood.35 Siddhartha's and Knecht's
personalities therefore clash with their wish to submit their egos to the totality of
existence only if their personalities and wish are considered simultaneously; but if
we view them in sequence, Siddhartha's and Knecht's pursuit of a state of
depersonalisation is not at odds with their individuation but is rather its inevitable,
chronological consequence.
The perspective is reversed, and time appears as the origin of all
contradictions, if we follow Siddhartha's train of thoughts in his dialogue with
Govinda in the last section of the novel:
Es scheint ja so, weil wir der Tauschung unterworfen sind, dafi Zeit etwas
Wirkliches sei. Zeit ist nicht wirklich, Govinda, ich habe dies oft und oft
erfahren. Und wenn Zeit nicht wirklich ist, so ist die Spanne, die zwischen
35 'Der Weg fuhrt aus der Unschuld in die Schuld, aus der Schuld in die Verzweiflung, aus der Verzweiflung
entweder zum Untergang oder zur Erlosung: namlich nicht wieder hinter Moral und Kultur zuriick ins
Kinderparadies, sondern iiber sie hinaus in das Lebenkb'nnen kraft seines Glaubens' ('Ein Stuckchen Theologie',
SW 12, 154). While the first stage (childhood) is 'primitive', the second (adulthood) is marked by loneliness and
despair. However, people can reach a third level, which entails a reconnection with the totality of being but, to
that purpose, the principium individuationis must be dismantled, renouncing all individuality (see also the
discussion on self-irony in 6.3).
26

Welt und Ewigkeit, zwischen Leid und Seligkeit, zwischen Bose und Gut zu
liegen scheint, auch eine Tauschung. 36 (Sid, SW 3, 465-66)
Like the illusory veil of Maya, time and its succession of instants prevent human
beings from perceiving eternity, a dimension in which there is no before or after, no
future or past, only the present (see 5.2). This, as Moritz points out, would also entail
the end of dichotomies and the abolition of any cause-and-effect dynamic:
Da Vergangenheit und Zukunft sich nur in der Relation - also im Gegensatz -
zur Gegenwart bestimmen lassen, fuhrt die Aufhebung des
Trennungsprinzips unweigerlich zur Relativierung der zeitlichen Abfolge und
damit auch des kausalen Zusammenhangs von Ursprung, Entwicklung und
Endziel. Gleichzeitig ist die Aufhebung der Zeit als Abschaffung des linear-
kausalen Nacheinanders und als Ermoglichung eines synchronen Zugleichs
im Grunde conditio sine qua non der magischen Aufhebung aller Gegensatze.
(Moritz, 96; original emphasis)
1.4 Magical thinking
For Hesse, the abolition of-time brings about the end of all antitheses which, as noted
in the previous section, Moritz links with the musicality of his texts and his concept
of 'magisches Denken', the latter being, in Hesse's terms, the act of the mind that
dispels the illusion of time and reconciles opposites:
Magical thinking denies polarity and operates by analogy rather than
by syllogism; springing from the ultimate experience of unity 'der Moment
des erlebten Paradoxen, der aufblitzende Augenblick, wo getrennte Pole sich
bertihren' ['Exotische Kunst', 1922 (GS VII, 271)]-it dissolves all barriers,
especially the border line between the outside world and that within.37
(Boulby, 116)
Although it is controversial whether time is completely independent of the mind or,
rather, one of its categories in other words, whether we live in time or, on the
contrary, time lives' in us Hesse and his 'magisches Denken' reject the hiatus
between the inner dimension of the self and the external reality of the world; this
36 In Der Steppenwolf, the character of Goethe expresses a similar view by alluding to an a-temporal dimension:
time is 'uberschatzt' and, seen from the point of view of eternity, does not exist, as observed in the Introduction
to this thesis (see SW 4, 96-97).
37 In his essay on Dostoevsky's Idiot, Hesse defines 'magisches Denken' as the ability to catch glimpses of an
ideal harmony beyond life's discords ('Gedanken zu Dostojewskijs Idiot' (1919), GS, VII, 178-186).
27

ejection entails an act of the mind in order to bring about the abolition of time
regardless of whether time is an external agent or a product of the mind. 38
The blueprint of Hesse's 'magisches Denken' can be traced back to
Romanticism. On the one hand, his emphasis on the identity of inner and outer
reality (see 'Innen und Aufien' [1919]; SW 8, 336-47) is indebted to Schopenhauer,
'who adapted Kant's aesthetics to the needs of Romanticism, do[ing] away with the
dualism between subject and object, for even the world is will and idea' (Beja, 30); on
the other, his idea of 'magic' descends from Novalis and his 'magischer Idealismus',
who, in turn, draws on Fichte's elaboration of Kant's transcendental idealism:
Fichte verwandelt Kants transzendentale Grundlegung der Natur in eine
transzendentale Operation des Geistes, indem er nicht nur wie Kant die
Bedingungen der Erkenntnis und des Gegenstandes im Subjekt finder,
sondern die Natur aus dem Geist entstehen la'fit und sie als ein Produkt des
Geistes enthiillt. 39 (Volkmann-Schluck, 45)
With its origins in Romanticism, 'magisches Denken' becomes Hesse's point of
departure for his elaboration on the idea of metamorphosis, which I discuss in
Chapter 4 (4.5).
1.5 Intellectualism vs naivety
In section 1.3,1 remarked on Siddhartha's ambivalent attitude towards those he
terms 'Kindermenschen' and noted the fluctuation, frequent in Hesse, in the
connotations of the word 'kindlich',. In the 'Legende vom indischen Konig', for
instance, the king's philosophical speculation and quest for truth are compared to a
'childlike' game which adults would laugh at:
Und indem er ihnen seine Fragen aufgab und seine Ehrengaben verteilte, kam
er sich vor wie ein Kind, das mit anderen Kindern einem Spiele hingegeben
ist, einem hiibschen Kinderspiel, liber das die Manner lacheln. (SW 9, 29)
38 'The Eastern mystics, Kant, Schopenhauer, and Bergson are among the leading proponents of the unreality of
time'(Holland, 124).
39 The idea [of magical thinking] actually comes from Fichte, whose idealism was indirectly a significant source
of Hesse's thought' (Boulby, 186). Karalaschwili stresses the same point (see 51-52).
28

Adulthood is set against childhood's simple, though profound, need for answers. In
the short story, the king is also contrasted with his spiritual guides, the Brahmins,
whose philosophical quarrels appear as 'childish7 trivialities when compared with
the king's powers of insight:
Und alle Brahmanen neigten sich vor dem Verklarten und erkannten, dafi sie
da nur Kinderspiel getrieben hatten, wahrend hier in dieser koniglichen
Gestalt Gott selbst, der Inbegriff aller Cotter, eingekehrt sei. (SW 9, 30)
Childhood is a crucial period for Hesse and a recurrent theme in his work (see 4.3).
Qualities such as spontaneity and innocence, which he associates with childhood, are
ironically contrasted with the infantile behaviour and concerns of adults who, like
Siddhartha's 'Kindermenschen', have lost touch with the depths and 'magic' of their
infancy. However, as illustrated by 'Ein Stiickchen Theologie' (see 1.3), Hesse does
not advocate an eternal infancy which he considers the first and lowest stage in
mankind's progression towards the third phase of 'Menschwerdung'. 40 'Kindlich'
possesses a wide range of connotations (the dreamlike spontaneity of the child, the
naivety of the simpleton, the childlike ingenuity of the wise) which are set against
'adult', which becomes a synonym for 'overly sophisticated', 'elaborated', and
'intellectual'.
The binary opposition of 'intellectual' and 'ingenuous' (or 'naive') is pivotal
for Hesse and is a constant feature of his novels. Those characters who embody
opposite tendencies and move on a purely intellectual plane are contrasted with a
third type, who are infused with the attributes of 'Kindlichkeit'. Kuhn's and Muoth's
complex, problematic personalities, reflected in their approach to music, are
complemented by Teiser's childlike and joyful attitude towards life and music. The
simple boatman Vasudeva bridges the gap between Gotama and Siddhartha who, on
40 This emerges, for example, from the fragment 'Erinnerung an Asien' (1914), which voices Hesse's impression
of eine Not und Schwache des Abendlandes' (KF, 111; my emphasis) compared 'mit der geschirmten,
gepflegten, vertrauensvollen Religiosita'tdes Asiaten' (KF, 111)(see 1.2). Western civilisation is, however, in
sharp contrast not only to the wise simplicity of the East, seen as the 'Wiege des Lebens' (KF, 110) but also to
those populations who have not 'grown up', remaining in a primeval state of infancy, and regarded as weaker
siblings by Hesse: 'Auch sie erwarben sofort meine Liebe, aber es war die Liebe des Erwachsenen zu jiingeren,
schwachen Geschwistern' (KF, 109; my emphasis).
29

his way to enlightenment, is attuned more to Vasudeva's instinctive, unspoken
truths than to Gotama's teachings:
Er war ein sehr einfacher Mensch, Vasudeva, er war kein Denker, aber er
wufite das Notwendige, so gut wie Gotama, er war ein Vollkommener, ein
Heiliger. (SW 3, 464-65)
Boulby points out that Narzifi is similarly 'contrasted with the simple, pious, humble
abbot Daniel as well as with Goldmund' (217). In Der Steppenwolf, Haller's
sophisticated musical tastes are challenged both by the ordinary, naive musician
Pablo and by Mozart, who epitomizes Haller's idea of music. Hermine, who can be
seen as Haller's female counterpart, introduces him to Maria, whose uncomplicated
sensuality reveals to him a hitherto unknown dimension of love. 41
Hesse uses characters like Maria, Vasudeva, and Teiser, who attain profound
truths through avoiding the circuitous paths of the intellect, to establish the contrast
between the 'intellectual' and the 'ingenuous', as discussed in Chapter 2 (section 2) as
well as in Chapter 3 (section 4 and 5). 42
1.6 Hesse's novels: Autobiographies or reflections of his soul?
Hesse's dialectics also resonates with the autobiographical imprint of his fiction,
where his personal history intrudes repeatedly. The protagonists of his novels often
show Hesse's parentage through their first names (e.g. in Hermann Lauscher) or
initials (e.g. Harry Haller in Der Steppenwolf, H. H. in Die Morgenlandfahrt). Hesse
appears, as Boulby points out, as a 'literary double' (5) in Hermann Lauscher, where
the protagonist makes direct reference to his relation with the author: 'Ich hatte dort
ein langes Gesprach mit Hesse, [...] Hesse will mir einen Artikel iiber Tieck abjagen'
(SW 1, 324).43 The streets of Tubingen, where Hesse used to work in a bookshop, are
41 'He [Haller] discovers in Maria the type of women, naive sensual creatures, who fulfil him in a way their
intellectual predecessors in his life had never been able to do' (Boulby, 200).
42 In Peter Camenzind, Richard is a further example of a character who, like Vasudeva and Teiser, combines
wisdom with childlike attributes: 'Oberhaupt schien Richard mir oft, obwohl er alter, kluger, besser erzogen und
in allem beschlagener und raffmierter war als ich, doch im Vergleich mit mir das reine Kind zu sein' (SW 2, 40).
43 The motif of the 'double' will also be discussed in the context of the theme of the mirror in Chapter 6, section
4.
30

ecalled in 'Die Novembernacht', a section of Hermann Lauscher (see Mileck 1961,
171). The seminary of Maulbronn, a place of great significance for Hesse, appears in
various guises in his novels.44 Relatives, friends, and people Hesse admired are
occasionally referred to in coded form. In Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse's nephew Karl
Isenberg is disguised behind the latinized Carlo Ferromonte. The character of
Magister Ludi, Thomas von der Trave, is an admiring reference to Thomas Mann,
who was born in Llibeck crossed by the river Trave and, as I note in my
Introduction (note 16), the name of the historian Jacob Burckhardt, whom Hesse
admired greatly, is transliterated as Pater Jakobus. As Mileck observes, '[the]
disfiguring of actual names has always been a favorite disguise for Hesse[, it
constitutes] a capricious fusion of fact and fancy' (1961,168). 45
In his biography of 1979 Freedman suggests that the camouflage of names and
other autobiographical references are a crucial element of Hesse's work, which, taken
as a whole, amounts to a fictional history of the writer's life:
Reshaping personal feelings and encounters into artefacts is, of course, the
task and craft of artists. But in Hesse, far more than in most modern writers,
this process can be illuminated in quite an extraordinary and incomparable
way [...] In fact, what he did do was to construct in his published and
unpublished writings a single 'creative autobiography'.46 (1979, 4)
Critics generally point in the same direction and contribute to the identification of
further autobiographical references. However, opinions are in some cases strikingly
divergent (see below in this section). Moreover, while some-especially early critics,
like Mileck, are very confident about the imprint of Hesse's biography on his fiction:
44 'The monastery of Mariafels harks back to the monastery of Mariabronn in Narzifi und Goldmund (1930),
which, in turn, was a playful disguise for Maulbronn, the seminary Hesse attended briefly in the early nineties.
[...] When Knecht arrives in Escholz, he is assigned to Haus Hellas, the same House to which Hans Giebenrath
of Unterm Rad( 1905-1906) is assigned, and the very House in which Hesse lived while at Maulbronn' (Mileck
1961, 177-78).
45 The scholar also observes the evolution and refinement in Hesse's use of fictitious names for real places and
figures over the years: 'Hesse now makes less use of the actual or slightly disguised names of his friends, and his
former rather obvious direct or ironic characterizations now tend to give way to more complicated symbolic
appellations. [...] In Glasperlenspiel, he continues to be just as deliberate in his selection as previously, but now
becomes even more inventive' (Mileck 1961, 171 and 174).
46 Thomas Mann offers a similar view when he describes the German tradition of'autobiographisch erfullte[n]
Bildungs - und Entwicklungsroman[e]' ('Der autobiographische Roman'; 1960, 702).
31

'Fifty year old Harry Haller [...] is of course, Hesse himself;47 others, like Boulby, are
more cautious:
Iris, the bride, 'alter, als er sich seine Frau gewiinscht hatte' (SW 9,127), has no
doubt some qualities of Maria Bernoulli; but the autobiographical approach
would be a total desecration of such a work as this. (125)
With few notable exceptions, Hesse's own comments on the matter do not give clear
support to an autobiographical reading of his work; however, as in the case of an
article of 20 November 1921, published in the Neue Zurcher Zeitung, he explicitely
endorses it: 'All meine Erzahlungen handelten von mir selbst, spiegelten meine
eigenen heimlichen Traume und Wiinsche, meine eigenen bitteren Note' (cited in
Gommen, 35). 48
In 'Eine Arbeitsnacht' (1928), Hesse refers to his novels as 'Seelenbiographien',
narrations built on the inner life of their protagonists (Peter Camenzind, Knulp,
Demian, Siddhartha, Harry Haller), whom Hesse describes as a 'mythische
Personen':
Beinahe alle Prosadichtungen, die ich geschrieben habe, sind
Seelenbiographien, in alien handelt es sich nicht um Geschichten,
Verwicklungen und Spannungen, sondern sie sind im Grunde Monologe, in
denen eine einzige Person, eben jene mythische Figur, in ihren Beziehungen zur
Welt und zum eigenen Ich betrachtet wird. (SW 12,123-24; my emphasis)
He goes further and describes such 'mythical figures' as projections of his own soul:
'eine [...] Inkarnation, eine etwas anders gemischte und anders differenzierte
Verkorperung meines eigenen Wesens im Wort?49 (SW 12,125)
47 Stolte expresses himself in similarly decisive terms with regard to Unterm Rad: 'In ihm [Hermann Heilner]
also verkorpert sich der andere, der eigentliche Hermann Hesse' (44). For clarity, we also deem it necessary to
include a full citation from Mileck's article: 'Fifty year old Harry Haller, with his sharp profile and hesitant gait,
his burning eyes and severe headaches, the homeless intellectual who paints water colors, has berated his
fatherland for its militarism, and who finds solace in Mozart and Bach, is of course, Hesse himself (1961, 173).
48 Pointing to Hesse's contradictory position on the autobiographical nature of his work, Gommen cites a note
Hesse added to a manuscript of 'Kindheit des Zauberers': 'Die Erzahlung ist vor funfzehn Jahren geschrieben
und war nicht etwa autobiographisch gemeint, sondern sollte einen ma'rchenartigen Roman "Aus dem Leben
eines Zauberers" einleiten' (cited in Gommen, 43). Ironically, 'Kindheit des Zauberers' (1923) has strong
personal overtones (e.g. the description of the narrator's relationship to his parents or the idea of an underlying
unity), where the narrator states: 'So geschah es mir spa'ter, als ich langst erwachsen war und den Beruf eines
Literaten ausubte, dafl ich haufige Male den Versuch machte, hinter meine Dichtungen zu verschwinden, mich
umzutaufen und hinter bedeutungsreiche spielerische Namen zu verbergen' (SW 9, 172).
49 Karalaschwili recaps and complements Hesse's words: 'Somit ist ein Roman fur Hesse nichts anderes als [...]
ein kiinstlerisches Gebilde, worin alles Seelenmaterial, alles gedachte und erlebte auf einen gemeinsamen
32

If we follow the thread of the references above, we are inevitably led to reflect on the
significance of what Hesse describes as the transference of his own life into his
(main) characters. Artists draw on their personal lives for inspiration and material for
their work, in some cases projecting their inner discords onto the plane of art, in an
attempt to deal with them. Art can function as a form of therapy through which
artists seek answers to the conflicts in their lives. Hesse, who underwent
psychoanalysis (see note 14) and whose work was influenced by the psychoanalytic
theory, himself reminds us of this in a diary entry of 1920-1921: 'Die Funktion der
Kunst, soweit sie die Person des Kiinstlers selbst angeht, ware dann genau dasselbe
wie die Funktion der Beichte, oder der Psychoanalyse' ('Tagebuch 1920/1921', SW 11,
632).50 The idea of art as confession ('Beichte') resurfaces in the same diary entry in
the pairing of the autobiographical works of Augustine and Rousseau:
Man vergleiche die Konfessionen eines Heiligen mit denen eines Literaten, so
wird sofort der Unterschied klar: Augustinus und Rousseau. Der eine gibt sich
selbst preis, weil er sich Gott anheim gegeben hat: der andre rechtfertigt sich.
Vom gleichen Antrieb ausgehend, enden sie an genau entgegengesetzten
Polen: der eine beim Heiligen, der andre beim Dichter. 51 ('Tagebuch
1920/1921', SW11, 634)
By implication, then, Hesse brings together the act of creation with the moment of
confession; yet, as perceptively observed by Karalaschwili, 'confessions' do not only
aim to portray their authors as they are in real life, they also contrast them with their
ideal selves. In the case of Hesse, Karalaschwili argues, the tension between ideal and
Nenner - jene zentrale Figur - gebracht, von ihr aufgesaugt und dann auf den gesamten Erzahlraum ausgestrahlt
wird' (54).
50 Freedman corroborates Hesse's statement with regard to Der Steppenwolf. 'the writer transcends his illness by
writing'(1973, 179).
51 The idea of literature as a form of confession can be traced back to Romanticim, which began to regard a work
of art as 'the internal made external' (Abrams, 22) and laid great emphasis on the 'sincerity' and 'genuineness'
of an artist. As Abrams puts it: 'The work cease[d] to be regarded as primarily a reflection of nature, actual or
improved; the mirror held up to nature bec[ame] transparent and yield[ed] the reader insights into the mind and
heart of the poet himself. The exploitation of literature as an index to personality first manifested] itself in the
early nineteenth century; it [was] the inevitable consequence of the expressive point of view' (23). For their
prominence in the discourse on memory, the Confessions of Saint Augustine and those of Rousseau along with
psychoanalysis are also relevant to our discussion on 'memory' in Hesse (see introductory section of Chapter 4).
It also worth noting that both 'die «Bekenntnisse» des heiligen Augustin' (GS VII, 317) and 'die «Bekenntnisse»
von Rousseau' (320) are mentioned in 'Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur' (1929). Moreover, Weibel defines
Hesse as a 'Bekentnissdichter' (5).
33

eal self is transferred onto pairs of characters (e.g. Sinclair and Demian, Siddhartha
and Vasudeva, Haller and Mozart, H. H. and Leo):
Einerseits ist er eine reale und empirische Personlichkeit, mit all ihren
Schwachen, Gewohnheiten und Neigungen, andererseits aber eine
Potentialitat und ideale Moglichkeit, deren Verwirklichung das letzte Ziel aller
Menschwerdung ist. Diese beiden Pole des menschlichen Wesens werden in
der Romanstruktur gewohnlich in zwei Gestalten realisiert. 52 (Karalaschwili,
61-62)
These comparisons are certainly illuminating; however, read in this way, with a
strong emphasis on its autobiographical nature, Hesse's fiction might come across
more as a mere record of his sessions of psychoanalysis than as literature. Such
emphasis would both encourage a hasty search for personal references in his novels
and attract the criticism of those who tend to see the autobiographical matrix of his
prose as a diminuition of its literary merits. Current criticism maintains a cautious
sometimes too cautious attitude to pre-empt any accusation of reductivism.
Cornils's position is typical of this approach:
[O]ne must be clear about the term ['Seelenbiographien']. His texts are not
externalized carbon copies of his own psyche. Rather, Hesse explored his
innermost thoughts and feelings as a starting point for constructing characters
that serve as case studies both for the narrator and for the reader [...]
Unfortunately, distinguished scholars continue to read Hesse's work rather
sweepingly as 'self-therapy' and transposed 'life history' to the detriment of a
better understanding of the texts themselves. (2009, 8)
Vahlbusch criticizes Stolte's Trinzip der polarischen Spaltung' and firmly opposes
those who, like Stolte, are too prone to consider Unterm Rad as a 'therapeutic
encoding of Hesse's alleged psychological and artistic development' (18) and regard
Giebenrath and Heilner as 'merely allegories of the authorial self (ibid.). 53 Gommen,
52 Stolte, who would certainly include Hans Giebenrath and Hermann Heilner among those characters with
antithetical characteristics (see note 47), seems to echo Karalaschwili's opinion:'was im [Hesses] eigenen
Inneren als spannungsvoller Widerspruch, als Polaritat eines und desselben Charakters empfunden wird, zerlegt
sich im gestalteten Werk in zwei polarisch einander zugleich widersprechende und erganzende Personen' (44).
In Stolte's view, however, there is less emphasis on the juxtaposition of the ideal and real self than on the
complementary nature of certain characters.
53 Despite his categorical statement on the 'secret identity' of Hermann Heilner in Unterm Rad (see note 47),
Stolte, does not take, as Vahlbusch infers, the autobiographical element at face value: 'Nicht, daB es sich um eine
bloBe Autobiographic handelte: im Ablauf der Geschichte, in der Konzeption der Charaktere sind manche
Umstellungen, manche dichterische Lizenzen zu beobachten, die den Sinn haben, Subjektives in diejenige
Objektivitat zu versetzen, die notwendig ist, um den schopferischen Impuls auszulOsen' (43-44).
34

who refers to the biographical imprint as 'Gravuren', which should not interfere with
the creative process or distract the reader, stresses that 'Literatur ist [...] kein Spiegel.
Sie erfremdet und gestaltet, sublimiert und versinnbildlicht. [...] Im Zentrum steht
eindeutig das fiktionale Werk' (Gommen, S6-37). 54 The word Versinnbildlicht' and
Gommen's comment recall Hesse's opinion and use of the term 'Verdichten', as in a
letter of 1929 to M. L. Dumont
Ich habe nie Menschen nach dem Leben gezeichnet. Zwar kann ein Dichter
auch das tun, und es kann sehr schon sein. Aber im wesentlichen ist ja
Dichtung nicht ein Abschreiben des Lebens, sondern ein Verdichten, ein
Zusammensehen und Zusammenfassen des Zufalligen zum typischen und
Giiltigen. (GB 2, 210)
This idea of the biographical as a distilled element in Hesse's novels strikes the right
note. At the beginning of this chapter, I described the work of art as a microcosm
that, despite external connections, functions autonomously. The initial creative
impulse, whether biographical or not, has to be subsumed into the work itself if the
work is to achieve full authenticity. Significantly, Hesse describes the development of
Das Glasperlenspiel as almost independent of its author's original intentions:
[Ich] nahm den schon alten Plan wieder auf, der sich aber sofort unter dem
Druck des Augenblicks stark verwandelte... Und zu meiner eigenen
Uberraschung entstand die kastalische Welt wie von selbst. (cited in
Karalaschwili, 91)
Had his novels been too anchored in his time or personal life, their appeal would
have soon vanished, whereas Hesse's contribution to literature is still relevant today,
despite undeniable artistic weaknesses which, however, have nothing to do with the
autobiographical imprint of his work (see 6.6).
The idea of Hesse's novels as a distillation of their author's life experience
does not, however, diminish the significance of all those allusions to Hesse's life
which he scattered throughout his works. Although Hesse did not intend to offer a
faithful portrait of Mozart in Der Steppenwolf, the fact that the composer and
references to his music make their way into the novel obviously demands
54 'Das kunstlerische Buch-Projekt erscheint hier als ein Brunnen. Die ihn umkreisenden und konstituierenden
Steine dttrfen biographische Gravuren tragen, jedoch nur dann, wenn diese sich sinnvoll integrieren lassen -
andernfalls miissen sie der KUnstlerfantasie weichen' (Gommen, 37).
35

consideration. 55 Clearly, any aspect of Hesse's biography which throws light on his
work should be attentively scrutinised.
This chapter sought to prepare the ground for the discussion in the following
chapters. Indeed, Chapter 2 deals with the sonata form, which typically articulates
the dynamic opposition of two themes; Chapter 3 explores the contrast between
intellectualism and naivety, as expressed in Hesse's opinion on virtuosi and light
music. Chapter 4 considers Hesse's frequent juxtaposition of forgetfulness and
memory, and Chapter 5 his contrasting of the eternal and the transient. Chapter 6
examines a further opposition, that of the real and the ideal, which characterizes
Hesse's humour.
55 To be sure, Mozart as a character in Der Steppenwolf, an immortal who laughs at Haller's still too bourgeois
concerns, appears more as the quintessential image of Hesse's idea of the composer's music than a depiction of
Mozart as a man. Ironically, Mozart was not so much concerned about 'immortality'; rather, Mozart was grieved
by bourgeois apprehensions himself, especially in his last years, as showed by Elias: ' Aber er [Mozart] war kein
Mensch, den die Vorahnung der Resonanz, die sein Werk bei zukunftigen Generationen finden wiirde, fur die
Resonanzlosigkeit zu trosten vermochte, die er in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens besonders in seiner
Wahlheimat, in Wien, zu spiiren bekam' (10).
36

Chapter 2 Writing 'musically'
Words move, music moves
Only in time}
As noted in the Introduction, the essence of music is time to Hesse; time is also the
domain of writing, and the three elements (time, music, and writing) are fused in
Hesse's poetic world:
Hermann Hesse ist in seinem Schaffen der Musik verhaftet wie kein anderer
Dichter seit der Romantik. Seine Sprache und sein Werk sind wie sein Denken
und Empfinden im Dichterischen und Kiinstlerischen zu weittragenden und
oft ungeahnten musikalischen Offenbarungen bereit 2 (Diirr, 5)
Hesse regularly refers to or comments on concerts and pieces of music in his
correspondence with friends (many of them professional musicians), thoughts on the
biography and output of various composers appear throughout his works, and music
is fundamental to many of his metaphors and images. 3 As Diirr stresses, music can
influence the creative process of a writer at different levels, especially linguistically:
Die Musik vermag sich im Dichter auf verschiedene Art zu spiegeln: Sie kann
in dessen personlicher Sprache liegen und somit im kunstlerisch-musischen
Wesen des Dichtermenschen. (Diirr, 10)
Hesse's complex and multifaceted relationship with music, which dates back to his
childhood, has often intrigued his readership and has been extensively investigated
by scholars who, either in dedicated studies (Diirr, Liegens, Gianino) or in passing
(Freedman, Hollis, Rose), have identified connections to music in his life and
resonances in his works.
1 T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets ('Burnt Norton' V).
2 'Music is form in time; its "shapes" are an object of meditation' (Boulby, 281).
3 With regard to the influence Hesse's friends involved in music exerted on his understanding and appreciation
of music, Schneider notes: 'A detailed analysis would be required to differentiate Hesse's own ideas about music
from those of the professional musicians and friends with musical interests with whom he associated' (374). On
the other hand, Hesse's commentary on composers and their output forms an interesting corpus of
observations valuable from a musicological perspective. His pithy remarks give fascinating insights into the
works of major composers ('Mendelssohn: Musik fur viele, fur Alle, man kann sich zu ihr nichts wie eine
Gemeinde denken'; Musik, 127) as well as minor ones such as his friends Ferruccio Busoni and Othmar Schoeck
('Als Liederkomponist ist Schoeck gewifi der erste unserer Zeit'; Musik, 156).
37

This chapter, which is the necessary premise to Chapter 3, constitutes a
continuum with the latter. In this context, our aims are as follows:
i) to underline the ties between Hesse's conceptual framework and the dialectic
nature of both the sonata form (especially during the Romantic period) and
the counterpoint technique (an essential element of the Baroque and Classic
epochs), the emphasis being on the antagonistic opposition of two themes in
the former and on the reciprocity and interplay of the voices in the latter (see
2.4);*
ii) to point out the emergence of positions close to existentialism (see the parallel
with Wagner in 3.2), despite the prominence of Classical and Romantic
elements in Hesse's cultural background;
iii) to investigate the extent to which Hesse's dialectics informs his discourse on
music (see the contrast between Classical music and jazz in 3.4 or the
contradictory statements on the nature of music in 2.4.1, 'Ungestaltbare
Gestalt'); and
iv) to highlight the symbolic value of music, which Hesse connects to ethics and
to an atemporal dimension, of which the compositions of Bach and Mozart are
ideal harbingers (see 3.3, Music: 'Das bedeutet: die Welt hat einen Sinn').
For our purposes, Schneider's overview (2009) of Hesse's ties with music as well as
his up-to-date references to critical studies on the subject were a valuable source of
information for this chapter. Moritz's monograph (2005) provided excellent insights
into the 'musicality' of Hesse's prose, especially in Siddharta. Ziolkowski's analysis of
Der Steppenwolf (1965) became an important point of departure for investigating on
correspondences between Hesse's work and musical forms, especially the sonata
form and the counterpoint technique. 5 Valentin (1998) prompted the elaboration on
the ethical dimension of music in Hesse. Finally, the contributions of Fumagalli
4 As mentioned in Chapter 1 (note 9) employ the term 'Classic' to indicate the period spanning from the early
decades of the eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century. As indicated by Grout: 'Classic has been
applied most narrowly to the mature styles of Haydn and Mozart and more broadly to music of a period that
extends from the 1720s to around 1800' (426; original emphasis).
5 Taking his cue from Ziolkowski, Gianino (1999) identifies excerpts in Gertrud that can be linked to the
dynamics of the sonata form. His acute observation on Hesse's reference to Reger in 'Eine Senate' proved
invaluable to our argument in 2.2.
38

(2004), Weiner (1993), Berendt (1977), and Kreidler (1972) engaged us on the
significance of Pablo, his ties with Mozart and 'Die Unsterblichen', and the
implications on an aesthetic level (see Chapter 3, section 4).
The first section of the present chapter, then, discusses the influence of music
on Hesse's language and explores the close relation between images and sounds in
his works. The second section (2.2) considers the extent to which his work imitates
musical forms such as the theme and variations (2.3) and the technique of the
leitmotif (2.4). The sonata form and the counterpoint technique, their literary and
historical implications, and their bearing on Hesse's thought, are the focus of 2.5. The
chapter draws to a close with a discussion of Hesse's contradictory statements on the
nature of music (2.5.1).
2.1 A matter of senses
As a representative document of the eighteenth century, reflecting the need for clear-
cut categorizations, Lessing's Laokoon (1766) distinguishes between writing and
painting, confining them to separate domains, the temporal and the visual
respectively. The nineteenth century was to reverse that attitude and promote the
collaboration and contamination across different artistic fields, as mirrored in
Wagner's elaboration of the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk in the second half of the
century. 6 One of the consequences of this new cultural mileu is the rise to
prominence of synesthesia among the figures of speech in literary texts of the period.
The use of synesthesia became very fashionable in nineteenth-century
European literature. The German romanticists, Tieck and E. T. A. Hoffmann in
particular, were early experimenters with the wide associative range of
synesthetic possibilities. This trend was further intensified by Wordsworth,
Shelley, and Keats in England and was brought to formal perfection by the
French symbolists. (Scher 1968,166)
6 'Wagner believed in the absolute oneness of drama and music that the two are organically connected
expressions of a single dramatic idea. Poetry, scenic design, staging, action, and music work together to form
what he called a Gesamtkunstwerk' (Grout, 625).
39

In the twentieth century, the advent of cinema, and its mixture of texts, images, and
sounds propelled a similar process of interspersion among disciplines. 7 As an artist
who chiefly operates in the twentieth century but whose cultural background is
mainly rooted in the previous two centuries, Hermann Hesse reflects the same
tendency. As an active painter for part of his life and a music lover and a
connoisseur, who played the violin in his childhood, the sensory domains of sight
and hearing appeal to him greatly and play a major role in his activity as a writer. 8
On a linguistic level, Hesse draws on both sounds and images to broaden and
enrich his range of expression. 9 The two spheres are sometimes fused or show a high
degree of interdependence, as in the case of Hesse's attempt to transfer music into
words, which requires him to call on the visual. 10 This is also explained by the fact
that, as his friend and writer Romain Rolland noted after their first meeting, music
feeds Hesse's visual imagination:
Hesse ist vor allem ein Augenmensch [...] beim Horen von Musik sieht er
immer Bilder und Landschaften (bei einem bestimmten Praludium von Cesar
Frank, das er besonders liebt, sieht er hohe Berge). 11 (in Volker Michels'
'Nachwort' to Musik, 220-21)
At the beginning of his career, the sound qualities of a word would often determine
Hesse's linguistic choices since, as Boulby points out, 'in the wake of the French
Symbolists, language is still almost as significant for how it sounds as for what it
7 The influence of the visual arts, and cinema in particular, on the imagery of contemporary writers as well as the
impact of film editing and montage on their manipulation of literary techniques can hardly be overestimated.
8 A review published in 1926 contains Hesse's enthusiastic appreciation of both music and painting, indirectly
shedding light on the influence the two arts exerted on him: 'Fur mich ist die Musik obenan Mozart, neben dem
Sehen von Farben der hochste Genuss' (Musik, 150).
9 Music, for instance, reveals itself 'mit einem winzigen, seidenzarten, Flugelgesumme' (Ger, SW 2, 302) and
resounds through the 'schwingende Weltmusik' (Kur, SW 11, 40) of the stars, or even through 'die Melodien des
Gurgelns' (Kur, SW 11, 78); Mozart as a character in Der Steppenwolf '[schlagt] Triller mit den Beinen' (SW 4,
194); 'Sonnenblumen [schreien] im Garten golden ins Blau empor' in Klingsors letzter Sommer (SW 8, 311);
and a man portrayed in Kurgast releases his breath 'beherrscht und rhythmisch wie aus einer Oboe' (SW 11, 90).
10 Gianino notes that this aspect of Hesse's writing surfaces especially in Gertrud(see Gianino, p. 80). Indeed,
the musical content of Kuhn's compositions is not illustrated in musical terms but transposed into a visual key,
projected onto an abstract plane, where Hesse portrays sensations inspired by the music more than the music
itself. However, the 'rendition' of music through images has far-reaching implications that affect and extend to
Siddhartha and Der Steppenwolf (see the remainder of this section and 'Time changes to space', section 4 of
Chapter 5).
11 Diirr refers to Goethe as an 'Augenmensch' too in the chapter 'Ton, Wort und Farbe' (15), and in relation to
Rolland he notes: 'Der geniale Franzose und Freund Hermann Hesses stand selbst zwischen Dichtung und
Musik'(18).
40

means' (6). 12 It is not surprising, therefore, that, in a letter of 1938 to Herbert Steiner,
Hesse justifies his stylistic, even orthographic choices, on the basis of the musicality
of a single word:
wenn ein Autor einmal das Wort »anderer« geschrieben hat, darf ihn das nicht
dazu verpflichten, auf der nachsten Seite auf das Wort »andrer« zu verzichten,
blofi weil das »konsequent« ist. Zwischen beiden Wortern ist ein rhythmischer
Unterschied, und wenn auch der Autor die Motive, warum er das einemal so,
das andremal so schreibt, nicht immer klarlegen kann, so tut er es eben doch
aus einem kunstlerischen, einem Bediirfnis nach Differenzierung im
Ausdruck. (Musik, 174)
The attention to the sonority and synaesthetic qualities of his language is not
however limited to his literary beginnings but persists throughout Hesse's career, as
witnessed by the opening lines of the poem 'Nachts im April notiert' (Musik, 218),
composed a few months before his death in 1962, lines which illustrate effectively
how Hesse's creative process deploys images, sounds and words simultaneously:
O dafi es Farben gibt:
Blau, Gelb, Weifi, Rot und Grim!
O dafi es Tone gibt:
Sopran, Bafi, Horn, Oboe!
O dafi es Sprache gibt:
Vokabeln, Verse, Reime
The assimilation of elements from different sensory domains, especially the visual
and aural is a constant feature of Hesse's writing; the interplay of these elements,
however, intensifies and reaches its pinnacle during the years of his artistic maturity,
the period extending from the end of World War I and the publication of Nurnberger
Reise (1927). 13
In Klingsors letzter Sommer (1920), the protagonist '[sieht] Tone, [hort] Farben'
(Kli, 594) and Klingsor's self-portrait is described as 'ein Farbenkonzert, ein
wunderbar gestimmter, trotz aller Buntheit still und edel wirkender Teppich' (Kli,
12 Commenting on the short story 'Robert Aghion' (1913), Boulby stresses the importance of sounds for Hesse's
early style: 'the music of his language is more important to him than its plasticity' (71). The critic also adds that
the 'pursuit of synaesthesia [and] oxymoron' (71) is one of the pronounced differences between Hesse and
Gottfried Keller, who was a source of inspiration for Hesse.
13 The rationale behind this categorization will be illustrated in Chapter 3, section 1.
41

609). 14 Klingsor even calls on the world of sounds and colours to dissolve the illusion
of time:
«dies sind unsre Kanonen», rief er, «mit diesen Kanonen schiefien wir die Zeit
kaputt, den Tod kaputt, das Elend kaputt. Auch mit Farben habe ich auf den
Tod geschossen». (SW 8, 317)
The musicality and sensory plurality of Siddhartha, first published in 1922, act on
various levels of the text. A first aspect refers to the centrality of repetitions rhythmic
patterns, as highlighted by Boulby:
The complete work is written in a strongly rhythmical, sensuous prose with
ritual features. The use of leitmotifs, parallelism, and the repetition of phrases
and of single words (especially threefold repetitions) in the liturgical manner
is constantly reminiscent of the Bible, the Psalms, or perhaps more directly-
the Pali canon [...] the extreme parataxis and the apparently endless
repetitions of Buddha's canonical preachings, like prayer mills. 15 (132)
The many correspondences between time and space, and the continual flow of the
acoustic into the visual occupy a pivotal position in Moritz's analysis of the novel:
Im Kapitel 'Om' wird das Blicken ins Lauschen transformiert. Die dabei
entstehende Kontamination des Visuellen und Akustischen ist fur die
musikalische Poetik des Textes von prinzipieller Bedeutung. 16 (Moritz, 322)
The syllable 'OM', which is an essential thematic element that points to the unity of
all beings, micro- as well as macrocosm, is another facet of the musicality of the text. 17
As an elementary component of a word, the syllable 'OM', is the ideal bridge
between 'logos' and 'melos': its reiterated utterance disperses all the semantic
attributes of the syllable and dissolves them into pure sound:
the magic syllable OM, 'the word of words' which stands for Perfection or the
Perfected [...], the alpha and omega of every Vedic text, [...] a power without
14 As opposed to writing, both music and painting are forms of art in which language is not the primary medium.
15 Moritz similarly notes: 'Neben den motivischen Ubereinstimmungen fallt hier auf, dass Hesses Text sich
durch eine deutliche, auf syntaktisch-semantischen Wiederholungen basierende Rhythmisierung auszeichnet'
(175). She also hightlights the shift in emphasis from signified to signifier brought about by repetitions: 'All
diese Aquivalenzenreihen in [Combination mit inhaltlichen Wiederholungen verschieben das Gewicht vom
semantischen Gehalt der Aussage auf ihre klangliche Komponente' (276).
16 Moritz also identifies the word 'Augenblick' and its recurrence as an expression of the interlocking of the
temporal and the visual on a linguistic as well as thematic plane (See Chapter 5, section 4).
17 The 'voices' of the river merge into the sound 'OM' (see 2.4).
42

form or substance itself and yet the source of everything that was, is, or shall
be. 18 (Shaw, 205)
2.2 Writing as composition
A combination of intellectualism and naivety is one of the elements that characterize
Hesse's approach to and appreciation of music, which began at home in his early
years. 19 While his mother would play pieces on the piano and sing with her children,
young Hermann practised the violin and dreamt of becoming a virtuoso, the
equivalent of a hero in his estimation then. 20 The musical education he received as a
child, however, was too brief to allow him an in-depth understanding of music
theory and, despite his personal acquaintance with people actively involved in music
at various levels throughout his life, his knowledge was to remain confined to the
sphere of the layman, especially if compared to the sharper competence of his
colleague Mann.21 This gap in his background determined not only his appreciation
but also his writing about music in two opposite directions. On the one hand, his
reaction to the world of sounds is direct and instinctive, and music remains a
primitively sensuous component in his works, even in the abstract and rarefied
atmosphere of Das Glasperlenspiel (1943):
Die Musik besteht nicht nur aus jenen rein geistigen Schwingungen und
Figurationen, die wir aus ihr abstrahiert haben, sie bestand durch alle
Jahrhunderte in erster Linie aus der Freude am Sinnlichen, am Ausstromen
des Atems, am Schlagen des Taktes, an den Farbungen, Reibungen und
Reizen, welche beim Mischen von Stimmen, beim Zusammenspiel von
Instrumenten entstehen [...] Man macht Musik mit den Handen und Fingern,
mit dem Munde, mit der Lunge, nicht mit dem Gehirn allein, und wer zwar
Noten lesen, aber kein Instrument vollkommen spielen kann, der soil iiber
Musik nicht mitreden. (SW 5, 77-78)
18 Music resonances in Der Steppenwolfare dealt with in the remainder of this chapter as well as in Chapter 3,
while the ties of the novel with the idea of the transformation of time into space are analysed in Chapter 5
(section 4).
19 The same components, naivety and intellectualism, are also at play in Hesse's discourse on 'virtuosi' and in
his reception of jazz (see Chapter 3, sections 3 and 4 respectively).
20 As noted by Schneider: 'Hesse had been given a violin when he was twelve and had dreamed of becoming a
virtuoso' (374).
21 'Hesse [clearly] perceived the limits of his conceptions about music, especially in comparison with Thomas
Mann' (Schneider, 389).
43

This conception of music, reflected in Hesse's distrust of musicologists who engage
in lofty discussions on music without actually being able to play an instrument,
accounts for the few detailed and technical references that appear in his work and
correspondence, especially when compared to the multitude of metaphors and
images he formulates through his writing. 22 Gertrud, for instance, is to a large degree
a novel about music, though there is little direct reference to musical technicalities
throughout the novel, except for the key of Kuhn's Trio, 'Es-dur' (SW 2, 342), and the
general characteristics of its movements: 'wir stimmten mit breitem Strich das
Andante an' (343).
On the other hand, his views on music paradoxically betray a certain literary
intellectualism, which originated in and is steeped in the German cultural debate of
the nineteenth century, a period which regarded music, especially instrumental
music, as idealised substance, as is reflected in the discourse on the ascendancy of
music over literature (see 2.4.1).
Account must also be taken of an evolution in Hesse's approach to music
listening and his literary treatment of music over the years. In a letter of May 1898 to
his nephew and professional musician, Karl Isenberg, he acknowledges the
limitations of his musical aesthetics, yet he does not seem to seek a refinement his
theoretical background:
Da meine Kenntnis sich iiber verhalmismafiig nur sehr wenige Musiksachen
erstreckt, suche ich diese moglichst innig zu fassen, im Geist auswendig zu
lernen, um so von wenigen Mittelpunkten aus einen Standort und
Ausgangspunkt meines Gefiihls zu haben. Eine bescheidene Asthetik - aber
besser als keine oder eine fremde. (Musik, 128)
The need to achieve a more comprehensive understanding surfaced in later years,
especially at the time he worked on Das Glasperlenspiel, around 1934, when his
nephew helped him to sharpen his knowledge of theoretical aspects: '[Karl] spielt
22 In the short piece 'Musik' (1915), which touches on vital aspects of his music aesthetics, Hesse also defends
his approach against those 'music professionals' who dismiss as deficient any discourse on music based on
intuitive listening: 'manche «fachmannische» Musiker erklaren es fur falsch und dilettantenhaft, wenn der Horer
wahrend einer musikalischen Auffuhrung Bilder sieht [...] Mir, der ich so sehr Laie bin, daB ich auch nicht die
Tonart eines Stiickes richtig erkennen kann, mir scheint das Bildersehen naturlich und gut' ('Musik' in Musik,
*\ f\
35).
44

uns abends alte Musik und nimmt ofter auch mit mir irgend etwas Theoretisches,
meist Kontrapunktisches durch, da ich das fiir meine spatere Arbeit brauche 7 (Musik,
164). In a letter of June 1935 to Isenberg, Hesse refers to the poem 'Zu einer Toccata
von Bach7, included in Das Glasperlenspiel (SW 5, 401), as an unsatisfactory result, and
the reason for his disappointment largely rests in what Hesse perceived as the lack of
any immediate and tangible reference to music: 'Im Bachgedicht stort, dass das
Gedicht ja nicht eigentlich von der Musik handelt, sondern von dem Bild, das jene
Musik mir suggeriert: der Schopfung des Lichts 7 (Musik, 169). A month later, in a
letter to Cecilie Clarus, he categorically rejects the possibility of transferring music
into writing 'natiirlich kann man Musik nicht in Versen wiedergeben 7 (Musik,
169) thereby showing a conscious understanding of the difficulties inherent in the
portrayal and reproduction of music by means of words.
The problematic transliteration of music into words occupied Hesse
intensively in those years, as another letter of 1934 to Isenberg witnesses:
ich mochte [...] ein Schrittchen weiterkommen in dem Problem, ob und wie
Musik, oder doch Erinnerung an Musik, auf intellektuellem oder
dichterischem Weg reproduzierbar ist. Also z. B.: wie weit die Analyse einer
klassischen Musik in Worten heute moglich ist. (Musik, 159)
Two short pieces, 'Dreistimmige Musik', composed in 1934 (see section 2.4),
and 'Ein Satz liber die Kadenz' (SW 10, 573-74; Musik, 110), which Hesse wrote in
1947, both explicitly adopting music structures and patterns, can be read as the
literary outcome of this period of intense speculation on music theory.
In seeking to examine the latter, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
defines a cadenza as 'a flourish (properly, improvised) inserted into the final cadence
of any section of a vocal aria or a solo instrumental movement7 . 'Ein Satz uber die
Kadenz7 consists of an exceptionally long sentence (220 words), where the absence of
any full stop conveys the idea of improvisation. 23 Moreover, Hesse describes the
exuberant joy and musical freedom of the soloist who, in a cadenza and 'fiir eine
Atempause' (Musik, 110), stands out from the orchestra. The pace of his writing,
23 See also Schneider (2009, 383).
45

eproducing the soloist's frenzy, increases and, in a sort of crescendo, becomes
progressively richer in adjectival phrases, the syntax being conspicuously
disjunctive:
bald wiegenden, bald triumphal, emporsteigenden, bald bacchantisch
bafiwarts abstiirzenden Passagen, Schwungen und Fliigen das scheinbar
Uniiberbietbare, ja Unmogliche an virtuoser Ekstase zu erleben. (Musik, 110)
Hesse illustrates his poetic and aesthetic intentions in a letter of October 1947:
[D]afi ich dennoch nach Jahren mir einmal wieder einen kleinen literarischen
Spafi gegonnt habe, das Blatt iiber die Kadenz, wundert mich selber. Natiirlich
habe ich musiktechnisch dariiber nichts Neues oder Eigenes zu sagen,
sondern das Blatt ist der Versuch, in einem einzigen, ubermutig langen und
koloraturreichen Prosasatz die Kadenz nicht nur zu beschreiben, sondern
gewissermafien nachzuahmen. (Musik, 185)
The piece clearly shows that, although in the form of a 'literarische[r] Spafi', Hesse
deliberately seeks to imitate a music pattern (the cadenza). Investigating the
structural influences of music on at least some of his works can consequently be seen
as legitimate and justified. This path is fascinating as well as perilous and full of
pitfalls, against which Rene Wellek and Austin Warren warn in their Theory of
literature:
[I]t is hard to see why repetitive motifs or a certain contrasting and balancing
of moods, though by avowed intention imitative of musical composition, are
not essentially the familiar literary devices of recurrence, contrast, and the like
which are common to all the arts. (127)
Before drawing our conclusions on opportunity and scope of an investigation of the
structural correspondences between musical forms and Hesse's writing, another
aspect claims our attention at this point. In a short story of 1906, 'Eine Senate' (SW 6,
455-60), a piano sonata, to which the title refers and which is central to the story, is
ascribed to Max Reger. However, as Gianino notes, Reger's vast output does not
include any piano sonatas (see Gianino, 22). 24 It is therefore surprising that Hesse,
who does not usually provide specific information or technical details when he
writes about music, fails to be accurate at the very moment he makes a concrete
24 Among Reger's major works are two organ sonatas, nine violin sonatas and seven sonatas for solo violin, three
cello sonatas, three clarinet sonatas, and four piano sonatinas (The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music).
46

eference to a real composer. As noted in the previous section, Hesse was a music
lover if not a professional musician and, for part of his life, a regular concert-goer. It
is thus unlikely that he set out to write his short story ignoring that the piece of
music he would refer to did not feature among Reger's compositions. On these
grounds, we would discard the hypothesis of an inaccuracy on Hesse's part and
consider it more as an intentional distortion, which can be explained in the light of
two considerations. Firstly, the sonata as a form was, for reasons addressed below
(see section 2.4), particularly appealing to Hesse. Secondly, Reger generally disliked
programme music and, like Hesse, had a penchant for absolute music, particularly
for old musical forms (e.g. the fugue); he therefore embodied a music aesthetic
congenial to Hesse. In brief, the classical form of the sonata and the aesthetic
implications connected to Reger7s music serve as a symbol in Hesse's short story.
Similarly, in 'Orgelspiel' (1937, Musik, 27), 'Orgel' does not solely refer to the actual
instrument: 'sondern [die Orgel] ist Symbol fur die in vielen Generationen
aufgebaute »geistige« Kultur und Geistesmoral', as Hesse notes in a letter of July
1937 (Musik, 172). 25
The interplay of different sensory domains, as suggested in the previous
section, informs Hesse's writing on a linguistic level and, in part, also accounts for
Hesse's calling on images to transliterate music into words, the latter feature being
also determined by Hesse's limited command of theoretical aspects of music,
especially at the beginning of his career. The analysis of two late short pieces 'Ein
Satz iiber die Kadenz' (1947) and 'Dreistimmige Musik' (see 2.4), reveals that Hesse
occasionally seeks to imitate musical structures by means of his writing, at least from
the time he was occupied with the composition of Das Glasperlenspiel and seeks to
refine his competence in music through his nephew, Karl Isenberg. The artistic value
of the two pieces mentioned above is, however, limited and, in the case of 'Ein Satz
iiber die Kadenz', Hesse explicitly speaks of literary entertainment ('literarische[r]
25 Schneider strikes a similar chord when, in connection with Hesse's early poem 'Valse Brillante', composed
between 1899 and 1902, he notes: 'It appears to be of no importance to him [Hesse] that Chopin's "Valse
brillante" is expressed in an iambic meter rather than in the three-four dactylic beat that Novalis used more
"musically" in his poem "Walzer"' (376). Further considerations on 'Orgelspiel' are included in section 4 of
/"•Via «*£»•• < Chapter 5.
47

Spafi'). A further point we drew attention to is Hesse's symbolic manipulation of
music references, as underlined in our observations on 'Eine Sonate' and 'Orgelspiel'.
Although it is difficult to draw a neat line between the literary heritage and
the imprint left by other artistic fields in the works of writers like Hesse who are
conspicuously influenced by other art forms (e.g. music and painting), it is our
contention that there is not enough evidence to support a direct filiation of any of
Hesse's major works from musical forms. Despite scholars' attempts, of which
Ziolkowski's is the most convincing and articulate to date (see 2.4), to identify
musical structures in Hesse's major works, we can only speak of correspondences, as
underlined by Schneider: 'Novels and other narratives can only relate to musical
forms through metaphorical analogies' (379). 26 In structuring his novels, Hesse
followed only his poetic needs and, if analogies with musical forms are discernible in
Der Steppenwolf or Das Glasperlenspiel, these are not predetermined, as any such
intention on his part would probably have led to a diminishment of the artistic
merits of his work. 27 Hesse was intrigued by the underlying ties between music and
language, and his prose certainly has musical qualities and overtones (see section
2.1), yet he was sufficiently aware of the intrinsic differences between the two arts to
realise that his novels would not benefit from the imposition of a strictly musical
model.28 Bearing in mind this limitation, we now set out to investigate analogies
between Hesse's literary output and the theme and variations form (next section),
before we turn our attention to those elements in his works that point towards the
counterpoint technique, as epitome of Classicism, and the sonata form, as an element
of the Romantic heritage in Hesse.
26 See also Ligens' well-structured parallel between the fugue and Das Glasperlenspiel: Toeuvre de Hermann
Hesse apparait comme une grande fugue, avec ses contrepoints et modulations, avec ses sujets et contre-sujets,
ses de"veloppements, exposes puis reexposes, a 1'image d'une composition sur 1'alternance de 1'esprit et du
monde' (338).
27 Any attempt to entirely subsume the structure and the code of a medium into another generally impoverishes
the final result, as in the case of a too literal filmic transposition of a novel or a too faithful translation of a text.
28 In this context, it is worth referring to Hesse's opinion on the merits of Wagner's librettos, judged as literary
texts, and his argument on the difficulty of combining texts and music of equal artistic significance. With regard
to Wagner's librettos, he states in a review which appeared in the Munchner Zeitung in 1914: 'Die Dichtungen
freilich sehen so in Einzelausgaben und ohne Musik wenig liebenswert aus, und ein Text, wie der des »Parsival«,
ist ohne den standigen Gedanken an die geniale Musik schlechthin ungeniefibar' (Musik, 147). A letter of 1952 is
revealing in connection with the second point mentioned above: 'mancher Dichter unbedeutender Verse ist
schon durch einen Komponisten von Rang beriihmt geworden. Und umgekehrt: den guten Gedichten haben auf
die Dauer auch noch so schlechte Vertonungen nicht schaden konnen' (Musik, 192).
48

2.3 Theme and variations
As expressed in a letter of July 1962, Hesse feels that certain melodies of Beethoven
are characterized by 'cine gewisse Banalitat' (Musik, 217); nevertheless, he finds that
these shortcomings are compensated by the composer's ability to treat and alter a
given theme: 'Die diversen Variationen-Folgen gehoren fur mich zum Schonsten in
Beethovens Werk, die auf Diabelli sind mir wohl die liebsten' (ibid). In Hesse's
opinion, Beethoven's use and development of the theme and variations form are
among the composer's major achievements.
'[The] variation form [derives] from the practice of improvising
embellishments in successive strophes of songs and dances during the 16 th century
[and consists of] a self-contained theme [which] is repeated and change[d] in some
way with each successive statement' (The Oxford Companion to Music). Based on
this definition, three aspects, at least, of Hesse's works bear similarities to this
musical form. A first point relates to the protagonists of his novels who, with only a
few exceptions, share similar cravings and longings and are, to a large degree, very
much alike. 29 Klingsor, Siddhartha, Harry Haller and, to a lesser degree, Kuhn are all
driven by similar quests for truth and the meaning of life. They are torn between
identical opposing tendencies: innocence and guilt, direct experience of life and the
flawless perfection of thought, the surge of the sensual and the call for spirituality. In
Ziolkowski's words, 'the characteristic hero of Hesse's novels from Demian to The
Glass Bead Game [is] the tormented self-seeker' (1965, 350).30 For all their differences,
Hesse's protagonists appear to develop along a similar pattern and feel as though
29 Despite pronounced similarities linking all of Hesse's protagonists, we can identify a slight shift in focus in
Unterm Rad( 1905/1906), whose young protagonist struggles to find his place in a world ruled by adults, and
Rofihalde (1914), which hinges on the marital crisis of an artist and his being torn between his feelings and needs
as a person and the call for the ideal realm of art.
30 As pointed out in Chapter 1, section 2, the protagonists in most of Hesse's novels are contrasted with a co-
protagonist: Demian, Sinclair's spiritual brother, Govinda and Siddhartha, NarziB and Goldmund, H.H. and Leo
in Die Morgenlandfahrt. We also noted with Stolte (44) that the unity of the psychological profile of Hesse's
hero seems as split and infused in the two opposite, complementary protagonists. There are other occurrences
when protagonists are juxtaposed and counterpointed by not just one but two other characters: Muoth and
Gertrud, who, more than any other characters, affect Kuhn's life; Hermine and Pablo who, for different reasons,
are Haller's opposites and, to some extent, his spiritual guides.
49

they revolve around a common 'home key': they are like Variations' stemming from
a main, common theme (i.e. the 'self-seeker'). In 'Eine Arbeitsnacht', written in 1928,
while occupied with the composition of Narzifl und Goldmund (1930), Hesse alludes to
the theme and variations form in relation to the protagonists of his novels and their
common psychological profile: 'fur mich ist der "Knulp" und der "Demian", der
"Siddhartha", der "Klingsor" und der "Steppenwolf" oder "Goldmund" jeder ein
Bruder des andern, jeder eine Variation meines Themas' (Gesammelte Werke 11, 85). 31
It is unsurprising, however, that protagonists of different novels of a given author
share common traits and, even assuming that Hesse's protagonists embody a given
'theme', this motif evolves not within the framework of a novel but throughout
different works.
A second comparison is prompted by an observation of Ernst Rose who, in his
biography on Hesse, calls on the fugue form to illustrate specific aspects of Narzifl
und Goldmund:
To be sure, the structure is fugue-like, as the basic theme of Goldmund's
relation to sensual reality is, repeated in different keys, until the final
repetition leads to an integration of the dissonances and their dissolution in a
new harmony. But the ensuing variations are richly ornamented. (Rose, 105)
On the one hand, this analogy is unconvincing because it fails to satisfy one of the
main features of the fugue form: the simultaneous interplay of voices, which Rose
refers to as 'variations', stemming from the common melodic line (subject) of
"Goldmund's relation to sensual reality". On the other hand, Rose unintentionally
draws a suitable parallel between Hesse's novel and the variation form. The theme of
"Goldmund's relation to sensual reality" not only occurs several times, but it also
evolves within the structural unity of the novel (from Goldmund's juvenile sexual
drive to his all-embracing and multifaceted sensuality at the end of the novel).
Goldmund's words aptly capture this idea of recurrence with variation: 'alles kam
31 This passage features only in the edition of'Eine Arbeitsnacht' included in the Gesammelte Werke, 12 vols
(Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1970). The editions of the Gesammelte Schriften (7 vols, 1968) and the Sdmtliche
Werke (20 vols, 2001-2007) do not include this variant.
50

wieder und wieder, was er nun schon so wohl zu kennen glaubte, alles kam wieder
und war doch jedesmal anders' (SW 4, 388). 32
A further comparison with the variation form is put forward by Ziolkowski.
In the last part of Der Steppenwolf, the protagonist, Harry Haller, is dragged by Pablo
into a theatre at the end of the 'Maskenball'. Haller enters a number of boxes in the
theatre, in each facing a different experience and being confronted with a different
aspect of his own personality. According to Ziolkowski, the theme, modulated
throughout this section of the novel, consists of
the notion that Haller's personality comprises a multiplicity of opposite
elements [...] Each booth in the Magic Theatre represents a variation on this
theme: in each one he sees a specific instance of the opposite tendencies in his
nature. (222)
Ziolkowski's argument will be discussed in more detail in section 2.5.
2.4 Leitmotif
The restatement of ideas and themes is a common device to achieve cohesion in both
literature (e.g. through anaphora) and music: in opera, a recurrent theme or a motif
associated with a character was a technique which had been established well before
Wagner's time. Nevertheless, this was to undergo substantial changes with Wagner,
to the point of becoming a compositional signature.
Wagner's use of the leitmotif principle differs from that of such composers as
Verdi and Weber. First, Wagner's motifs themselves are for the most part
short, concentrated, and (in intention, at least) so designed as to characterize
their object at various levels of meaning [...] Another and more important
difference, of course, is that Wagner's leitmotifs are the essential musical
substance of the work; they are used not as an exceptional device, but
constantly, in intimate alliance with every step of the action. (Grout, 749)
As Scher notes, Wagner's use of leitmotif played a seminal role in twentieth-century
literature:
32 This excerpt, which echoes a similar statement from Kurgast (see section 3 of Chapter 5), foreshadows the
considerations on 'circularity' in Chapter 5, one of the images Hesse calls on to conjure up timelessness.
51

More recent literary employment of the leitmotiv [...] does indeed exhibit the
direct influence of Wagner's operatic practice (e.g. most of Thomas Mann's
works, D'Annunzio's Trionfo della morte, and Proust's A la recherche du temps
perdu)* (1968, 6-7)
As far as Hesse is concerned, certain elements of his style evoke the leitmotiv
principle as Wagner intended it. As noted in Chapter 2 (section 1), repetition is a
signature aspect of Hesse's language in Siddhartha. Field links 'the characteristic
deliberate cultivation of repetition as a stylistic feature by Hesse' (Chapter 8, online)
with the use of leitmotifs in his prose:
Repetition, which permeates the style in the form of recurring words, phrases,
and sentences, leads structurally to the use of leitmotifs, many of which we
have mentioned, such as the river symbol and the beatific smile. 34 (Field,
Chapter 6, on-line)
Ziolkowski, for whom 'Hesse [...] makes ample use of the leitmotiv' (1965,194),
identifies some recurring ideas which link to that musical form: the mark of Cain
(das 'Kainszeichen') in Demian which applies to 'those whom destiny has set apart as
leaders in the spiritual revaluation' (1965,122), and the phrase 'only for madmen'
('Nur fur Verriickte') which occurs several times in Der Steppenwolf. Certainly, these
are leitmotifs in a literary context, yet their use cannot compare to the way Wagner
employed this technique. As noted above, Wagner's motifs are developed and
orchestrated in unity with the performance on stage. Through their reappearance at
different points of the drama, they are able to make subtle comments to the listeners.
In the case of 'the mark of Cain' and 'only for madmen', they are repeated and
emerge in different contexts within each novel, but they do not undergo any
'rearrangement', there is no new 'orchestration' to trigger an unexpected association
with a given motif. 35 Wagner's treatment of leitmotifs has therefore no palpable
bearing on Hesse's restatement of 'Kainszeichen' or 'Nur fur Verriickte'.
33 'Da Thomas Mann den Effekt einer musikalischen Struktur vor allem durch die Schafftmg eines Motiv- und
Themengeflechtes bzw. durch eine direkte Thematisierung von Musik zu erreichen versucht' (Moritz, 337).
34 Field identifies the theme of awakening ('Erwachen'), discussed at the end of the present section, as 'the most
characteristic leitmotif in the work' (Chapter 6, online).
35 It should be noted that, despite the lack of any noticeable change in instrumentation or arrangement on Hesse's
part, the motif and symbol of'das Kainszeichen' becomes, in Demian's words, 'deutlicher' (SW 3, 340) when

A more conspicuous similarity to Wagnerian leitmotifs can be found in one of
the main ideas underlying both Siddhartha and Der Steppenwolf. Siddhartha,
contemplating a river, discovers 'der Flufi des Geschehens' (SW 3, 461) embracing the
whole spectrum of human experience: joy and sorrow; desires and goals; good as
well as evil. The Voice' of this river teaches him what he terms 'die Musik des
Lebens' (ibid.). This idea of the 'music of life' evolves and reappears in Der
Steppenwolf. It is not an object but a character, Mozart, who urges the protagonist
Haller to listen to the 'Radiomusik des Lebens' (Ste, SW 4, 201) and, in doing so,
Mozart uses a metaphor tinged with an element foreign to Siddhartha: humour.36
With that metaphor, Mozart rebuffs and implicitly dismisses as childish Mailer's
attitude towards life and his approach to music. In Der Steppenwolf, the 'music of life'
therefore reappears in a different context and is 're-orchestrated', harmonised by
means of humour. Had this evolution occurred within the frame of one work, this
would have been a suitable example of a Wagnerian leitmotif in a literary context.
Instead, it reveals Hesse's frequent employment of intertextual elements and his
dealing with similar themes throughout his works.
As noted by Field (see note 114), the idea of 'Erwachen' in Siddhartha offers a
suitable example of a theme, the restatement of which throughout the work can be
viewed in the same light as Wagner's employment of leitmotifs. In the early stages of
the novel, when Siddhartha is about to embrace the asceticism of the Samanas,
'awakening' is a state that can be reached only through self-denial and the
annihilation of all basic needs:
Ein Ziel stand vor Siddhartha, ein einziges: leer werden, leer von Durst, leer
von Wunsch, leer von Traum, leer von Freude und Leid. Von sich selbst
wegsterben, nicht mehr Ich sein. [...] Wenn alles Ich iiberwunden und
gestorben war, wenn jede Sucht und jeder Trieb im Herzen schwieg, dann
mufite das Letzte erwachen, das Innerste im Wesen, das nicht mehr Ich ist, das
grofie Geheimnis. (SW 3, 380)
the two friends meet again at the time Sinclair has enrolled at university, pointing the latter towards his and
Demian's common origin.
36 For a discussion of humour' in Hesse see Chapter 6.
53

In the chapter 'Erwachen', after his departure from Buddha and Govinda, the word
symbolises Siddhartha's amazement in a newly discovered world, pulsing with life,
where he begins to reconnect with his self:
Hier war Blau, hier war Gelb, hier war Griin, Himmel flofi und Flufi, Wald
starrte und Gebirg, alles schon, alles ratselvoll und magisch, und inmitten er,
Siddhartha, der Erwachende, auf dem Wege zu sich selbst. (SW 3, 397)
A new element intrudes into the concept of 'awakening' just before Siddhartha's
encounter with Kamala, who belongs to the world of the 'Kindermenschen', 'die
Menschen der Welt' (SW 3, 421), whose only preoccupation is the immanent, the here
and now. The motif of 'Erwachen' now resounds with the connotations of the
adjective 'kindlich':
Schon und lieblich war es, so durch die Welt zu gehen, so kindlich, so
erwacht, so dem Nahen aufgetan, so ohne Mifitrauen. Anders brannte die
Sonne aufs Haupt, anders kiihlte der Waldschatten, anders schmeckte Bach
und Zisterne, anders Kiirbis und Banane. (SW 3, 403)
A final turn occurs by the river bank, after Siddhartha, filled with self-
contempt and disgust at his sensuous life, toys with the idea of 'seiner selbst zu
entledigen' (426) and wishes not to 'wake up' again ('kein Erwachen mehr!', 429). In
the depths of despair, the syllable 'OM' resounds in his life and signals a new
beginning: 'Und im Augenblick, da der Klang »Om« Siddharthas Ohr beriihrte,
erwachte sein entschlummerter Geist plotzlich' (430). In this last stage, Siddhartha is
no longer a 'Kindermensch' (the status of 'Handler, [...] Wiirfelspieler, Trinker und
Habgieriger', 438) but has progressed and grown into 'a Kind' (Vasudeva's
condition): 'Heute aber war er jung, war ein Kind, der neue Siddhartha, und war voll
Freude' (ibid.). He also comes to the realisation that his life entails a certain degree of
cyclicity and repetition, 'Narrisch ist er, dieser Weg, er geht in Schleifen, er geht
vielleicht im Kreise' (436), and the unity of the self and the outer reality of the world
is also reaffirmed linguistically; in the following excerpts through the adjective and
adverb 'leise': 'das leise Stromen des Wassers, [...] Leise sprach er [Siddhartha] das
Wort Om vor sich hin' (431, my emphasis).
54

In conclusion, although recurring ideas and images in Hesse's work bear
similarities to repeated motifs in a musical context, Wagner's treatment of leitmotifs
can be linked only to Hesse's 'modulation' of the theme of 'Erwachen' in Siddhartha,
where each stage of the protagonist's life, from the asceticism of the Samanas to the
final childlike state reached by the river, is accompanied by a new form of
'awakening' with its different connotations.
2.5 Sonata form and counterpoint: Hesse between Romanticism and
Classicism
In his extensive and in-depth comparison between Der Steppenwolf and the sonata,
Ziolkowski tries to establish whether and to what extent Hesse constructed his novel
according to the principles and structure of the sonata. 37 His reasoning is also based
on Hesse's own words in a letter of November 1930, according to which 'rein
kiinstlerisch ist der »Steppenwolf« [...] um das Intermezzo des Traktats herum so
streng und straff gebaut wie eine Senate und greift sein Thema reinlich an' (Musik,
154).
According to Ziolkowski's analysis, the introduction of the novel, written by a
young man from a middle-class background, sets out two contrasting themes
corresponding to two opposite aspects of the protagonist's personality (his being, an
outsider or a 'wolf of the steppes' on the one hand and, on the other, a member of the
bourgeoisie). These motifs are subsequently developed and newly 'harmonised' from
two further points of view: Haller's, as expressed in his own manuscript, and the
perspective on Haller contained in the 'tractate', a text included in the novel and
whose author remains anonymous to the narrator fZiolkowski, 178-228). Ziolkowski
mantains that these two themes and the three separate sections (the foreword by the
Burger, Haller's manuscript, and the 'tractate'), through which the two themes are
37 In his biography of Hesse, published in the same year as Ziolkowski's text, Ernst Rose refers to Die
Morgenlandfahrt as a sonata: 'the story might be compared to a sonata, the first movement of which presents
two distinct themes in contrapuntal juxtaposition, brought into harmony by the two subsequent movements. The
second movement comprises the third and fourth chapters and might be called an andante sostenuto' (Rose, 113).
55

'modulated' and developed, identify the pattern of the first-movement form, or
sonata form. 38
Ziolkowski's analysis of the structure of Der Steppenwolf also highlights
important dynamics underlying the novel, such as the 'technique of double
perception' (1965, 207), according to which events unfold concurrently on two
different planes: the plane of everyday reality and that of reality filtered through the
lens of Haller's imagination. Haller is in effect described by Ziolkowski as 'an eidetic,
an individual capable of producing subjective images that in their vividness rival
objective reality' (1965,197). 39 The device of 'double perception' is presented by
Ziolkowski as the literary equivalent of the counterpoint technique, in view of the
fact that an event in the novel brings about two different interpretations of the event
itself.40
Although Ziolkowski's argument has generally encountered the favour of
peers, and, in some cases, scholars have adopted his approach to draw similar
parallels with Hesse's other works (e.g. Gianino, see note 5), his view has also
attracted some criticism. Both Karalaschwili and Hollis, for instance, draw attention
to the 'double perception' technique in relation to the series of events occurring in the
'Magisches Theater7 where, according to Ziolkowski, the interplay of the two levels
(mundane reality, and reality filtered through the protagonist's imagination) reaches
its peak.
Karalaschwili emphatically dismisses Ziolkowski's interpretation of the Magic
Theatre as moving upon a double plane of real life and Haller's subjective
perception. Karalaschwili's point is that the 'Magisches Theater' encompasses a
38 The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music defines the sonata form as a 'type of musical construction [...]
normally used in the first movement of a sonata, symphony, or concerto [...] Regular sonata form implies three
sections: exposition (containing first subject, in tonic key, and second subject, in dominant, and sometimes
further subjects)[;] development (in which the material of the exposition is worked out in a kind of free fantasia)
[;] and recapitulation (in which the exposition is repeated, though often with modification, and with the second
subject now in the tonic). [...] The basis of sonata form is key relationships'.
39 The 'double perception technique' finds an echo in Rose's description of Demian, whose '[characters] hold
one meaning as persons of real life and another as archetypes of the [protagonist's] psychological world' (Rose,
55).
40 According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, counterpoint is 'the ability, unique to music, to say
two things at once comprehensibly. The term derives from the expression punctus contra punctum, i.e. "point
against point" or "note against note'". Taking his cue from Calvin's description of the pun as a 'devic[e] by
which two different things can be presented with a sort of simultaneity' (42), Ziolkoski also observes that the
'double perception achieves the effect of a sustained pun 7 (199); see also Chapter 6, section 1, especially note 13.
56

'reality', that of Haller's soul, completely detached from the everyday level, and from
the 'reality' of the rest of the novel:
Die gesamte Welt des Magischen Theaters 1st [...] nicht nur von der real-
geschichtlichen Wirklichkeit abgegrenzt, sondern auch von der
Romanwirklichkeit, die sich fur eine bestimmte Realitat ausgibt. [...] Es ist
daher durchaus folgerichtig, wenn Pablo am Eingang des Magischen Theaters
den Protagonisten warnt, es gabe da nur Bilder, aber keine Wirklichkeit. Nur
scheint mancher Leser diese Warnung iiberhort zu haben, wenn er gleich
Theodore Ziolkowski versucht, die imaginaren Ereignisse von den realen
abzuheben. (Karalaschwili, 185)
Hollis, for his part, without refuting Ziolkowski's core argument, according to which
Der Steppenwolf lends itself to comparison with the standard structure of the sonata,
or the idea of events simultaneously unfolding on two levels of interpretation,
criticizes Ziolkowski for 'a certain one-sidedness' in favour of the everyday plane.41
While Karalaschwili's criticism partly misses the point, since the events in the
Magic Theatre are also explicable in terms of everyday reality, Hollis' argument rings
true in consideration of Ziolkowski's phrasing in certain points of his analysis, where
he seems to lay greater emphasis on the interpretation of the everyday plane: 'On the
realistic plane, it is nothing more than an opium fantasy in which Haller indulges after the
ball in the company of Pablo and Hermine' (1965, 216; my emphasis).42 It is however
irrefutable that Ziolkowski, the proponent of the 'technique of double perception',
restates the constant interplay and reciprocity of the two strands several times
throughout:
The Magic Theater, like every other incident in the novel, is open to
interpretation on two levels' or 'In the final tableau the two levels of reality become
so entangled as to be almost inextricable. (1965, 216 and 219; my emphasis)
It must be noted at this point that Ziolkowski's argument is less persuasive when he
considers parallels between two other sections of the novel referred to as 'Harry
Haller's Apprenticeship' (1965, 207) and The Magic Theater' (216)-and the two final
41 'While this [Ziolkowski's] is a possible interpretation of the occurrences in Steppenwolf, it does seem to suffer
from a certain one-sidedness; it turns a two-voiced melody into a single tune' (Hollis 1973, 80). 'Ziolkowski [...]
interprets all the supernatural side simply as hallucination' (Hollis 1973, 79).
42 See also: 'On the dream level Haller seems to take a knife and kill Hermine. The actual event probably
amounts to no more than an exclamation of jealousy and disgust' (219; my emphasis).
57

movements of a tripartite sonata. Moreover, Hesse's statement on the structure of
Der Steppenwolf, cited above, does not necessarily imply that the writer had adopted
the sonata as a model for his novel, his appears as a metaphor to express his
conviction that Der Steppenwolf, far from being a piece of chaotic patchwork, was as
well structured as a sonata.43 Ziolkowski is, nonetheless, aware of the limitations of
his analogy, as noted by Schneider: The analogy can only be accepted with
reservations, as Ziolkowski concedes7 (381).
For the present discussion, Ziolkowski's major merit lies in having pointed
out two fundamental traits of Hesse's aesthetic and thought: the Romantic tension
between opposites, expressed by the contrasting themes of the sonata form, and the
Baroque and Classic heritage, reflected in the technique of counterpoint, associated
with the technique of double perception. 44
Although the sonata form dates back to the Classic period, it is by way of
Beethoven central to Romanticism;45 in fact, its expressive possibilities were extended
and developed by Romantic composers. 46 According to the definition given above
(see note 34), the standard sonata form revolves around the opposition of two themes
introduced, at the outset of the 'exposition', by different keys (first theme in the tonic,
second in the dominant); the thematic contrast is then worked out throughout the
'development' section. Finally, the 'recapitulation' bridges the initial gap and releases
the tension between the two themes, presenting both in the home key. If, as
maintained by Cardinal, 'the true logic of Romanticism lies in the reconciliation of
the polarities' (Cardinal, 27), the sonata form is the ideal Romantic medium.
In his preparatory work for Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse used to jot down notes
on musical structures. One of his entries refers to the sonata form, described in terms
43 Commenting on Hesse's statement on the sonata-like structure of Steppenwolf, Dttrr points out: 'Zwar ist hier
die Art der Form nicht allzu wortlich zu nehmen; ein andermal empfindet Hesse den Aufbau einem Kanon oder
einer Fuge ahnlicher' (Dttrr, 54).
44 'Romantic thought', Cardinal notes 'positively revels in the tension created by uniting opposites' (43).
45 'According to Koch's treatise of 1793 [Introductory essay on composition: The mechanical rules of melody]',
Grout notes, 'the form of the first movement, now known as sonata form or first-movement form, consists of two
large divisions, each of which may be repeated. The first has one main period, the second two, resulting in three
periods within a binary form' (452; original emphasis).
46 In his speculation on music, Leverkuhn comes to the conclusion that '[i]t was Beethoven's decision [...] to
elevate the development section of the sonata form to the central event of musical discourse' (Vaget, 170).
58

of a drama. Moreover, Hesse employs words such as Streben and Spannung, which
are key terms in German Romanticism:
Drama innerhalb eines Sonatensatzes: Zuerst Streben zur Dominante und
Gewinnung der Dominante, dann Mittelteil: Kampf um das Behaupten der
erreichten Dominante, was aber vergeblich ist und tragische Spannung bringt,
nun suchen und Getriebenwerden durch fremde Tonarten hindurch, bis bei
Beginn des 3. Teiles der Reprise die Haupttonart wieder gewonnen [sic] wird.
(Musik, 161; original emphasis)
The Romantic scheme of conflict and reconciliation of opposite forces, as
expressed in the dynamics of the sonata form, describes the fundamental features in
many of Hesse's novels where, as previously mentioned, two contrasting ideas, two
opposing forces or clashing tendencies, embodied by his main characters (see note 30
above as well as section 2 in Chapter I). 47 It seems as if a complementary antagonism
runs between these characters. Muoth, whose own Streben and passionate drive
would prove fatal to himself, is contrasted with Gertrud, 'eine sicher schreitende
Melodic' (SW 2, 345). Narzifi 'sah Goldmunds Natur, die er trotz des Gegensatzes
innigst verstand; derm sie war die andere, verlorene Ha'lfte seiner eigenen' (SW 4,
293). Each of these characters can be seen as 'an opposite who by his very difference
intensifies the traits of both' (Brown, 122) or as 'zwei untrennbare Half ten einer
lebendigen Einheit' (Glas, SW 5, 40).
The same dynamics emerge at a different level. Not only are couples of
characters linked to the two themes of a sonata form, but also single characters host
their own inner dichotomy. Their psychological development hinges on opposite
facets of their personalities: Siddhartha is both sinner and saint; Haller is torn
between his contempt for mankind and his need for human contact; Veraguth, in
Rofthalde, cannot find a balance between his needs as an artist and his duties as a
husband and a father. 48
47 For other elements of the influence of Romanticism on Hesse, see Weibel (1954), Freedman (1958), and
Ziolkoswki(1965).
48 As expressed by Martin Buber on the occasion of Hesse's eightieth birthday: 'Hermann Hesse hat dem Geiste
gedient, indem er als Erzahler, der er ist, vom Widerspruch zwischen Geist und Leben und vom Streit des
Geistes gegen sich selber erzShlt' (Volker ed., Hermann Hesse. Leben und Werk im Bild, 212).
59

In addition, Hesse's main characters often experience the impression that the
contrast between opposites is fictitious. Life and death, eternity and a fleeting
instant, sin and innocence are all like two melodies springing one from the other.
Goldmund discovers, for instance, that 'dafi Schmerz und Lust einander ahnlich sein
[konnen], wie Geschwister' (SW 4, 377); Haller feels that 'die Verrucktheit, im einem
hohern Sinn, der Anfang aller Weisheit isf (SW 4,181-82). 49
As for the Classical heritage, three novels (Der Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and
Narzift und Goldmund) provide insights into aspects of his writing that can be ascribed
to counterpoint. As far as the first is concerned, Ziolkowski's 'double perception',
which entails the simultaneous unfolding of two perspectives on a given action,
captures the essence of counterpoint (see above in this section). 50
In Siddhartha, the river flow recalls the pattern of counterpoint, composed of
voices carrying a similar melody, entering (and fading away) in imitation of each
other. The river, next to which Siddartha sits, conveys an idea of sameness along
with one of change and motion, becoming therefore a symbol of eternity: 'dies
Wasser lief und lief, immerzu lief es, und war doch immer da, war immer und
allezeit dasselbe und doch jeden Augenblick neu' (SW 3, 439) .51 The symbol of the
river also fulfils one of the tenets of counterpoint: 'the aesthetic principle of unity in
diversity' (The Oxford Companion to Music). What is more, those sounds made by
the river weave a sort of 'polyphonic' texture: 'dann bestand das grofie Lied der
tausend Stimmen aus einem einzigen Worte, das hiefi OnY (SW 3, 462), 'Om' being
the point of convergence, the musical 'cell', of the numerous voices 'sung' by the
river.
Narzifl und Goldmund is in tune with the principle according to which 'for
music to be truly contrapuntal there must always be a balance between
independence and interdependence' (The Oxford Companion to Music). 'Goldmund
49 The simultaneous validity of conflicting ideas is indeed the very systole and diastole of Romantic truth'
(Cardinal, 43).
50 Although the technique of 'double perception' is associated with counterpoint (Baroque and Classic element),
it must be noted that Ziolkowski draws on Novalis 1 'magischer Idealismus' (Romantic heritage) to develop his
argument. See section 4 in Chapter 1 for further considerations on 'Magical thinking*. Furthermore,
51 With regard to the river as a symbol of eternity, see section 2 in Chapter 5.
60

cannot achieve his individual goal without the help of Narcisuss and, of course,
Narcissus needs his friend to round out his own life. Each is far from being ideal by
himself (Rose, 99). Although Narzifi and Goldmund have distinct individual
features, each character is almost inconceivable without the presence of the other.52
As seen above (2.2), 'Ein Satz iiber die Kadenz' (SW 10, 573-74) is deliberately
imitative of the musical pattern of the cadenza. The poem Dreistimmige Musik (Musik,
38), on the other hand, is a conspicuous example of Hesse's attempt to reproduce a
form of the Baroque and Classic periods: the fugue. 53
Dreistimmige Musik
Eine Stimme singt in der Nacht,
Nacht, die ihr bange macht,
Singt ihre Angst, ihren Mut
Singen bezwingt die Nacht, Singen ist gut.
Eine zweite hebt an und geht mit,
Halt mit der andern Schritt,
Gibt ihr Antwort und lacht,
Weil zu zwein in der Nacht
Singen ihr Freude macht.
Dritte Stimme fallt ein,
Tanzt und schreitet im Reihn
Mit in der Nacht. Und die drei
Werden zu Sternenschein
Und Zauberei.
Fangen sich, lassen sich,
Meiden sich, fassen sich,
Weil Singen in der Nacht
Liebe weckt, Freude macht,
Zaubern ein Sternenzelt,
52 Similarly, Siddhartha needs the other voices of the narrative polyphony (Govinda, Gothama, and Vasudeva) to
attain significance.
53 The fugue is a 'type of contrapuntal composition for a particular number of parts or "voices" [...] The point of
fugue is that the voices enter successively in imitation of each other, the first voice entering with a short melody
or phrase known as the subject [...] When all the voices have entered, the exposition is over. Then (normally)
there comes an episode or passage of connective tissue [...] leading to another entry or series of entries of the
subject [...] until the end of the piece, entries and episodes alternating [...] In addition to the subject there is
often a counter subject appearing in the exposition and probably later in the fugue' (The Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Music). 'Sometimes after the exposition the composer creates excitement by bringing the entries of
the subject nearer to each other so that they overlap. This device is called "stretto'"(The Oxford Companion to
Music).
61

Drin eins das andre halt,
Zeigen sich, verstecken sich,
Trosten sich, necken sich...
Nacht war und Angst die Welt
Ohne dich, ohne mich, ohne dich.
The first voice (first stanza) introduces the subject, which can be defined as 'singing
at night'. The subject is then restated in sequence by the entry of the second and third
voices, corresponding to the second and third stanzas respectively. The two
subsequent lines, 'fangen sich, lassen sich, I Meiden sich, fassen sich', express the
alternating of entries and episodes. Hesse then effectively reproduces a 'stretto'. Each
of next three lines, in turn, reshapes (or modulates) 'melodic' material from the first
three stanzas (voices): 'Weil Singen in der Nacht' (first stanza); 'Liebe weckt, Freude
macht' (second stanza); 'Zaubern ein Sternzelt' (third stanza). These three lines (or
melodic fragments), juxtaposed, produce the idea of voices overlapping with each
other as if, at each statement of the subject by the three voices, these were
progressively brought forward. Before the end of the piece (the last couplet), three
lines convey again the idea of entries and episodes in sequence along with the
playful exchange between the three voices: 'Drin eins das andre halt, I Zeigen sich,
verstecken sich'. Although contrasts of keys are central to both the fugue
(counterpoint) and the sonata form, the former weaves together its voices which
support and respond to each other ('necken sich'), while the latter leads to a
confrontation ('Kampf; see Hesse's description of the sonata form cited above) of the
themes.
A final example, where 'klassisch' and 'romantisch', as well as the essence of
the counterpoint technique and the sonata form, merge is the excerpt from Kurgast,
that we have hinted at in connection with the origins of Hesse's dialectics (see
Chapter 1, section 1):
ware ich Musiker, so konnte ich ohne Schwierigkeit eine zweistimmige
Melodie schreiben, eine Melodie, welche aus zwei Linien besteht, aus zwei
Ton- und Notenreihen, die einander entsprechen, einander erganzen, einander
bekampfen, einander bedingen, jedenfalls aber in jedem Augenblick, auf
62

jedem Punkt der Reihe in der innigsten, lebendigsten Wechselwirkung und
gegenseitigen Beziehung stehen. (SW 11,125)
On the one hand, the two voices of the melody evoke the counterpoint technique,
with every note of each voice, in fact, set against a note of the other; on the other
hand, the series 'einander erganzen', 'einander bekampfen', 'einander bedingen', is
redolent of the standard sonata form, whose texture springs from the continual clash
between two opposing themes. The aspiration to the simultaneous interplay between
two levels (Baroque and Classic) and the conflicting themes of the sonata form
(Romantic) are therefore complementary and key features in Hesse's writing and
thought.
2.5.1 'Ungestaltbare Gestalt': On the verge of paradox
The opposing tendencies of Romanticism and Classicism have another equivalent in
Hesse: the contrast between 'Geist' and 'Seele' to which we referred in the previous
chapter (section 2). This distinction recurs frequently in his work. 'Geist' signals the
realm of words and is imbued with male or paternal connotations; 'Seele', on the
other hand, relates to the world of the mother: '[Goldmund neigt] dazu, alles Geistige
als vaterlich, als unmiitterlich und mutterfeindlich anzusehen' (SW 4, 320).
Goldmund's father encompasses the world of the mind, the realm of words,
steadiness; as opposed to this, his mother embodies nature, music, drive, love.54 The
world of 'Geist' draws Goldmund towards balance and harmony and helps him to
restrain his impulses and appetites; his mother, on the contrary, does not speak but
resounds like a melody in his mind, and her voice has such overtones as 'Wollust'
and Tod' (SW 4, 410).55
Mitten im Lesen oder Lernen, mitten zwischen den Schulkameraden konnte
[Goldmund] in sich versinken und alles vergessen, nur den Stromen und
Stimmen des Innern hingegeben, die ihn hinwegzogen, in tiefe Brunnen voll
dunkler Melodie, in farbige Abgriinde voll marchenhafter Erlebnisse, deren
54 In an autobiographical sketch, 'Kindheit des Zauberers', Hesse's father is contrasted with his mother by means
of her musical skills: 'meine Mutter war voll Musik, mein Vater nicht. Er konnte nicht singen' (TF, 456).
55 In this regard, it is worth registering that Goldmund's mother appears in the novel only through her son's
recollection. Without uttering any words, she is an active force in her son's mind.
63

Klange alle wie die Stimme der Mutter klangen, deren tausend Augen alle die
Augen der Mutter waren. (SW 4, 326)
In Der Steppenwolf too Hesse draws on the clash between 'Geist' and 'Seele'; however,
the emphasis in this novel has shifted to the contrast between music and words, and
the focus is on what the protagonist, Haller, thinks of the relationship of the German
intelligentsia with music:
Im deutschen Geist herrscht das Mutterrecht, die Naturgebundenheit in Form
einer Hegemonie der Musik, wie sie nie ein andres Volk gekannt hat. Wir
Geistigen, statt uns mannhaft dagegen zu wehren und dem Geist, dem Logos,
dem Wort Gehorsam zu leisten und Gehor zu verschaffen, traumen alle von
einer Sprache ohne Worte, welche das Unaussprechliche sagt, das
Ungestaltbare darstellt.56 (SW 4,130)
Haller's observation betrays, by implication, a Romantic slant on Hesse's part on the
question of the nature and value of music. Indeed, Hesse shared the idea, rooted in
Romanticism, that music is the art par excellence. Cardinal captures the Romantics'
perspective on music when he writes:
The ultimate medium of Romantic art is music. Above all other arts, it is able
to express forces in conflict, to externalize inwardness, to articulate the infinite
and the invisible, and to describe emotions beyond the range of poetry and
painting. In its capacity to manipulate directly what Novalis calls the
'acoustics of the soul', music transcends the problem of literalness and
figuration. It achieves the paradoxical result of being non-specific, of never
telling us what it is talking about, yet of communicating to perfection.57
(Cardinal, 43-44)
56 The contrast between words and music is meaningful for other characters of Hesse's too. Veraguth says:
'wenn mir die Musik die Seele bewegte, dann verstand ich ohne Worte doch alles' (Ger, SW 2, 418). Truths
beyond expression, 'das Unaussprechliche', is also the goal of Siddhartha's quest: 'Was er [Siddhartha] zu
Gotama gesagt hatte: sein, des Buddha, Schatz und Geheimnis sei nicht die Lehre, sondern das Unaussprechliche
und nicht Lehrbare, das er einst zur Stunde seiner Erleuchtung erlebt habe' (SW 3, 404). Like music and the
inexpressible teachings of Buddha, the feeling of love too manifests itself without words in Hesse: 'Nein, es war
ein Glttck, dass die Liebe keiner Worte bedurfte; sie ware sonst voll Missverstandnis und Torheit geworden'
(NuG, SW 4, 350).
57 Before becoming the supreme art of Romanticim, music had supplanted painting as the primary means for
comparison with poetry: 'The use of painting to illuminate the essential character of poetry ut pictura poesis—
so widespread in the eighteenth century, almost disppears in the major criticism of the romantic period [...] In
place of painting, music becomes the art frequently pointed to as having a profound affinity with poetry
(Abrams, 50).
64

Paradoxically, as acutely pointed out by Dalhaus, the superiority of music over
words, by virtue of a richer gamut of expressive possibilities inherent in the language
of sounds, is an idea founded within a literary context:
Die romantische Musikasthetik ist aus dem dichterischen Unsagbarkeits-
Topos hervorgegangen: Musik driickt aus, was Worte nicht einmal zu
stammeln vermogen [...] Die Entdeckung, dafi die Musik, und zwar als
gegenstands- und begriffslose Instrumentalmusik, eine Sprache 'liber7 der
Sprache sei, ereignete sich, paradox genug, 'in 7 der Sprache: in der Dichtung.58
(Dalhaus, 66)
This paradox parallels Hesse's own. According to Haller, music shapes 'das
Ungestaltbare7, and Hesse echoes Haller's view in 'Musik7 : 'das ist ja das Geheimnis
der Musik, dafi sie nur unsere Seele fordert, die aber ganz, sie fordert nicht
Intelligenz und Bildung, sie stellt iiber alle Wissenschaften und Sprachen hinweg in
vieldeutigen, aber im letzten Sinne immer selbstverstandlichen Gestaltungen stets
nur die Seele des Menschen dar 7 (Musik, 35). However, Hesse, referring to 'Zu einer
Toccata von Bach7 (Gla, SW 5, 401), describes Bach's music with phrases such as
'Gestalt' (Musik, 169) and 'Schopfung des Lichts' (ibid.). The paradox is apparent:
music incorporates stable forms and order, 'Geist7 and 'Logos' (Classicism) and, at
the same time, their rejection in the name of the (Romantic) longing for the
impossible.
Hesse himself suggests a way out of the impasse: art, he says, is the solution.
Within its spectrum, 'Geist' and 'Seele', language and music, 'Ratio und Magie',
become one, as stated in a letter of February 1961 (Musik, 212). If opposites (e.g.
words and music, father and mother, mind and soul) act as contrasting themes of a
sonata form in so many works by Hesse, the idea of art stands out as a sort of
'recapitulation', in which the themes (characterized by different keys during the
exposition) are both presented in the home key. For characters such as Kuhn,
Veraguth, and Goldmund, art is the only way to bridge the gap between mother and
58 Drawing and elaborating on Dalhaus, Moritz similarly states: 'Wie jede neu gebildete Metapher, ist also auch
die Metapher der "absoluten Musik" um 1800 aus einer "Sprachnot" entstanden' (Moritz, 33). And with regard
to the term 'absolute Musik', she adds: 'Als Terminus wurde der Ausdruck [...] allerdings erst spa'ter (bei
Richard Wagner) gepra'gt' (Moritz, note 87, 33).
65

father, soul and spirit. 59 To Goldmund art means 'eine Vereinigung von vaterlicher
und mutterlicher Welt, von Geist und Blut' (SW 4, 410-11), which, like humour for
Haller, offers him: 'die Moglichkeit einer Versohnung seiner tiefsten Gegensatze,
oder doch eines herrlichen, immer neuen Gleichnisses fur den Zwiespalt seiner
Natur' (411). 60
59 Coleridge's Biographia Literaria includes the poet's distinction between 'fancy' and 'imagination', the latter
'reveal[ing] itself in the balance or reconcilement of opposite or discordant qualities 1 (Ch. XIV, last par.).
Illustrating and elaborating on Coleridge's statement, Brown concludes that 'the imagination, as distinguished
from the mere power of fancy, is a creative power able to reconcile opposite or discordant qualities into one
organic whole-holds for all the arts' (102).
60 'Dann ist Musik keine Flucht mehr aus der Realitat, sondern deren Bejahung im Reich einer erhohten
Wirklichkeit, einer magischen Realitat, die sich in Geordnetheit, Sinn und Gesetzlichkeit gultiger erweist als jede
Augenblicksrealitat' (Kasack, 20).
66

Chapter 3 Music, ethics, and aesthetics
The present chapter is intended as a development of Chapter 2 which focuses on the
bearing music has on Hesse's work on a formal level. This chapter, instead, deals
with what music meant to Hesse, and with the meanings he attributes to music
which, in turn, provides insights into his relationship with temporality. The
trajectory of his musical taste, for instance, reveals elements of Hesse's connection
with his own time, as in the case of his increasingly strong dislike for Wagner's music
on the basis of the favour the composer found during the Nazi regime. Most
importantly, Hesse's polarization of 'echte Musik' and ephemeral tunes is key to
understand his aesthetics and perspective on the eternal, contributing substantially
to our appreciation of the author's whole conception of time. As anticipated at the
outset of Chapter 2,1 shall be tracing the evolution of Hesse's musical taste (3.1) with
a view to providing a basis for discussing the significance of music to Hesse (3.2).
Section 3.3 draws a parallel between the formal aspects of Hesse's Der Steppenwolf
and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde before underlining their irreconcilable distance in
terms of poetic aims. Hesse's views on light music and especially jazz will occupy
section 3.4. The chapter will draw to a close with a discussion on 'whistling' and
'dancing' as secondary aspects of Hesse's relation to music.
3.1 Hesse's musical taste and its evolution
An overview of Hesse's connections to music throughout his life is a necessary first
step in the process of understanding what music meant to him, in the widest sense,
and what he associates it with, in his works. 1 In seeking to trace the changes in his
appreciation of music, our underlying hypothesis is that his works, which
conspicuously draws on his biography (see section 6 in Chapter 1), also reflect the
1 It must be noted from the outset that Hesse's musical taste does not undergo a radical transformation through
his entire life and, with few exceptions, his major interests lie in Western classical music, ranging from roughly
the late 16th century (e.g. Monteverdi) to the early 20 th century (e.g. Berg and Bartok), Mozart and Bach being
the fulcrum of his admiration: 'das Liebste in der Musik ist mir Bach und Mozart' (Letter of 1956; Musik, 206).
67

evolution of his connections to music. This section thus aims to illustrate the
trajectory of Hesse's musical taste through the major phases of his life without, as
Field (1970) warns, losing sight of the fact that life is a continuum and, of course, that
boundaries between what are recognised as stages in Hesse's life are not watertight
and allow some mutual penetration and diffusion. 2
Our periodization is in accord with what most scholars regard as the three
main segments of Hesse's life and artistic production, the boundaries of which are
marked by events pertaining to both the social (world wars) and private spheres
(Hesse's three marriages). 3 The impact of these events on Hesse's life can hardly be
overstated. The world conflicts led him to question his identity as a German and
brought about a sense of displacement in his life. His efforts as a pacifist caused him
to appear in the public eye as a traitor and alienated a portion of his readers. On the
other hand, his married life reflected in many respects Hesse's conflicting attitude
towards other human beings, an attitude which oscillated between his need for
solitude and his longing for companionship. As Hesse puts it in his notes on the time
he spent in Ascona in 1907: 'Denn nach dem Alleinsein mit Steinen, Gras und
Baumen ist es jedesmal wunderlich erregend, wieder Menschen zu sehen' ('In den
Felsen: Notizen eines »Naturmenschen«'; SW 11, 322).4
From our standpoint, the first crucial juncture in Hesse's life is marked by the
First World War, around the years 1914-1919, a time when his union with Maria
Bernoulli, whom he married in 1904, was deteriorating. A principal reason for this
was her mental instability, which rapidly worsened and had a decisive role in
Hesse's decision to divorce her in 1923. This crisis was partly transliterated in
2 'It is tempting to divide Hesse's life into distinct periods defined by such crises as the First World War and the
advent of Hitler. This is convenient and useful up to a point, provided we do not lose sight of the continued
organic growth of the personality which unifies the work' (Field, Chapter 1, online).
3 We will underline the points in the analysis of particular critics when they diverge from the classification
illustrated in this section. It is tempting to analyse the three main phases of Hesse's life as in accordance with his
triadic process of'Menschwerdung'; however, there is no evidence to substantiate this hypothesis. In fact, it
would be rather problematic to establish whether, despite the spiritual turn in his last two major works, Hesse
nears the ideal realm of the Immortals or rests in bourgeois appeasement in the last part of his life.
4 Although we are discussing Hesse's marital life and the repercussions of the wars on his life as two
independent factors, the difficulties brought about by the world wars certainly put a lot of strain on Hesse's
private life and, vice versa, the tone of his married life must have affected Hesse's response to the unfolding of
events during the war years.
68

Rofthalde (1914). 5 Hesse stresses this fundamental turning point in his life in various
documents such as 'Beim Einzug in ein neues Haus':
Es kam, nicht ganz zwei Jahre nach unserer Ubersiedlung, der Weltkrieg, es
kam fur mich die Zerstorung meiner Freiheit und Unabhangigkeit, es kam die
grofie moralische Krise durch den Krieg [...] es kam das jahrlange schwere
Kranksein unsres jiingsten, dritten Sohnchens, es kamen die ersten Vorboten
der Gemiitskrankheit meiner Frau. 6 (GSIV, 629)
With regard to his standing as a writer, after his early works had met with success
and public approval, Hesse had gradually grown weary of his own style. Moreover,
his standpoint as a pacifist was criticized, and the War accentuated the isolation that
he first experienced in his home-retreat in Gaienhofen on Lake Constance and then,
after a few years spent in Berne, in Montagnola (from 1919).7 Hesse's attitude
towards music in this first phase is characterized by the appreciation of certain
romantic elements from which he will progressively distance himself at a later
stage. This romantic slant is apparent in his infatuation with the music of Chopin, as
generally underlined by scholars (see, for example, Ziolkowski 1965,191).
Chopin frequently appears in Hesse's early works: the narrator of 'Der
Inseltraum', the opening story of Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht (1899), plays 'ein
Notturno von Chopin' (ESM, SW 1,186); in a letter to his parents, dated 1897, Hesse
maintains that
was fur Nietzsche Wagner war, ist fur mich Chopin, - oder noch mehr. Mit
diesen warmen, lebendigen Melodien, mit dieser pikanten, lasziven, nervosen
Harmonie, mit dieser ganzen so ungemein intimen Musik Chopins hangt alles
Wesentliche meines geistigen und seelischen Lebens zusammen. (Musik, 126-
27)
5 Gommen terms the first period of Hesse's artistic production 'Phase der naiven Einfachheit (1895-1916/17)'
(see p.64,141). Boulby similarly dates Hesse's early career: 'it extends from his literary beginnings in the 1890's
until 1916' (79). Freedman, who identifies four main turns in Hesse's life ('new lives'), subdivides this period in
two distinctive phases, the dividing line being the time between 1902 and Hesse's marriage with Mia (1904).
6 Mileck too emphasizes the centrality of this juncture: 'The period 1916-17 marked a turning point both in
Hesse's life and in his art' (1961, 171).
7 ' 1915 was a turning point which brought this critic of the war [Hesse] into conflict in unheard of fashion with
his country and its government, with public opinion, with conventional intellectual life, and indeed with every
form of orthodoxy both in the world and in himself (Boulby, 89). Boulby also stresses the change in the
course of Hesse's writing prompted by the war upheaval: 'A stream of letters, essays, and pamphlets now
commences, and these have a flavor, an urgency, and a message very different from the largely dilettantist
literary exercises of the Gaienhofen years' (82).
69

Music means solace for Kuhn in Gertrud (1910), who longs for 'den grausamen Trost,
in Tonen zu wiihlen' (SW 2, 359), and it betrays Romantic overtones in that it is the
ideal space 'wo Schmerz und Wonne nicht mehr voneinander unterschieden sind'
(SW 2, 389).8
Hesse's second marriage (with Ruth Wenger), celebrated in 1924 and ended
just three years later, set the tone of Hesse's private life in what could be identified as
the second major phase of his life and career. 9 This period was emotionally turbulent,
with Hesse spending most of his time at his Casa Camuzzi in Montagnola while his
wife stayed in Basle. This marriage could be recorded as an unfortunate union Ruth
was twenty years his junior; however, it was also symptomatic of Hesse's difficulties
in reconciling his needs as an artist with the new conjugal way of life. In a letter to
Hugo Ball of February 1924, he vents his malaise: 'Das Verheiraten, das ich nun
wieder lernen sollte, gliickt mir noch nicht gut' (SteMat, 41 ). 10
While his personal crisis deepened during this period, Hesse's literary work
provided an ideal outlet for his bitterness and discomfort:
From 1916 to 1926 (from Demian to Steppenwolf) Hesse was passionately intent
upon self-understanding. [...] The rather traditional poetic realism and the
evasive groping and vague presentiment of his earlier works now yield to a
more original dynamic expressionism in which Hesse finally comes to grips
with his persistent inner discord. 11 (Mileck 1961,171)
Where music is concerned, it is difficult to draw a neat line with the previous
phase, as there is no hiatus but more of a gradual transformation. The transition is
marked by a slight shift in Hesse's perspective on music: he gradually moves away
from an appreciation of Romantic elements in favour of a more Classic sobriety of
forms and balance of feelings; this process culminates in Der Steppenwolf and has
8 Account must also to be taken of Hesse's favourable attitude towards Wagner's music, especially Die
Meistersinger von Niirnberg, in this period of his life. Moreover, the pairing of Beethoven and Chopin in a letter
of 1898 to Helen Voigt-Diederichs shows that his reservations on Beethoven's 'melodies' had not manifested
themselves at that point (Cf. letter of 1962 in section 3 of Chapter 2): 'Diejenigen meiner Verse, die mir selber
am liebsten sind, lassen sich fast alle auf Stiicke von Chopin und Beethoven zuruckfuhren' (Musik, 132).
9 Gommen calls this period 'Phase der Desillusionierung (1916/17-1927)'.
10 Freedman notes: 'The contribution of Hesse's involvement with Ruth Wenger to his crisis of the early 1920s
and to the evolution of Steppenwolf reflects his strain on a personal level' (1979, 247).
11 Boulby, who dates the end of this phase to 1925 instead of 1926 or 1927, regards this segment of Hesse's
career as 'this author's most productive, most impressive period' (24).
70

Mozart as its symbol (see Ziolkowski 1965,191). u Hints of this evolution can be
detected as early as Gertrud, more precisely, in one of the characters, the musician
Teiser. 13 His relationship with music, indeed, foreshadows the approach and views
on music of Pablo and Mozart in Der Steppenwolf. With his passion for traditional
yodellers from his native region (Ger, SW 2, 357), Teiser lives 'als ein Kind mit einer
Mozartmelodie auf den Lippen unbeschwert' (SW 2, 418), and his playful disposition
is in contrast to both the somewhat Romantic attitude of Kuhn and the tormented
approach to music of Muoth: '[Teiser] war mir zu heiter, zu sonnig, zu sehr
zufrieden, er schien keine Abgriinde zu kennen' (SW 2, 339).u
The last turn in Hesse's writing can be linked, on a personal level, to Hesse's
relationship with his third wife Ninon Dolbin. 15 Hesse and Ninon Dolbin had been
living together since 1927 and had married in 1931. Ninon contributed considerably
to Hesse's emotional stability, and Hesse, who was then in his mid-fifties, seemed
able to better harness the conflicting sides of his personality. The outer world, despite
the state of bewilderment and bitterness caused by the Second World War, intruded
less in his writing and was filtered through Hesse's new self-awareness. While Narzift
und Goldmund (1930) might be said to mark the end of the second phase, this period
is characterized by Hesse's growing interest in Bach and the counterpoint technique,
as reflected in Die Morgenlandfahrt and, particularly, Das Glassperlenspiel, where
'Hesse's worship of classical and preclassical music reaches its expressive climax'
(Boulby, 280). 16 This change is also accompanied by a shift in his poetics and style. 17
12 In Der Steppenwolf, the name of Chopin appears only once, at the end of a list of composers whose music is
not, in the narrator's opinion, on the same plane as Mozart's Don Giovanni: 'GewiB, es kam noch Schubert, es
kam noch Hugo Wolf, und auch den armen herrlichen Chopin darf ich nicht vergessen' (SW 4,192).
13 'In the finished novel [Gertrud] we may note the end of the reign of Chopin in Hesse's imagination perhaps
under the influence of his acquaintance with the young Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck and in general a new
understanding of the problem of form' (Boulby, 75). Taking his cue from Boulby, Field expresses the same idea
in 'The Artist Novels: Gertrud and Rosshalde' of his Hermann Hesse (Chapter 3, online).
14 See our previous reference to Teiser as a character who simultaneously contrasts with both Kuhn and Muoth
(Chapter 1, section 5).
15 In this final segment of Hesse's life and career, Gommen distinguishes between two periods, which she terms
'Phase der Komplexitat (1927-1944)' and 'Phase der reflektierten Einfachheit (1944-1962)' respectively.
16 In Chapter 2 (section 2), we noted that Hesse sought his nephew's help in refining his understanding of music
theory at the time of the composition of Das Glasperlenspiel. It is also worth noting that Bach's legacy has
played an important role in the last part of many composers' careers too. After Mozart deepened his interest in
Bach's compositions, counterpoint sections became much more prominent in his later works (e.g. Symphony
K550, K551). At the peak of his artistic maturity, Erik Satie brought himself to study counterpoint techniques, of
which Bach's music is a cornerstone, in order to refine his composition.
71

Furthermore, the erotic element of his previous works dies away, doubtless since the
pinnacle of his sexual maturity is behind him. Plinio, Knecht's sensuous counterpart
in Das Glasperlenspiel, is foreign to the spiritual climate of Castalia ('einer »von
draufien«'; SW 5, 81) and vigorously condemns the 'resignierte Unfruchtbarkeit' (SW
5, 84) of lofty Castalian musicology: 'Wir analysieren zum Beispiel, sagt er [Plinio],
die Gesetze und Techniken aller Stilarten und Zeiten der Musik und bringen selber
keine neue Musik hervor' (SW 5, 84). 18
Commentators often underline the 'geistig[e] Sterilitat' (Karalaschwili, 92) of
the 'pedagogical province' of Castalia. 19 Freedman points out: 'if the figure of the
sensualist Goldmund harks back to Hesse's previous work, the figure of Narcissus
dominates the last two important books of the fourth life: Leo and the Magister Ludi,
Joseph Knecht' (1979, 335). Rose goes further and claims:
Castalia's world is strangely emasculated and for long stretches we move in a
rarefied atmosphere. The story deals with intellectual abstractions and esoteric
ritualisms that have lost their meaning, and the style often becomes
unavoidably allegorical. (136-37)
In this last period of his artistic activity, Hesse no longer lingers on 'the
concrete images of the world' (Rose, 128), and his style becomes more 'rarefied'. His
two final novels no longer exploit the vital and expressive possibilities inherent in the
continual clash of the ideal and reality: 'for it is on the level of conflicts with reality
that novelistic action can take place' (Ziolkowski 1965, 58). Indeed, Hesse's prose is
now far from expressing the dialectical opposition of themes of the sonata form, nor
17 'Quitting his hermitage', Mileck notes, 'he [Hesse] remarried, and in a more philosophical spirit allowed the
third and last phase of his life to run its more even course. [...J A corresponding change took place in Hesse's art.
His prose reflects the slower and more orderly tempo of his life. [...] Emotions are subdued, and thought yields
to contemplation' (1961, 174).
18 Plinio previously referred to his fellow seminarians as 'kastrierte Herde' (SW 5, 84).
19 Bishop notes that 'there are virtually no female figures' (216) in Das Glasperlenspiel, a fact that did not pass
unnoticed to readers and that Hesse found difficult to explain, providing only a humorous answer in 'Warum
kommen im »Glasperlenspiel« keine Frauen vor?', where he attributes the lack of female characters to his old
age: 'Der Autor des Glasperlenspiels war [...] ein schon alter Mann. Je alter ein Autor wird, desto mehr hat er das
Bediirfnis, [...] nur von Dingen zu sprechen, die er wirklich kennt. Die Frauen aber sind ein Stuck Leben, das
dem Alternden und Alten, auch wenn er sie friiher reichlich gekannt hat, wieder fernrUckt und geheimnisvoll
wird, worliber etwas Wirkliches zu wissen, er sich nicht anmaBt und traut' ('Zu »Das Glasperlenspiel« (1943)',
SW 12, 232). Boulby also highlights that 'the descriptions of nature in The Glass Bead Game are rare' (309).
72

is his writing able to articulate or evoke any polyphony, his 'counterpoint7 relying on
just one voice. 20
An observation made by Field, after he visited Hesse in 1957, confirms this
turn in Hesse's relation to music:
Auf musikalischem Gebiet habe [Hesse] sich mit der Zeit immer mehr
riickwarts gewandt, erst zu Mozart und Bach, dann zu Purcell und den
grofien friihen Italienern Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Monteverdi. Dagegen sei Thomas
Mann immer vorwartsgedrungen und sei zuletzt im Bereich des Atonalen
gelandet.21 (Musik, 208)
Field's opinion is in tune with what Hesse thought of himself, as expressed in a letter
of 1932 to his friend Ludwig Finckh: 'ich empfinde selber ahnlich, da ich in der
Musik, mit einigen kleinen Ausnahmen, sehr reaktionar bin' (Musik, 157), and with
the fact that contemporary Classical music would not usually appeal to him:
heutige Musik [klingt] zuweilen kiihl und konstruiert, so miissen wir dran
denken, dafi sie die Reaktion auf ein halbes Jahrhundert vielleicht allzu siifier,
allzu sinnlicher Musik ist (Wagner, Tschaikowsky, Straufi, um nur sie zu
nennen). 22 (Musik, 190-91)
It is rare to come across observations in Hesse's work and correspondence which are
appreciative of contemporary Classical music. Yet, a notable exception is the
following comment, taken from a page of his diary of 1955, on Bartok's music, which
he compares to Handel's:
Start Kosmos Chaos, statt Ordnung Wirrnis, statt Klarheit und Kontur
zerflatternde Wogen klanglicher Sensationen, statt Aufbau und beherrschtem
Ablauf Zufalligkeit der Proportionen und Verzicht auf Architektur. Und doch
auch sie meisterhaft [...] Schone Musik dahin, ohne Logik, ohne Statik, ganz
Augenblick, ganz schone hinsterbende Verganglichkeit. Und sie ist darum
noch schoner und wird dadurch noch unwiderstehlicher. 23 (Musik, 203)
20 '[S]owohl der Orden als auch insgesamt Kastalien [stellen] nur einen Pol der Wirklichkeit dar' (Karalaschwili,
92).
21 Paradoxically, as acutely pointed out by Karalaschwili, Doktor Faustus points us towards the past although
the music being composed is highly modern, while Hesse's novel is set in an idealised future: 'wa'hrend Manns
Roman eigentlich einen Ruckblick darstellt und die Krankheitsgeschichte des deutschen Geistes, seine
allmahlich Degeneration und Entartung schildert, ist das »Glasperlenspiel« in die Zukunft projiziert' (91).
22 Harry Haller, the protagonist of Der Steppenwolf, prefers jazz to what he calls the academic music of today:
'Jazz war mir zuwider, aber sie war mir zehnmal lieber als alle akademische Musik von heute' (SW 4, 38).
23 In another note (1952) on contemporary music, Hesse states: 'von den fast schon vergessenen Modernen Hebe
ich Busoni und Berg' (Musik, 191).
73

Hesse's penchant for 'klassische' (classical) composers, and particularly for Bach and
Mozart, clearly, by far his favourites (see above), sheds light on Hesse's ambivalent
feelings towards Beethoven, whose contribution to Western classical music has
traditionally been regarded as neither entirely Classic nor Romantic. 24 As noted in
Chapter 2 (section 3), Hesse praises Beethoven for his mastery of the theme and
variations form, but is critical of the composer's melodic inventiveness, which to his
mind is flawed by a certain degree of banality. For Hesse, Beethoven is also the
harbinger of Romantic frenzy and intensification of dramatic contrasts, which
Wagner would subsequently lead to its apotheosis: 'Ich empfinde Beethoven absolut
nicht als zu Bach und Mozart gehorig, sondern als Beginn des Niedergangs' (letter of
1932 to Ludwig Finckh; Musik, 157). 25
Two further aspects of Hesse's relationship to music, his appreciation of
staged music and his problematic response to light music ('Unterhaltungsmusik'),
are dealt with in connection with Wagner (3.3) and with jazz in Steppenwolf(3A).
3.2 Music: 'Das bedeutet: die Welt hat einen Sinn'
Erich Valentin appropriately stresses that 'die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens' (12)
is fundamental to Hesse and reverberates throughout his works. Searching for a
meaning in life implies looking for values. Values are the pillars of ethics, and
Hesse's quest for meaning in life has a clear moral focus, partly rooted in his pietist
upbringing. 26 Although his early works were under the spell of an aestheticism
typical of the fin de siecle (see Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht and Hermann Lauscher), it
is evident that his interest in the interrelation of ethics and aesthetics occupies
virtually his entire career. Hesse's essay 'O Freund, nicht diese Tone' (1914), which is
24 As Blume states, for example, 'Beethoven is a Romantic Classic or a Classical Romantic' (172).
25 In his speculation on music, Leverkiihn comes to the conclusion that '[i]t was Beethoven's decision [...] to
elevate the development section of the sonata form to the central event of musical discourse' (Vaget, 170).
LeverkUhn answers to Zeitblom: '[ich denke an Beethoven] und an das technische Prinzip, durch das die
herrische Subjektivitat sich der musikalischen Organisation bemachtigte, also die Durchfuhrung' (Mann 1941,
191).
26 Novalis, whose education was influenced by Pietism and whose work played a seminal role in Hesse's
development, had a strong moral focus too: 'Fur Novalis ist der Begriff der Gottheit untrennbar von dem Begriff
des Moralischen' (Weibel, 27). For the influence of Pietism on Hesse's development see Chapter 1, section 3.
74

an appeal against war, expresses his moral slant and his view on music and literature
as ethical means. Field notes:
The title of Hesse's first wartime essay evoked the words of Schiller and the
music of Beethoven to protest against the war as a 'taking back' of Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony with its call to brotherly love 'seid umschlungen,
Millionen! /27 (Field, Chapter IV, online)
Moreover, the meaning of life and music are linked in an entry of Hesse's diary of
1920-1921; an early summer day awakens his lust for life after several weeks spent in
bed because of the cold weather, and he records: 'MOZART. Das bedeutet: die Welt
hat einen Sinn, und er ist in uns spiirbar im Gleichnis der Musik' (SW 11, 629). A
similar need for meaning emerges in his last major work, Das Glasperlenspiel, where
'the notion of value is one of the central ideas in [the] novel' (Bishop, 215). 28 As noted
in Chapter 1 (section 3), Hesse claims that the world is in need of morality: 'Die Welt
braucht, das haben wir erlebt, Moral notiger als Gescheit' (letter of 1947, Musik, 184).
For Hesse, art conveys meanings and gives meaning to life. Yet what is the
meaning and value he ascribes to art and, more specifically, to music? In this
connection, Green helpfully observes:
It is almost universally agreed that if a composition in any medium deserves
to be called a 'work of art' it has some meaning. The first major difference of
opinion arises between those who insist that its meaning be restricted to its
intrinsically satisfying sensuous pattern, and those who believe that this
pattern also possesses an additional meaning. We can conveniently label those
who hold the first of these views the 'formalists', those who hold the second,
the 'expressionists'. (308)
Hesse certainly falls into the second 'category' since, to him, the work of artists who
content themselves with the formal beauty of their creation is largely devoid of
artistic significance. Although Hesse was a music lover who, especially in the later
part of his career (see previous section), delved into technicalities, his interest in
music was for the most part connected to the moral goal he ascribed to it. The more
27 Hesse's reference to Schiller's words and, by implication, to Beethoven's music constitutes a further point of
divergence with the work of Mann (see previous section and note 27), whose 'LeverkUhn, with his Dr. Fausti
Weheklag, composes an anti-Beethoven work cunningly inserting pessimism in place of Beethoven's soaring
optimism' (Field, Chapter IV, online).
2* Knecht's personality symbolizes 'der alte Wettstreit zwischen Asthetisch und Ethisch' (Gla, 141).
75

the aesthetic qualities of a piece of music reflected or matched Hesse's moral
convictions, the higher the composer of that music was ranked in his esteem, and this
inclination gained prominence through the years. 29 Furthermore, the biography and
moral conduct of an artist sometimes biased Hesse in favour or against an artist's
work. This is notably the case of R. Strauss. 30 In a letter of August 1934 to Otto Easier,
Hesse makes clear that, for him, ethics and aesthetics go hand in hand, being like two
sides of the same coin:
Es interessiert mich die Kontrapunktik, die Fuge, der Wechsel der Harmonik-
Moden, aber hinter diesen blofi asthetischen Fragen sind mit die andern
lebendig, der eigentliche Geist der echten Musik, ihre Moral.31 (GS VII, 571)
Considering Hesse's perspective on music as outlined above, we are inevitably
led to question what he understands as 'echte Musik' and its morality? Some light on
this is shed by his description of his ideal music in the same letter to Easier. Hesse
draws on a citation from Lii Buwei, a Chinese merchant who also served as
Chancellor of China around III EC:
Die vollkommene Musik hat ihre Ursache. Sie entsteht aus dem
Gleichgewicht. Das Gleichgewicht entsteht aus dem Rechten, das Rechte
entsteht aus dem Sinn der Welt.32 (GS VII, 571)
In view of the reference to balance ('Gleichgewicht7), and considering the fact
that Bach and Mozart are cornerstones of Hesse's appreciation (see note 1 to this
chapter), it can be inferred that, to Hesse, Western Classical music of the period he
29 'As he grew older, the moral ethical function of music took on ever more importance for Hesse' (Schneider
2009, 391). Referring to 'Virtuosen-Konzert' (1928; Musik, 52-57), 'Nicht abgesandter Brief an eine Sangerin'
(1947; Musik, 93-100), and 'Eine Konzertpause' (1947; Musik, 103-109), Weibel similarly notes: 'Immer
deutlicher erscheint dabei sein [Hesses] Verhaltnis zur Musik als ein moralisches' (127-28). Weibel also
underlines that music borders on the religious in Die Morgenlandfahrt, 'Musizieren bedeutet fur die
Morgenlandfahrer wie fur die Kastalier Beten' (127), and concludes by reminding that the moral function of
music binds Mann's Faustus and Hesse's Glasperlenspiel together: 'Im Doktor Faustus steht die Musik als
moralisches Problem ebenso im Mittelpunkt wie im Glasperlenspiel' (128).
30 Hesse, who was not enthralled by R. Strauss's music, avoided becoming acquainted with him on account of
the composer's alignment ('Anpassung') with the Nazis: 'Wahrend ich in Baden war, war Strauss dort, und ich
habe es vermieden, mit ihm bekannt zu werden, obgleich der schone alte Herr mir gut gefiel'(letter to Ernst
Morgenthaler of 1946, Musik, 181).
31 Hesse's enjoyment of Bach's Passions could sometimes be spoiled by the uneasiness he felt for the disciples'
actions during Jesus's last night, as noted in 'Notizblattern um Ostern' (1954): 'Aber dafi der eine Junger seinen
Meister verriet, der andre, der »Fels«, ihn verleugnete [...], das hat mich zu gewissen Zeiten meines Lebens sehr
gegen die Junger eingenommen, und einige Male, es ist lange her, hat diese kritische Einstellung mir sogar der
Feierstimmung beim Horen der Passion etwas beeintrachtigt' (Musik, 198-99).
32 These words make their way into Das Glasperlenspiel, the composition of which begins in 1931, where they
appear verbatim (SW 5, 24).
76

efers to as 'klassisch' (broadly, Baroque and Classic periods) combines aesthetic and
moral qualities. 33
At the opposite end of Hesse's scale of appreciation lies the music he terms
'rauschend' which, citing Lii Buwei in the same letter to Easier, he identifies with
moral and social decadence: 'Je rauschender die Musik, desto melancholischer
werden die Menschen, desto gefahrlicher wird das Land, desto tiefer sinkt der Ftirst'
(GS VII, 571 ).34 This music is not based upon any notion of harmony or classical
balance; its purpose is to appeal to the senses and excite instead. 'Grimmig',
'sentimental', and 'traurig' are the words Hesse associates with such music (see GS
VII, 571).35
The music of Mozart and Bach is 'klassisch', while Richard Strauss and
Wagner who, for Hesse, took the Romantic element in music to its degradation,
produce 'Verfallskunst'. The definition of the latter linking aesthetic qualities to a
moral decline betrays once again Hesse's conception of art as a moral force.36
We have identified the music and the composers Hesse praises by virtue of the
spirit they express; we have also given account of the associations and connotations
Hesse gives to the two opposite types of music: 'klassisch' and 'rauschend'. We still
need to pinpoint the discriminating factor which, to Hesse, makes a composition of
aesthetic and moral value, or otherwise 'Verfallskunst'. The acid test of artistic
33 'Vollkommen' and 'heiter' are the adjectives that most often appear in relation to what Hesse sees as 'ideal
music'. 'Heiterkeit', as Bishop notes, is 'a key term in German classical aesthetics' (223).
34 This consideration too appears word for word in Das Glasperlenspiel (SW 5, 24).
35 The distinction Hesse draws is supported by Hauser who captures the transition between Classic and Romantic
periods stressing the 'sentimental', 'grim' turn in the music composed at the end of the Classic period: 'The
combination of carefree light-heartedness with the most profound seriousness, of playful exuberance with the
highest, purest ethos transfiguring the whole of life, which was still present in Mozart, breaks up; from now on
everything serious and sublime takes on a gloomy and careworn look' (712).
36 As a polemical reaction to the great success, almost glorification, of Wagner and R. Strauss, Hesse assigns
value to their music only as historical 'documents': 'Darum kann man [diese Musik] »lieben«, namlich als
Ausdruck von einem Stuck Menschentum und Geschichte. Zwischen lieben und fur »richtig (oder klassisch)«
halten ist aber zweierlei' (letter of November 1934 to Ninon Hesse; Musik, 166). In the same letter, Hesse
restates his views on 'rauschende Musik' as an expression of social destabilising elements and calls on Lii Buwei
once more: 'Denn wie sagt Lii Bu We? Wenn die Musik rauschend wird, zerfallen die Sitten, und die Staaten
sind bedroht' (Musik, 166). The idea of'Verfallskunst' resonates with the 'Musik des Untergangs' in Klingsors
letzter Sommer, Der Steppenwolf, and Das Glasperlenspiel. In the latter, 'die Musik des Untergangs', which
'rann als Korruption in die Schulen, [...] als Schwermut und Geisteskrankheit in die meisten der noch Ernst zu
nehmenden Kunstler und Zeitkritiker' (SW 5, 19) sets the tone of the 'feuilletonistische Epoche'. In Der
Steppenwolf, the narrator, with a humorous touch, links this music to other periods of decadence in the history of
mankind: 'Untergangsmusik war es, im Rom der letzten Kaiser mufite es Shnliche Musik gegeben haben' (SW 4,
38).
77

creation is, for Hesse, the principium individuationis: art is of value when it expresses
the ideas and feelings of an artist who is able to go beyond the 'self.37 In Gertrud
(1910), the protagonist and composer Kuhn claims that life has treated him benignly
since he relinquished his ego:
Wenigstens nahm mich, wie es mir nachtraglich scheinen will, seit meiner
Ergebung und seit meiner Erkenntnis von der Gleichgiiltigkeit meines
personlichen Ergehens das Leben in sanftere Hande. (SW 2, 391)
In his 'Nachwort zum »Steppenwolf«' (1941), published almost fifteen years after the
novel, Hesse underscores the 'positive' and 'iiberpersonlich' tone of the realm of the
Immortals, to which Goethe and Mozart belong:
[D]er »Traktat« und alle jene Stellen des Buches, welche vom Geist, von der
Kunst und von den »Unsterblichen« handeln, [stellen] der Leidenswelt des
Steppewolfes eine positive, heitere, iiberpersonliche und iiberzeitliche
Glaubenswelt gegeniiber. (SW 4, 207)
In 1947, Hesse praises the sober performance of a singer, whose individuality,
subdued to the spirit of the work of art she interprets, does not intrude in her
rendition ('nichts nimmt und nichts hinzufugt'):
Dieses seltene Gliick des Beschenktwerdens durch eine Vermittlerin, die dem
Kunstwerk nichts nimmt und nichts hinzufugt, die zwar Wille und
Intelligenz, aber beinahe schon nicht mehr Person ist, verdanken die Freunde
der guten Musik solchen Kiinstlern wie Sie einer sind. ('Nicht abgesandter
Brief an eine Sangerin', Musik, 94)
As opposed to this almost depersonalised ideal approach, R. Strauss's music is
described by Hesse as complacent and without balance: 'Virtues, raffiniert, voll
handwerklicher Schonheit, aber ohne Zentrum, nur Selbstzweck' (letter of 1957,
Musik, 208).
To Hesse's mind, the work of Beethoven draws a dividing line in the history of
music, 'klassisch' being the music produced before Beethoven, and 'romantisch',
which rapidly degenerates into 'rauschend', the greater part of the music composed
in later periods. 38 The scope of the historical evolution Hesse traces is not limited to
37 For a discussion on the significance of \hzprincipium individuationis in the context of Hesse's 'Humor', see
Chapter 6, section 3.
38 With regard to Beethoven's influence on the development section of the sonata, see note 25 above.
78

music aesthetics but in addition involves some fundamental sociological
considerations. While Bach, Haydn, and Mozart for the most part wrote music on
commission, and only their artistic craftsmanship not their Weltanschauung—
attracted attention, Beethoven is one of the first examples of an independent artist
able to compose with the main purpose of expressing his inner self. 39 As a result of
Beethoven's example, the composer begins to come to the fore and the classical
expression of universal ideals is progressively overshadowed by the Romantic
emphasis on individuality.40 The substance of a piece of music, as Hesse states in his
letter of 1932 to Finckh (see above), becomes inextricably linked with the artist's
personality by way of the composer from Bonn:
Mit Beethoven beginnt in der Musik das, was in der Literatur mit Schiller etc.
und in der Politik mit der Pariser Revolution begann und was genau das
Gegenteil zu allem Goetheschen Wesen ist. (Musik, 157)
The shift in emphasis to the individuality of the composer, inaugurated by Beethoven
is, for Hesse, taken to the extreme by Wagner and the epigones of Romanticism.
Individuation and individuality are also discriminating factors with regard to
another aspect of Hesse's connection to music: his ambivalent attitude towards
virtuosi and their performances, which he often regarded as social more than
musical events. Although he, as a child, dreamt of becoming a violin virtuoso (see
SW 14, 95), later in his life he maintained ambivalent, sometimes sceptical, views on
the role of virtuosi and questioned their artistic merits. Hesse's fascination with their
exceptional skills was contrasted by the thought that their virtuosity might divert the
listener's attention from the music they were performing. Hesse's observations on a
'Virtuosen-Konzert' (1928) go some way to capture his mixed feelings:
Wahrend dieses ganzen Abends waren zwei Personen in mir, zwei Zuhorer,
zwei Mitspieler. Der eine war ein alter Musikliebhaber mit unbestechlichem
Geschmack, ein Puritaner der guten Musik [...] Der andere in mir aber war ein
Knabe, der folgte dem sieghaften Geigenhelden, wurde eins mit ihm, schwang
mit ihm. (Musik, 57)
39 This is also apparent in the differing amounts of music these composers produced during their lives.
Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies, a small number compared to the 49 and 104 composed by Mozart and Haydn
respectively.
40 'In the classic sense, the work of art is a whole and partakes of all humanity; the more the idea of humanity
shines through it, the higher it stands' (Blume, 9).
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'Hesse had nothing against virtuosi, as long as they used their skills in the service of
"good music" 7 (Schneider, 387) and admired musicians such as Fou Tsong and
Sarasate.41 However, he felt that the renditions of virtuosi such as Casals were
affected by what Hesse calls, in a letter of 1899 to Helene Voigt-Diederichs, their
'Virtuosenegoismus 7 (Musik, 132). 42 Hesse labels Wagner's and Strauss7 s music
'rauschend 7 and employs the word 'Rausch7 to describe the spellbinding, almost
intoxicating effect of a virtuoso performance:
Ich bin spater in den ersten Konzerten beriihmter Musikanten, die ich horte,
allerdings fur eine Weile dem Zauber der Virtuositat manchmal wie einem
Rausch erlegen, es war hinreifiend, die grofien Konner das Technische
bewaltigen zu horen mit dem Anschein lachelnder Miihelosigkeit gleich jener
der Artisten auf dem Seil und am Trapez. ('Engadiner Erlebnisse7, in SW 12,
606; my emphasis)
The 'acrobatics7 of these performers do not, however, distract Hesse from the spirit of
the music they are playing:
aber es dauerte doch nicht allzu lange mit diesem Bezaubertsein, ich war
gesund genug, um die Grenzen zu spiiren und hinter dem sinnlichen Zauber
eben doch das Werk und den Geist zu suchen, nicht den Geist des blendenden
Dirigenten oder Solisten, sondern den der Meister. (Ibid.)
In a letter post-publication of Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse links the outstanding and, in
his view, problematic individuality of a virtuoso to the essence of his 'padagogische
Provinz 7, Castalia:
Das Problem beim Virtuosen ist dasselbe wie in Kastalien, die Personlichkeit
ist Voraussetzung, es geht nicht um sie, sondern um ihre Fahigkeit zum
Einorden in die Hierarchic. (1947; Musik, 185)
The idea of service is indeed key to the poetics of Das Glasperlenspiel, which deals
with Virtuosity7 and the difficult reconciliation between 'das Ideal der Anonymitat7
(SW 5, 8) and the strong emphasis on individualism implicit in the idea of virtuosi.
41 Fou Tsong, a Chinese pianist, impressed Hesse for his rendition of Chopin's music: 'es mahnte an Warschau
und an Paris, das Paris Heinrich Heines und des jungen Liszt, es duftete nach Veilchen, nach Regen auf Mallorca
und auch nach exklusiven Salons, es klang melancholisch und klang mondan' ('An einen Musiker' [I960]; SW
12,680).
42 '[Hesse] praised a concert by the "gediegensten aller Cellisten", Pierre Fournier, for its "Reinheit und
Konzessionslosigkeit" but found fault with Pablo Casals because, in addition to serious pieces, he played light,
showy ones (SW 12, 604)' (Schneider 2009, 387).
80

The narrator recounts how' Virtuosentum', which may endanger the integrity of the
game by drawing too much attention to the individual player, was avoided by means
of meditation in the early development stages of the game:
Nun fiel allmahlich dieses Virtuosentum mehr und mehr unter strenges
Verbot, und die Kontemplation wurde zu einem sehr wichtigen Bestandteil
des Spieles. (SW 5, 33)
For Hesse, ideal artists, as well as ideal performers, are those whose personality fades
into the background of the artistic creation. Although Hesse gives concrete examples
of virtuosi who met his taste (Fou Tsong, Fournier), his conflicting orientations on
the subject of Virtuosity' seem to lead to a new formulation of Hesse's crucial
paradox of the 'impersonal individual' discussed in Chapter 1, section 3. Hesse's
ideal virtuoso appears as a contradiction in terms since exceptional performers,
whose merits are by definition linked to their outstanding personal gifts, have to
sacrifice their individuality if their performance has to attain artistic significance.
3.3 Wagner, Hesse, and Existentialism
We explored Hesse's connections to music in 3.1 omitting his relationship with the
theatre in general and staged music in particular. This aspect will now be examined
in relation to Hesse's appreciation of Wagner, and the discussion will feed into an
investigation of the similarities and differences between Hesse and Wagner, for the
purpose of which we will also call on certain Existentialist orientations in Hesse's
poetics.
As stated in a letter of 1899 to his parents, Hesse felt instinctive reservations
towards the theatre in the main:
ich spiirte doch auch mein altes Aber gegen die Buhne und ihre Grobheiten
wieder. Das Theater ist mir kein Bedurfnis und immer auch nur halber Genufi.
Es ist Kunst zweiter Giite. (Musik, 133)
This scarce interest explains in part his ambivalent feelings towards Wagner, 'bei
letzterem werde ich immer als Laie zuhoren. Derm meine innerste Natur ist
81

undramatisch' (letter of 1898 to Helene Voigt-Diederichs, Musik, 131). 43 Despite a
sceptical attitude towards the theatre in general and Wagner's music in particular,
Hesse praised Die Meistersinger, especially in his youth, as noted in the same letter of
1899 to his parents: 'Die »Meistersinger« selber hab ich immer gern gehabt' (Musik,
133). In the fiction of Peter Camenzind (1904), the protagonist expresses a similarly
favourable opinion on this work by Wagner, the music of which Richard (in nomine
omen) plays on the piano:
»Es ist Wagner«, rief er [Richard] zuriick, »aus den Meistersingern«, und
spielte weiter. Es klang leicht und kraftig, sehnsiichtig und heiter, und umflofi
mich wie ein laues, erregendes Bad. 44 (SW 2, 38)
Despite Hesse's early appreciation of Die Meistersinger, he progressively distances
himself from Wagner and his music. Gertrud (1910), Rofihalde (1914), and Klein und
Wagner (1919) capture this transition. In the first novel, 'das ewige Begehren, die
Sehnsucht und Ungeniige' (SW 2, 340) of Muoth, a 'Wagnersanger' (SW 2, 339),
makes this character an incarnation of Wagner's music. Rofihalde indirectly questions
the value of Wagner's music through a comparison of the musical taste of two
generations. While Johann Veraguth, the protagoinist, and his friend Burkhardt,
experienced the music of Tristan und Isolde as 'ein Rausch' (SW 3, 44) in their youth,
Albert, Veraguth's son, holds neutral or even sceptical views on Wagner and, asked
about his opinion on 'das Meistersingervorspiel' (ibid.), plainly expresses his lack of
interest: 'Ich kann wirklich nicht dariiber urteilen. Es ist - wie soil ich sagen? -
romantische Music, und fur die fehlt es mir an Interesse' (ibid.). In Klein und Wagner,
conflicting associations accumulate around the character of Wagner, who is at the
same time a murderer, Klein's polar opposite, and also the genial composer of
Lohengrin:
Derm Wagner war er selber - Wagner war der Morder und Gejagte in ihm,
aber Wagner war auch der Komponist, der Kiinstler, das Genie, der Verfiihrer,
43 Mozart's staged music, on the contrary, appealed to him greatly: 'Die Opern von Mozart sind fur mich der
Inbegriff von Theater [...] Ich habe mich fur das eigentliche Theater ja niemals interessieren kCnnen, das heifit
fur die Schauspieler und die Dramen' (letter of 1929 to Emmy Ball-Hennings, Musik, 153). This difference in
appreciation, or apparent contradiction, is also mirrored in Steppenwolf, where the music of Mozart and Wagner
are presented as antithetical.
44 The radiance and brilliance of this opera, which contrasts with the languid atmosphere of most works by
Wagner, must have been particularly appealing to Hesse's 'undramatisch' nature.
82

die Neigung zu Lebenslust, Sinnenlust, Luxus - Wagner war der
Sammelname fur alles Unterdriickte, Untergesunkene, zu kurz Gekommene in
dem ehemaligen Beamten Friedrich Klein. Und »Lohengrin« - war nicht auch
das er selbst, Lohengrin, der irrende Ritter mit dem geheimnisvollen Ziel, den
man nicht nach seinem Namen fragen darf?45 (SW 8, 262-63)
Hesse's grounds for disliking Wagner were both aesthetic and moral: in his opinion,
Wagner had brought Romanticism to its highest and lowest point. 46 He regarded
Wagner's musical texture as magniloquent and redundant, as the character of Mozart
notes in his evaluation of the music of Wagner and Brahms in Der Steppenwolf: 'zu
dick instrumentiert, zuviel Material vergeudet' (SW 4,193). On an ethical plane,
Hesse, who was a pacifist and a firm opponent of the Nazi regime, associated
Wagner's music with the composer's glorification during the Third Reich. As Hesse
puts it in a letter to Mann dated 1934:
Ich kann [Wagner], offen gesagt, nicht ausstehen. Und vermutlich empfand
ich beim Blick auf jene Zeitung mit Hitlers Superlativen iiber Wagner Ihnen
gegeniiber etwas wie »Da haben Sie ihren Wagner! Dieser gerissene und
gewissenlose Erfolgmacher ist genau der Gotze, der ins jetzige Deutschland
pafit«.47 (Musik, 159)
From Hesse's perspective, Wagner's grandiose aesthetics and poetics seemed the
antithesis of his own beliefs, centred on the individual who follows an inconspicuous
path of growth and comes to grips to the problematic dimension of the self. On closer
scrutiny, however, unexpected connections between Wagner and Hesse emerge and
a parallel can be drawn between Der Steppenwolf (1927) and Wagner's Tristan und
Isolde (1865). Both works incorporate the most advanced formal elements of their
respective authors, while they also serve the purpose of illustrating the gulf
separating their poetic aims.
45 Weibel underlines the symbolic function of Wagner and his music within Hesse's work: '[Richard Wagner
steht] auch hier [in Klein und Wagner]—wie grundsatzlich schon in Gertrud— [...] als Symbolzeichen' (135).
Wagner's Parsifal offers a further element of comparison with Hesse in the context of our discussion on the
concept of eternity in Chapter 5, section 4.
46 Musicologists tend to agree that Wagner is the composer who took Romanticism to its ultimate conclusion. As
Cardinal points out, 'it was in Wagner that Romanticism achieved its musical apotheosis, for in his vast music-
dramas, Wagner embraced all the Romantic preoccupations with medievalism, German myth, passionate love
and the temptations of death and night, in a synthesis of the verbal, the musical and the visual media, the
Gesamtkunstwerk or total art-work' (22-23).
47 In another letter of the same year, he vents his feelings describing Wagner as 'den Rattenfanger und
Leibmusikanten des Zweiten und noch mehr des Dritten deutschen Reiches' (GS VII, 571).
83

As far as the formal plane is concerned, several commentators stress that Der
Steppenwolf represents a peak in Hesse's narrative technique. In the introduction to
an American edition of Demian, Thomas Mann notes that the experimental audacity
of Hesse's novel stands comparison with Joyce's Ulysses (1922) or Gide's Les Faux-
monnayeurs (1925) ,48 Referring to the unconventional and tripartite structure of the
novel, which he links to the structure of the sonata (see Chapter 2, section 5),
Ziolkowski feels that Der Steppenwolf 'is one of the significant literary documents of
the twentieth century, and in form it is the most elaborate and boldest of Hesse's
works' (1965,181).
In similar terms, Field (1970) comments on the novel: '[It] is, in some respects,
Hesse's greatest achievement in that genre. [...] The work is a tour deforce in literary
form and structure' (Chapter 7, online). Boulby highlights the extensive use of
montage techniques as the sign of the experimental nature of Steppenwolf: 'Hesse
experiments in the novel in a greater degree than heretofore with montage
techniques' (204) .49 For the present purposes, we would like to draw attention to the
'finale' of Steppenwolf which, as this section seeks to illustrate, lends itself to a parallel
with one of the extreme and more compelling outcomes of Romanticism in music: the
dissolution of traditional Western tonality which, according to musicological
convention, dates back to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (see below). This opera deploys
its melody in a continual flow, constantly delaying the return to the keynote or the
dominant, both regarded as traditional hinges of tonality, and therefore preparing
the ground at the turn of the twentieth century for non-tonal systems by way of the
complex harmonic experimentations:
The complex chromatic alterations of chords in Tristan, together with the
constant shifting of key, the telescoping of resolutions, and the blurring of
progressions by means of suspensions and other nonharmonic tones,
produces a novel, ambiguous kind of tonality, one that can be explained only
with difficulty in terms of the harmonic system of Bach, Handel, Mozart, and
Beethoven. This departure from the classic conception of tonality in such a
48 See 'Hermann Hesse: Einleitung zu einer amerikanischen Demian-Ausgabe', Neue Rundschau, LVIII (1947),
248.
49 Taking his cue from Ziolkowski, Bishop describes the montage technique as 'the integration of extensive
passages of (disguised) quotation into the fabric of [the] novel' (228).
84

conspicuous and musically successful work can today be viewed historically
as the first step on the way toward new systems of harmony that marked the
development of music after 1890. The evolution of harmonic style from
Bruckner, Mahler, Reger, and Strauss to Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, and later
twelve-tone composers can be traced back to the Tristan idiom. 50 (Grout, 752)
The originality of the finale of Der Steppenwolf within Hesse's literary production and
its point of convergence with the modernity expressed by Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
rests on Hesse's being, as Ziolkowski puts it, 'no longer romantic and not yet an
existentialist' (1965, 349). It is therefore necessary to outline the differences and
similarities underlying Romanticism and Existentialism and identify their
consequences for Hesse before we expound on the analogy between the finale of
Hesse's novel and the formal elements of Wagner's opera.51
The belief in a transcendent unity (e.g. between nature and spirit), as captured
by Cardinal, is the fundamental trait of Romanticism:
Romanticism is rooted in a sense of the rift between the actual and the ideal.
Its starting-point is the desire for something other than what is immediately
available, a desire for an alternative which will completely reverse that which
is. 52 (28)
As opposed to the former, Existentialism, as Kaufmann points out, faces up to the
chaos of a meaningless reality and rejects any conviction in a superior ideal or unity:
'Individuality is not retouched, idealized, or holy; it is wretched and revolting, and
yet, for all its misery, the highest good' (12). Both the Existentialist and Romantic
approaches lay great importance on individuality and on the concept of identity (see
Lange 1970,17). Existentialism, like Romanticism, is grounded in what the Romantics
felt as the gap between ideal and real which, with a little shift in emphasis, is now
50 'Tristan is a peculiar case: it begins in A minor and ends in B major, so that its tonality of E (which actually is
heard very little in the score) is, as it were, polarized, held between its subdominant and dominant' (Grout, 750).
51 As set out in Chapter 1 (see note 6), we will follow Ziolkowski's convention of referring to Romanticism, as a
historical literary movement, with capital initial, and to typological romanticism, as an attitude of mind, with
lower case initial.
52 The Romantic disaffection with the here and now leads authors to turn their attention to exotic places and
distant temporal dimensions: 'the Romantic may turn from the disappointments of the present to seek solace in
dreams of the past: the Europe of medieval Christendom, of the Crusades, of Renaissance art, offers a wide
scope. An alternative dream is that of a future Golden Age when men will live in perfect harmony with their
surroundings. These dreams of another and better time run parallel to the dream of another place. This can be an
irrecoverable site of childhood, as in Eichendorff s dreams of the castle in the forest where he was born, or
exotic lands, the Orient, Italy' (Cardinal, 28).
85

called 'absurd'. 53 The most conspicuous difference between the two attitudes,
however, lies in their ultimate outcomes: Romanticism strives towards a
transcendent truth or unity, while Existentialism urges men to find their raison d'etre
and only hope in their earthly existence. 54
Both Romanticism and, to a lesser degree, Existentialism, resonate within
Hesse's work, yet while the writer overtly acknowledges his debt to the former, we
hardly find any mention of Existentialism throughout his works and
correspondence.55
Despite scarce direct interest in Existentialism as such, Hesse was familiar
with the thoughts of Kierkegaard, and his cultural and psychological development
was influenced by Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, cornerstones of Existentialism. 56 In his
chapter 'Hermann Hesse und S0ren Kierkegaard', Karalaschwili draws an analogy
between Hesse's three stages of 'Menschwerdung' and '[d]en drei Grundzustanden
oder -stadien des menschlichen Lebens (dem asthetischen, dem ethischen und dem
religiosen)' (361 ). 57 Karalaschwili also notes that innocence ('Unschuld') is the first
stage of man's development for both Hesse and Kierkegaard (362) and that '[w]ie in
Kierkegaards Lehre fuhren Angst und Verzweiflung auch bei Hesse zum Glauben'
(360-61 ). 58 There are two further aspects, or feelings, that Hesse shares with
Existentialists: the 'contempt for inauthenticity' (Lange 1970,17) and a radical stress
53 The concept of the 'absurd' is a central element in Camus' The myth of Sisyphus (1942). Mayer's 'Imaginares
Gesprach zwischen Albert Camus und Hermann Hesse' (1982) is an indication of the link between the two
writers.
54 'Die Romantik', Weibel points out, 'beginnt mit dem Nein gegen Welt und Menschen und endet mit dem Ja in
Gott und in der Kunst. Das Tragische aber kann nur aus einer urspriinglichen und lebensvollen Bejahung des
Menschlichen entstehen, aus der daraus notwendig folgenden Spannung zu dem heimsuchenden Gottlichen'
(26).
55 Where references to Existentialism appear, they retain slightly negative connotations as in a letter of 1950.
Commenting on Bach's fifth Brandenburg concerto, Hesse states that, in this music, 'Virtuositat' and 'Einkehr',
'Schwermut' and Tapferkeit' merge in such an exquisite way that they reach 'die Grenze einer pessimistischen
Existentialphilosophie' (Musik, 187).
56 'Es ist bekannt', Karalaschwili points out, 'daB Hermann Hesse mit dem Werk des danischen Philosophen und
Theologen S0ren Kierkegaard [...] gut vertraut war' (356). In the chapter 'Absurd creation' of The myth of
Sisyphus, Camus deals with Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Hesse's Blick ins Chaos (1920) includes the
essays 'Gedanken iiber Dostojewskijs »Idiot«' and 'Die Briider Karamasoff oder Der Untergang Europas'
(mentioned in Chapter 1, note 10). With regard to Nietzsche's bearing on Hesse, see the discussion on the
concept of'eternal recurrence' in Chapter 5 (section 3).
57 'The concept of growth', as Lange notes, 'is central to all of Hesse's novels. It is a theme common to Hesse
and the German Romantics, many of the Existentialists, and much humanistic psychology' (1970, 78). Lange
also stresses that 'becoming' plays a central role in Nietzsche's Zarathustra (ibid.).
58 It should be noted that, as for Kierkegaard, faith is connected with the feeling of'absurdity' in Hesse:
'Goldmund's art', as Boulby notes, 'is an act of faith par excellence "Credo, quia absurdum est'" (230).
86

on 'responsibility7, as emerges from Das Glasperlenspiel where, as in Sartre, it is
inextricably bound to the idea of freedom: 'wer hoher steigt und grofiere Aufgaben
bekommt, wird nicht freier, er wird nur immer veranrwortlicher' (SW 5, 74).59
A certain Existentialist attitude is discernible in works such as Siddhartha and,
above all, Der Steppenwolf, as witnessed by the studies of Lange ('Daseinproblematik' in
Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf: An existential interpretation, 1970) and Hollis (see the
chapter 'The existential aesthete', in 'Hermann Hesse's "Steppenwolf": A study in
humour and Humor', 1973). 60 Thematically, Lange identifies elements of Der
Steppenwolf which are typical of the existentialist perspective: the
'"Daseinproblematik" the problem of "how are we to live?"' (1970, 4); the theme
of the 'outsider' (ibid.); and 'man's relatedness to man - love, friendship, [...]
communication or lack of it7 (34).
Apart from these general features, there is a further aspect that is central to
our argument. As in Sartre, despite the absurdity of existence, the idea of
commitment to life and 'this' world resounds powerfully in this novel of Hesse, as
illustrated by Hermine's reprimand to Harry for his despondency:
Dein Leben wird auch dadurch nicht flach und dumm, wenn du weifit, dafi
dein Kampf erfolglos sein wird. Es ist viel flacher, Harry, wenn du fur etwas
Gutes und Ideales kampfst und nun meinst, du miissest es auch erreichen.
Sind denn Ideale zum Erreichen da?61 (SW 4,115)
As noted above, the antithesis of reality and the ideal, which is central to
Hesse's thought and, to a considerable degree, the blueprint for all his works, is
common to Romanticism and Existentialism. On the other hand, the stress on earthly
59 The concept is restated later in the novel (see SW 5, 323) and crops up in previous novels such as Der
Steppenwolf, where Mozart links it with original sin: 'Sie [Wagner und Brahms] konnen auch nichts dafur, daft
Adam den Apfel gefressen hat, und miissen es doch biiBen. [...] Das Leben ist immer furchtbar. Wir konnen
nichts dafur und sind doch verantwortlich' (SW 4, 193). In the context of Steppenwolf, Lange notes that 'Hesse,
like Sartre, underscores the need to take responsibility for one's own "Dasein", in contrast with the
irresponsibility of the Mass' (1970, 56).
60 Commenting on Siddhartha's quest for belonging ('Er aber, Siddhartha, wo war er zugehorigT'; SW 3, 399,
my emphasis), Moritz notes: 'Es handelt sich also um eine besondere, existentielle Einsamkeit' (306). Similarly,
Haller appears extraneous and lonely to the bougeois narrator: ' Unzugehorig, einsam und fremd saB er, mil
einem kiihlen, aber sorgenvollen Gesicht vor sich nieder blickend' (SW 4, 20, my emphasis). Tellingly, Lange
describes '[mjetaphysical alienation - the estrangement of the individual from the Universe and from meaning'
as 'basic to all existentialist thought' (1970, 60).
61 'Man's situation, as Sartre sees it, is absurd and tragic; but does that rule out integrity, nobility, or valor, or the
utmost effort?' (Kaufmann, 47).
87

existence and the dismissal of any transcendent unity draws a neat dividing line
between the two philosophical movements.
In passing or in monographs, secondary literature has extensively dealt with
Hesse's connections with Romanticism on both the poetic and the formal level. In the
previous two chapters, we discussed the Romantic legacy in relation to Hesse's
'thinking in polarities' (Chapter 1) and stressed the Romantic influence on the
development of the sonata form (Chapter 2), the dynamics of which have a bearing
on Hesse's poetics. 62
With regard to the formal aspects of his works, Hesse draws on certain Romantic
topoi (i.e. remote times and places) and literary forms such as the Bildungsroman and
Marchen. 63 Siddhartha and Narzifl und Goldmund have their settings in the Orient and
the Middle Ages respectively. Demian, Siddhartha, and Narzifi und Goldmund count as
examples of Bildungsromane. With regard to Marchen, which Weibel describes as
'Kanon aller romantisierenden Kunst' (132), the significance of the genre goes
beyond Hesse's collection of fairy tales published in 1919 (Marchen). In 'Kurzgefafiter
Lebenslauf (1921-1924), Hesse identifies operas and especially Die Zauberflote (SW
12, 60) 'als die hochste Form des Marchens' (59).
For Ziolkowski, Hesse's oscillation between Romanticism and Existentialism is
reflected in a number of his novels: 'he strives in Siddhartha, Narzifl and Goldmund,
and the Journey to the East—to create the transcendent ideal of resolution that he
rejects in Demian, The Steppenwolf, and The Glass Bead Game' (1965, 359). In Siddhartha,
Hesse portrays the unity of all forms of being as well as of inanimate objects, and the
essence of Narzifl und Goldmund and Morgenlandfahrt lies in the final and ideal
merging of two opposing forces. As for the second group of novels mentioned above,
it is clear that the war shatters any hope of harmony in Demian, and the protagonist
62 For a discussion of Hesse's Romantic heritage, see Weibel's monograph, Hermann Hesse und die deutsche
Romantik (1954), Freedman's article 'Romantic Imagination: Hermann Hesse as a Modern Novelist' (1958), or
Ziolkowski's chapter 'Between Romanticism and Existentialism' in The novels of Hermann Hesse (1965).
63 Strictly speaking, the genre of the Bildungsroman traces its roots back to the Enlightenment, yet it has been
largely exploited by the Romantics as pointed out by Cardinal: '[the novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre] was
particularly important to the Romantics; it offered a blueprint for the Bildungsroman, the novel of development,
combining realistic and imaginary elements, that was flexible enough for the Romantics to use it again and
again' (13).

of the novel, Emil Sinclair, has to cope with the intrinsic chaos of existence. In Das
Glasperlenspiel, Joseph Knecht7s enigmatic death may point to the impossibility of
reconciling real life and Castalia's spiritual ideals. 64
As far as Der Steppenwolf is concerned, part of its originality lies in the fact that
it is an open-ended novel. Karalaschwili points out that this work is atypical of
Hesse's prose and notes: 'Der Roman klingt aus, aber endet mcht' (187). 65 In
'Magisches Theater', Haller has peered into the realm of timelessness for a short
while and has been allowed to see his life and the existence of the whole of humanity
from the perspective of 'die Unsterblichen'. He feels regenerated by the experiences
he has undergone in Pablo's 'Bilderkabinett', where he has gained a wholly new
perspective on life; however, he is somewhat uncertain and confused about his
future, and the reader is left to wonder which path he will follow in the end. There is
no Romantic resolution or appeal to an ideal unity to rely on, but rather the
Existentialist acceptance of the discords of life, mingled with a soaring sense of
hope.66
The lack of a clear solution recalls, by analogy, the consequences of Wagner
stretching the boundaries of traditional tonality in Tristan und Isolde. Both works stem
from their authors' discontent with forms and concepts inherited from the past and
no longer adequate to express their ideas: Wagner struggled with the ties of tonality;
Hesse felt the portrayal of any Romantic ideal of unity or transcendence at the end of
his work to be unsatisfactory. The melody of Tristan und Isolde flows and soars as
though it were in danger of resting on the hinges of tonality, whilst the atmosphere
and action at the end of Der Steppenwolf is suspended, almost to avoid any Romantic
'pronouncement'. Wagner and Hesse were far from foreseeing the ultimate
consequences of their intuitions; however, they both brought an element of novelty
64 'Hermann Hesse's grand Utopian vision of a cultural realm called Castalia [...] is notable for the fact that his
hero, Joseph Knecht, ultimately turns away [...] from the ideal he loves in order to bear its vision and values
back to the real world' (Ziolkowski 2007, 214).
65 'Auf den ersten Blick ist das Ende des Romans [Der Steppenwolf] fur Hesses epische Kunst nicht typisch - im
Unterschied zu den gedra'ngten, hochst konzentrierten Schlussszenen der anderen Werke ist es hier unUblich in
die Lange gezogen und nimmt beinahe ein Drittel des Gesamtumfangs ein' (Karalaschwili, 174).
66 Der Steppenwolf 1 does not present a firm solution, but ends with the hope of one' (Rose, 92).
89

in that the former's opera paves the way to atonality, and the structure and the
ending of Hesse's novel are probably his most original and modern. 67
On the other hand, the poetic aims of the two works constitute their main
point of divergence: the underlying poetics of Tristan und Isolde are steeped in
Romanticism and, in this sense, are virtually the antithesis of the Existentialist
orientations that can be traced in Hesse's novel. 68 Wagner's opera is the
quintessential expression of one of the tenets of Romanticism, according to which
'man is [...] expected to transcend his physical being and advance to the higher plane
of total spirituality, reintegrating himself in the divine consciousness, or absolute'
(Cardinal, 35). In the finale of the opera, Tristan languishes and eventually dissolves
in the 'night' of death:
Soil ich schliirfen,
untertauchen?
Suss in Dtiften
mich verhauchen?
In dem wogenden Schwall,
in dem tonenden Schall,
in des Weltatems
wehendem All, -
ertrinken,
versinken, -
unbewusst, -
hochste Lust! 69
With Harry Haller, on the other hand, it is at the break of dawn that he faces up to
the lures and difficulties of a sudden awakening:
Oh, ich begriff alles, begriff Pablo, begriff Mozart. [...] Einmal wiirde ich das
Figurenspiel besser spielen. Einmal wiirde ich das Lachen lernen. Pablo
wartete auf mich. Mozart wartete auf mich. (SW 4, 203)
67 'The strictly devised, musically conditioned form of the novel itself [...] leads away [...] from synthesis and
magic realism as attained in Siddhartha, toward the intensest possible expression in novel form of the
irresolvable counterpoint of the self (Boubly, 163).
68 Despite the distance between Existentialism and Romanticism, the former shares an aspect of Wagner's music
writing. The composer, who advanced the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk and wrote the librettos for his operas,
symbolically fulfils the Romantic longing for a reconciliation of words and music; Existentialism, in turn, is a
philosophical current which frequently merges with literature.
*9 (Wagner 1973,44).
90

While Tristan und Isolde yearns for the eternity of death, Hesse, like Sartre, points to
life as the ultimate and sole reality of human existence in Steppenwolf. 70 As Hesse
points out in his 'Nachwort zum »Steppenwolf«', 'die Geschichte des Steppenwolfes
[stellt] zwar eine Krankheit und Krisis [dar], aber nicht eine, die zum Tode fiihrt,
nicht einen Untergang, sondern das Gegenteil; eine Heilung' (SW 4, 208). 71 Hesse's
novel not only betrays Existentialist positions but it also transcends them since '[t]he
novel ends on an optimistic note' (Ziolkowski 1965, 222). 72 Harry is condemned by
the Immortals to eternal life and to play with the various aspects of his personality
time and time again: 'Wir [die Unsterblichen] verurteilen infolgedessen den Haller
zur Strafe des ewigen Lebens' (SW 4, 201). 73 Like Sisyphus, Haller has to repeat the
same task endlessly, yet he embraces his penalty as a revitalising opportunity:
There is no end to Sisyphus rolling his rock, just as there can be no end to
Haller's growth. Hesse and Haller seem to have a vitality, affirmation and
optimism that Camus and most of the Existentialists lack. 74 (Lange 1970, 79)
The finale of Der Steppenwolf is a call to life and action which is by no means isolated
in Hesse's documents of this period. 75 As he notes in a letter of 1955 to Ziolkowski,
although translating proves to be an attainable ideal, since it is virtually impossible
to transfer all the nuances of a poem or novel into another language, 'man [mufi]
iibersetzen und das im Grund Unmogliche immer wieder versuchen' (GB 4, 452). In
70 As noted above (see note 60), '[Sartre] does not preach disenchantment but commitment in the world; like
Nietzsche, Sartre remains "faithful to the earth" and says, "Life begins on the other side of despair'" (Kaufmann,
46). In analysing the role of Pablo as Haller's mentor in the Magic Theatre, Weibel underlines that he is 'ein
praktischer, nie verzweifelnder, hermetischer Mensch' who masters 'diesseitige Leben' (126).
71 Karalaschwili, who echoes Hesse's statement ('[Die] Krise [Harry Hallers] endet mit der Heilung', 360),
identifies two stages in the process that leads Haller to a 'life-affirmative solution' (Lange 1970, 62): a first
moment characterized by the longing for a realm informed by 'Geist' which leads Haller to faith ('Glaube'), and
then, once he has peered into that realm, Haller discovers that the world of senses (the realm of
'Verganglichkeit') he initially rejected is blessed by the same divinity he caught a glimpse of in the realm of
'Geist': 'Die Bewegung entwickelt sich also in zwei Richtungen. Erstens: zum Geist, zur Geistigkeit - das
schliefit das Verneinen der Verganglichkeit und der empirischen Welt ein -, und zweitens: vom Glauben wieder
zuriick, zur objektiven Wirklichkeit, die dem Individuum nun nicht mehr als absurd, sondern als gottliche
Einheit erscheint' (370).
72 'Hesse has not been sufficiently credited with this positive aspect so central to Steppenwolf. [...] It is not that
Hesse has failed to approach the Existentialist position, but rather has shared it, and moved beyond it to
affirmation and action' (Lange 1970, 32; original emphasis).
73 The oxymoronic formula 'ewigen Lebens' indirectly captures the intersection of immanence and
transcendence.
74 In 'Magisches Theater', Haller comes to the realisation that the discovery of the self is an open-ended process:
'Die Individuation ist ein unendlicher ProzeB und das Selbst - allein schon seinem Wesen nach transzendent -
ein unerreichbares Ideal' (Karalaschwili, 101).
75 'Heidegger and Hesse share not only what we may call "the detached contemplative solution" (Being), but
also "the involved active solution" (direct action)' (Lange 1970, 73).
91

'Bine Arbeitsnacht' (1928), he points out that we ask ourselves questions about
existence not so much to find an answer as to feel engaged in life and partake in its
joys and sorrows:
Und indem ich alle diese Fragen wieder einmal fur eine Nachstunde in mich
einliefi - nicht um sie zu beantworten, denn die Antwort weifi ich, seit ich lebe
-, sondern um ihr Leid in mich einzulassen, um ihren bitteren Trank wieder
einmal zu kosten. (SW 12,126-27)
3.4 Jazz and the dissolution of art
Wagner, Strauss, and virtuosi were not the only target of Hesse's criticism; he was
not sparing in his remarks on contemporary light music either. The aesthetics of
Wagner and R. Strauss did not meet his ideal of music and possibly betrayed signs of
cultural decadence but, to him, dancehall tunes lacked any aesthetic significance,
having reduced the rich language of music to an oversimplified babble. As with
Wagner and Strauss, Hesse felt that music meant for the sole purpose of entertaining
was 'Untergangsmusik', and its diffusion was a symptom of social and cultural
degradation.76
The split between serious and 'light' music can be traced back to Romanticism
which, promoting a shift in music consumption, made the middle class the major
recipient of music and concert-halls along with bourgeois drawing-rooms (as
opposed to palaces and salons) the principal venues of performances. In this context,
Hauser notes:
The broader masses, who take a growing interest in musical entertainments,
demand, however, a lighter, more ingratiating, less complicated music. This
demand in itself promotes the creation of shorter, more entertaining, more
varied forms, but leads, at the same time, to a division of musical output into
serious and light music. (206)
Hauser also stresses how the change in the demand of music prompts a new general
attitude of composers towards their music:
76 See Hesse's views on what he, paraphrasing Lii Buwei, refers to as 'Verfallskunst' (3.2) and the reference to
'Untergangsmusik' in note 36 (included therein).
92

Hitherto compositions serving purposes of entertainment had not been
different qualitatively from the rest; there had been, of course, a great
difference in quality between individual works, but this difference in no way
corresponded to the difference in their respective purposes. As we know, the
generation immediately following that of Bach and Handel had already made
a distinction between composing for one's own amusement and producing for
the public; but now distinctions are made between the different categories of
the public itself. (Ibid.)
At the time the idiom of 'jazz', which for Haller in Steppenwolf epitomizes and
encompasses the whole spectrum of light music, was introduced to Germany
through recordings in 1920, this was not just received as 'Unterhaltungsmusik' but as
an aggregate of foreign cultural elements that could destabilize the status quo:
From the 1920s to the 1950s, jazz had many outspoken enemies in Germany.
Since [its introduction] during the Weimar years, its critics linked the music to
feminized men and lascivious women, to racial degeneration, and to
commercialism. 77 (Poiger, 218)
Fairly popular by the late 1920s, jazz was regarded as an expression of forces which
were potential menaces to Germany's cultural ascendancy. As noted by Weiner:
German superiority [at that time seemed] threatened by two morally suspect
aesthetic camps atonality and American jazz, each representing a foreign
socio-political order, bolshevism and (by implication) democracy. 78 (1993,136)
Although Hesse might have been exposed to the more sophisticated jazz
imported through Whiteman, 'jazz' in Der Steppenwolf essentially refers to dancehall
music (e.g. fox-trots, one-steps, and shimmying) which were being introduced into
Europe from the U.S.A. after World War I.79 This music, associated with an idea of
superficial glitter, promiscuity, libido, and bad taste, was purely intended for the
moment, and it was accompanied by a new consumerist attitude towards art.
As we noted above, extra-musical (social and political) associations were
layered on music in Germany between 1900 and 1930, as witnessed not only by the
77 Poiger's statement echoes that of Vaget:'In their eyes [National Socialists'], the Weimar Republic promoted
the bastardization of German culture through modernism and jazz' (162).
78 By the time Sam Wooding and his big band were performing in the Admirals Palast in 1925, 'jazz dance bands
could be found in virtually all large hotels, cafe"s, and bars in Berlin' (Weiner 1993, 122). However, 'the first
jazz not intended as dance music' (ibid.) allegedly filtered through to Germany through Paul Whiteman.
79 In the context of the dancehall tunes mentioned in Der Steppenwolf, see the next section (3.5) and note 107.
93

debate on jazz but also by the Nazi glorification of Wagner. With its social and
political overtones, music made its way, as a literary motif, into narrative texts of this
period and, as a sign of the originality of Der Steppenwolf, jazz, or music related to its
idiom, was adopted by Hesse as just such a literary motif (see Weiner, 305).
What was an element of novelty for the German literature of the time was
however a fairly common theme in the European intellectual debate. The Russian
novel The Master and Margarita, for instance, contemporary with Der Steppenwolf,
bears striking similarities to the latter in the way it relates to jazz.80
Harry Haller, the protagonist of Der Steppenwolf, embodies Hesse's selective
and conservative tastes in music; he feels the discomfort of living in a society that,
from his perspective, has lost sight of true values. Haller describes the music bursting
out loudly from a club as disquieting and disturbing:' Aus einem Tanzlokal, an dem
ich voriiberkam, scholl mir, heifi und roh wie der Dampf von rohem Fleisch, eine
heftige Jazzmusik entgegen' (SW 4, 38). 81 In a similar way, 'jazz' resounds in 'a roar
of brass [which deafens Margarita]' (Bulgakov, 299). A chapter in The Master and
Margarita, 'Satan's Rout', portrays a masked ball reminiscent of the 'Maskenball in
den Globussalen' in the last section of Hesse's novel. In the ball of The Master and
Margarita 'the stage behind the wall of tulips had been taken over by a jazz band of
frenetic apes' (309) and, in Der Steppenwolf, 'the cellar room of the inn where [the
masked ball] takes place is decorated to look like hell, and the members of the jazz
band in this hell are dressed as devils' (Rose, 90). 82
In both texts, jazz appears as one of the negative forces pointing to alternative
social orders. Jazz accompanies latent visions of escape from modern civilization, 'a
80 Mikhail Bulgakov began the composition of The Master and Margarita around 1928 and completed this work
almost ten years later; the novel, however, appeared only after his death in 1940. Wright's article, The Themes
of Polarities in Russian and German Twentieth-Century Literature: Mikhail Bulgakov and Hermann Hesse as
Literary Cousins' (1983), explores what he calls 'affinities' between Hesse and Bulgakov in view of the lack of
evidence of any mutual direct influence, 'at least until a definitive list of the books in Bulgakov's personal
library should show otherwise' (55).
81 It is worth noting that Hesse employs a derivative of'roh' to describe Wagner's music too: 'Ehe ich bei
Wagner Zuge dieser geschminkten Rohheit entdeckte, war er mir sehr viel' (letter of 1898 to Helene Voigt-
Diederichs, Musik, 131; my emphasis).
82 In his article (see note 80), Wright highlights several connections between the two artists (e.g. the theme of
polarities) and, more specifically, between the two novels: the theme of the outsider, the concern with
immortality, the similar atmosphere characterizing the 'ball in the magic theatre' and 'Satan's Ball'; he fails,
however, to pick up on the theme of jazz as a further point of convergence of the two texts.
94

civilization which [has been] established in order to make [...] life easier, but which
threatens to engulf [men] and reduce [them] to a mere cog in a mechanical system'
(Rose, 82). 83
Aesthetic contrasts and social tensions are polarised in two characters of Der
Steppenwolf, Mozart and Pablo, the former the quintessential classical composer and
the apparent champion of Haller's artistic ideals, the latter an unknown saxophonist
who performs in dance halls, symbol of the consumerist society Haller despises.
Hesse builds upon this contrast throughout the novel; however, this is suddenly
neutralized with a twist at the end of the book, with Pablo and Mozart appearing to
Haller as the same person. This is a crucial moment in the novel whose significance is
open to various interpretations. 84 For Weiner,
The association of the jazz musician and Mozart at the conclusion of the
novel at one point they appear to be identical does not indicate so much an
integration of high and low art within Haller's personality as a disavowal of
the social hierarchies to which these different arts and artists had been
assigned in the bourgeois imagination. (148)
Although the social implications of the association of Mozart with Pablo are
apparent, it is our contention that, to Hesse, these were far less important than the
consequences on an aesthetic level. Through Haller, Hesse portrays the difficulties of
a man approaching a crucial age (fifty) as well as the crisis of an intellectual and a
connoisseur of art who witnesses a full reversal of social and aesthetic values. On the
one hand, the avant-garde of music academies (dodecaphony) seems to produce
music which has no appeal to the masses; on the other, pervasive and ephemeral
83 Commenting on an issue of the Austrian journal 'Musikblatter des Anbruch' dedicated to jazz in 1925,
Fumagalli points out that jazz was perceived as the 'Sprache der Maschinen, des Larms und des Chaos' (118; for
a more extensive citation, see note 87). Field underlines that for Hesse too modern music was symptomatic of
what he defines as '[die] Eroberung der Erde durch die Technik und Industrie' ('Uber Schmetterlinge'; KF, 9):
'[the] surreal dream-war on machines can be regarded as summing up the theme of criticism of contemporary
technological civilization which is woven into the texture of the novel, frequently in conjunction with music. For
modern music, as well as modern machines, can serve to symbolize the alienation of the individual in the
modern world' (Chapter 7, online). Hesse, who was generally critical of the changes brought about by modern
technology was not, as Cornils underscores, 'a cultural conservative and technophobe, but [...] he felt that the
need for certainties and joys was not being satisfied by modern life' (2009, 9).
84 Several scholars point out the common identity of Pablo and Mozart, thus underlining the importance of this
point in the narration: 'Mozart und Pablo [sind eins] auf einer hoheren Stufe' (Karalaschwili, 186); 'Mozart
(really of course Pablo both address Harry as "Monsieur")' (Boulby, 199); 'At this point Haller begins to
realize that the figure which he had taken for Mozart is actually none other than Pablo' (Ziolkowski 1965, 221).
This moment in the novel will also be discussed as an instance of metamorphosis (see Chapter 4, section 5).
95

catchy tunes threaten to drain art of its value and meaning. 85 The identification of
Mozart with Pablo has the fundamental and reassuring consequence for the reader
that there is no gap between 'high and low art' and that they have always been
interdependent.86 As Rosen observes in relation to the borrowing of popular elements
in Classical music,
in so many of the short, interior movements of his late chamber works,
[Beethoven transfigures] the 'popular' element without losing sight of its
provenance. In Mozart's Divertimento the synthesis of a learned display of
three-part writing and a popular genre is accomplished without ambiguity or
constraint. 87 (281)
Through the underlying unity of Mozart and Pablo, Hesse indirectly reminds us of
the primeval origins of music, which he lucidly illustrates in his later novel, Das
Glasperlenspiel:
Beginnend mit dem Rhythmus (Handeklatschen, Aufstampfen,
Holzerschlagen, friiheste Trommelkunst) war sie [die Musik] ein kraftiges und
erprobtes Mittel, eine Mehrzahl und Vielzahl von Menschen gleich zu
»stimmen«, ihren A tern, Herzschlag und Gemiitszustand in gleichen Takt zu
bringen, die Menschen zur Anrufung und Beschworung der ewigen Machte,
zum Tanz, zum Wettkampf, zum Kriegszug, zur heiligen Handlung zu
ermutigen. 88 (SW 5, 25)
Laying emphasis on its rhythmical component, the narrator of Das Glasperlenspiel
stresses that music which, as we will be reminded in the next section (3.5), is akin to
dance, originates from an instinctive, physical drive. This primordial dimension
makes music a powerful force able to bring people together and inflame passions.
Under its spell, individuality may be subsumed into a crowd which acts in unison, as
85 As noted above (see note 22), this orientation is expressed by way of Haller and his objections to music
academies. In a similar way, Hesse looked suspiciously at universities, as emerges from his 'Antwort auf eine
Umfrage der Wiener Universitatsbibliothek vom Oktober 1930': 'Die Zukunft der Lyrik wird umso besser sein,
je weniger Universita'ten sich mit ihr beschaftigen' (SW 12, 264).
86 'Audi die Musik', as Fumagalli notes, 'ist Teil dieser Welt, sowohl die von Mozart (Haller wird in das
magische Theater durch die Musik des Don Giovanni eingefuhrt) wie die von Pablo, zwei nur scheinbar
voneinander entfernte Bilder derselben Wirklichkeit' (118). Calling on the 1925 issue of the journal
'Musikblatter des Anbruch' mentioned above (see note 83), she also underlines that at the time jazz was
perceived as 'Treffpunkt zwischen "hoher" Musik und "Gebrauchsmusik", Sprache der Natur, der Improvisation
gegen die strengen festen Normen in denen sich die Tradition kristallisiert hatte' (118).
With regard to the interdependence of'popular' and 'learned' elements in music, see also note 93 in the next
section (3.5).
88 As Dttrr observes, Hesse intentionally contrasts the highly intellectual music Knecht symbolises with this
character playing a small flute: 'So ist ihm [Knecht] am Ende ein kleines Flotchen anscheinend wertvoller
geworden als die komplizierte, universelle Orgel des Geistes' (101).
96

in the case of the 'Unio mystica7 experienced by Harry Haller (see 3.5). Although
what the 'Kurgast' Hesse calls 'Teemusik' 'nich[t] in [sein] Bewusstsein tritf, 'der
rein sinnliche Reiz der paar gut gespielten Instrumente7 (Kur, SW 11, 94) can win his
attention. Like its more sophisticated counterpart, 'Unterhaltungsmusik' is indeed
able to alleviate the burden of time and loosen its hold on human beings:
[ich] hore die Unterhaltungsmusik voruberrinnen und habe das angenehme
Gefuhl, es rinne damit horbar und fiihlbar ein Stuck Zeit hinweg, ein Stiick
von der Zeit, von der wir Kurgaste so viel iibrig haben. (Ibid.)
Hesse's dialectics is obviously at play here for, despite being inherently temporal,
music, in fact, can oppose time. Music also reconciles the eternal and the transitory as
will become apparent in the rest of this section. The pairing of Pablo and Mozart
implies that classical music is in alliance with banal ephemeral tunes, and on this
ground we disagree with Schneider, who considers jazz merely as 'an episode7 for
Hesse. 89 As there would be no Transcendenz' without 'Immanenz 7, and a life entirely
dominated by 'Geist' would lead to disgust (see Chapter 1, section 2), 'classical' gains
significance only if it constantly refers to and draws upon the popular. Mutual
interdependence is a structural element of all polarities in Hesse.
The identification of Mozart with Pablo has a further consequence which
reverberates beyond the social and aesthetic spheres. 90 Pablo's music does not stand
comparison with the compositions of Mozart; nevertheless, he somehow belongs to
the same circle of Mozart and Goethe ('die Unsterblichen'), being as 'the living
embodiment of their philosophy' (Lange 1970, 70). Like Mozart and Goethe, Pablo
has learned to 'laugh at appearances and look for a deeper reality beneath the surface
of things' (Ziolkowski 1965, 210), this is what he in the guise of Mozart teaches
Haller; moreover, he has discovered how to transcend his own principium
89 '"Mozart is Pablo," Joachim-Ernst Berendt asserts in his interpretation of Der Steppenwolf. That would mean
that Mozart, like Pablo, the saxophone player, also embodied jazz, which Hesse includes in his experimental
novel as complement to what is referred to as the "classical" music of the years 1500 to 1800. But for Hesse,
jazz, like his "Krisis" poems, represented only an episode. The name "Pablo" seems associated more closely
with such virtuosi as Sarasate and Casals, who shared that first name and like jazz did not entirely meet
Hesse's standards of classical, ethical musicianship, of which Mozart was the supreme representative'
(Schneider 2009, 388)
90 'Pablo', Karalaschwili points out, 'ist die Verkorperung [...] des Instinktes und der elementaren Sinnlichkeit,
und er ist auch Mozart, eine Versinnbildlichung hochster Geistigkeit' (90).
97

individuationis—accepting his limited individuality and separate identity. In the
fictitious reality of the novel, Pablo is alive and a lowly person who, despite the
limitations of his earthly perspective, is able to catch glimpses of the eternity
bestowed on exceptional individuals like Mozart and Goethe, who are dead and
Immortals.
As a consequence, immortality is not only a dimension of the afterlife
bestowed upon exceptionally gifted artists, but it is also open to those who are 'ready
to plumb the very depths of the potentialities of [their] life' (Ziolkowski 1965, 212). 91
Goethe and Mozart in De.r Steppenwolf are immortal not so much because of their
majestic artistic talent as for their being men who, like Pablo (and Vasudeva in
Siddhartho), have discovered that contradictions, in the long term, fade away, and
opposites, on deeper inspection, reveal their unity.92
3.5 Whistling and dancing
In the previous section (see note 89), we hinted at the juxtaposition of 'die Orgel',
emblematic of the highest musical spirituality, and the small flute (Flotchen) which is
a symbol of instinctive, sensuous musicality in Das Glasperlenspiel. While 'die Orgel'
points us towards eternal values and timelessness, the flute stresses our belonging to
'Diesseits' and, by implication, to time. As symbols, the organ and the flute, like
Mozart and Pablo, capture one of Hesse's fundamental antitheses: the contrast
between intellectualism and naivety (see Chapter 1, section 5). A joyful and
ingenuous approach to music, which complements the appreciation of sophisticated
compositions, is a common poetic element in Hesse's works.93 This element often
91 In relation to the Immortals, Stewart points out that '[i]t is their lives which are models for us, not only their
works' (93), and Ziolkowski stresses that the pairing of Mozart and Pablo also entails the unification of the
fleeting and the eternal: 'Mozart and Pablo are only two aspects of the same person (just like Narziss and
Goldmund in Hesse's next novel): between the two of them they represent a complete union of the poles of spirit
and nature, of life and the eternal' (1965, 222).
92 'Unity' is a feeling accessible to all human beings regardless of their intellectual achievements: 'it might be
possible for ordinary mortals to "create" their own lives and identities anew, embracing both self and world in
one, accepting all that life offers as of equal value and potentially part of their experience, of themselves'
(Stewart, 91).
93 Hermann Lauscher's dilettantism is an early instance of an instinctive, unskilled approach to music: 'Ich
wurde keineswegs zum Geiger erzogen, mein Lehrer war sogar ein Dilettant, daher war der Unterricht mir ein
Vergnttgen und zielte weniger auf strenge Ubung und Prazision als auf baldiges Etwaskonnen' (SW 1, 240).
98

surfaces as the inclination to whistle certain characters share in Hesse's narratives. In
Peter Camenzind (1904), the cheerful disposition of Peter's father is associated with his
whistling and yodelling:
An solchen Tagen zeigte mein Vater eine ungewohnlich behagliche Laune,
pfiff Triller, was er vortrefflich konnte, und gab vielleicht sogar einen
einzelnen, kurzen Jodler von sich, diesen jedoch nur halblaut 94 (SW 2,14)
In Gertrud, Teiser's yodelling and whistling contrast with the problematic
relationship to music of both Kuhn and Muoth (see above and in section 5 of Chapter
I). 95 In the same novel, the humming of a melody is also a sign of Kuhn's recovery
after the accident that cripples him:
Und wie ich lag und sann und leise Strome der Genesung und Erlosung um
mich fiihlte, trat mir eine Melodie auf die Lippen, fast lautlos, die summte ich
weiter und horte nimmer auf, und unversehens schaute mich wie ein
enthiillter Stern die Musik wieder an, der ich solange fremd gewesen war, und
mein Herz schlug ihren Takt, und mein ganzes Wesen bliihte auf und atmete
neue reine Ltifte. 96 (SW 2, 294)
The vagabund Knulp's whistling too is raised to an artistic gift: 'Statt dessen begann
er nun eine seiner vielen kleinen Kiinste zu iiben. Er hob an, unendlich fein und zart
zu pfeifen' (SW 3,155).
In a letter of approximately 1913 to Alfred Schaer, Hesse refers to whistling
and singing as his only musical skills, 'Ich selber mache keine Musik, nur dafi ich viel
singe und pfeife' (Musik, 142), and in 'Musik' (1915), which constitutes a small
compendium on his own music aesthetics, Hesse aligns whistling, humming, and
memory as rudimentary means of music enjoyment:
Was ware unser Leben ohne Musik! Es brauchen ja gar nicht Konzerte zu sein.
Es geniigt in tausend Fallen ein Tippen am Klavier, ein dankbares Pfeifen,
94 'Whistling' as a basic musical instinct is not only an element of Hesse's major novels but features in short
stories too. In 'Der Lateinschuler' (1905), the protagonist takes comfort from his whistling in the silent night:
'[Karl Bauer] fmg [...] ungeachtet der spaten Abendstunde an laut und durchdringend zu pfeifen' (SW 6, 330-
31).
95 ' Arien aus der Zauberflote und Stucke aus dem Don Giovanni funkelten durch die kleine Wohnung, von
Gespra'ch und Gla'serklirren unterbrochen, von der Geige, dem Klavier, der Gitarre oder auch nur vom Pfeifen
des Bruders [Teiser] tadellos rein und richtig begleitet' (Ger, SW 2, 356).
96 For the discussion in the remainder of this section, it is worth drawing attention to the images allied to the
action of'humming': hints at a celestial ('ein enthullter Stern') and earthly harmony ('mein Herz schlug ihren
Takt'), accompanied by the life sign of breathing ('atmete').
99

Singen oder Summen oder auch nur das stumme Sich-Erinnern an
unvergessliche Takte. (Musik, 36)
Unterm Rad (1905-1906) and Demian (1919) are Hesse's only two major works where
whistling can be argued to possess slightly negative connotations. In Unterm Rad,
Giebenrath's inability to whistle is a sign of his lack of moral fibre:
[Hans] fing an, eine Melodie zu pfeifen. Richtig und eigentlich pfeifen konnte
er zwar nicht, das war ein alter Kummer und hatte ihm von den
Schulkameraden schon Spott genug eingetragen. 97 (SW 2,163)
In Demian, 'der Kromersche Pfiff (SW 3, 251) alerts Sinclair to the presence of the
rascal Kromer, who blackmails him.
Tfeifen' as a basic and joyful form of music tend to disappear or to lose its
symbolic value in later works. Absent from Klingsors letzter Sommer (1919) and
Siddhartha (1922), it is present, but only marginally, in Kurgast (1925), Der Steppenwolf
(1927), and Narzifl und Goldmund (1930). 98 It then reappears in Die Morgenlandfahrt
(1932), where Leo's light gait is paired with his ability to whistle: 'sein Gang war von
der gleichen Art wie vorher sein Pfeifen: leicht, spielerisch, aber straff, gesund und
jugendlich' (SW 4, 564).99 In Das Glasperlenspiel, Knecht, a consummate and refined
musician, also takes pleasure in music through his 'Flotchen' which, as Boulby notes,
has strong sexual connotations:
Joseph Knecht does not whistle a melody, but he hums a march from his
schooldays at Waldzell and then, in this fruitful, colorful landscape, this
'musical Socrates7 takes out his flute, sits and plays it under a cherry tree [...]
The flute, moreover, is a well-established erotic symbol, and it cannot be
overlooked that this passage is rich in sexual undertones. (311)
97 Unterm Rad was first published as a book in 1905 but with '1906' in the colophon (see SW 2, 570).
98 In Der Steppenwolf, the verb 'pfeifen' appears in connection with Hermine, who 'pfiff leise durch die Zahne'
(SW 4, 89), and 'humming' is what the dancers in the 'Maskenball' do every time a certain 'Yearning' is played
in the hall: 'alle summten wir seine Melodie mit' (160). In Kurgast, 'whistling' is mentioned in relation to the
Dutchman who irritates the narrator: 'Dieser Herr aus Holland, der mich seit so vielen Tagen am Arbeiten, seit
so vielen Nachten am Schlafen gehindert hat, ist weder ein tollwiitiger Berserker noch ein enthusiastischer
Musiker, weder kommt er zu unerwarteten Zeiten betrunken nach Hause, noch schlagt er seine Frau oder
schimpft mit ihr, erpfeift und singt nicht, ja er schnarcht nicht einmal, wenigstens nicht so laut, daB es mich
st6rte' (SW 11, 76-77; my emphasis).
99 It is worth registering the birdlike qualities of Leo's whistling, as they emerge from the following: 'Es war
eine banale Musik, aber es waren wunderbar stifle, leicht und anmutig geatmete Tone, welche dieser Pfeifer mit
seinen Lippen hervorbrachte, ungemein reinlich, wohlig und naturhaft anzuhoren wie Vogeltone' (Mor, SW 4
564; my emphasis). The association with the bird along with the occurrence of the adjective 'light' are, as our
discussion in Chapter 5 (section 5) seeks to highlight, allusions to the eternal.
100

'Dancing' is a second element which signals an unreflective attitude towards music
in Hesse's work. Haller, who regards all 'Massenvergniigungen' with suspicion,
including dance as a form of entertainment, has to backtrack on his initial views,
especially in the 'Ballnacht' when, through dancing, he is given access to 'das
Erlebnis des Festes, der Rausch der Festgemeinschaft, das Geheimnis vom Untergang
der Person in der Menge, von der Unio mystica der Freude' (Ste, SW 4,159). 100 The
unveiling of the identity of Pablo, a sax player in dancehalls ('Vergniigungslokale'),
and Mozart, the ultimate classical composer, as two sides of the same coin not only
implies the interdependence of 'Unterhaltungs-' and 'klassische Musik' (see previous
section) but does also stress the linkage between music and dance, seen as both
artistic expression and means of entertainment. Although he may not have foreseen
all the consequences descending from the pairing of Mozart and Pablo, Hesse must
have had in mind the common origins and underlying 'unity' of music, dance, and
poetry, that is rhythm ('organised' time), when he devised this turning point in the
novel. 101 As the narrator notes in the preface to Das Glasperlenspiel, music and dance
are made of the same substance: 'Gleich dem Tanz und gleich jeder Kunstiibung
namlich ist die Musik [...] eines alten und legitimen Mittel der Magie' (SW 5, 25).
Nietzsche, whose Zarathustra proclaims that 'man muss noch Chaos in sich haben,
um einen tanzenden Stern gebaren zu konnen' (1885, 5) had laid great emphasis on
dance as an anti-intellectual form of expression, and he certainly was a source for
Hesse's views on dance. 102 The image of the cosmos pervaded by dance (see
'tanzenden Stern' above) is, for instance, an element of Nietzschean heritage which
resonates with Hesse's work. A celestial round dance ('Reigen') is, for Kuhn, the
secret essence of music: 'War nicht Musik das geheime Gesetz der Welt, gingen nicht
100 It takes fifty years for Haller, like his author, to partake of the experience of communion through dance: 'Ein
Erlebnis, das mir [Haller] in funfzig Jahren unbekannt geblieben war' (Ste, SW 4, 159).
101 The use of'foot' as a basic rhythmic unit in prosody dates back to Greek antiquity, when the scanning of a
line was accompanied by the act of beating time with a foot (i.e. an elementary form of dance). The standard
sections of the Suite (originally known as 'Suites de danses'), a musical form Bach mastered and developed
greatly, originated from dances of popular character (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue). Johann Strauss
(Sohn)'s renown is indissolubly connected to his 'Walzer'. The 'rondeau', a poetic and musical form that stems
from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance was employed in dance movements by composers such as
Lully and Couperin.
102 Boulby notes: The dance is [for Hesse], as it was for Nietzsche's Zarathustra, the supremely unreflective
form of self-expression' (188).
101

die Erden und Sterne harmonisch im Reigen?' (Ger, SW 2, 341). Klingsor letzter
Sommer and Klein und Wagner, both published in 1919, contain similar, related
images. In a moment of revelation, Klein realizes that a realm where stars circle space
'im Reigen' opens up to those who free themselves from their principium
individuationis:
Und wer sich einmal, ein einziges Mal hingegeben hatte, wer einmal das grofie
Vertrauen geiibt und sich dem Schicksal anvertraut hatte, der war befreit. Er
gehorchte nicht mehr den Erdgesetzen, er war in den Weltraum gefallen und
schwang im Reigen der Gestirne mit. (KuW, SW 8, 280)
After a few 'Tassen' of wine in a grotto, Klingsor sees the night sky shaken by hectic
motion:
im Eilschritt tanzte fiebernd der feuchte Mond iiber die Himmelshalbkugel,
von den Sternen im wilden schweigenden Tanz verfolgt. Ketten von Sternen
waren aufgereiht, gleifiende Schnur der Drahtseilbahn zum Paradies. 103 (SW 8,
308)
The astral harmony, implicit in the round dance of the stars (see 'harmonisch im
Reigen' above) conjures up an idea of communion akin to the spiritual unity ('Unio
mystica'; SW 4,159) Haller experiences in the ecstasy of the dances in the
'Maskenball'. 104 Tellingly, Haller uses the word 'Reigen' to refer to the seduction
games he indulges in through the evocation of a kaleidoscope of womanly images in
'Magisches Theater':
Auch jene Verfuhrung kehrte wieder, die mir Pablo einst angeboten hatte, und
andre, friihere, die ich zu ihrer Zeit nicht einmal ganz begriffen hatte,
phantastische Spiele zu dreien und vieren, lachelnd nahmen sie [alle
Madchen, die Haller je geliebt hatte] mich in ihren Reigen mit. 105 (SW 4,190)
The image of dance and dancing Hesse projects into his works is not only indebted to
Nietzsche but is strongly influenced by society too, where the harmony of the
103 Klingsor also sees himself as the choreographer of the celestial dance: 'Klingsor [...] dirigierte den Tanz der
Welt, gab den Takt an, rief den Mond hervor, liefi die Eisenbahn verschwinden' (SW 8, 307).
104 The concept of'Unio Mystica' resurfaces in Das Glasperlenspiel where, with more spiritual overtones, it
indicates the communion 'aller getrennten Glieder der Universitas Litterarum' (Gla, SW 5, 32). It should also be
noted that, borrowing a phrase 'aus der Dichtung der feuilletonistischen Epoche' (ibid.), the narrator terms the
bead game 'Magisches Theater' too.
105 The principle of iteration, underlying the round dance, is also suggested, linguistically, by the use of
'wiederkehren'.
102

celestial dance and the human communion underlying the round dance also has its
dark side. 106 As a reaction to the fatalism of the turn of the century, dancing acts as a
catalyst and outlet for vital instincts and, as Salmen points out, popular dances have
no longer the gallant aplomb of the preceding century but are characterized by
frenetic movements instead:
Suddenly after 1890 dances, rhythms, gestures, and dancing attire shattered
the conventions of the upper middle-class ball culture [...] Those who
defended 'academic' dance and the previous norm universally diagnosed the
development as a contagious neurosis that originated with dances like the
Boston, Cakewalk, Tango, Onestep, or Ragtime. 107 (210)
The narrator of Das Glasperlenspiel, commenting on the 'zynisch[e] Gelassenheit oder
bacchantisch[e] Hingerissenheit' (SW 5, 20) characteristic of 'das feuillettonistische
Zeitalter', which transfers the early twentieth century into the fiction of the novel,
stresses the importance of dance as a way to fight the resigned pessimism
('Untergangsstimmung') of the age: 'man ging tanzen und erklarte jede Sorge um die
Zukunft fur altvaterische Torheit' (ibid.).
The urge to oppose the fear of death by means of frenzied amusement in the
early twentieth century pervades popular dances to an extent that these may, at
times, appear as collective apotropaic rituals evoking, by analogy with the need to
dispel the fears aroused by the plague sweeping across Europe around the middle of
the fourteenth century, the medieval Dance of Death. 108 Hesse captures this attitude
106 As Salmen notes, the idea of brotherhood and communion by way of dance also makes its way into the
paintings of the period (see Matisse's La dame (1901)): 'The will to live in social union, to overcome alienation,
and to discover identity through action was manifested most clearly in pictures in which free people dancing the
round dance bound themselves to one another' (222). Although it is difficult to trace its exact origins, the idea of
the 'celestial dance' probably emerged in connection with rituals inspired by the revolutions of the stars in
remote prehistoric times. In Greek antiquity, the idea was associated with the ordering principle of Creation, as
'[the] act of Creation presupposes the bringing together of discordant and conflicting parts into a harmonious and
well-ordered whole' (Carter, 4). It was then transformed into a symbol of God's love by Christians: 'the pagan
idea of dancing gods was absorbed by Neoplatonists and adapted by the Church Fathers to suit the Christian
concept of Heaven and angelic beings' (Carter, 14). Subsequently, around the end of the fifteenth century,
'Ficino's fusion of pagan and Christian elements in his new Platonism revitalized the idea of the dance as an
image of order, harmony and love' (Carter, 14).
107 The boston, the tango, and the onestep are also among the fashionable dances mentioned in Der Steppenwolf.
108 'In [the] contrast between an optimistic life force and an uncannily destructive urge to ruin, the medieval
theme of the Dance of Death was lent a renewed actuality' (Salmen, 219). The outbreak of the bubonic plague,
also known as the Black Death, is recalled in the medieval context ofNarzifi und Goldmund, where Goldmund
faces up to the pandemic with resigned pessimism, without abandoning himself to any vitalistic impetus: 'Mit
diesem Pesttod aber war nicht zu ka'mpfen, man mufite ihn toben lassen und sich ergeben, und Goldmund hatte sich
langst ergeben' (SW 4,452).
103

in the euphoria of the 'Maskenball' but also in the atmosphere '[i]m Erdgescho|3' of a
tavern, filled with 'Licht' and 'Larm', where 'Burschen' and 'Madchen' (Kli, SW 8,
316) dance with movements that Klingsor pictures as a desperate attempt to fight
death, which looms outside the room:
Grofi stand der Tod vor den offenen Tiiren des Saales, der von Menschen,
Wein und Tanzmusik geschwollen war. [...] Alles war draufien voll Tod, voll
von Tod, nur hier im engen schallenden Saal ward noch gekampft, ward noch
herrlich und tapfer gekampft gegen den schwarzen Belagerer, der nah durch
die Fenster greinte. 109 (SW 8, 318)
In Hesse, the attempt to exorcise the fear of death through dance and self-oblivion
resonates with the cathartic destruction associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, 'der
die Welt in Scherben tanzt' (Kur, SW 11,122). 110
Highly spiritual attributes and pagan rituals merge in what Mileck refers to as
'the wild sacrificial dance preceding Knecht's death' (1961,177) in the finale of
Glasperlenspiel. In the early stages of the novel, Knecht calls on dance to picture to
himself a piece of music the Magister Musicae plays on the piano:
Er [Knecht] wies seinem Cast an, sich den Gang dieser Musik wie einen Tanz,
wie eine ununterbroche Reihe von Gleichgewichtsiibungen vorzustellen, wie
eine Folge von kleineren oder groSeren Schritten von der Mitte einer
Symmetrieachse aus, und auf nichts andres zu achten als auf die Figur, welche
diese Schritte bildeten. 111 (SW 5, 68)
The dance he conjures up in this context is a refined and spiritualised exercise, an
orderly sequence of well balanced and composed movements ('eine [...] Reihe von
Gleichgewichtsiibungen'). The evocation of this dance is in sharp contrast with
young Tito's exuberant series of gestures in what the narrator describes as 'von ihm
[Tito] erfundener Ritus der Sonnen- und Morgenfeier' (SW 5, 391) at the end of the
novel. Tito, inspired by the beauty of dawn ('der feierlichen Schonheit des
Augenblicks') and excited by his youthful strength and vitality,
109 Death reappears a few pages later in a scene reminiscent of the end of the 'MaskenbalP (see "Turen gingen
auf..."; Ste, SW 4, 162): 'Verstummt war unversehens die Musik, plotzlich, wie erloschen, weggeflossen waren
die Tanzer, von der Nacht verschlungen, und die Halfte der Lichter waren verloscht. Klingsor blickte nach den
schwarzen TOren. DrauBen stand der Tod' (Kli, SW 8, 319).
110 Notably, Shiva is also the god of paradox and or reconciliation of opposites.
111 The translation of auditory stimuli into images by means of writing is one of the main threads of the
discussion on eternity in Chapter 5 (see section 4, Time changes to space').
104

eckte die Glieder mit rhythmischen Bewegungen der Arme, welchen bald der
ganze Korper folgte, um in einem enthusiastischen Tanz den Tagesanbruch zu
feiern und sein inniges Einverstandnis mit den um ihn wogenden und
strahlenden Elementen auszudriicken. (Gla, SW 5, 390)
The narrator accumulates a combination of profane and religious associations around
Tito's dance: on the one hand, Tito abandons himself to 'eine festliche Opfergabe den
Machten' (390), '[ein] Opfertanz des panisch Begeisterten' (391) which he performs
with 'magische Besessenheit' (ibid.); on the other, the dance uplifts ('hinanhob', 391)
and transfigures Tito with liturgical seriousness ('gottesdienstlichen Ernst7, ibid.),
which affects the spectator (Knecht) and connects him to his innermost spirituality:
der festliche Morgen- und Sonnenbegriifiungtanz seines Schiilers [eroffnete]
ihm, dem Zuschauer, seine tiefsten und edelsten Neigungen, Begabungen und
Bestimmungen. 112 (SW 5, 390-91)
This chapter sought to underline the moral overtones of the problem of
meaning in art for Hesse, whose ideals and moral convictions influenced his
appreciation of art, and of music in particular. This moral focus was underlined in
connection with some of Hesse's orientations which brought him close to
Existentialists and away from the biographies, attitudes, and music of composers
such as R. Strauss and Wagner. Wagner, as a musical innovator, and his score of
Tristan und Isolde, were paired with Hesse and Steppenwolf on account of their
affinities on a formal level and their distance on a poetic plane.
The second part of the chapter highlighted the extent to which the dialectical
interplay of two fundamental components of Hesse's thought, 'intellectualism' and
"naivety7, informed Hesse's opinions and connections to light music and dance.
112 As Bishop points out, Tito's 'mystic dance [...] is both pagan and uncultured, yet Knecht watches [his]
ecstatic performance in wonderment' (Bishop, 224)
105

Chapter 4 Memory, metamorphosis, and epiphany
Memories 'store' time and, in turn, require time to inscribe themselves in the mind.
Apart from this obvious statement on the interrelation of time and memory, the
Introduction to this thesis hinted at the elusiveness and complexity of every
discourse around the topic of memory. In seeking to distinguish perspectives and
approaches of the individual to memory, King points out:
it seems that different events are remembered in different ways - some almost
immediately represented in narrative, others remaining 'snapshots', others
still remembered only 'in the body' - and that different people remember in
different ways - some visually, some in language, very young children
differently from adults. (28)
While different people remember in different ways, different epochs build
their own theories and use their own images to expound their views on memory.
Plato's idea of the mind as a wax tablet on which memories are 'inscribed' gives way
to a visual and spatial conception in Cicero. 1 In the Middle Ages, memory is closely
tied to the learning process, and great emphasis is laid on the intersection between
memory and ethics, rather than dialectics as in the classical period. The advent of
print in the fifteenth century brings about 'profound changes in the organization of
memory' (Whitehead, 38). Locke's and Hume's speculations and contributions, as
they will be recalled several times throughout this chapter, are fundamental in
allying memory with the concept of identity during the Enlightenment and
Romanticism; in the latter period, the faculty of memory is also intimately bound to
narrative.2 The close of the nineteenth century is characterised by intense speculation
around memory; Nietzsche, and his perception of memory as a 'burden', is the
For much of the history of memory outlined in this introductory section, I am indebted to Anne Whitehead's
Memory (2009).
2 See the prominence of the genre of autobiography, influenced by Rousseau's Confessions (1782-1789), during
the Romantic period. As Abrams observes, Romanticism is also responsible for a shift in perspective in the
reading of literature which, in the speculation of the time, became to be seen as a 'revelation' of the personality
_r>:^_ _^.u_~ /„„„ A u»n.« n MM T)/C a')\
of its author (see Abrams, pp. 226-62)
106

harbinger of that 'memory crisis' marking the end of the nineteenth century and then
remerging at the end of the following century. 3
At the end of the nineteenth century, memory also assumes a crucial position
for psychoanalysis. By breaking with the idea that all important events of the past of
an individual are accessible through memory, psychoanalysis brings slips and lapses
to the fore. Proust investigates 'involuntary memory' while Bergson recognises 'the
hitherto overlooked role of the body in modes of remembering' (Whitehead, 102).
New perspectives emerge in the course of the twentieth century: Halbwachs's
and Nora's studies on collective memory; the idea of memory as trauma resulting
from the events and experiences of the two world wars; and the 'work on the "neural
networks" which create and destroy memories in a continuous process' (see King,
25).
The 'inscription' and expression of memory through narrative plays a major
role in the life and work of writers generally, the process of writing itself being
inextricably bound to memory. Both writing and reading require time, and call upon
the memory of the writer and the reader. The ability to remember is fundamental for
a writer to maintain the unity of a plot, retain a broad vocabulary, or pursue
linguistic 'deviations' from standard usage. Unlike most visual artists (e.g.
photographers, painters, and sculptors), writers and composers have to rely to a
large degree on memory.4 Indeed, their works develop and unfold through time, and
a number of their techniques, such as accumulation in music and climax in literature,
would be inconceivable without the temporal dimension of memory. Furthermore,
some writers, including Hermann Hesse (see 1.6), draw on their personal experiences
and memories to such an extent that 'it is eas[y] for us to view the man mirrored in
his work' (Freedman 1973,155).
The first section of this chapter deals with the intersection between memory an
identity in Hesse's life as well as in the psychology of his characters (4.1), while
3 'In 1872', Ziolkowski observes, 'Nietzsche struck a blow against academic history in his "Untimely thoughts"
on "the use and disadvantage of history for life", where he lists five reasons why the "oversaturation" of his age
in history is "hostile and dangerous for life" (2007, 147).
4 Time undoubtedly affects cinema and performing arts such as dance and theatre to a greater degree than it
influences sculpture or photography.
107

Hesse's approach to memory and the way in which his personal experiences are
filtered through his works is the focus of the second section (4.2). Childhood, its
allure and its representations, together with childhood memories are the focus of the
third section (4.3), followed by an analysis of forgetting as an intrinsic component of
the process of remembrance (4.4). The penultimate section (4.5) explores Hesse's
idea and use of metamorphosis as a poetic and narrative device, while the last section
(4.6) draws attention to moments of sudden awakening and understanding for
Hesse's characters.
4.1 Identity
It was only during the Enlightenment and in the Romantic period that concepts of
'memory', 'identity', and 'the past' were analysed in conjunction with each other.
John Locke is the thinker who first prompted such a view at the beginning of the
eighteenth century, followed by Hume who, elaborating on the former's
speculations, laid great emphasis on the interrelation between memory and
imagination. 5 Two immediate corollaries descend from this shift in perspective
brought about by the two philosophers: on the one hand, memory became an
indispensable instrument of investigation of the 'self, while on the other
memory [could] no longer be relied upon to be faithful and historically
accurate to the past that it records, and it therefore [became] difficult to 'know'
the past, to distinguish clearly between remembered and imagined realities.
(Whitehead, 60)
A further result of the contribution of Locke and Hume was that narrative
progressively became the medium of memory, and this consequence becomes
apparent during the Romanticism, a period in which memory assumes a crucial
position for writers:
[Romantics] gave special prominence to memory through their natural
inclination for nostalgia, a reverence for childhood as the pristine, edenic state,
5 'David Hume's account of memory in A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) consciously builds on and
extends Locke, but also anticipates the work of the Romantic writers in closely allying the faculties of memory
and the imagination' (Whitehead, 59).
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and their tendency toward daydreaming, solitary walking, musing, reverie
and meditation. (Nalbantian, 24)
In Chapter 2 (section 5), we stressed the importance of the Romantic legacy in Hesse
in relation to the musical context. This influence is, however, also discernible in
Hesse's approach to memory:
Erinnerung ist fur [Hesse] die Kunst, »einmal Genossenes nicht nur
festzuhalten, sondern immer reiner auszuformen«, das Zufallige zum
Typischen und Giiltigen zusammenzufassen, das Vergangliche festzuhalten,
das Flussige und Wandelbare zu kristallisieren. (Michels, 'Nachworf to KF,
383)
Hesse's words and Michels's framing comment clearly express the view that memory
is an ongoing process which, far from faithfully recalling the past, continually
reshapes it. The allying of memory and 'the self during the Romantic period, which
led to the flourishing of the genre of autobiography (see previous section), resonates
in Hesse, who, as discussed in 1.6, tends to scatter references to his private life
throughout his works.
'Eine Senate', a short story of 1906, serves the purpose of illustrating this
quality of Hesse's writing. Hesse was very close to his sister Adele and regarded her
as one of the few who had access to their common childhood memories; she was also
his confidante during his turbulent marriage with Mia, whom Hesse married in 1904
(see 3.1). Their relationship is mirrored in the protagonist's rapport with her brother.
Hedwig Dillenius finds it impossible to establish any intellectual connection with her
husband and seeks understanding and solace in her sibling who 'gehorte zu ihr, er
hatte dieselbe Art, denselben Geist, die gleichen Erinnerungen wie sie, er sprach
dieselbe Sprache' (SW 6, 458).
The influence of Hesse's private memories on his works is occasionally
reversed, with memories of fictional events intruding into his life, as Hesse's account
of a 'deja vu' suggests in 'Eine Konzertpause' (1947): 'und es fiel mir ein, dafi so, wie
ich vor dieser gebannten Pforte stand, einst Joseph Knecht vor der Zellentiire des
Paters Jakobus gestanden und einer Senate zugehort hatte' (Musik, 108).
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Hesse's main characters who, almost without exception, embody the type of
the 'Suchender' (or 'self-seeker' in Ziolkowski's terms, see 2.3), have to come to grips
with their past in their quest for their own identities: Hermann Lauscher strives to
recall as many images of his childhood as he can, Kuhn has to face up to the incident
that crippled him as an adolescent, Harry Haller regards his past as thorny, and his
sense of guilt is often reawakened by memories (see 4.4). 6
4.2 Hesse and memory
In emphasizing the different modalities of memory, King points out:
We remember in different ways at different times: the same memories can be
recalled voluntarily, and resurface involuntarily. Moments of the past can be
invoked by words, smells, tastes, and sounds: we represent these moments to
ourselves in visual images, in stories, in conversations. When people try to
articulate the ways in which they remember, metaphor seems inevitable. (9)
In Hesse's works, each sense can act as a catalyst for recollection, and memories are
portrayed through metaphors calling on various senses. At the outset of Hermann
Lauscher, for example, the narrator of the autobiographical 'Meine Kindheit' claims
that his recollection of the past begins with the scent of flowers or a song. In
Nurnberger Reise, September reminds the narrator of the passing of time, 'es war
September geworden [...] Zu keiner Zeit spiire ich wie in diesen Tagen den Ruf der
Verganglichkeit' (SW 11,141). The evocative power of sounds, too, plays a central
role in the process of reminiscing for Hesse's characters. In Eine Stunde hinter
Mitternacht, the queen begs the court minstrel to play the violin because 'ihr Klang ist
mir lieb, denn er erinnert mich meiner fernen Heimat' (SW 1, 201). Music has a
similar effect on Hesse himself who, in a memorial page for a former schoolmate
(Paul Eberhard) who committed suicide, maintains:
Plotzlich aber schlug der Spieler den ersten Takt des Trauermarsches an, und
ich erwachte jah wie von einem unvermuteten Stofi, doch erwachte ich nicht
6 As Boulby observes: 'Hesse's love and enthusiasm were above all else directed to memories of his own
childhood, which Lauscher already sees as being at an insufferable distance, a lost world of innocence' (7).
110

nach aufien und zu erneuter Hingabe an die Musik, sondern nach innen, ins
Land der Erinnerungen. ('Der Trauermarsch' in SW 12, 498)
The connection between music and memories holds true in the other direction
too, with music, in turn, stemming from memories. A melody can be evoked by the
mind, and Hesse underlines the pleasure in 'ein geliebtes Werk [...] in der
Erinnerung [zu] beschworen' ('Nicht abgesandter Brief an eine Sangerin' (1947);
Musik, 94). In the attempt to recall 'eine halbvergessene Melodie' (SW 6, 455), the
character of Hedwig Dillenius in 'Eine Senate' plays a few notes on the piano and,
while reconstructing the melody, she reaches a state in which memories and sounds
merge. She does not know whether what she eventually hears are sounds vibrating
through the air or her memories flowing through her mind: 'dann kamen
Augenblicke, in denen sie nicht wufite, klangen die paar Tone noch nach oder war
der feine Reiz im Gehor nur noch Erinnerung' (SW 6, 455) ,7
Words retain and evoke past events as well. In a diary entry of 1955, Hesse
reports on an experience that occurred while reading Klingsors letzter Sommer many
years after its composition and publication in 1919. He describes with great
excitement how a portion of his past, almost effaced from his memory, comes alive
again through the pages of the novel:
Wunderbarer Zauber, gliihend trauriger Zauber der Verganglichkeit! Und
noch wunderbarer das Nichtvergangensein, Nichterloschensein des
Gewesenen, sein geheimes Fortleben, seine geheime Ewigkeit, seine
Erweckbarkeit in der Erinnerung, sein Lebendigbegrabensein im stets wieder
zu beschworenden Wort! ('Tagebuchblatter 1955' in SW 11, 734)
Moreover, the medium of writing conjures up not only one but two strands of
Hesse's past at the same time. Indeed, Hesse sees himself as Klingsor in the novel
and as the author who portrays that character in the moment of writing, and these
two visions unfold simultaneously:
7 Attention should be drawn to the temporality of these moments, which are fleeting 'Augenblicke'. This element
adumbrates the discussion at the end of this chapter (4.6) and at the beginning of Chapter 5.
Ill

ich sah mich wahrend der ganzen Vorlesung doppelt, sah mich als den, der
den Klingsorsommer und Carenotag erlebt, und sah mich als den andern, der
ihn, beinah gleichzeitig, geschrieben hatte. 8 (SW 11, 733)
Objects act as prompts to recollection as well: the narrator of 'Sor aqua' (1904) recalls
small incidents and segments of his past associated with a certain fishing line every
time the latter comes into sight: 'Hier ist eine starke hellbraune Leine ohne Rute, mit
der ich im Elsafi auf Karpfen zu fischen pflegte. So oft ich sie sehe, fallt mir ein
kleines Erlebnis ein7 (SW 6, 304). Memories can stem from one another as in a long
chain of involuntary mental associations:
Es ist mit solchen Geschichten wie mit dem Sternzahlen an einem friihen
Abendhimmel. Man entdeckt einen, zwei, drei, dann sieben und zehn, und
schliefilich sieht das gescharfte Auge plotzlich die unzahligen Mengen wie
Goldtropfen hervorperlen, bis es sich verwirrt und geblendet schliefit. So
brechen nun von alien Seiten Erinnerungen liber mich herein, grofie und
kleine, deutliche und dammernde, frohe und traurige. ('Sor aqua'; SW 6, 307)
4.3 Memory and childhood
According to his fictional autobiography, 'Kindheit des Zauberers7, Hesse came
across the line 'O selig, o selig, ein Kind noch zu sein!' (TF, 466) in a music album
during his childhood. To him, this line captures adults7 at times envious feelings
towards children:
'[Die Grofien] beneideten zuzeiten, sogar in Liedern, die sie sangen, uns Kleine! 7
('Kindheit des Zauberers 7 in TF, 465). When Hesse and his characters refer to
childhood, they often speak in terms of a paradise lost: 'Lange habe ich im Paradies
gelebt, obwohl meine Eltern mich friihzeitig mit der Schlange bekannt machten7
('Kindheit des Zauberers7 in TF, 452). Hesse's discontent with reality dates back to his
infancy, when he used to keep to himself and spend his days as though he lived in a
timeless realm (see 'Kindheit des Zauberers' in TF, 466). Time and its complications
8 The fact that Hesse sees himself as split in two ('ich sah mich [...] doppelt') indicates that he experiences two
levels simultaneously, which conjures up the interplay of different strands typical of the counterpoint technique
as well as what Ziolkowski defines as Hesse's double perception technique (see 2.5); furthermore, the excerpt
indirectly emphasises the biographical imprint in Hesse's fiction (see 1.6).
112

only creep into his life when he is in his early puberty: 'bald wiirde auch mir die
Stunde schlagen' ('Kindheit des Zauberers' in TF, GSIV, 467). 9 At that time, the
clashes with his parents and conflicts with the external reality of everyday life began
and, like many adolescents, Hesse found himself maladjusted and cast away from
the paradise of his childhood. 10
Despite the problematic and traumatic path from childhood to adolescence,
Hesse's early years remained a continual source of inspiration and a vital centre of
his creativity:
Ich habe diesem Gedachtnis zeitlebens oft gehuldigt und ihm kleine
Denkmaler errichtet, es ist in vielen meiner Erzahlungen und Gedichte etwas
von jenem Marchen festzuhalten versucht worden. 11 (KF, 329)
As noted in Chapter 2 (see especially section 1), Hesse's appreciation of music
began in his childhood. Later on in his life, music is able to bring Hesse back to his
juvenile and all-embracing enthusiasm for life. As he records in 1928, recalling the
performance of a virtuoso and the ecstatic response of the audience: 'wieder waren
wir Knaben und kamen aus der ersten Violinstunde, wieder traumten wir uns selig
iiber die Berge der Schwierigkeiten hinweg' ('Virtuosen-Konzert' in Musik, 55). The
'Matthaus-Passion', which he first listened to as a child, would trigger a train of
memories that would bring him back to his childhood: 'Es war schon und
herzbewegend und brachte wie jedes Mal eine Flut von Erinnerungen heran, bis in
die Knabenzeit zuriick' (Musik, 214)
The centrality of childhood is mirrored in virtually all his works, where it
features as a theme. 12 Peter Camenzind frequently refers to the idyllic quality of life
in his Alpine hometown. Unterm Rad focuses on the difficult passage from a carefree
childhood to the suffocating world of adults. As mentioned above, Kuhn's destiny is
shaped by the accident which cripples him as a child and by his early fascination
9 'Als ich dreizehn Jahre alt war, und jener Konflikt eben begonnen hatte' ('Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf, SW 12
49).
10 As observed in 3.1, Hesse was to experience a similar situation during the First World War; a time when he
felt an outcast, in spite of his success as a writer.
11 'The call of childhood sounds through memory, which in Hesse's work has an intense and active function to
perform' (Boulby, 7).
'Knabe' and its compounds is one of the words which occur most often in his works.
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with music, which would eventually become his profession. Sinclair's friendship
with Demian dates back to their childhood, a period when the latter helps Sinclair
free himself from the nasty yoke of a schoolmate. The protagonist of Roflhalde,
Veraguth, often recalls his 'Knabenzeit' in his attempt to turn his life around and,
despite being an adult, feels that the end of his marriage marks the end of his youth,
namely the period when a man has not yet found his own path in life. 13 Klingsor
links his artistic skills to his childhood and the creative power of memory and
dreams:
dann aber, das fiihle ich, werde ich den Weg nach innen gehen und noch
einmal, wie ich es als junger Kerl eine Weile tat, ganz aus der Erinnerung und
Phantasie malen, Gedichte machen und Traume spinnen. (SW 8, 327)
Hesse, as the narrator of Kurgast, comes to terms with the nuisances caused by
a noisy Dutch guest next door by imagining him as a child: 'als es mir endlich
gelungen war, ihn zum kleinen Knaben zuriickzuverwandeln, da gewann der Hals
[des Hollanders] zum erstenmal meine Teilnahme. Auf dem sanften Wege des
Mitleids eroberte er mein Herz' (SW 11, 88).
Memory awakens Hesse's characters to unresolved aspects of their childhood.
In Hermann Lauscher, Der Steppenwolf, and Narzifl und Goldmund, memories spring
from an unconscious buried past and trigger a state of inner turmoil in the main
characters. Goldmund is suddenly reminded by Narzifi 'dass er seine Kindheit
vergessen hat und seine Mutter' (SW 4, 310). The narrator in Hermann Lauscher feels
that all the emotions and impulses he has repressed in his life resurface as childhood
memories which, like a storm, wipe out the images of harmony and beauty layered
in his adult memory.
Da begann ich zu fuhlen, dafi die Stunde eines lang verschobenen
Kampfes unerbittlich gekommen war, dass alles Unterdruckte, an
Ketten Gelegte, Halbgebandigte, in mir erbittert und drohend an den
Fesseln zerrte. Alle wichtigen Augenblicke meines Lebens, in denen ich
meiner Bestimmung einen neuen, engeren Kreis gezogen, in denen ich
dem Gefiihl des Ewigen, dem naiven Instinkt, dem eingeborenen,
unbewussten Leben ein Feld entzogen hatte, traten in voller,
13 The end of Veraguth's marriage comes as a turning point in the novel, as it symbolizes the artist's failure at
bridging the gap between his artistic needs and his settled, bourgeois lifestyle.
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feindseliger Schar vor mein Gedachtnis. [...] Und nun wufite ich
plotzlich, dafi nichts mehr zu retten ware; freigelassen taumelte die
ganze untere Welt in mir hervor, zerbrach und verhohnte die weifien
Tempel und kiihlen Lieblingsbilder. Und dennoch fuhlte ich diese
verzweifelten Emporer und Bilderstiirmer mir verwandt, sie trugen
Ziige meiner liebsten Erinnerungen und Kindertage. (SW 1, 320)
In a similar vein, the image of a young girl, Haller's first juvenile love, erupts from
his memory in the 'Magisches Theater', reawakening an unresolved aspect of
Haller's past:
ich spiirte: mein ganzes vergangenes Leben und Lieben war falsch und
verworren und voll dummen Ungliicks gewesen von dem Augenblick an, wo
ich Rosa an jenem Sonntag hatte davonlaufen lassen'. (SW 4,187)
Vagrancy is a theme frequently associated with childhood in Hesse's works.
Goldmund parts from Narzifi, leaves the monastery and starts roaming; in this light,
his story is similar to Knulp's and, to some extent, to Peter Camenzind's. For
Goldmund, 'ein Vagabund [...] immer aber ist er im Herzen ein Kind, immer lebt er
am ersten Tage, vor Anfang aller Weltgeschichte' (SW 4, 430). A common feature of
these characters is their ability and inclination to whistle (see 3.5). This fondness
becomes a symbol of their freedom and light-heartedness, as opposed to the safe
routine of adults, who are settled but suffer the seriousness of their chores and goals.
In the autobiographical 'Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf, Hesse opposes the bliss of his
childhood singing and whistling to the goal-oriented and strictly predetermined
reality of adults: '[ich] konnte Lieder singen und durch die Zahne pfeifen, und sonst
noch manches, was furs Leben von Wert ist' (SW 12, 47).
'Chestnuts' and 'alder', often grouped in the phrase 'Kastanien und Erlen'
(HL, SW 1, 225), crop up several times, especially in Hesse's early works, and in each
case recall or are associated with the narrator's youth. 'Kastanien und Erlen'
encompasses all the positive attributes, such as sense of freedom from time,
protection and innocence, and direct contact with nature, which Hesse's characters
ascribe to childhood. This phrase can be regarded as an example of the 'objective
115

correlative' of childhood in Hesse. 14 Mentions of the violin (its sound, a violin case, or
violin lessons) that Hesse learnt in his childhood serve a similar purpose and are
dispersed throughout Hesse's literary output, from his early fiction up to Die
Morgenlandfahrt.
Since Romanticism, then, we are aware of the contribution of memory in
shaping individuals7 identity and the possible 'distortions' brought about by
imagination (see 4.1.). Elaborating on his experience in a concentration camp in 'The
Memory of the Offence' (first chapter of The drowned and the saved), Primo Levi
stresses that frequently narrated memories, like stories in an oral tradition, move
away from the original at every retelling:
it is also true that a memory evoked too often, and expressed in the form of a
story, tends to become fixed in a stereotype, in a form tested by experience,
crystallised, perfect, adorned, which installs itself in the place of the raw
memory and grows at its expense. (11-12)
If memory in general cannot be regarded as a faithful record of one's identity,
childhood memories raise even more problematic questions. As Freud stresses in
connection with a patient affected by a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (the
case of the 'Rattenman'):
man [mufi] sich vor allem daran erinnern, dafi die »Kindheitserinnerungen«
der Menschen erst in einem spateren Alter (meist zur Zeit der Pubertat)
festgestellt und dabei einem komplizierten Umarbeitungsprozefi unterzogen
werden, welcher der Sagenbildung eines Volkes iiber seine Urgeschichte
durchaus analog ist. (1909, 27-28)
Hesse celebrates childhood almost unreservedly throughout his works, it was
clearly a vital, formative period of his life, and his accounts of his own childhood are
often more reminiscent of fairytales; in the epigraph of 'Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf, he
states that his autobiographical sketches are 'in marchenhafter und halb
humoristischer Form' (SW 12, 46). Childhood refracted through his words appears as
an ideal moment of purity and innocence his characters turn to when they seek
14 In 'Hamlet and his problems', T. S. Eliot defines an objective correlative as 'a set of objects, a situation, a
chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which
must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked' (1920, pp. 85-86).
15 The protagonist and narrator of this novel is a violinist.
116

efuge from clashes with everyday reality. Hesse's and his characters' childhoods
thus appear as 'crystallised' legends shaped by memory. Hesse was however aware
of this process of idealisation and distortion, which he lucidly unmasks in Der
Steppenwolfby self-quotation:
«O selig, ein Kind noch zu sein!» Der sympathische, aber sentimentale Mann,
der das Lied vom seligen Kinde singt, mochte ebenfalls zur Natur, zur
Unschuld, zu den Anfangen zuriick und hat ganz vergessen, dafi die Kinder
keineswegs selig sind, dafi sie vieler Konflikte, dafi sie vieler
Zwiespaltigkeiten, dafi sie aller Leiden fahig sind. 16 (SW 4, 65)
4.4 The need to remember and forget: Memory and morality
In the opening of this chapter, we briefly hinted at the 'memory crisis' marking the
end of the nineteenth century. Whitehead contends that major authors of the time
such as Nietzsche, Freud, Bergson and Proust are all 'intensely concerned with a
memory that has become somehow pathological, so that it seems that there is too
much memory and that it threatens to overwhelm the present' (7-8). Weinrich,
commenting on Nietzsche's firm opposition to historicism, argues that
history [...] becomes more and more complex and lies like a burdensome
mass on the historically educated person's memory until the sheer weight of
remembrance causes him to lose the elementary ability to live and act. (127)
The dialectical opposition of remembering and forgetting receives a great deal of
attention not only at the end of the nineteenth century but also during and after the
two World Wars. 17 With their escalation of violence, death, and destruction, these
large-scale conflicts transform memory into an extremely poignant matter.
Individuals as well as nations are confronted with the urgent need to remember (e.g.
commemorate the victims and punish the perpetrators of crimes) and with the
16 Significantly, he cites the same line he used to glorify childhood in 'Kindheit des Zauberers'.
17 Whitehead underlines the inextricability of remembering and forgetting and their 'salutary' interplay
underlining that '[fjorgetting is an active agent in the formation of memories, and it is because memory and
oblivion stand together, are entirely "complicit" with one another, that both are necessary to enable life' (121).
117

equally pressing desire to release their sorrowful memories, thereby making life
bearable in the present. 18
A further aspect of the problematic relationship between remembering and
forgetting is their link with ethics. As Weinrich points out, 'We can also see that
along with the issue of memory and forgetting, the issue of morality is almost
inevitably raised as well7 (Weinrich, 131). Ferguson, for her part, aptly contends that
Romanticism emphasizes the close connection between memory, self and morality.
Referring to the interrelation between guilt and memory in Wordsworth's poetry, she
argues persuasively that 'the special pressure that romanticism brings to bear on
memory is the pressure of an expanded moral obligation, an obligation to re-examine
one's own past actions to see if their value has been altered by subsequent events'
(527). That 'special pressure' turns into an overwhelming yoke with the two World
Wars, the aftermaths of which give rise to complex dynamics of guilt and
forgiveness, leading to the impossibility of forgetting and turning remembering into
a moral imperative in the double attempt to expiate and prevent those horrors from
happening again in the future.
We have underlined on several occasions that Hesse's thought progresses and
unfolds dialectically. In the Introduction, we argued that his longing for eternity
stands close to his need to plunge into the transience of everyday life. Hesse also
oscillates between the fear of and the need for changes (see following section). The
interplay of remembering and forgetting, indeed, is one of the founding matrices of
his thought.
Death and aging were constant fears in his life; he was deeply concerned
about his unstable health, about which he frequently reported to his friends, who
would brand him as a hypochondriac at times. Hesse's apprehension about death
was coupled with his fear of losses. 19 The death of friends and close relatives was
perceived by Hesse as the sudden and irremediable disappearance of the period of
his life linked to the person he had lost. As he recorded, on the occasion of his sister
18 'Trauma theory', as it is known, stems from the complex issue of mourning and dealing with those atrocities.
19 A loss put a strain on memory, which stretches to keep alive the image of the departed. 'Losing our memory of
[loved ones] is almost as painful as losing their presence' (King, 178).
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Adele's death, he felt deprived of his juvenile years, 'iiber die ich jetzt mit
niemandem mehr reden und Erinnerungen austauschen kann' ('Gedenkblatt fur
Adele' SW 12, 458). 20 Moreover, Hesse would often reluctantly part from those
personal effects with which he used to surround himself, since objects can resuscitate
segments of people's past (see 'Spaziergang im Zimmer' in KF, 254): 'und ich habe
meine Sachen gern, ich trenne mich nicht gleichgiiltig und unbewegt von ihnen, ich
bin ihnen treu und suche sie zu retten und sie mir lange zu erhalten' ('Kofferpacken'
in KF, 212). Hesse shared Adele's inclination to preserve and rescue things from time:
'Adele hatte, ebenso wie ich, in sich eine Neigung und einen Auftrag zum Bewahren'
('Gedenkblatt fur Adele', SW 12, 461). As Hesse himself maintains, this tendency is
fundamental to his writing:
soweit ich mich erinnern kann, habe ich als die Funktion des Dichters immer
vor allem das Erinnern gesehen, das Nichtvergessen, das Aufbewahren des
Verganglichen im Wort, das Heraufbeschwdren des Vergangenen durch
Anruf und liebevolle Schilderung. ('Epigraph' to KF, 5)
The power words have to evoke what is otherwise doomed to fade away lies at the
forefront of Hesse's concern as an artist. Hesse cherishes his memories, and memory
generally maintains a positive connotation throughout his works. However, the
urgency of forgetting surfaces in his correspondence and diary entries, as well as in
his works. His characters are sometimes confronted with the need to forget and break
the mould of their own identity (e.g. Veraguth's final choice to part from his wife and
the bourgeois lifestyle he has lived, in Rofihalde). 21 Hermann Lauscher, whose memory
retains his past faithfully, experiences that 'only what never ceases to hurt remains in
the memory' (Weinrich, 131). 22 War memories and the difficulty in dealing with them
intrude into the pages of Der Steppenwolf:
20 Although Hesse was particularly afraid of dying prematurely, he lived long enough to write numerous
memorial pages for relatives and friends who had passed away. On such occasions, he would search his memory
for a memorable aspect of the personality of the deceased, as in the case of his friend and singer Ilona Durigo:
'Von alien Erinnerungsbildern aber, die sich mir beim Denken an die Durigo aufdrSngen, ist das starkste und
schonste dieses' (Musik, 213).
21 The work of "memory" also involves a complex process of negotiation between remembering and forgetting,
between the destruction and creation of the self (King, 180).
22 'Mein [...] GedSchtnis war scharf und peinlich treu' (Musik, 121)
119

mit Entsetzen erinnerte ich mich an jene scheufilichen Photographien von der
Front, die man wahrend des Krieges zuweilen zu Gesicht bekommen hatte, an
jene Haufen ineinander verknauelter Leichname, deren Gesichter durch
Gasmasken in grinsende Teufelsfratzen verwandelt waren. (SW 4,184)
Moreover, a sense of guilt permeates the whole novel, affecting individuals ('Man
wird geboren, und schon ist man schuldig'; Ste, SW 4,193) as well as the judgement
about entire societies and epochs, the failings of which are reflected in works of art.
This is the case with Wagner and Brahms, whose music, in the eye of the narrator, is
marred by 'die Schuld ihrer Zeit' (Ste, SW 4,193). Such feelings trigger an intense
longing to expiate, which Haller mingles with his search for oblivion and death: 'Ich
begehre ja nichts anderes als zu biifien, zu biifien, zu bufien, den Kopf unters Beil zu
legen und mich strafen und vernichten zu lassen' (Ste, SW 4, 200).
In Das Glasperlenspiel, knowledge and history appear as a particularly
burdensome and laborious task which threatens to crush the memory of an
individual under its weight. As a man of culture and a humanist, Hesse was aware
that forgetting is essential to discarding those elements which are unnecessary or
redundant to the brain; indeed, memory cannot retain every single detail of a life
experience. As he stresses in his diary:
Tausende von Biichern habe ich in meinem Leben so gelesen und schnell
wieder vergessen. Ware das Vergessen nicht, die unentbehrlichste aller
Fahigkeiten, so sahe mein Kopf wie eine Buchhandlung aus; das tut er aber
nicht, ich habe Ubung im Vergessen. ('Stiller Abend' in KF, 240)
Alcoholic oblivion is a short-term palliative sought by Hesse and his
characters (e.g. Klingsor, Haller) in their attempts to forget: 'haufig suchte ich meine
Freude, meinen Traum, mein Vergessen in einer Flasche Wein, und sehr oft hat sie
mir geholfen, sie sei dafur gepriesen. Aber sie geniigte nicht' ('Kurzgefasster
Lebenslauf, SW 12, 57). However, they know that, if they want to throw their
memories into relief, a different path has to be followed. The episode of Haller and
the young girl mentioned in the preceding section illustrates 'the idea that events
might have turned out differently, and if interpreted differently, might still be
capable of changing the subject's understanding of [his] life and [his] self (King, 23).
120

Haller, who experiences his adolescent shyness and inability to break the ice with
Rosa as a poignant failure, is faced with the opportunity to re-enact the event in
order to change its course, thereby consigning that experience to the repository of the
past:
Aber diesmal war es mir gegeben, sie anders zu empfangen als jenesmal. [...]
Und statt wieder den Hut zu ziehen und feierlich mit gezogenem Hut zu
stehen, bis sie voriiber ware, tat ich diesmal trotz Angst und Beklemmung,
was mein Blut mich tun hiefi, und rief: «Rosa! Gott sei Dank, dafi du
gekommen bist, du schones schones Madchen. Ich habe dich so lieb». 23 (SW 4,
187)
4.5 Metamorphosis
Images of metamorphosis emerge throughout Hesse's literary production, and the
following discussion seeks to illustrate the extent to which the idea of
metamorphosis itself plays an important role in his poetics. Before analysing three
instances of metamorphosis (Tiktors Verwandlungen', Der Steppenwolf, and
butterflies in Hesse's imagery), I will identify the biographical background behind
Hesse's interest in metamorphosis, his philosophical assumptions, and his literary
models within the Western literary tradition.
Hesse, as a child, experienced reality as limited and unsatisfactory (see
previous section). As the narrator of 'Kindheit des Zauberers' for his part points out:
'Wirklichkeit war niemals genug, Zauber tat not' (SW 9, 457). 24 Hesse consequently
attempted to expand the range of possibilities offered by everyday life by
transforming and reshaping objects in his mind's eye, as this passage from Hermann
Lauscher suggests:
Dennoch hangte sich meine Phantasie gerne an weniger kommode
Gegenstande und schuf Pferde aus Schemeln, Hauser aus Tischen, Vogel aus
Tuchlappen und ungeheuerliche Hohlen aus Wand, Ofenschirm und
Bettdecke. (HL, SW 1, 230)
23 "'[RJememory" cannot be the literal repetition that traps us in the past but a "retranslation" that allows a
movement forward and the recognition of the past as past' (King, 32).
24 This idea is echoed in 'Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf: 'Ohne Magie war diese Welt nicht zu ertragen' (SW 12
62).
121

Hesse ascribes his fascination with 'becoming', with 'what is not yet', to his religious
upbringing, as the narrator of the overtly autobiographical 'Kurzgefasster
Lebenslauf indicates: 'Denn der echte Protestant wehrt sich gegen die eigene Kirche
wie gegen jede andere, weil sein Wesen ihn das Werden mehr bejahen heifit als das
Sein' (SW 12, 57). As an adult and writer, he felt a similar discontent for the limits of
his art which, at times, seemed unable to take him out of the humdrum of everyday
life. This led him to deepen his interest in other arts such as painting and music, as
expressed by his alter ego in 'Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf: 'Ich war hauptsachlich mit
Malen und mit chinesischen Zaubermethoden beschaftigt, liefi mich in den folgenden
Jahren aber mehr und mehr auch auf die Musik ein' (SW 12, 59). 25
Not only art, but memories and dreams, too, are for Hesse an expression of the
mind's creative power and a way to break free from the constraints imposed by the
reality (see note 3 in this chapter). Although the mind retains only a fading echo of
dreams, Hesse cherishes their spell:
Diese hatten mich ja schon immer beschaftigt, und oft war ich erstaunt und
traurig dariiber, wie fliichtig Tra'ume sind, wie schnell sie am Morgen
vergehen, wie schiichtern sie vor der leisesten Beriihrung mit der Vernunft
davonlaufen. ('Aus Martins Tagebuch' in KF, 131)
Memories and dreams encompass realms where everything is in a state of flux,
subject to transformation. Different memories or strands of the past come together to
form unexpected associations in dreaming:
und alles auf jene prachtig-trugerische Traumbiihne gestellt, in einen Raum,
der nicht so sehr Raum ist als ein standiges Wechseln von verschiedenen
Dimensionen der Zeit, ein Vermischen von vielerlei Arten von Vergangenheit.
Die wirkliche, erlebte Vergangenheit war dabei nicht nur umgedichtet und
umgeschichtet, es war auch das Erlebte auf gleiche Ebene und in gleiche
Beleuchtung gestellt wie Gelesenes. 26 ('Tagebuchblatter 1955', SW 11, 734)
25 Painting, more than writing, feeds the narrator's need to manipulate and reshape the surrounding reality: 'in
meinen Dichtungen vermifit man haufig die iibliche Achtung vor der Wirklichkeit, und wenn ich male, dann
haben die Ba'ume Gesichter, und die Hauser lachen oder tanzen, oder weinen, aber ob der Baum ein Birnbaum
oder eine Kastanie ist, das kann man meistens nicht erkennen' ('Kurzgefasster Lebenslauf, SW 12, 58). Chapter
2 deals with Hesse's attempt to widen the range of possibilities of his writing by reproducing a two-voice
melody; see especially 2.2
26 Dreams and memories are also associated by Hesse with sounds; like sounds, dreams and memories are indeed
volatile (affected by or subject to time), elusive (they have no coded medium such as language) and impalpable
(sounds are conveyed through air, dreams and memories by images and thoughts): 'du gleitest ilber den
122

A third aspect of Hesse's clash with the reality of everyday life and society
is his rejection of an all too rigid and conventional idea of personality (see his views
on mental insanity and schizophrenia below). In this respect, his attitude is steeped
in the scientific and cultural debate at the turn of the 20 th century, when the idea of
personality, or identity, as a fixed, immutable and determined whole, wa
s challenged, for instance, by new research in the field of psychoanalysis and
psychiatry. 27 Questions around the perception of the self are a common denominator
in the literary work of the time (see, for example, Pirandello's Uno, Nessuno e
Centomila [One, No one and One Hundred Thousand]) as well as in the fine arts and their
techniques (see the complex and fragmented perspective of Cubism). 28
The protagonists of Hesse's novels, too, are confronted with this problem: they
have to come to grips with their numerous selves and their multifaceted, and
therefore elusive, personalities (see especially Klingsors letzter Sommer, Siddhartha, and
Der Steppenwolf). Govinda, scrutinising an old Siddhartha, sees a multitude of faces
and images emanating from his friend's face:
eine lange Reihe, einen stromenden Flufi von Gesichtern, von Hunderten, von
Tausenden, welche alle kamen und vergingen, [...] und keine starb doch, jede
verwandelte sich nur, wurde stets neu geboren, bekam stets ein neues Gesicht,
ohne dafi doch zwischen einem und dem andern Gesicht Zeit gelegen ware.29
(SW 3, 470-71)
Hesse felt uncomfortable when other people expected him to conform to what
they had identified as his personality, namely the image of him they had built up and
layered in their memory. As transliterated into the fiction of 'Kurzgefasster
Lebenslauf, he resisted his friends' criticism about his budding interest in painting at
the age of forty, as they felt it was absorbing him completely: 'sie mochten gerne, dafi
man bleibt, was man war, dafi man sein Gesicht nicht andert. Aber mein Gesicht
ausgespannten Teppich meiner jugendlichsten Gliickstraume wie eine lind bewegte Musik, oder wie eine
duftende Erinnerung, oder wie der Geist einer verklarten, tiefgrundigen Jugendzeit' (ESM, SW 1, 188).
27 In 1908, Eugen Bleuler coined the term 'Schizophrenia'. As Boulby notes, '[b]y 1916, certainly, and possibly
very much earlier, Hesse was well acquainted with the works of Freud, Jung, Bleuler, and Stekel' (Boulby, 85).
28 The first phase of Cubism developed at the end of the first decade of the 20th century, while Pirandello
commenced writing Uno, nessuno e centomila in 1909, although it was only to appear between 1925 and 1926.
29 Klingsor looks into a mirror which reflects a kaleidoscope of images of himself; these fade into each other,
dissolve and reappear in a constant cycle. See section 6.4 ('the mirror').
123

weigert sich, es will sich haufig andern, es ist ihm Bediirfnis' (SW 12, 57). In Der
Steppenwolf, Hesse explicitly refers to the term schizophrenia to explain his
characters' discovery of their fragmented selves: 'die scheinbare Einheit der Person in
diese vielen Figuren auseinanderzuspalten gilt fur verriickt, die Wissenschaft hat
dafur den Narnen Schizophrenic erfunden' (SW 4,180). Among other artists of his
time, Hesse challenges the idea of schizophrenia as a mental disorder and regards it
as an artistic power, which he sets against a more restricted vision of the personality:
'so wie die Verriicktheit, in einem hohern Sinn, der Anfang aller Weisheit ist, so ist
Schizophrenic der Anfang aller Kunst, aller Phantasie' (SW 4,181-82).30
The concept of identity has also been under scrutiny, and for centuries, with
regard to time and the concept of change. As Bynum perceptively points out:
change has been seen in the Western tradition as both horror and glory. If
there is real replacement, we can after all both lose and transcend the self. And
in writers of the Western mainstream, there has been a tendency to fear these
two - loss and transcendence - as the same thing (29).
Despite its overall resistance to change, the Western tradition has constantly explored
the boundaries of identity and, in the literary field, concepts such as 'metamorphosis'
and 'hybridity' have served precisely this purpose. In defining them, Bynum draws a
neat distinction though:
In an obvious sense, the contrast is that metamorphosis is process and hybrid
is not [...] Metamorphosis goes from an entity that is one thing to an entity
that is another. It is essentially narrative [...] In contrast, hybrid is spatial and
visual, not temporal. It is inherently two. (30)
The problem of change and the self is raised in a document of the early twentieth
century, where the opposition between permanence and transience comes to the fore.
In 1911, during the composition of Ariadne aufNaxos, Richard Strauss received a letter
from poet, dramatist and, in this case, librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal in which he
expressed his mixed feelings on the issue of 'loyalty':
Es handelt sich um ein simples und ungeheureres Lebensproblem: das der
Treue. An dem Verlorenen festhalten, ewig beharren, bis an den Tod - oder
30 Further references to 'schizophrenia' in Hesse are included in 6.5 (note 54) within the discussion on the dual
character of Mozart / Pablo as an instance of the 'fool'.
124

aber leben, weiterleben, hinwegkommen, sich verwandeln, die Einheit der
Seele preisgeben, und dennoch in der Verwandlung sich bewahren, ein
Mensch bleiben, nicht zum gedachtnislosen Tier herabsinken. Es ist das
Grundthema der >Elektra

exceptions (see the myth of Pygmalion), Ovid's characters undergo a coercive
process of metamorphosis (e.g. Arachne, Daphne), although sometimes the
transformations of Ovid's characters appear as a compensation for an unfavourable
fate Tiresias receives his power of prophecy from Jove after an angry Juno
condemns him to blindness. 34 Both Ziolkowski and Gallagher agree on the term
'degradation' to describe Gregor Samsa's transformation, while they regard Piktor's
metamorphoses as an example of 'ascension'. 35 As opposed to Gregor Samsa and
most characters in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Piktor actively pursues his
transformations, and metamorphosis appears as the process that allows one to
manipulate reality and play with time in order to partially deflect the latter's course.
Another important trait of Piktors' metamorphoses is that Hesse, like Ovid, portrays
the actual process of transformation, while Kafka begins his story when Gregor has
already turned into a beetle. In other words, the 'narrative' side of Gregor's
metamorphosis is absent from Kafka's account. Ziolkowski and Gallagher also lay
great emphasis on the fact that Gregor's and Piktor's metamorphoses are
'metonymic' their names are unrelated to the shapes they turn into whilst Ovid's
transformations are, in most cases, announced by the characters' names.
[Hesse's] tale shares with Kafka's Die Verwandlung the common element that
the metamorphoses are both metonymic in that they have no semiotic
connection with the names of the protagonists. (Gallagher, 302)
Although Ziolkowski's and Gallagher's standpoint rings true, it is my contention
that, on deeper inspection, Tiktors Verwandlungen' is not a clear case of metonymic
metamorphosis. Both Ziolkowski and Gallagher support their thesis with the fact
that Piktor is 'an obvious pseudonym for Hesse himself as "the painter"' (Ziolkowski
2005, 85). As there is no apparent connection between Hesse as a painter and Piktor's
transformations, they conclude it is a case of metonymic metamorphosis. However, if
we consider Piktor as an incarnation of Hesse's ideal of 'the artist', who is able to
transform himself at will and reshape the objects of the real world, the name Tiktor'
34 In this respect, Rilke's portrayal of Daphne's metamorphosis in Die Sonette an Orpheus (see Zweiter Teil,
XII, 46) retains the same negative connotations as in Ovid.
35 See Ziolkowski (2005, 87) and Gallagher (302).
126

foretells the character's manifold transformations, which occur throughout Hesse's
tale.36
Der Steppenwolf, Hesse's most complex novel in terms of narrative structure
(see 3.3), is rich in elements which conjure up images of metamorphosis. The
'wolfish' nature of its protagonist, Harry Haller, recalls both the hybridity of a
werewolf and the character of Lycaon in Ovid's Metamorphoses; Gallagher stresses
this point saying that 'Lycaon's myth has been adapted in Hesse's novel Der
Steppenwolf with the idea of the metamorphosis of a human being into a wolf in the
schizophrenic personality of Harry Haller' (19). Being suspended on two narrative
planes (see Hesse's technique of double perception as identified by Ziolkowski and
discussed in 2.5), Der Steppenwolf leads the reader to a process of continual
reinterpretation (i.e. transformation) of the narrated events.
The 'mask' in the 'Maskenball' and the 'mirror' in 'Magisches Theater' are two
further elements of the novel which contribute to the idea of shifting identities and
realities. The former, as pointed out by Freedman is 'a favourite [literary] device of
the 1920s with a distinguished history as well' (1973,176); the latter, the significance
of which is extensively dealt with in Chapter 6 (section 4), acts as a lens or prism,
distorting and decomposing the images it reflects. 37 A mirror Haller faces in 'das
magische Theater' multiplies his image: 'Einige von diesen vielen Harrys waren so
alt wie ich, einige alter, einige uralt, andere ganz jung, Jiinglinge, Knaben,
Schulknaben, Lausbuben, Kinder' (SW 4,168). Haller himself hints at the gift of
children and certain adults (including poets) to embrace and transform objects in
their inward eye.38 According to Gallagher, Haller's split personality, oscillating
between his primitive instincts and more civilised manners, is an example of
metamorphosis in a modern context, where changes of the body have been
36 As Boulby points out: 'Pictor Mdrchen is, on one of its levels at least, an allegory for the processes of art, of
play' (222).
'In the masquerades of Jean Paul and Hoffrnann, the mask becomes a revolutionary symbol of the disruption
of the established order' (Cardinal, 31).
38 'Denn [Hermine] unterhielt sich mit mir uber Hermann und uber die Kindheit, uber meine und ihre, uber jene
Jahre vor der Geschlechtsreife, in denen das jugendliche Liebesvermogen nicht nur beide Geschlechter, sondern
alles und jedes umfafit, Sinnliches und Geistiges, und alles mit dem Liebeszauber und der marchenhaften
Verwandlungsfahigkeit begabt, die nur Auserwahlten und Dichtern auch noch in spa'teren Lebensaltern zuzeiten
wiederkehrt'(SW 4, 158).
127

internalized and replaced by transformations in the psyche. 39 Relying on the reader's
previous knowledge of Lycaon's transformation, Gallagher maintains that 'Hesse
does not need to incorporate a physical metamorphosis from man to wolf, it is
enough to hint at Haller's wolf-like characteristics and shifts in his behaviour' (337).
Although metamorphosis typically entails a one-way process from one entity or state
to another, 'a one-ness left behind or approached' (Bynum, 30), as in the case of the
double-sided statuette in Die Morgenlandfahrt, Gallagher's could still be classed as an
instance of 'reversible' metamorphosis. 40 Haller's switching from one mental state to
the other, and vice versa, may indeed recall one of Tiresias' metamorphoses in Ovid,
which Ziolkowski describes as 'reversible' (2005, 78). 41 Nonetheless, I incline more to
the view that Haller's represents a case of psychological duality that is hybridism,
rather than metamorphosis. His schizophrenic personality fits perfectly into Bynum's
definition of hybridity (see above); Haller is 'inherently two', and his two opposite
faces co-exist throughout the novel although one may temporarily take the lead.
I suggest that the 'transformations' of Hermine into Hermann, and that of
Mozart into Pablo in 'das magische Theater', are more convincing instances of
metamorphoses in Der Steppenwolf. In both cases, changes are internalised, neither
Hermine nor Mozart undergo any physical alteration. Hermine prompts a process of
recollection in Haller's mind, at the end of which her features fade into those of
Haller's childhood friend, Hermann.
Ja, indem ich jetzt ihr Gesicht genau betrachtete, mufite ich ihr recht geben, es
war ein Knabengesicht. Und als ich mir eine Minute Zeit liefi, begann das
Gesicht zu mir zu sprechen und erinnerte mich an meine eigene Knabenzeit
und an meinen damaligen Freund, der hatte Hermann geheifien. Einen
Augenblick schien sie ganz in diesen Hermann verwandelt. (SW 4,105)
39 'Hesse has moved away from depicting a transformation of the body, instead representing a metamorphosis in
the mind of the subject' (Gallagher, 19).
40 In the last section of Die Morgenlandfahrt, the protagonist H. H. is standing in front of a statuette which he
describes in terms of a wax idol with two opposite faces (H. H.'s and Leo's). This small statue melts down while
H. H.'s contours merge with Leo's: 'Es ging da etwas vor sich, etwas wie ein sehr langsames, sanftes, aber
ununterbrochenes FlieBen oder Schmelzen, und zwar schmolz oder rann es aus meinem Ebenbild in das Bild
Leos hiniiber, und ich erkannte, dass mein Bild im Begriffe war, sich mehr und mehr an Leo hinzugeben und zu
verstromen, ihn zu na'hren und zu starken' (SW 4, 590).
41 Tiresias undergoes a number of changes throughout Ovid's text, and Ziolkowski may refer to Tiresias being
transformed into a woman, after he kills the female of two coupling snakes, and then back into a man when he
kills the male.
128

In the second case, the transformation appears as a blunder on Harry's part due to
his strained perception after the long night spent at the ball followed by the
kaleidoscope of events in Pablo's 'Bilderkabinett':42
Und indes er es sagte und eine Zigarette aus der Westentasche zauberte, die er
mir anbot, war er plotzlich nicht Mozart mehr, sondern blickte warm aus
dunklen Exotenaugen, und war mein Freund Pablo, und glich auch wie ein
Zwillingsbruder dem Mann, der mich das Schachspiel mit den Figiirchen
gelehrt hatte. «Pablo!» rief ich aufzuckend. (SW 4, 203)
While Hermine's metamorphosis unfolds progressively, Mozart's is not narrative
as in Kafka's Die Verwandlung-and happens suddenly, only prepared by Harry's
brief statement on the changed attire of the composer a few pages before: 'erst beim
zweiten Blick von mir erkannt, Mozart, ohne Zopf, ohne Kniehosen und
Schnallenschuhe, modern gekleidet' (SW 4,197).
The last case of metamorphosis in Hesse to be discussed here is the 'butterfly'.
Butterflies have always held a considerable fascination for human beings, captivating
the interest of scientists, collectors, and artists. In view of their short life span, nimble
flight and the colourful patterns of their wings, these insects have been regarded as a
symbol of beauty and transience or immortality. Their life cycle, including three
fundamental stages (caterpillar, chrysalis, full development), has also been associated
with metamorphosis. 43 Hesse was intrigued by these insects, the beauty of which fed
his imagination:
denn der Schmetterling ist ja etwas Besonderes, er ist ja nicht ein Tier wie alle
anderen, er ist eigentlich iiberhaupt nicht ein Tier, sondern blofi der letzte
hochste, festliche und zugleich lebenswichtigste Zustand eines Tieres.44 ('Uber
Schmetterlinge' in KF, 287)
As a child, he was a collector and, later on in his life, he would take part in
expeditions just to catch sight of certain species, as recorded in an account of his visit
42 The consequences of this transformation on an aesthetic level were discussed in 3.4.
43 As perceptively pointed out by Michels in his 'Nachwort' to Schmetterlinge, butterflies were a symbol of
immortality by ancient Greeks, 'Den Griechen waren die Schmetterlinge Erscheinungsformen der Seele und
zugleich Symbole fur deren Unsterblichkeit' (81).
44 Papageno, one of the main characters in Die Zauberflote, a favourite Opera of Hesse, is a creature halfway
between man and bird which, by virtue of its dual identity, fits well into Hesse's idea of metamorphosis.
Moreover, 'Papageno' recalls the German for parrot, another animal Hesse is fond of: 'Und oben auf seinem
hohen, drahtenen Geha'use saB unser grauroter Papagei, alt und klug, mit gelehrtem Gesicht und scharfem
Schnabel, sang und sprach und kam, auch er, aus dem Fernen' ('Kindheit des Zaubereres' in TF, GS IV, 456).
129

to India ('Erinnerung an Mwamba'). Butterflies appealed to Hesse by virtue of their
nature which, for him, suggested a harmonious combination of opposites. He felt
that certain names attributed to butterflies in various European languages expressed
the intrinsic unity and duality of their being: 'Und der Sammelname »Schmetterling«
enthielt in seinem Klang jedesmal die lebendige Erinnerung an das zweigeteilte
Fliigelwesen, wie sie im alten deutschen Wort »Zwiespalter«, in Fifalter, im
italienischen farfalla usw. iiberall klingt' ('Uber Schmetterlinge' in KF, 291). To
Hesse, butterflies are simultaneously a symbol of the ephemeral and the eternal (see
Chapter 5). Like Hesse's 'Unsterbliche', butterflies cope with extreme weather
conditions; Michels underlines the great adaptability of butterflies: 'Die Eier einiger
Arten vertragen Temperaturen von minus 80 bis plus 60 Grad' ('Nachwort',
Schmetterlinge, 82). In the section of 'Magisches Theater', Mozart's realm is extremely
cold for Harry: 'Teufel, war es kalt in dieser Welt! Diese Unsterblichen vertrugen eine
scheufilich diinne Eisluft' (SW 4,194).
Two further aspects of metamorphosis in relation with Hesse will be
considered before bringing this section to a close. The first refers to metamorphosis
as an unavoidable consequence of the passing of time which, through its erosive
action, imposes changes (i.e. ageing, death) and partially effaces memories. Hesse
was particularly sensitive to the fact that everything was doomed to perish, 'nichts
hatte Bestand' (NuG, SW 4, 464). Every existence, every feeling had to undergo a
process of transformation and fade away; human beings cannot even rely on the
immutability of pain and sorrow: 'das Traurige verging, auch die Schmerzen und
Verzweiflungen vergingen' (NuG, ibid.). Recollection too is subject to deterioration;
from the very moment that Goldmund is reminded of his mother, he realises that her
image is constantly shifting in his mind: 'es war das Gesicht der Mutter. Dies Gesicht
war schon seit langer Zeit nicht mehr dasselbe' (SW 4, 405). This explains his attempt
to fix his mother's contours in a sculpture. 45
45 The features of Goldmund's mother undergo such radical evolution in his mind throughout the novel that the
eternal feminine is what Goldmund eventually seeks to portray: 'er sah das Gesicht der Urmutter, uber den
Abgrund des Lebens geneigt, mit einem verlorenen Lacheln schfin und grausig blicken' (SW 4,418).
130

Hesse's characters discover that, despite their resistance, they have to immerse
themselves in the flow of change if they want to achieve a breakthrough in their
search for an antidote to time. Metamorphosis offers them an effective way of
opposing the inevitable transformations brought about by time.
Piktor discovers that happiness in paradise is linked to the ability to fluidly
pass from one state or shape to another: 'Er sah namlich, dass rings um ihn her im
Paradiese die meisten Wesen sich sehr haufig verwandelten, ja dafi alles in einem
Zauberstrome ewiger Verwandlung floss' (PV, SW 9,190).46 This does not only apply
to human beings but extends to all creatures of paradise,
auch bei Pferden, bei Vogeln, bei Menschen und alien Wesen kann man es ja
taglich sehen: Wenn sie nicht die Gabe der Verwandlung besitzen, verfallen
sie mit der Zeit in Traurigkeit und Verkummerung und ihre Schonheit geht
verloren.47 (Ibid.)
A second point is that Hesse's protagonists are in the dark about
metamorphosis until other characters introduce them into its secrets: an old boatman
(Vasudava) in Siddhartha; a bird in paradise in Tiktors Verwandlungen'; 'die
Unsterblichen' (Goethe and Mozart) in Der Steppenwolf, and Erwin in 'Innen und
Aufien'. In the case of Piktor and Haller, these characters, who act as mentors, have a
special perspective on life: they are immortals (see 6.4).
4.6 Epiphany
In his lectures on 'Human factors of information systems and human-computer
interface and interaction', Basden addresses the way in which memory functions.
Dealing with long-term memory, he stresses that, although the various stages
involved in the long-term memory process may lead one to think that memorizing
always implies a gradual development needing continuous reinforcement,
46 See 6.4 ('the mirror') and 6.3 (on the abolition of {\\eprincipium individuationis through 'Galgenhumor' and
self-irony).
47 Frau Dillenius in 'Eine Senate' holds a similar view of happiness: 'Sie war nicht damit zufrieden, daB eine
Blume nur eine Blume und ein Spaziergang nur ein Spaziergang sein sollte. Eine Blume sollte eine Elfe, ein
schOner Geist in schOner Verwandlung sein' (SW 6, 456).
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there are occasions when we experience a sudden realization, when, as it
were, a light bulb is switched on in our minds as we come to understand
something for the first time or see things in a new way. We only need a single
instance of that to remember it all our lives. (7)
Basden describes instants which powerfully impress themselves in memory (and are
available for future retrieval); however, there are other occasions when the intensity
of certain experiences (in the present) gives immediate access to past buried
memories: '[although] most memory works like a narrative, there are [...] especially
intense, visual "flashback" memories that give us immediate access to the truth about
the past' (King, 26). There are several occurrences of this phenomenon in Hesse's
fiction. The image of Lauscher's parents while they walk against the light of a sunset
is as etched into his memory. We noted above that Hesse, as a child, was exposed to
Bach's Tassionen', which his brothers sang at times. Later on in his life, the music of
Bach's Passions would conjure up his brothers' faces, and he would hear the sound of
their voices:
Es mochte bei den ungezahlten spateren Passionen, die ich horte, den Christus
und den Evangelisten wer immer singen, gewisse Stellen horte ich doch jedes
Mal mit den Stimmen und dem Ausdruck meiner Briider wieder. (Musik, 198)
Basden's moments of 'sudden realization' recall an important feature of the
early twentieth century's literature: epiphany. Referring to Joyce's Stephen Hero, Beja
describes epiphanies as 'sudden illuminations produced by apparently trivial, even
seemingly arbitrary, causes' (13). This is, for instance, the case of Govinda, who has
the impression that Siddhartha's and Gotama's smile merge for a moment and, for
him, that vision is a revelation of the unity of all existing forms in the world: 'und, so
sah Govinda, dies Lacheln der Maske, dies Lacheln der Einheit iiber den stromenden
Gestaltungen, dies Lacheln der Gleichzeitigkeit iiber den tausend Geburten und
Toden' (SW 3, 471 ).48 While dreams and memories are the most important sources of
'revelations derived from phases of the mind' (Beja, 15) in Joyce, Hesse leans more on
48 Ziolkowski similarly notes: The final vision, in which Govinda sees totality and simultaneity revealed in his
friend's face, is also an epiphany' (1965, 175). 'The most striking example' of epiphany, for Ziolkowski, 'occurs
in the "awakening" scene of Chapter 4 after Siddhartha has made up his mind not to follow Buddha, but to seek
his own way in the world of the senses' (1965, 173).
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memory, as in the case of Haller's realisation that Hermine resembles Hermann (see
previous section).49 Goldmund, Harry Haller, Klingsor, as well as certain other main
characters in his short stories and novels, experience a sudden 'awakening7 in
looking at themselves in the mirror; their own reflection startles them as they
suddenly realise their features have undergone changes they had failed to notice
previously. Affecting the 'duration', one of the three components through which
Genette describes the 'time-category' in the narrative discourse (Genette, 25),
epiphanies can also be 'a valuable instrument for drama, presenting in a scene or
event what might otherwise have to be explained or summarized' (Beja, 23). This
pertains to the juxtaposition of the characters of Mozart and Pablo in Der Steppenwolf.
By means of this 'revelation', Hesse brings together, condenses, and develops two
main threads in the novel: the discussion on the aesthetic value of 'jazz' and, on a
more spiritual plane, the question of immortality (See 3.4 and 6.5). Another such
moment can be found in Peter Camenzind, when the protagonist's father vents his
sorrow for the death of his spouse on Peter. The loss of his mother and the
conversation with his father unleash an uncontrolled flow of memories in Peter.50
Boulby observes that Hesse expands the narrative of these memories in order to gain
dramatic intensity.
Though it lacks the sensuous immediacy which came to be a feature of the
typical moment of 'awakening' (Erwachen), it makes conspicuous use of the
relativity of time, by an expansion of Erzahlzeit (narrating time) and a
maximal contraction of erzahlte Zeit (narrated time). There is a gradation of
such moments in Hesse's novels. Though this particular example is rather
abstract and unreal, at their most intense and lyrical they have a vital contact
with sensuous reality. While by their very nature they are not violent
outbursts, they usually exhibit something of the emotional force, and often the
poignant strength of memory. (35-36)
Karalaschwili strikes a similar note in relation to the finale of Klein und Wagner,
where the recounting of Klein's final thoughts and moments of life far exceeds the
short span in which they are actually experienced by the character: 'Die
49 A subjective moment of revelation is expressed in terms of a change in the observed object.
50 'In diesem Augenblick [...] geschah mir etwas Merkwurdiges. Es erschien mir plotzlich, in einer einzigen
Sekunde, alles das, was ich von klein auf gedacht und erwiinscht und sehnlich erhofft hatte, zusammengedra'ngt
vor einem plotzlich aufgetanen innerlichen Auge' (PC, SW 2, 33).
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Beschreibung einiger Augenblicke kurz vor dem Tod [Kleins] nimmt sieben
Textseiten em' (238).
Epiphany offers us a valuable point of departure for our discussion on eternity
in the next chapter, since the emerging of 'epiphanies' in literature at the beginning
of the twentieth century is symptomatic of a new approach to the perception of time,
as emerges for example in the great interest on 'the fleeting' and, on a more spiritual
plane, that of eternity (see Chapter 5). 51
In his essay on Dostojewski's Idiot (1919), Hesse describes prince Myshkin's
epileptic seizures as moments of powerful insight and introspection:
Das hochste Erlebnis ist ihm jene halbe Sekunde hochster Feinfuhligkeit und
Einsicht, die er einige Male erlebt hat, jene magische Fahigkeit, fur einen
Moment, fur den Blitz eines Momentes alles sein, alles mitfuhlen, alles
mitleiden, alles verstehen und bejahen zu konnen, was in der Welt ist.
('Gedanken zu Dostojewskijs «Idiot»', GS VII, 182)
51 It is worth noting that the concept of'epiphany' originates in a religious context. In ancient Greece, the
etymologically related 'teophany' defines the sensible manifestation of a deity to man. This concept resonates
powerfully with both Judaism and Christianity, where it refers to the appearance of God to humans. For
Christians, 'epiphany' has the more specific meaning of the incarnation of God in Christ.
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Chapter 5 Eternity
In seeking to understand Hesse's approach to time, we stressed the importance of the
juncture and historical context Hesse and other authors of his generation lived
through (see Introduction to this thesis). We also outlined the main events, especially
the two world wars, and developments in various fields, ranging from science to
philosophy, which contributed towards making the early twentieth century an
exceptionally rich and complex period of human history. On the one hand, the
political and military upheaval led people to fight for survival or for the elementary
needs of everyday life; on the other, the turmoil of the war years fostered new
attitudes and responses to the fundamental questions of life: faith, the afterlife, and
the idea of time. 1
As a prelude to the present discussion on eternity we would like to single out
and analyse two interrelated aspects of this complex epoch, steeped in the
atmosphere of the fin de siecle but also spanning the early decades of the twentieth
century: major implications of scientific advancement with regard to 'time', and the
attention to 'the fleeting 7 .
The scientific debate at the beginning of the twentieth century and its far-
reaching consequences are crucial for an understanding of the conception of time-
related issues in the human sciences as well. 2
Quantum mechanics challenges a tenet of classical (Newtonian) physics, the
principle of cause and effect and, by implication, the idea of (temporal)
'sequentially'.3 Einstein's contribution to a new understanding of time is threefold.4
1 We discussed the impact of the wars on the discourse on memory in Chapter 4 (see 'memory as trauma').
2 As Holland puts it in connection with the understanding of the nature of time in modern times: 'modern
philosophy has been obliged to merge with matters of physics, as well as broader questions of relativity and
cosmology' (126).
3 'Modern physics, as is well known, led to a radical revision of the fundamental concepts of classical physics,
such as the concepts of space, time, matter, energy, and causality. The foundations of modern physics are the
quantum theory and the theory of relativity, both of which originated in the early years of the twentieth century'
(Jammer, 1).
4 Boulby highlights resonances of Einstein's theory in Der Steppenwolf. 'So persistent is the imagery of the
cosmic dome, of eternity, time, and space in The Steppenwolf, that it is probably no accident that the novel
actually refers to the theory of relativity and to Einstein by name; the poet's imagination has been caught and
held by the scientific imagery of his own day' (202).
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In the first place, time is no longer regarded as an absolute in his theory. Time
measurements depend on the frame of reference of the observer of a given event (i.e.
the velocity of this frame of reference with respect to the fixed stars); moreover, if the
frame of reference in question moves at a speed that is comparable to that of light,
measurements from this frame will be shorter than the ones calculated on a frame of
reference moving at a speed much lower than light. 5 A second point refers to the
great emphasis laid on the correlation of time and space in Einstein's theory, which
'exhibits such an intimate interdependence of temporal and spatial relations that
time and space can no longer be treated as essentially independent subjects7 (Van
Fraassen, 140) .6 Thirdly, and this point is of great relevance to the present discussion
(see 5.2), Einstein challenges the concept of simultaneity: '[In his theory,] there is no
physical basis for the relation of simultaneity between events that are spatially
separate' (Van Fraassen, 155). 7
With regard to 'the fleeting', the attention reserved to aspects of life which are
transitory is a sign of the new cultural climate which emerged at the end of the
nineteenth century and during the first decades of the twentieth. 8 This period is
indeed marked by experimentation with themes, techniques, and forms, not to
mention the growing curiosity around photography and the advancement of the new
medium of cinema. 9 With reference to the literary discourse, although its evolution is
complex and multifaceted, authors generally tend to move away from Realism and
towards positions that are grouped under the heading of Modernism. A change in
the narrative perspective, as Midgley argues, captures this transition:
Whereas Realism [...] entails a delicate balance between authorial utterance
(diegesis) and the reflection of observed reality (mimesis), Modernism tends to
pursue mimetic methods 'to their limits'. (7)
5 'Different observers may have different impressions of distance but, according to Einstein, they cannot
calculate different velocities of light; so, in other words, they must have different measurements of time. No
longer can they speak of absolute time' (Holland, 107).
6 Time and space are however interrelated factors in classical mechanics too, as appears in the formula:
D(istance) = V(elocity) * T(ime).
7 The concept of simultaneity plays such a crucial role in Einstein's theory that, for him, any discourse on time
entails a discourse on simultaneous events.
8 To be sure, this climate originated in the political and military unrest sweeping Europe at the time. In this
context, the urgencies of the present concerned the general public more than any long-term preoccupation.
9 We already noted the novelty of jazz and dodecaphony within the musical context (Chapter 3, section 4), and
Cubism in the fine arts (Chapter 4, section 5).
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The emphasis on the mimetic aspects led, as a consequence, to an intensified interest
in recounting the minutiae of everyday life and, coupled with this interest, a
penchant for everything that was passing and transitory:
Just as modern artists found value in the trivial, so they became fascinated
with the fleeting. Doubtful of immortality, they turned against it and
cherished mortality; afraid of death, they worshiped life. Since they could
endow nothing else with permanence, they began, paradoxically, to attribute
it to whatever is most ephemeral, to value things because they are evanescent.
(Beja, 50)
Epiphany, viewed as a sudden moment of understanding, is a literary device
indicative of the strong interest authors of this period took in the 'fleeting7 . 10 Unlike
modernist writers, Hesse did not indulge in the description of the smallest details of
everyday life, yet he shared their interest in the ephemeral. This attention is not only
mirrored in the presence of epiphanies in his oeuvre (see Chapter 4, section 6) but
permeates his creative process at large. The fleeting is inflected as the evanescence of
beauty, '[d]as Schone zieht einen Teil seines Zaubers aus der Verganglichkeit7 (Musik,
108), and appears in the form of an imperative to capture the fugacity of artistic
inspiration in 'Eine Arbeitsnacht7 (1928): 'jetzt oder nie mufi das Material gefafit und
in die Form gebracht werden, sonst ist es zu spat7 (SW 12,124)." In Der Steppenwolf,
Hermine and life in general are described as 'stets nur Augenblick 7 (SW 4,110), and a
single bar of music condenses and discloses the secret of the 'Immortals7 to Haller:
ich [hatte] manche Male und erst noch ganz vor kurzem mich den
Unsterblichen nah genug gefuhlt [...], um in einem Takt alter Musik die ganze
kuhle, helle, hart lachelnde Weisheit der Unsterblichen mitzukosten. (SW 4,
71)
The attention to caducity has an important corollary and a crucial point for our
discussion: the pairing of the 'fleeting 7 with 'eternity 7 in the elaborations and works
of this period, as apparent, for example, in the discourse on memory and epiphany.
10 Ziolkowski considers 'epiphany' as a reliable barometer of a new attitude in literature: 'In the epiphany the
protagonist perceives the essence of things that lies hidden behind their empirical reality, and as such the
epiphany is another symptom of the modern turn away from realism toward a new mysticism' (1965, 172-73).
11 The idea of beauty as inextricably perishable echoes throughout his works and correspondence: 'Schonheit', it
reads in Kurgast, '[ist] nur im Verganglichen mOglich' (SW 12, 116).
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Beja underlines that, for both Bergson and Proust, moments of sudden recollection
and, more generally, memory are means of catching glimpses of eternity:
Although both [Bergson and Proust] believe that time cannot stop, they also
feel that during certain experiences it can be transcended largely through
memory, which enables us to live in pure time. And living in this state is, in
effect, the same as living outside of time (58).
Hesse too draws on this juxtaposition. Despite being doomed to fade away, beauty is
a tangible manifestation of the eternal. 12 The butterfly, the splendour of which
withers in the short space of its lifecycle, is for Hesse the quintessential image of the
human soul and 'Sinnbild zugleich der Kurzlebigkeit wie der ewigen Fortdauer'
('Uber Schmetterlinge' in KF, 288). 13 Emil Sinclair catches glimpses of eternity from a
cursory look cast at his friend Demian:
Es war, als sei auch etwas von einem Frauengesicht darin, und namentlich
schien dies Gesicht mir, fur einen Augenblick, nicht mannlich oder kindlich,
nicht alt oder jung, sondern irgendwie tausendjahrig, irgendwie zeitlos, von
anderen Zeitlaufen gestempelt, als wir sie leben. Tiere konnten so aussehen,
oder Baume, oder Sterne. (Dem, SW 3, 273)
In Der Steppenwolf, the character of Goethe cites Goethe's equation between the
instant and eternity almost word for word: 'die Ewigkeit ist blofi ein Augenblick7
(SW 4, 97). Temporal finiteness and infinity are brought close to each other on a
linguistic level too: "Die goldne Spur war aufgeblitzt, ich war ans Ewige erinnert, an
Mozart, an die Sterne7 (SW 4, 37; my emphasis).
In what follows, we will analyse Hesse's idea of time and eternity through the
images on which he, perhaps both consciously and unconsciously, draws to conjure
up timelessness. The first section situates the problem of eternity and the nature of
time within Hesse's conceptual framework (5.1). The coalescence of past, present,
and future in Hesse's idea of simultaneity is the theme of section 5.2, which is
followed by a discussion (5.3) on circularity, its symbols and implications (e.g.
12 In this idea of beauty as both ephemeral and eternal is couched one of Hesse's key binary oppositions, the
complementary relation between immanence and transcendence (see section 2 in Chapter 1), also inflected as the
contrast between time and eternity (see next section, 5.1).
13 Hesse's idea of the butterfly as a symbol of immortality may also be influenced by his experience as a
collector. He knew that the beauty of a butterfly can be preserved if opportunely embalmed: 'Bei den Faltern und
manchen KSfern ist der Unterschied viel geringer, sie lassen sich in ihrer Farbenpracht auch im Tode sehr viel
besser erhalten als irgendwelche andere Tiere' (Schmetterlinge, 18).
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eternal recurrence). Section 5.4 focuses on the intersection of time and space in
Hesse's poetics and aesthetics, while the close of the chapter deals with one of the
main attributes of eternity in Hesse, lightness, and one of its symbols, the bird (5.5).
5.1 Between time and timelessness
As noted in Chapter 4 (section 5), the occurrence of epiphanies in Hesse goes hand in
hand with the dilatation of the narration and the contraction of narrated time. To be
sure, various techniques are available to writers to manipulate the temporal
dimension of a story: the account of certain portions of the narration and the
omission of others, in order to achieve or maintain dramatic tension; the inversion of
'past' and 'future' of a storyline by anticipating the end of the story at the beginning
or by means of flashbacks; the transposition of historical references as in Das
Glasperlenspiel, where Hesse's time (the Nazi period) is situated in the past, and a
vision of the future occupies the present of the novel. 14 Manipulating any of the three
factors (order, duration, frequency) which, according to Genette, shape the temporal
horizon of a narrative, writers assemble their stories in the way that seems more
cogent to them. Authors also rely on their readers to fill the gaps in the narration and
reconstruct the linear continuum of the narrated time. 15 As suggested by Bakhtin, it is
possible to identify the 'chronotopes' of a narrative which he defines as 'the
organizing centers for the fundamental narrative events of the novel' (Bakhtin, 22).
The chornotopes are 'the place[s] where the knots of narrative are tied and united'
(ibid.). 16 Furthermore, the narrator and the characters of a story are infused with its
author's appreciation and conception of time, which also sets the tone of what
14 'Hesse felt compelled to summon up all his energies to confront the deplorable present with a Utopian
'kingdom of the spirit and the soul as existent and unconquerably visible', at the same time relegating this
present (in the introduction) to a triumphantly surmounted past' (Boulby, 263).
'Die Erza'hlliteratur bescha'ftigte sich schon zu alien Zeiten mit nichts anderem als mit dem Herausgreifen
irgendeines Geschehens aus dem Strom der Zeit und mit dessen Verankerung im Raum eines Kunstwerks'
(Karalaschwili, 221).
16 Bakhtin develops his concept of'chronotope' taking his cue from Einstein's theory of relativity: 'We will give
the name chronotope (literally, "time space") to the intrinsic connectedness of temporal and spatial relationships
that are artistically expressed in literature' (15; original emphasis).
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Karalaschwili refers to as the 'Zeitmodellierung 7 of a work of literature. 17 'Haller', as
Lange suggests, 'is portrayed in keeping with Hesse's own sense of history' (1970,
59).
In Chapter 1 (section 6) we stressed that Hesse's artistry is largely concerned
with the inner development of the main characters and that Hesse sets the portrayal
of the identity between the reality of the world and the inner sphere of their psyche
as one of his main poetic goals. The time dimension in Hesse's fiction is therefore
anchored to the psychological development of a character; as a consequence, most of
his stories are not set against any definite historical background and rarely include
precise time indications:
Die Welt seines Romans ist fast vollig abgegrenzt von der aufieren
Wirklichkeit und dem objektiven Zeitlauf. Epoche und historische Zeit sind
darin nur nominal, als ein ganz allgemeiner Hintergrund vorhanden.
(Karalaschwili, 224)
The pronounced atemporal tone of certain, especially later, works of Hesse has been
underscored by scholars such as Boulby, who regards Siddhartha as '[a]lmost timeless
and unhistorical' (134) and by Hesse himself who, in his letter to Rudolf Pannwitz of
1955, describes Das Glassperlenspiel as 'the vision of an individual but transtemporal
biography' (GB 4, 436). Loose and sparing time indications are coupled with a
longing, expressed by Hesse's characters, for the abolition of time: Siddhartha
portrays the protagonist's attempt to transcend time; Haller's yearning for eternity is
couched in his veneration for 'die Unsterblichen'; dissolution in the eternity of death
is a liberation for Klein. 18 One of Hesse's constant creative aspirations is to overcome
time boundaries and its constraints:
Dagegen habe ich mein Leben lang viele Wege versucht, auf denen man die
Zeit iiberwinden und im Zeitlosen leben kann (diese Wege habe ich teils in
spielerischer, teils in ernster Form haufig auch dargestellt). (Die Einheit hinter
den Gegensatzen, 202)
17 'Der Charakter der Zeitmodellierung im Roman hangt von der Weltkonzeption des Verfassers und von jenen
kUnstlerischen Aufgaben ab, die er sich im SchaffensprozeB stellt' (Karalaschwili, 223).
18 More controversial is Knecht's drowning in Glasperlensiel.
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This longing for a transcendental (eternal) harmony is indebted to the Romantic
tradition and contrasts, on the part of Hesse's characters, with the need to catch a
glimpse of that harmony in their lives, that is within the boundaries of time. Despite
all their flirtation with death, most of Hesse's characters are driven by an
unmistakable, although sometimes desperate, love for life and, in this respect, they
express positions closer to Existentialists than to Romantics as we noted in relation
to the finale of Der Steppenwolf in Chapter 3 (section 2). 19 For all Hesse's concern, as a
man and artist, with spiritual matters and eternal values, and although the miseries
and bitterness of the human condition are largely represented in his art, a fervent
eulogy to the simplicity, sometimes naivety, of earthly life is the blueprint for the
majority of his works, as emerges from this excerpt from Kurgast:
Und wieder einmal war ich leidenschaftlich dem Gegenpol des Geistes
zugetan, war innig und trunken verliebt in die dumme gesetzlose Welt des
Zufalls, in das Spiel der Sonne- und Schattenflecke am hellrosigen Boden, in
die vielen Melodien des stromenden Wassers. (SW 11,115)
The tension and pendulations between time and timelessness are a thematic and
structural element of Hesse's artistry as well as one of the antitheses on which his
thought hinges. 20 As largely acknowledged by scholars, Hesse's characters are, at the
end of their spiritual journey, often led to the realization that transcendence and
immanence interlock (see Chapter 1, section 2) and that 'the roots of the timeless are
embedded in the experiences acted out within the world of time' (Shaw, 210). 21
In what follows, our considerations on Hesse's idea of eternity will be based
on the assumption that the category of the timeless springs from the interplay of two
tendencies moving in opposite directions: towards time and towards its abolition. As
we will note in the next section, three other major themes and key points of his poetic
19 The emphasis on the positive value of the here and now is also in line with Hesse's rejection of the Buddhist
ambition to sever any individual tie to the material world. 'Siddhartha', Shaw points out, 'has learned that the
timeless may not be found apart from the medium of that self which time is still in the process of making. Being
does not reveal itself through the negation of Becoming' (209).
20 'Zwischen diesen beiden Punkten - der Zeit und der Ewigkeit - entfaltet sich die Handlung des Romans'
(Karalaschwili, 228).
21 Shaw's statements echoe Karalaschwili's: 'Doch allein schon die Tatsache, daU die Welt durch die Zeit und in
der Zeit wahrgenommen wird, wird jedes Mal unbestreitbar bleiben' (223).
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(unity, memory, and music) merge into Hesse's idea of eternity as everlasting
moment, eternal present, simultaneity.
5.2 Simultaneity
In the introductory section to this chapter, we noted that Einstein's theory of
relativity rules out the possibility of concurrent events that are spatially separated.
The concept of simultaneity played such a crucial role in Einstein's theory that, for
him, any pronouncement on time would entail a discourse on simultaneous events.
To some extent, simultaneity implies a perturbation of the idea of time, since 'to say
that things happen in time means in part that they happen in a certain order' (Van
Fraassen, 3). 2* As an interesting epistemological paradox, simultaneity is a necessary
precondition for our brain to picture and process events unfolding sequentially: 'If
two events are to be represented as occurring in succession, then paradoxically
they must also be thought of simultaneously' (Whitrow, 75). Despite Einstein's tenet,
simultaneity is, for Hesse and other authors of his generation, a poetic necessity
which entails the abolition of time and, by implication, eternity: if all events
happened at the same time, there would be no past or future, but only present.23
'Pure present' is what Hesse identifies as the essence of music in a letter of c. 1940:
das Wesen der Musik ist Zeit [...], und zwar reine Gegenwart, nichts andres:
ich habe zu dieser Einsicht, obwohl ich seit den Kinder]ahren ein Musikfreund
war, gegen 60 Jahre gebraucht. (Musik, 177)
The suspension of time and the idea of 'pure present' find expression in the
counterpoint technique where, while the melody of each voice unfolds sequentially
(horizontally), each section of the counterpoint displays a similar combination of
notes (vertically) in view of the staggered juxtaposition and partial overlapping of
22 The etymological root of simultaneity is, as noted by Jammer, 'the Latin "simul", which in turn derives from
the Sanskrit "sem" (or "sema"), meaning "together", both in the sense "together in space" and "together in time'
It still survives in the German words "ziisawmen", "Sammlung", as well as in the Nordic (Danish, Swedish,
Norwegian) expressions "samtidig" ("simultaneous"), "sawtidighet" ("simultaneity"), and so on' (11; original
emphasis).
23 As expressed by T. S. Eliot in the opening lines of Burnt Norton' (1936), the first section of his Four
Quartets: 'Time present and time past | Are both perhaps present in time future, | And time future contained in
time past. | If all time is eternally present | All time is unredeemable.' (Eliot 1944, 3)
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the voices. As a result, musical forms built on the principles of counterpoint (e.g. the
fugue) typically elicit an idea of sameness in motion. 24
In Chapter 2 (section 4), we referred to an excerpt from Kurgast and argued
that Hesse's aspiration to evoke a two-voice melody by means of his writing also
showed his intention to emulate the simultaneous interplay of two levels, typical of
the counterpoint technique. Hesse, Stewart affirms,
talks of wanting a language which could embrace simultaneity like music,
instead of functioning merely sequentially, and which would thus be able to
reflect the co-existence of multiple discrete elements in human personality. 25
(83)
Hesse's longing for incorporating a two-voice melody into the fabric of his writing
indirectly reflects his intention to achieve simultaneity and express his idea of
eternity. Music, the value of which is epitomized by the work of Bach and Mozart, is
often associated with eternity. The mother of the protagonist of' Aus den
Erinnerungen eines alten Junggesellen', for instance, has to prove her ability to sing
to the Saviour, who appears to her in a dream, if she wants to enter the Garden of
Eden:
«Aber kannst du auch schon singen?» fragte der Heiland. «Ohne das kannst
du nicht hereinkommen!» Da mufite ich ihm ein Lied vorsingen. Und ich sang
also auch, aber keinen Choral, sondern eines von den Mozartschen. 26 (SW 6,
409)
'Unity' is the second theme that points us in the direction of simultaneity and
indirectly towards eternity. In our discussion on polarities in Chapter 1 we noted
that, for Hesse, opposites represent two sides of the same coin (section 3) and that
'magical thinking' is the mental disposition that allows man to perceive that unity
(section 4). Hesse's idea of unity not only entails the harmonious reconciliation of
opposites but also embraces and extends to all aspects of life. 'Einheit' is an element
24 Thomas Mann's account of the feeling that pervades Hans Castorp every time his grandfather shows him the
family baptismal basin provides a graphic description of the exposure to counterpoint-related music: 'die
sonderbare [...] Empfindung eines zugleich Ziehenden und Stehenden, eines wechselnden Bleibens, das
Wiederkehr und schwindelige Einerleiheit war' (Mann 1924, 47, II Taufschale).
25 Karalaschwili similarly registers: 'Er [Hesse] gestaltet die »magischen Augenblicke«, die weder
Vergangenheit noch Zukunft kennen, als eine zeitlose »Kluft«, die aus dem sonstigen Handlungsverlauf
herausfallt und in der das Prinzip des Nacheinander dem Prinzip des Nebeneinander Platz macht' (233-34).
26 Mozart is one of the Immortals in Der Steppenwolf.
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of Hesse's personal creed as well as one of the key words of his poetics. 27 A statement
of belief in Kurgast reads:
Ich glaube namlich an nichts in der Welt so tief, keine andre Vorstellung ist
mir so heilig wie die der Einheit, die Vorstellung, dafi das Ganze der Welt eine
gottliche Einheit ist und dafi alles Leiden, alles Bose nur darin besteht, dafi wir
einzelne uns nicht mehr als unlosbare Teile des Ganzen empfinden, dafi das
Ich sich zu wichtig nimmt. (SW 12, 84)
Hesse's concept of unity is also threaded intimately through the linguistic level. In
line with the literary trends emerging at the beginning of the twentieth century (see
section 1 in Chapter 2) which also made synesthesia a prominent figure of speech,
Hesse weaves together impressions from different sensory domains by means of this
literary device. 28 The pronounced use of compounds in Piktors Verwandlungen, as
Weiss-Sussex aptly registers in connection with the word
'Vogelblumenschmetterling', serves the purpose of crystallizing the fluidity of the
transformation, projecting an idea of simultaneity and alluding to the unity of all
beings symbolized by the communion of the 'bird', the 'flower', and the 'butterfly'.
In this playfully assembled designation, the previous stages of the bird's
transformation remain included, the temporal element finds expression. And
yet, at the same time, the simultaneity of possible embodiments of this
imaginary creature is stressed by the use of the one compound word. (361)
Symptomatically, the portrayal of the underlying unity of all aspects of life is often
accompanied by images of timelessness or hints of the simultaneous interplay of all
domains of existence. In Demian's face, where features of animate and inanimate
beings merge, Sinclair not only catches a glimpse of eternity but also peers into the
secret unity of the whole of Creation. 29 In conversation with Govinda in the last
chapter of the novel ('Govinda'), Siddhartha points out that each single moment
27 For Hesse, 'unity' is a synonym of 'divinity'. As NarziB points out to Goldmund: 'Das vollkommene Sein ist
Gott. Alles andere, was ist, ist nur halb, ist teilweise, es ist werdend, ist gemischt, besteht aus Moglichkeiten.
Gott aber ist nicht gemischt, er ist eins, er hat keine Moglichkeiten, sondern ist ganz und gar Wirklichkeit' (SW
4, 503).
28 The meaning of synesthesia stems from the combination of'syn' (together) with 'aisthesis' (sensation). It is
worth registering that both the prefix 'syn' (synesthesia) and the root 'simul' (simultaneity) express the idea of
'togetherness'.
29 See citation from Demian in the introductory section of the present chapter. In a similar vein, the last
movement of 'East Coker' in T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets hints at the close bond between all beings: 'But a
lifetime burning in every moment | And not the lifetime of one man only | But of old stones that cannot be
deciphered'(Eliot 1944,20).
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ears witness to the close connection of all opposites, including the binary (human)
mortality and eternity.
Die Welt [...] ist in jedem Augenblick vollkommen, alle Siinde tragt schon die
Gnade in sich, alle kleinen Kinder haben schon den Greis in sich, alle
Sauglinge den Tod, alle Sterbenden das ewige Leben. (SW 3, 466)
Siddhartha also affirms that the abolition of time would pave the way to the
experience of 'alles gewesene, seiende und sein werdende Leben als gleichzeitig'
(ibid.). 30
To be sure, 'Jungian aspirations towards wholeness, towards a re-integration
of the multi-faceted personality' (Swales, 179) make inroads into Hesse's concept of
'Einheit', and memory, a third thematic and structural element that implies
simultaneity in Hesse, is the faculty that holds together the various facets of the self. 31
As a brain function, memory allows different strands of time to coalesce: past events,
present, and visions of the future become intermingled through its medium, which is
also responsible for our sense of identity. 32 Although Siddhartha has evolved and
gone through a multitude of experiences, the memory of the self is what conveys a
sense of continuity to his life and makes him catch a glimpse of an atemporal present,
into which past and future merge:
'Dies ist esr, sagte Siddhartha. 'Und als ich es gelernt hatte, da sah ich mein
Leben an, und es war auch ein Flufi, und es war der Knabe Siddhartha vom
Marine Siddhartha und vom Greis Siddhartha nur durch Schatten getrennt,
nicht durch Wirkliches. Es waren auch Siddharthas fruhere Geburten keine
Vergangenheit, und sein Tod und seine Riickkehr zu Brahma keine Zukunft.
30 'Das eigentliche Ereignis des "Siddhartha" - die wiederhergestellte Einheit der Buddha-Gestalt -', Moritz
states, 'kann nur unter der Bedingung der Gleichzeitigkeit bzw. Identitat von Werden und Sein geschehen' (227).
See also Siddhartha's statement on the illusory nature of time reported in Chapter 1 (section 3).
31 As we will note in Chapter 6, humour is another force which, by bringing together (that is at the same time,
simultaneously) two disparate elements and tuning them to the same wavelength (see section 1), reveals the
secret relatedness and allegiance (i.e. unity) of all aspects of life (see section 4.4 in the same chapter).
32 This theoretical point finds powerful poetic expression in 'Taedium vitae' (1908): 'Anfangs will es mir
scheinen, die Bilder seien ungeheuer alt, zum mindesten zehn Jahre alt. Aber das taub gewordene Zeitgefuhl
wird zusehends wacher, legt den vergessenen Maflstab auseinender, nickt und mifit. Ich erfahre, daB alles viel
na'her beieinander liegt, und nun tut auch das entschlafene Identitatsbewufitsein die hochmutigen Augen auf und
nickt bestatigend und frech zu den unglaublichsten Dingen. Es geht von Bild zu Bild und sagt: «Ja, das war ich»,
und jedes Bild riickt damit sofort aus seiner kuhlschOnen Beschaulichkeit heraus und wird ein Stuck Leben, ein
Stuck meines Lebens' (SW 7, 216).
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Nichts war, nichts wird sein; alles 1st, alles hat Wesen und Gegenwart'.33 (SW
4, 443)
Within the framework of Hesse's dialectics, the memory of the self appears as both a
blessing and a curse in that it paves the way to the experience of 'simultaneity', but at
the same time it also restrains any individual development:
Das Identitatsbewufitsein ist eine zauberhafte Sache, frohlich zu sehen, und
doch unheimlich. Man hat es, und man kann doch ohne es leben und tut es oft
genug, wenn nicht meistens. Es ist herrlich, derm es vernichtet die Zeit; und ist
schlimm, denn es leugnet den Fortschritt. ('Taedium vitae', SW 7, 216)
This excerpt also shows that, contrary to Bergson who, in Matter and Memory (1896),
postulated that elimination of memory would entail the abolition of time and lead to
the reconciliation between the inner reality of the self and the material world, Hesse
identifies memory as the means to nullify the action of time. 34
Dreams and epiphanies, both relying on memory (see Chapter 4, sections 1
and 6), offer a final instance of the link between this human faculty and simultaneity.
Excerpts from Die Morgenlandfahrt and Siddhartha, which are among the novels of
Hesse where the discourse on time is of paramount importance, will illustrate this
point. 35 H. H. in Die Morgenlandfahrt hints at the production of dreams as a process
leading to a dimension where time and space can be manipulated at will:
Das Gliick der Traume [...] bestand aus der Freiheit, alles Erdenkliche
gleichzeitig zu erleben, Aufien und Innen spielend zu vertauschen, Zeit und
Raum wie Kulissen zu verschieben. (SW 4, 547)
Vasudeva and Siddhartha seem to be at one with each other on certain occasions,
simultaneously enlightened by the same intuition:
Und es geschah zuweilen, dafi beide beim Anhoren des Flusses an dieselben
Dinge dachten, an ein Gesprach von vorgestern, an einen ihrer Reisenden,
33 'And so it is with Siddhartha's own life, for he himself has always been the same in spite of the changing
aspects of his temporal experience' (Shaw, 217).
34 To end the dualism between perceiver and perceived that has so plagued philosophy, we must turn to
memory, which "is just the intersection of mind and matter"; if we could somehow "eliminate all memory, we
should pass thereby from perception to matter, from the subject to the object'" (Bergson 1896, pp. xii, 77). As an
immediate consequence of the elimination of memory, present would be the only temporal dimension known to
man.
35 The narrator of Die Morgenlandfahrt finds it arduous to relate a journey which is not just spatial, but temporal
too: 'Schwierig wird das Erza'hlen ferner dadurch, daB wir ja nicht nur durch Ra"ume wanderten, sondern ganz
ebenso durch Zeiten' (SW 4, 546).
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dessen Gesicht und Schicksal sie beschaftigte, an den Tod, an ihre Kindheit,
und dafi sie beide im selben Augenblick, wenn der Flufi ihnen etwas Gutes
gesagt hatte, einander anblickten, beide genau dasselbe denkend, beide
begluckt iiber dieselbe Antwort auf dieselbe Frage. (SW 3, 444)
It is the Voice7 of the river that triggers the insights of the two boatmen. The
river is a fundamental symbol in Siddhartha and one of Hesse's most powerful
metaphors of simultaneity, along with the musical analogy of the two-voice melody.
The river which, despite its constant flow, projects an image of sameness, appears in
early writings such as 'Sor aqua' (1904): 'Dies dunkle Rauschen des Weggenossen,
dies ewige gewaltige Ziehen ohne Rast und Ende, woneben alle meine Wanderschaft
nur eine kurze Reise war!' (SW 6, 300). The metaphor here, however, does not reach
the thematic complexity and the poetic richness of Siddhartha:
»Ja, Siddhartha«, sprach er [Vasudeva]. »Es ist doch dieses, was du meinst:
dafi der Flufi iiberall zugleich ist, am Ursprung und an der Miindung, am
Wasserfall, an der Fahre, an der Stromschnelle, im Meer, im Gebirge, iiberall,
zugleich, und dafi es fur ihn nur Gegenwart gibt, nicht den Schatten
Vergangenheit, nicht den Schatten Zukunft?« (SW 3, 443)
As we noted above in this section, the river, to which Siddhartha compares his life,
expresses continuity and makes all moments of his life vibrate in unison in his mind.
Siddhartha then realizes that 'all is always now' (Eliot 1944, 'Burnt Norton' V, 8),
which also means that time is an illusion. 36 This is, however, not the only teaching
Siddhartha learns from the river; ironically, he apprehends that the only escape from
the yoke of time is to be found within time itself, in the docile acceptance of each
instant:
It is the doctrine that knowledge resides in the present time and place, and
that from one's position in the Here and Now, in the depths of the fleeting
instant, one can discover all there is to know. Wisdom lies not in denying the
present, nor in trying to exploit it, but in accepting it as the repository for
truths that are not apparent in the visible context of a single moment. (Shaw,
216-17)
36 Through the river, moreover, the river of life, this paradox of endless change and changeless presence,
Siddhartha comes to penetrate the illusion of time: time, Klingsor's demon, does not really exist' (Boulby, 148).
147

The complex symbol of the river in Siddhartha offers us a further element of interest
and becomes a suggestive point of departure for our discussion in the next section.
The flow of the river, which fuses motion and stillness, thus projecting an image of
simultaneity, also describes the circular motion of the water cycle which, as a closed
line, conjures up images of eternity:
alle die Wellen und Wasser eilten, leidend, Zielen zu, vielen Zielen, dem
Wasserfall, dem See, der Stromschnelle, dem Meere, und alle Ziele wurden
erreicht, und jedem folgte ein neues, und aus dem Wasser ward Dampf und
stieg in den Himmel, ward Regen und stiirzte aus dem Himmel herab, ward
Quelle, ward Bach, ward Flufi, strebte aufs neue, flofi aufs neue. (SW 4, 461)
Siddhartha experiences a moment of revelation when he feels that, in the eternal
cycle of life and death, there is no discontinuity between his body and the pebble he
is holding in his hand. After his death, Siddhartha's body is going to decompose but,
once dissolved and merged with the soil, its particles could aggregate and form a
stone. Western philosophical tradition and Eastern spirituality seem to find common
ground in the idea of metamorphosis as expressed by Pythagoras in Ovid's
Metamorphoses:
Everything changes; nothing dies; the soul
Roams to and fro, now here, now there, and takes
What frame it will, passing from beast to man,
From our own form to beast and never dies.
As yielding wax is stamped with new designs
And changes shape and seems not still the same
Yet is indeed the same, even so our souls
Are still the same for ever, but adopt
In their migrations ever-vary ing forms. (Ovid XV, 357)
5.3 Circles, cycles, and spirals: Images of infinity
The connection between circular motion and eternity, and the pairing of closed lines
such as circles and mathematical symbols (e.g. the number '0', '8', or the lemniscate
'so'), with the idea of endless repetition are intuitive, transparent associations, the
148

origins of which have been lost in the mists of time. 37 In a similar vein, the idea of
eternal recurrence, the basic assumption of which entails that 'each state of the world
recurs infinitely many times 7 (Van Fraassen, 62), runs through the history of
humanity as a scarlet thread. In Western civilizations, its heritage dates back to
antiquity. 'Versions of this hypothesis existed among the pre-Socratics7 (Van
Fraassen, 62) and allusions to its fundamental principle can be traced in Ovid, where
it is an integral component of the poet's idea of metamorphosis:
In all creation, be assured,
There is no death, but, only change
And innovation; what we men call birth
Is but a different new beginning; death
Is but to cease to be the same. (Ovid XV, 257-261, 359)
In the nineteenth century, Nietzsche fervently supported this theory into which, in
modern times, philosophical speculations and scientific contributions, especially in
the field of cosmology, tend to merge.38 Within the sphere of Eastern spirituality (e.g.
Buddhism and Hinduism), the idea of the transmigration of the soul in an almost
perpetual circle of deaths and rebirths, the 'wheel of time7, which can be escaped
through enlightenment alone, articulates a similar notion.39
Like other authors of his generation, Hesse takes his cue from both the Eastern
and Western traditions, to which his imagery such as the water cycle is indebted. 40
Thematically, the idea of repetition and circularity plays a crucial role in T. S. Eliot's
Four quartets where, on a linguistic level, the poet also makes extensive use of
parallelisms and symmetrical structures. Notably, the incipit of 'East Coker7 (1940)
reads 'In my beginning is my end', and the section concludes with 'In my end is my
beginning7 . Images of circles and spirals held a strong fascination too for W.B.Yeats,
37 Circularity has been associated with eternity since antiquity: 'Aristotle argues [...] that only circular motion
can be eternal' (Van Fraassen, 15).
38 'The best-known nineteenth-century proponent of the theory was Friedrich Nietzsche' (Van Fraassen, 62).
Minimalist music, which originated in the early 1960s, draws on the repetition and iteration of motifs and
musical cells.
39 To be sure, the border between the two traditions is not water-tight since, especially in the case of Buddhism,
the Orient has influenced the Western perspective on eternal return.
40 The Brothers Karamazov, where the concept of eternal return is hinted at in Chapter 9 of Part 4 (Book XI), has
to be mentioned as a possible source for both Nietzsche and Hesse, whose Blick ins Chaos includes a 1919 essay
on Dostoevsky's novel:'Die Briider Karamasoff oder Der Untergang Europas: Einfa'lle bei der Lektiire
Dostojewskijs' (GS VII, 161-178). Eliot greatly admired this essay.
149

as revealed by the opening line of 'The second coming' (1919) and the title of
'Winding stair' (1929). Sisyphus is weighed down not just by the boulder he has to
carry uphill and then fetch once the rock has rolled down from the top, but also by
the metaphysical weight of endless repetition, as portrayed in Camus' The Myth of
Sisyphus (1942). The 'Ewigkeitssuppe' is Thomas Mann's curious and humorous
symbol of eternal recurrence in Der Zauberberg (1924):
Fur jetzt geniigt es, dafi jedermann sich erinnert, wie rasch eine Reihe, ja eine
«lange» Reihe von Tagen vergeht, die man als Kranker im Bette verbringt: es
ist immer derselbe Tag, der sich wiederholt; aber da es immer derselbe ist, so
ist es im Grunde wenig korrekt, von «Wiederholung»zu sprechen; es sollte
von Einerleiheit, von einem stehenden Jetzt oder von der Ewigkeit die Rede
sein. Man bringt dir die Mittagssuppe, wie man sie dir gestern brachte und sie
dir morgen bringen wird. Und in demselben Augenblick weht es dich an
du weifit nicht, wie und woher; dir schwindelt, indes du die Suppe kommen
siehst, die Zeitformen verschwimmen dir, rinnen ineinander, und was sich als
wahre Form des Seins dir enthlillt, ist eine ausdehnungslose Gegenwart, in
welcher man dir ewig die Suppe bringt. (Mann 1924, 243-44).
Mann, like Camus and Nietzsche who, as registered in Chapter 4 (section 4), viewed
history and memory as a burden, accumulates negative associations around the
concept of eternal recurrence. To be sure, the idea retains negative connotations in
both Buddhism and Hinduism, since the circle of incarnations appears as a yoke
from which man seeks liberation. In this regard, Hesse oscillates between the
pessimistic view shared by the three authors mentioned above and Ovid's more
positive outlook. Siddhartha is Hesse's work where circularity is a central, if not
founding, element, and not only because of its setting and ties with Buddhism and
Hinduism. Circularity shapes the novel on several levels, and its images in both
space and time are threaded intimately through the narrative:'Alles kommt wieder!',
Vasudeva announces to Siddhartha,' Auch du, Samana, wirst wiederkommen" (SW
4, 405). The river is the hub of Siddhartha's peregrinations as noted by Shaw: 'Yet as
he gazes upon the river, recalling the enthusiasm with which he had crossed it years
before, Siddhartha remembers that the ferryman had predicted his return to this very
spot' (214). Moritz stresses that repetition informs the rhythm of Hesse's style in this
text (see Chapter 2, section 2).
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Negative connotations accumulate around the theme of recurrence in a
passage of the chapter 'Om', in which Siddhartha in a moment of self-doubt by the
river, sees the life cycle as an intolerable farce binding generation upon generation in
a chain of endless grief:
im still ziehenden Wasser sah er sein Gesicht gespiegelt, und in diesem
gespiegelten Gesicht war etwas, das ihn erinnerte, etwas Vergessenes, und da
er sich besann, fand er es: dies Gesicht glich einem andern, das er einst
gekannt und geliebt und auch gefurchtet hatte. Es glich dem Gesicht seines
Vaters, des Brahmanen. Und er erinnerte sich, [...] Hatte nicht auch sein Vater
um ihn dasselbe Leid gelitten, wie er es nun um seinen Sohn litt? War nicht
sein Vater langst gestorben, allein, ohne seinen Sohn wiedergesehen zu
haben? Mufite er selbst nicht dies selbe Schicksal erwarten? War es nicht eine
Komodie, eine seltsame und dumme Sache, diese Wiederholung, dieses
Laufen in einem verhangnisvollen Kreise?41 (SW 4, 458-59)
Positive associations come to the fore when circularity is paired with fluidity and
mutability, as in the description of the stream of images Govinda sees emanating
from Siddhartha's face in the finale of the novel (see also section 5 in Chapter 4):
[J]ede war ein Sterbenwollen, ein leidenschaftlich schmerzliches Bekenntnis
der Verganglichkeit, und keine starb doch, jede verwandelte sich nur, wurde
stets neu geboren, bekam stets ein neues Gesicht, ohne dafi doch zwischen
einem und dem anderen Gesicht Zeit gelegen ware. (SW 4, 471)
As in Ovid, metamorphosis entails a process of renewal, which changes the sign of
repetition into something positive, unveiling its vital potentialities that merge with
an optimistic outlook on timelessness. Eternity is a dimension where there is neither
life nor death, but rather continuous, cyclical transformation as in the water cycle
symbolized by the river (see citation in the previous section). Hesse's words in
'Kindheit des Zauberers' resound with similar overtones:
Wie wenig Festes, Stabiles, Bleibendes gab es doch! Wie lebte alles, erlitt
Veranderung, sehnte sich nach Wandlung, lag auf der Lauer nach Auflosung
und Neugeburt!' (TF, GS IV, 458)
41 In this context, it is worth registering the active but negative role played by memory. It is, indeed, through its
medium that man becomes aware of the unavoidable, wearing repetition brought about by time.
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While Mann's image of endless repetition ('Ewigkeitssuppe') in Der Zauberberg points
to illness and decay, in spite of its humorous overtones, Hesse's metaphors and
symbols of circularity are ultimately infused with joyous expectations:
Denn das Leben ist keine Rechnung und keine mathematische Figur, sondern
ein Wunder. So war es mein ganzes Leben lang: alles kam wieder, die gleichen
Note, die gleichen Geliiste und Freuden, die gleichen Verlockungen, immer
wieder stiefi ich mir den Kopf an dieselben Kanten, kampfte mit den gleichen
Drachen, jagte den gleichen Faltern nach, wiederholte stets dieselben
Konstellationen und Zustande, und doch war es ein ewig neues Spiel, immer
wieder schon, immer wieder gefahrlich, immer wieder erregend [...] und
nichts hat lange gedauert, alles kehrte stets wieder und war doch nie das
gleiche. (Kur, SW 12,122)
The last sentence of the excerpt above captures the essence of Hesse's discourse on
eternal recurrence by marking the borderline between monotonous repetition and
cyclical transformation; for if 'everything returns but it is never the same', circularity
ceases to be an asphyxiating loop, turning into an open line.
Disregarding this last point for a moment, we may note that scholars have
regarded the structure of Hesse's novels as circular, on various levels. Drawing on
Hesse's triadic pattern of 'Menschwerdung', Karalaschwili describes the unfolding
and progression of Hesse's novels as 'zyklisch'. 42 Moritz speaks of 'Kreisstruktur' in
relation to the composition of the chapter 'Erwachen' in Siddhartha*3 In similar terms,
Boulby underscores the circularity of the inner development of Hesse's protagonists:
Its movement, from within a narrow circle out into the great Without,
culminating in the return within, is in various disguises, right through to the
Glass Bead Game, the characteristic movement of Hesse's novels. (15)
However, it is not so much the circle which Boulby identifies as the main trajectory of
psychological growth among Hesse's main characters as the spiral. The scholar
refines his point further by identifying the spiral as the trajectory described by the
psychological growth of Hesse's main characters: 'the Way is a spiral indeed, not a
circle; and the world of the magician [...] has deep analogies, but no identity, with
42 'der Zeitverlauf ist hier nicht mehr sukzessiv-linear, wie etwa in einem Abenteuerroman, und auch nicht
mehrschichtig-linear, wie in einem sozialen Panoramaroman, sondern er ist zyklisch. Diese Zyklizita't hangt
unmittelbar mit dem Dreiphasenaufbau des Sujets bei Hesse zusammen, wo eine jede der Phasen einer
bestimmten inneren Entwicklungsstufe der Figur entspricht' (Karalaschwili, 225).
43 'Genauso wie die Themen und Motive der Exposition und des Finales sich aufeinander beziehen und eine
Kreisstruktur bilden, beginnt und endet das Kapitel gleich, vgl. den ersten und den letzten Satz' (Moritz, 304).
152

that of the child' (141). 44 Therefore, while the circle, as a symbol, expresses the
negative aspects of eternal recurrence, the 'spiral' takes account of the positive
associations Hesse accumulates around eternal return.
Following the thread of these considerations, two further points on circularity
need to be made by way of conclusion. Firstly, Hesse's literary and pictorial output
can metaphorically be superimposed on the image of the river and the water cycle.
Hesse's novels deal with the same conflicts, although they are presented in a
different light in each work. As noted in Chapter 1, Hesse describes his main
characters as various 'incarnations' of his own self. 45 We stressed that his
protagonists typically stem from the same psychological type, the 'Suchender' (see
Chapter 4, section 1). Arzeni, who lays emphasis on the mystical dimension of
repetition, stresses that Hesse, as a painter, tends to portray similar subjects as if they
were a visual mantra to him:
Beharrlich malt Hesse immer wieder die gleichen Themen, die gleichen
Baume, die gleichen Hauser mit unzahligen kleinen Variationen. Die
Wiederholung schenkt offenbar Frieden. Wie bei jenen Ikonenmalern, die mit
kaum wahrnehmbaren Abweichungen, die nur sie kannten, unendlich oft die
gleiche Figur malten, [...] weil ihre Gedanken sich in dieser unendlichen
Wiederholung klaren und dem Absoluten ein wenig naher kommen. (107)
Secondly, a cyclic pattern can be identified in Hesse's biography too. As noted above,
for all their similarities, the initial and final stages of the triadic process of
'Menschwerdung' do not coincide (see citation above; Boulby, 94), and this
development echoes Hesse's personal evolution: from the clashes with his parents
and the obstinate rejection of authority which characterized his adolescence, as
transliterated into the fiction of Unterm Rad and emblematically witnessed by his
sudden flight from Maulbronn, to his ultimate acceptance, and even endorsement, of
authority, as registered in his later works (e.g. Die Morgenlandfahrt, Das
44 This is also in in line with what expressed by Hesse in'Von der Seele' (1917): 'Nicht zum Kinde, zum
Primitiven zuruck sollen wir, sondern weiter, vorwarts, zu Personlichkeit, Verantwortlichkeit, Freiheit' (GS VII,
72).
45 See section 6 in Chapter 1: 'War es notwendig, daB dem Camenzind, dem Knulp, dem Veraguth, dem
Klingsor und dem Steppenwolf nun nochmals eine Figur folgte, eine neue Inkarnation, eine etwas anders
gemischte und anders differenzierte Verkorperung meines eigenen Wesens im Wort?' ('Eine Arbeitsnacht', SW
12, 125).
153

Glasperlenspiel). Clearly, 'authority' has different, almost diametrically opposed
connotations in his early and later life. In the first case, it entails an external restraint
on his juvenile impulses, while in the latter the word is linked to the idea of order,
voluntary obedience and self-subjugation, as symptomatically shrouded in the name
'Knecht'.46
In seeking to trace this change in attitude, we will focus on three novels which
cover the span of his career and are held together by the common element of the
'monastery 7 : respectively, Unterm Rad (1906), Narzip und Goldmund (1930), and Das
Glasperlenspiel (1943). 47 These novels also present similar dynamics between couples
of characters: Hans Giebenrath and Hermann Heilner; Narzifi and Goldmund;
Joseph Knecht and Plinio Designori. Each couple articulates (synchronically) a
similar dialectical opposition (e.g. reason versus instinct, spirituality versus
sensuality), while each character can be placed (diachronically) in a line of evolution
with his equivalents from the other novels. Giebenrath withers in Maulbronn, where
he is under the sway of the authority in charge of the seminar and the vigorous
personality of his friend Heilner. Narzifi, who gains in psychological stature in
comparison with his predecessor Giebenrath, voluntarily chooses a life encircled by
the seminar walls. Finally, Knecht becomes, as Magister Ludi, champion of the
founding values of the seminar-like Castalia, which he abandons in the end.
Similarly, Hermann Heilner, whose fellow seminarians shun by virtue of his clashes
with the seminary authority, foreshadows the impetus and eroticism of Goldmund.
The feature of the former characters reappear in Designori, whose wit and acumen,
however, now fade into the background when compared to Knecht's powers of
introspection. Hesse's own evolution parallels the development of the two series of
characters: his early rejection of authority coupled with his individual drive
culminates in the escape from Maulbronn, as symbolically threaded into the
narrative of Unterm Rad. The spiritual component of Hesse's personality and its
46 This shift in perspective is, however, not solely the result of Hesse's ageing process but is also his personal
response to the historical juncture and the chaos brought about by the wars. In this sense, his later idea of
'authority' cannot be assimilated into any form of despotism.
47 As argued in Chapter 1 (section 6), our underlying assumption is that Hesse's novels and his biography are
intimately allied.
154

sensual counterpart reach a near equilibrium at the time when Hesse starts his
relationship with Ninon, whom he married in 1931 (see 3.1). Although Goldmund's
peregrinations are in the foreground, the balance contained in the psychological
characterisation of Narzifi and Goldmund is an expression of this new frame of
mind. 48 Impending old age and the war years bring Hesse's spiritual side to the fore
as witnessed by Knecht's prominent position in the narrative as well as within the
ranks of Castalia. Observing the reflections of Hesse's life in the mirror of his fiction
we are led to consider the possibility that, symbolically, Hesse concludes his spiritual
journey, begun with the flight from Maulbronn, by returning to the seminar. Yet, as
'the true Way is in fact not a circle, it is a spiral' (Boulby 94), Knecht's departure from
Castalia foreshadows and points the direction of a possible new spiritual pilgrimage,
a new beginning, and for his author too:
Hesse knew that, in the deepest sense, he who bursts out from the cloister
must always seek to find his way back within, but on a different level of being;
[...] cradle and coffin are one and yet different. (Boulby, 94)
5.4 Time changes to space
The frequent contamination between different sensory domains through the use of
synesthesia as a fashionable literary device in the early twentieth century was
discussed in section 1 of Chapter 2 and mentioned in passing in the second section of
this chapter. In the preliminary considerations of the present chapter, we also
highlighted the strong attention that was drawn in the same period from the field of
science to the interrelation of time and space, especially as a result of Einstein's
contribution.49 This investigative interest in the nature of time, and its ties with space,
48 In Unterm Rod and Das Glasperlenspiel, the narrator focuses on the characters who stay within the boundaries
of the authority (Heilner, Knecht), while in Narzift und Goldmund it is Goldmund's experiences outside the walls
of the seminary which occupy the larger part of the narrative.
49 As highlighted by Reichenbach in The Philosophy of Space and Time (1928): 'space measurements are
reducible to time measurements' (35). The pairing of time and space is, however, not limited to the scientific
field, nor is it confined to the early twentieth century. In the literary criticism of the late twentieth century, the
chronotope is described by its proponent as 'the primary means for materializing time in space' (Bakhtin, 22).
Moreover, spatial and temporal coordinates have always defined our everyday life experience. As Boehm points
out: 'Die Raum-Zeit ist wiederum das Medium menschlicher Erfahrungen, der Bewegung, des Handelns,
Erzahlens, Lesens der Sinnesaktivitaten' (177). The instinctive human awareness of the interdependence of time
155

spread very rapidly to the human sciences, the arts, and literature of the same period.
The intersection of time and space gains prominence in the Four Quartets, where the
titles of the four sections ('Burnt Norton', 'East Coker, The Dry Salvages', and 'Little
Gidding') all derive from place names and are Eliot's point of departure for his
discourse on time. 50 In Der Zauberberg, Hans Castorp's speculations on time-space
measurements with his cousin Joachim seem to announce Reichenbach's
considerations (Reichenbach's study was published four years later than Mann's
novel, see note 56):
«Die Zeit ist doch tiberhaupt nicht . [...] 1st das eine Bewegung,
eine raumliche Bewegung, nicht wahr? Halt, warte! Wir messen also die Zeit
mit dem Raume, aber das ist doch ebenso, als wollten wir den Raum an der
Zeit messen, - was doch nur ganz unwissenschaftliche Leute tun. Von
Hamburg nach Davos sind zwanzig Stunden, - ja, mit der Eisenbahn. Aber zu
Fufi, wie lange ist es da? Und in Gedanken? Keine Sekunde!» (1924, 98)
Hesse's elaboration on the interrelations between space and time takes a cue from
this debate, as is evident in Die Morgenlandfahrt, where the narrator H. H. 'observes
that the Journey to the East is a voyage through time as well, a road to Xanadu which
leads back into the land of childhood' (Boulby, 247). 51 Hesse's interest in the
interdependence of time and space has an interesting poetic and aesthetic corollary:
the inscription on one of the doors of the Magic Theatre in Der Steppenwolf defines the
quintessence of art as 'Die Verwandlung von Zeit in Raum durch die Musik' (Ste, GS
IV, 386). This statement, which resounds with relativistic overtones, is also indebted
to a tradition that extends in German intellectual history at least from Romanticism
to Wagner and his operatic transliteration of Eschenbach's Parzival. 52 Scher, who
and space is, as Jammer notes, revealed on a linguistic level too: 'Today we still speak of a "short" or "long"
interval of time; we say "thereafter" instead of "thenafter," or "always" instead of "at all times'" (9). The
intersection of space and time also emerges in the English 'span' and in the German 'Zeitraum' and 'Zeitpunkt'.
50 Account must also be taken of lines such as 'We cannot think of a time that is oceanless' (Dry Salvages, II).
51 See note 40 for original excerpt from Die Morgenlandfahrt. See also Karalaschwili, 243.
52 'For the Schlegels', Boulby notes, 'architecture [was] conceived of as frozen music' (161). In Wagner's
Parsifal, completed and premiered in 1882, Gurnemanz says to Parsifal at the end of the first scene of Act I: 'Du
siehst, mein Sohn, zum Raum wird hier die Zeit' (Wagner 1972, 112). Although it is difficult to document any
direct influence of either Eschenbach's text or Wagner's libretto on Hesse in this respect, it is worth noting that
'Klingsor' appears as one of the characters in Parsifal and that mentions of Parzival crop up in 'Chagrin
d'Amour' ([1907] SW 9, 248), 'Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur' ([1929], GS VII, 319), and Die
156

traces the heritage of this tradition back to Lessing, notes that writers of any time are
forced to call on images if they attempt to 'transduce' music into the medium of
words:
[the] creation of the illusion of 'musical7 motion within a 'musical landscape'
seems the most successful solution to this problem. Strangely enough, [...]
prose tends to create 'space' to demonstrate musical movement, although
prose as such has its own progressive (linguistic) motion in time (cf. Lessing's
Laokoon). Is it conceivable, then, that prose working with the 'nonspatial'
material of words must be inevitably 'unfaithful' to its own principles to be
able to make musical movement more 'visible'?53 (1968,154)
Rilke's 'An die Musik' (1918) offers a paradigmatic example of Scher's argument:
Musik: Atem der Statuen. Vielleicht:
Stille der Bilder. Du Sprache wo Sprachen
enden. Du Zeit,
die senkrecht steht auf der Richtung vergehender Herzen.
Gefuhle zu wem? O du der Gefuhle
Wandlung in was? -: in horbare Landschaft.
Du Fremde: Musik. Du uns entwachsener
Herzraum. Innigstes unser,
das, uns iibersteigend, hinausdrangt, -
heiliger Abschied:
da uns das Innre umsteht
als geiibteste Feme, als andre
Seite der Luft:
rein,
riesig,
nicht mehr bewohnbar. (1955-1966, 111)
Pronounced similarities link this poem with Hesse's poetics and aesthetics. As in
Hesse, music equals time (cf. 'Das Wesen der Musik ist Zeit' in 5.2) and is the
language where words lose their power (cf. 'Sprache ohne Worte' in Chapter 2,
section 4.1). The idea of transformation ('Wandlung'), especially the transmutation of
the temporal into the visual ('horbare Landschaft'), is integral to Rilke's poem. As we
will note in the rest of this section, two further elements point us towards Hesse's
Morgenlandfahrt, where H. H. states: 'meine Gesellschaft bestand aus den Lieblingsfiguren meiner Bucher, es
ritten Almansor und ParzivaF (SW 4, 547).
53 Although he approaches the question from a different angle, Tom Service underlines the common temporal
denominator in the concurrent exposition to a piece of music and a landscape: 'The deep connection between the
experience of a piece of music and the experience of a landscape is their shared temporality' (13).
157

poetic world: the metaphor of the soul as 'Herzraum' and the reconciliation of the
self with the external reality of the world by means of music.
Hesse's 'Orgelspiel' (1937), which recalls Rilke's poem thematically and
structurally, expresses feelings elicited by the sound of an organ through the use of
images: 'Sich Musik aufbaut zu geistigen Raumen' (Musik, 27). 54 Schlegel's idea of
architecture as 'frozen music' (see note 59) resonates with Rilke's metaphor ('Atem
der Statuen') and is echoed in the image of music as 'frozen time' in Der Steppenwolf.
As noted above (see 5.2.), the idea of eternity and the music of Bach and Mozart are
often brought together in Hesse. According to Harry Haller, Mozart's 'Cassations'
and Bach's 'Das Wohltemperierte Klavier' cause time to solidify 'Ja, das war es, diese
Musik war so etwas wie zu Raum gefrorene Zeit' (SW 4,147). 55
Der Steppenwolf and Siddhartha are the two novels where Hesse's
conceptualisation of the transformation of time into space achieves almost a visible
form. With regard to Der Steppenwolf, this holds true especially in the Magic Theatre,
the point of departure for the present discussion. As highlighted by Karalaschwili,
'Dieses Verwandlungsprinzip von Zeit in Raum realisiert sich am anschaulichsten in
den Szenen des «Magischen Theaters», das schon in seiner aufieren Form ein Raum
ist' (229). The alchemic mutation does not, however, take place in any physical space
('Raum') within the Magic Theater, but in Harry's soul. By escorting him into the
theatre, Pablo clearly states that Haller is only offered the opportunity to penetrate
the images of his memory, the 'Bildersaal' of his own soul: 'Ich kann Ihnen nichts
geben, was nicht in Ihnen selbst schon existiert, ich kann Ihnen keinen andern
Bildersaal offnen als den Ihrer Seele' (SW 4,165). 56 It is indeed in the soul, in
memory, that time stops and, from impalpable, condenses into space, unleashing a
multitude of images:
54 As a motif, the sound of the organ occurs in 'Alte Musik' (1913), producing a similar effect: 'Da, ein hoher
starker Orgelton. Er fullt, anwachsend, den ungeheuren Raum, er wird selber zum Raume, umhullt uns ganz'
(Musik, 25).
55 In a letter of 1940 to Otto Korradi, Hesse restates this belief along with his idea of music as 'pure present' (see
section on simultaneity, 5.2): 'Sie [die Musik] ist, so scheint mir, philosophisch formuliert: asthetisch
wahrnehmbar gemachte Zeit. Und zwar Gegenwart' (Musik, 177).
56 It should be noted that Pablo uses the word 'Bildersaal' to refer to the Magic Theater too (Ste, SW 4, 201).
158

in meinem Gehirn waren tausend Bilder gestapelt: Giottosche Engelscharen
aus einem kleinen blauen Kirchengewolbe in Padua, und neben ihnen gingen
Hamlet und die bekranzte Ophelia, schone Gleichnisse aller Trauer und alles
Mifiverstandnisses in der Welt, da stand im brennenden Ballon der
Luftschiffer Gianozzo und stiefi ins Horn, trug Attila Schmelzle seinen neuen
Hut in der Hand, stiefi der Borobudur sein Skulpturengebirg in die Liifte.57
(Ste, SW 4, 36)
Since the space of the soul and, by implication, memory can host a virtually infinite
number of images, it can also contain all of time, eternity:
Alles ist sehr einfach, wenn man sich die Seele als einen unendlichen Raum
vorstellt, in dem alle Zeiten simultan koexistieren und wo sich in jedem
Augenblick das Sein in seiner ganzen Totalitat unterbringen la'sst.
(Karalaschwili, 230)
Turning our attention to Siddhartha, Moritz argues incisively that the transformation
of time into space has intriguing implications within the novel, where the
contamination of the spatial (visual) and temporal cristallizes into the form of the
compound 'Augenblick', which occurs several times throughout the novel:
Die Motive Gesicht, Auge und Blick erscheinen in verschiedenen Kontexten,
zum Ende hin wird das Wortspiel Augenblick = Auge + Blick immer
deutlicher [...] Die Schlusspassage vereinigt den visuellen Aspekt des Augen-
Blick-Motivs mit dem zeitlichen. (313)
Moritz goes further and stresses that the agglutination of time and space in
'Augenblick7 contains the germs of eternity: 'Aus mehreren Blicken in die Augen
wird am Ende ein "ewiger" Augenblick' (Moritz, 314). 58
5.5 The weightlessness of eternity
In section 5 of Chapter 4, we mentioned that Hesse's characters discover the secrets
of metamorphosis through other characters. We also noted that, in the case of Piktor
and Haller, their mentors are related to eternity: a bird in paradise in Piktors
57 'Doch kaum, dafi Haller sein Augenmerk nach innen wendet, bleibt die Zeit stehen und verwandelt sich in eine
Anzahl von Bildern, die verschiedene Seelenaspekte des Protagonisten darstellen' (Karalaschwili, 229).
58 SR *•« ••• • . ,«. -. ••• « A tl'l ^T T^_ _._!_*_?___ J___ *_l__li1*.t »^ r • i i
See especially the sections 'Verra'umlichung des Augenblicks. Zur Funktion der inhaltlichen Wiederholungen'
and id 'Augen-Blicke: 'Auge Motivspiele und Figuren. Visuelle Buntheit versus klangliche Einheit' (Moritz, 288-326).
159

Verwandlungen, Goethe and Mozart-Pablo in Der Steppenwolf. As a sign of their
immortality, they share the quality of lightness. The bird, indeed, is described as
weightless:
[der Vogel] hatte keine Wurzeln mehr, riihrte sich leicht, schwebte langsam
empor, und war ein glanzender Schmetterling geworden, der wiegte sich
schwebend, ohne Gewicht, ohne Licht, ganz leuchtendes Gesicht. (PV, SW 9,
189)
Goethe, despite his age, is a nimble dancer:
seine Gestalt war grofier geworden, die steife Haltung und die krampfhafte
Wiirde im Gesicht war verschwunden. [...] er tanzelte vergniigt und gelenkig
auf und nieder und liefi die Primel aus seinem Stern bald wie eine Rakete
herausschiefien, bald klein werden und verschwinden. (Ste, SW 4, 96-97)
In the Magic Theatre, Mozart turns into a falling star: 'er flog davon, der Zopf wurde
langer und langer, wie ein Kometenschweif, an dessen Ende ich hing und durch die
Welt gewirbelt wurde' (Ste, SW 4,194).59
Lightness is an attribute of other characters who are associated with eternal
values such as Leo, 'who has such an elastic step' (Boulby, 252), or Joseph Knecht,
whose gait Meister Alexander describes as 'ein bestimmter und taktfester, aber
leichter, ja beinah schwebender Schritt, zwischen wiirdig und kindlich, zwischen
priesterlich und tanzerisch' (Glas, SW 5, 374). 60
As an attribute of eternity, lightness resonates powerfully with another quality
of the characters who are associated to the timeless: humour. The Immortals are not
just 'light', but light-hearted too (see introductory section to Chapter 6). With regard
to the bird and the network of associations that Hesse seems to build on this animal,
account must be taken of two elements: the first relates to a traditional religious
iconology, especially within pietist circles, which considers the bird as a symbol of
59 The connection between the bird and 'die Unsterblichen' is also apparent on a linguistic level. Mozart is able
to 'fly', and the tight pace of the syntax in the description of the bird 'mil diesen Worten schiittelte der frohe
Vogel sein Gefieder, nickte mit dem Hals, wippte mit dem Schwanz, zwinkerte mit dem Auge, lachte noch
einmal, dann blieb er regungslos sitzen, saG still im Gras' (PV, SW 9, 188-89) reappears in Mozart's mockery of
Haller, which also features similarly rhymed patterns: 'o du glaubiges Herze, mit deiner DruckerschwSrze, mit
deinem Seelenschmerze, ich stifte dir eine Kerze, nur so zum Scherze. Geschnickelt, geschnakelt, spektakelt,
schabernackelt, mit dem Schwanz gewackelt, nicht lang gefackelt' (Ste, SW 4, 194).
60 As highlighted by the use of'tanzelte' (Goethe) and 'tanzerisch' (Knecht), both Goethe and Knecht are
associated with dance. See also previous considerations on 'whistling and dancing' in Chapter 3 (section 5).
160

the soul;61 the second element is a crucial biographical event, the death of Johannes
Hesse, the poet's father, on 8 th March 1916. 'Der Strick ist zerrissen, der Vogel ist frei'
(Psalms, 124:7), which also concludes the commemorative 'Zum Gedachtnis', is the
inscription Hesse and his siblings chose for their father's gravestone. Although the
'bird7 makes its way into Hesse's earlier works such as the novel fragment Berthold,
the composition of which dates back to approximately 1907 and, as registered by
Boulby (note 62), into 'Julius Abdereggs erste und zweite Kindheit' (SW 1, 550-575),
written between 1901 and 1902, it is the loss of the father that brings about an
intensification in the use of images and metaphors related to the bird. 62 The symbol
occurs at the end of 'Der schwere Weg', first published in Die neue Rundschau in 1917,
where a bird croaks 'Ewigkeit, Ewigkeit!' (GS III, 326).63 In 'Iris' (1918), the bird's
song evokes the voice of the departed Iris, thereby underscoring the ties between the
bird and the afterlife. 64 The 'bird' also gains prominence in Demian (1917), as noted
by Ziolkowski:
The two central symbols in the second half of the book are likewise religious
but no longer conventional Christian ones. The bird breaking its way out of an
egg, an image of spiritual rebirth that recurs constantly from the first page to
the last, is borrowed by way of Johann Jakob Bachofen from late Roman
cultism. (2007, 45)
The presence of the bird and its associations with the soul and eternity echo
throughout Hesse's later writings. In Siddhartha (1921), the protagonist is compared
to the bird, strangely unable to sing which Kamala keeps in a golden cage. In Narzifl
und Goldmund (1930), where 'Goldmund sprach mit dem goldenen Munde Worte,
61 Karashwili points out that '[Der Vogel weist] bekanntlich als ein dem Himmel verwandtes Wesen auf die
Seele und den Geist hin' (181), and Boulby similarly notes: 'The bird is clearly also to be seen as a traditional
symbol for the soul' (109). In this respect, pronounced similarities link the 'bird' and the 'butterfly', the latter
being an intermediate stage of the former's evolutions in Piktors Verwandlungen. The butterfly too, which Hesse
terms 'Wappentier der Seele' (see above, 5.2) and which the ancient Greeks associated with immortality (See
Chapter 4, fh. 48), is a symbol of the soul.
62 Berthold's dreams turn his trepidation into 'flugelschlagendem Gliick' which, in turn, transforms his soul 'zu
einem Kinde [...], das im Grase spielt, und zu einem Voglein, das in den Lttften jauchzt' (SW 7, 106).
63 As a further trait d'union between the 'bird' and the Immortals, both 'Die Unsterblichen' and the 'bird'
produce sounds and live in environments hardly bearable to human beings. Haller describes Mozart's laughter as
'kalt und unerbittlich' (SW 4, 163) and, as noted in 4.5, the Immortals endure 'eine scheuBlich dunne Eisluft'
(SW 4, 194). In a similar vein, the narrator of 'Der schwere Weg' characterizes the bird's song as '[s]chwer zu
ertragen' and the surrounding scenery with the words: 'und furchtbar war vor allem die Einsamkeit und Leere
dieses Ortes, die schwindelnde Weite der 6den Himmelsraume' (GS III, 326).
64 'Ein Vogel sang vor ihm im Erlengebusch, der hatte eine seltene, siiBe Stimme, wie die Stimme der
gestorbenen Iris' (GS III, 382).
161

und die Worte waren kleine schwarmende Vogel', '[t]he color gold is again primarily
that of iconography, and the birds are the eloquence of the soul' (Boulby, 216). The
symbol resurfaces in 'Vogel' (1932) and persists until Hesse's very last days. Indeed,
his last night, 9 August 1962, was spent with his wife Ninon. 'Without doubt they
listened to a piano sonata by Mozart over the radio, and he [Hesse] wrote a poem
about [a] branch that refused to die' (Freedman 1979, 390). 65 The title of this last
poem, 'Knarren eines geknickten Astes', where the past participle 'geknickt'
resonates powerfully with 'zerissen', ironically parallels and echoes the epitaph on
his father's grave.
65 Schneider provides a detailed reference to the piano sonata: 'on the eve of his death he [Hesse] heard a kind
of viaticum a radio performance of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 7 in C Major (KV309)' (389).
162

Chapter 6 Humour, Romantic irony, and laughter:
Ingredients for eternity
This chapter follows on from the discussion in Chapter 5, for Hesse's concept of
humour is closely related to his idea of time, and eternity in particular.
Commentators such as Boulby and Hesse's colleagues (Mann, Gide) have, in passing,
drawn attention to certain aspects of his works that can be linked with humour, but
only few such as Ziolkowski (1965), Hollis (1973,1978), and Theodorou (2007), have
specifically studied the subject of humour in relation to Hesse's literary production. 1
Both Hollis and Theodorou focus their attention on Der Steppenwolf, where humour is
prevalently associated with characters such as 'die Unsterblichen' (Goethe and
Mozart) and Pablo, who is Mozart's double in the novel (see Chapter 3, section 4).
Indeed, the 'smile' (e.g. God in Knulp, Buddha and Vasudeva in Siddhartha, Leo in Die
Morgenlandfahrt) and 'laughter' (Goethe, Mozart, and Pablo in Der Steppenwolf) are
among the distinguishing features of those characters portrayed as immortals, or
connected to timelessness, in Hesse's novels. 2 In his works, Hesse also points out that
humour represents an attempt to bridge the gap between a dimension under the
sway of time (real) and one freed from its influence (ideal).3
There is a further important connection between humour and time that should
be mentioned in relation to Hesse. As pointed out by Freud and Bergson (see section
6.1), humour implies a certain 'distance' from a given situation or frame of mind no
humour is indeed possible if one is entangled in the present moment. By projecting
events or emotions backwards (or forwards) in time, humour allows Hesse's
characters to distance themselves from their individuality (or principium
individuationis) and to achieve self-irony, which is one of the most apparent forms of
humour in his works (see especially section 6.3).
1 Ziolkowski, whose chapter 'Perspectives of Reality: Humor' (61-69) is part of his study on the novels of Hesse
(1965), is one of the authors Hollis engages with in his contributions, which appeared in 1973 and 1978
respectively. Theodorou's article, on the contrary, seems to prescind from Ziolkowski's work.
2 In this respect, Hesse takes his cue from Nietzsche, as Theodorou notes: 'Nietzsches «hohere Menschen» sind
mit Hesses «Unsterblichen» verwandt, deren bezeichnendstes Merkmal das Lachen ist' (135).
3 '[Humour] involves lifting oneself in the imagination beyond the sphere of normal life, having the sensation of
being an Immortal, beyond time and life, -without actually being one' (Hollis 1973, 102; original emphasis).
163

After dealing with the rather problematic definition of humour in section 6.1,
where approaches and conclusions of scholars are examined and discussed with a
view to outlining the conceptual framework of our investigation in the rest of the
chapter, the question of an evolution in Hesse's humour throughout his career is
addressed in 6.2, while section 6.3 investigates humour as an expression of the
contrast between ideal and reality in Hesse's works. Mozart and Pablo in Der
Steppenwolf are the focus of section 6.4, the first part of which highlights the features
these characters share with the 'joker' and the 'fool', while the second part
concentrates on the similarities of their 'Humor' and on the implications of such
analogies. Finally, the modernity, or indeed, the a-temporal significance of Hesse's
contribution to twentieth-century literature will be discussed in connection with his
use of narrative irony (6.6).
6.1 Humour: In search of a definition
As noted in the Introduction to this thesis, one of humour's distinguishing features is
its elusiveness. 4 As with emotions, memories and, of course, music, the more we try
to understand mechanisms of humour and pin down its essence, the more we miss
the target or end with a partial view of the phenomenon. 5 Humour would seem to
validate Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty in that the act of observation, or the
presence of an observer, somehow affects the observed object; moreover, if we
concentrate on one aspect of humour and give a detailed account of it, we will fail to
be as accurate with another. As Miller observes, '[tjhis is a common feature of
theories about humour: practically none of them cover the whole topic' (10). This also
accounts for the fact that explaining a joke implies spoiling it, as Grotjahn points out:
'Laughter has a tendency to disappear when we focus our intellect on it and try to
understand it' (vii). Therefore, most scholars have restricted the scope of their
4 In his study on humour, Pirandello notes the curious shift in meaning the Latin word humor, or umor undergoes
throughout the centuries: from the materiality of a bodily fluid to the impalpable qualities of the modern
connotations (see especially 'La parola «umorismo»', 3-12 ).
5 Raskin adds: 'Other examples of undefined phenomena which have been evaluated in these terms include love,
happiness, faith, success, ddtente, and supply-side economy' (9).
164

investigation to certain contexts, features, or expressions of humour, while '[o]ther
authors have found it necessary to apologize, somewhat curiously, for the fact that
their books or articles on humor are not funny' (Raskin, 7). 6
As far as the present discussion is concerned, its aim is to analyse the
machinery of humour, focusing on those dialectical aspects that, as mentioned above,
ultimately point to the dualism of ideal and reality; for this reason, developing a
detailed taxonomy of all expressions related to humour (e.g. sarcasm, black humour,
caricature, nonsense, witticism, pun, conundrum) forms no part of the present
discussion. Before going any further, however, there is just one consideration which
needs to be put forward: regardless of their approach, most researchers in the field of
humour have included some reference to Bergson or Freud in their analyses, thereby
highlighting the fundamental contributions of these scholars to the discussion on
humour (see for example Koestler, 32). 7
In what follows, four key features of humour will be considered before
drawing attention to one aspect which, common to most theories and approaches,
will be a point of departure for the discussion in the rest of the chapter. Firstly,
humour can be regarded as a civilized and sophisticated form of aggression
apparent, for example, in ridiculing someone:
Laughter was born out of hostility. If there had been no hostility in man, there
would have been no laughter (and, incidentally, no need for laughter). All the
current types of wit and humor retain evidence of this hostile origin. (Raskin,
'Behind the cackle', Neve suggests, 'lurks the desire, lurks the intention, to hurt. This
is a real possibility, and one authority for it is Darwin' (36). 8
Secondly, both Bergson and Freud lay emphasis on the unsympathetic nature
of humour: 'Indifference is its [humour] natural environment, for laughter has no
6 Grotjahn, for example, is among these authors: 'One more rather saddening denial and warning has to be put in
here: the book is, to my regret, not funny' (vii). Similar considerations can be made for those authors who, like
Nietzsche, are terribly serious in advocating humour as a balsam to the soul.
7 Sigmund Freud's Der Witz undseine Beziehung zum Unbewussten was published in 1905, just six years after
Henri Bergson's Le rire: Essai sur la signification du comique (1899). Freud elaborates further on humour in his
article 'Der Humor' of 1927.
8 Bremmer and Roodenburg strikes a similar chord: 'Laughter can be threatening and, indeed, ethologists have
suggested that laughter originated in an aggressive display of teeth' (2).
165

greater foe than emotion' (Bergson, 4). 'Die Lust des [Humors]', Freud points out,
'schien uns aus [...] erspartem Gefuehlsaufwand hervorzugehen' (1905, 219; original
emphasis). 9
A third point is that humour, as sublimated hostility, not only expresses
individual acrimony but can also be, as Bergson suggests, a form of punishment
society inflicts on those who infringe its rules. In short, Bergson identifies laughter as
a social 'corrective':
Being intended to humiliate, it must make a painful impression on the person
against whom it is directed. By laughter, society avenges itself for the liberties
taken with it. 10 (197)
A further observation stems directly from the previous three. Following a
possible line of evolution, human beings must have learnt to distance themselves
from their individuality at some stage and, in the form of affectionate ridicule, direct
their hostility against themselves and laugh; in brief, mankind eventually accessed
the realm of self-irony.
A final point, crucial to the discussion in the remainder of the chapter, is that,
regardless of their background or approach (sociological, linguistic,
psychoanalytical), scholars tend to find similar answers to the questions of what is
hidden in the punch-line of a joke or what kind of psychological dynamics it triggers.
The anthropologist Mary Douglas describes a joke as
a play upon form. It brings into relation disparate elements in such a way that
one accepted pattern is challenged by the appearance of another which in
some way was hidden in the first. (150)
Raskin stresses that 'humor [...] introduces] two different levels of perception at the
same time' (41) and, as a linguist, he puts forward his idea of humour as the
overlapping of two 'scripts' that are opposite to some degree (see 130-31). The
essayist and novelist Arthur Koestler, who brings out an underlying paradox implicit
in the workings of laughter (30-32), proposes his model, mainly expounded in the
9 Freud's article of 1927 restates the same view: 'der humoristische Lustgewinn [geht] aus erspartem
Gefuhlsaufwand hervor' (1927, para. 1 of 14).
10 A typical example is offered by somebody who walks naked on a street, thereby becoming the object of
ridicule of passers-by: this person's transgression of the common sense of decency is punished with laughter.
166

chapter 'The Logic of Laughter7 (27-55), according to which humour springs from the
unexpected association of two 'previously unconnected' (45) patterns or, as he puts
it, 'matrices of experience' (ibid.).
The descriptions of humour given above show a common dialectical
foundation. 11 Humour brings together two disparate, or even opposite, elements
(thesis and antithesis), be they patterns, strands of thought, or scripts, and make
them clash and coalesce (synthesis) for a fraction of time. 12 The dialectical dynamic of
humour, which is apparent in the pun, is also key to the concept of Romantic irony as
well as to Hesse's idea of 'Humor', both rooted in the dichotomy between ideal and
reality (see section 6.3). 13
As noted above, it is generally assumed that humour retains traces of violent
instincts. This ancestral hostility has a further sociological implication, for humour
can be seen as an outlet for subversive energy. In a perspective influenced by both
Bergson and Freud, Mary Douglas highlights the destabilising effect of humour in
the private sphere: 'the essence of the joke is that something formal is attacked by
something informal, something organised and controlled, by something vital,
energetic' (149). She takes her point further and suggests that humour can trigger
unexpected associations, leading individuals to question a learnt behaviour and
inciting them to new possibilities, although humour does not ultimately bring about
any real change:
The joke merely affords opportunity for realising that an accepted pattern has
no necessity. Its excitement lies in the suggestion that any particular ordering
11 Although Neil Schaeffer presents 'context as the definitive feature of laughter' (2), he later integrates the
dialectical component discussed above by pointing out: 'juxtaposition of incongruous elements appears to
contain a significance even if we are unable or unwilling to state precisely what it is' (7).
12 In this context, it is worth stressing the link between humour and the 'fleeting', as common experience
suggests in connection with the readiness required in the delivery of a verbal joke. The preparation stage of a
joke accumulates expectancy on the listener's part that it is suddenly neutralized or dissipated a second after the
punch-line has triggered the laughter. Humour therefore appears associated with the 'moment' on the one
hand although in the specific case of a joke and, at least for Hesse, to eternity on the other.
13 As underlined by Brown and Ziolkowski (see note 38 in Chapter 2, section 4), a pun is also evocative of the
technique of the counterpoint, through which two independent musical lines are woven together to form one
coherent, and comprehensible, musical idea. It should be noted that Hesse uses the word 'Humor' sparingly. The
expression, for instance, does not crop up in Knulp, Demian, Klingsors letzter Sommer, or Siddhartha. This fact
is not surprising with regard to Demian and Siddhartha, which Ziolkowski describes as devoid of humour (see
below in this section), but it does surprise one in relation to Klingsors letzter Sommer where, as Diirr notes,
'fmdet sich eine eigentumliche, gefahrvolle Ironic ein, die hochstens in einen verganglichen Galgenhumor
ausartet' (42). Henceforth, we will refer to Hesse's specific idea of humour with the German 'Humor'.
167

of experience may be arbitrary and subjective. It is frivolous in that it
produces no real alternative, only an exhilarating sense of freedom from form
in general. (Douglas, 150-51)
Mary Douglas here refers primarily to the personal dimension of an individual; her
statement, however, holds true when extended to the social sphere. Humour can
indeed be seen as a way to offload the dissatisfaction of not just an individual but a
group who come to question the status quo of a given society. In her article,
'Humour and the public sphere in nineteenth-century Germany', Mary Lee
Townsend, argues that before 1848, 'in Germany as elsewhere, the voice of the
people had been stifled and forced to express itself through the ambiguities of
humour and satire7 (200). She also highlights the high degree of controversy over the
issue whether the satirical impulse typical of that period was a progressive force or,
on the contrary, 'a subtle form of social control that served to pacify further an
already docile population' (201). 14
The idea of humour as a social agent lies at the core of Mihkail Bakhtin's
analysis of social and literary interaction during the Renaissance. He identifies two
poles in the culture of the time: that of a cultivated establishment, and that of
antagonistic ordinary people. 15 These social and cultural contrasts, arising from class
division, would symbolically flare up at carnival, which, by playful staging of a
social turnaround, channelled the dissatisfaction among the lower population strata
at their subordinate condition:
The world is briefly and safely subverted in carnival time, in festival time, in
order to allow us briefly to rehearse and revise the categories by which we live
for the rest of the year. (Miller, 16)
The essence of carnival, therefore, lies in an impulse to 'overturn] reality' (Gurevich,
57) or, it can be added, to overturn realities, an impetus to new perspectives which is,
however, confined to a given period of time. This idea of carnival immediately links
14 'Some, including radicals and conservatives', Townsend notes, 'believed that humour encouraged citizens to
dissipate the anger and frustration that they otherwise might have directed against the established order' (201).
15 'It was the official culture, the culture of the Church, the culture of the educated literati [...] the people who
never laughed and even hated laughter [...] On the other pole of medieval culture Bakhtin found popular
tradition, which was dominated by laughter' (Gurevich, 55). It should be noted, however, that Gurevich rejects
Bakhtin's view of laughter as the prerogative of the masses, although he does not dismiss Bakhtin's argument on
the dynamics of carnival, which is fundamental to the present discussion.
168

to Hesse and, more precisely, to the sections of the 'Maskenball' and 'Magisches
Theater7, where a carnival in miniature is 'staged' and where even temporality is in
danger of being overturned Haller is, indeed, offered the opportunity to overcome
• •
time ('Uberwindung der Zeit'; SW 4,166) through its transformation into space (see
discussion in Chapter 5, section 4). 16 By entering the various theatre booths, Haller
takes part in a series of events, culminating in an illusory murder, that lead him to
drastically reconsider his beliefs. However, all the subversive potential of the night in
the Masked Ball and Magic Theatre appears to be dispelled at dawn, as at the end of
carnival.
6.2 Evolution of Hesse's 'Humor7
While studies on humour try to identify a common denominator, its appreciation is
ultimately a subjective matter. We might well understand a joke but not find it
amusing (e.g. we perceive it as offensive). 17 As obvious as it may seem, 'the life
experience of an individual', Raskin notes, 'is an important factor. What made me
laugh 20 years ago may fail now' (4). Moreover, people try to make others laugh with
what made them laugh in the first place; therefore, not only the reception, but also
the production of humour is dependent on personal taste which, steeped in the social
context, evolves with time. 18 Time is therefore a factor that needs to be taken into
account when investigating a person's sense of humour.
As far as Hesse is concerned, Ziolkowski traces a trajectory of the evolution of
Hesse's 'Humor7 which parallels the major changes in Hesse's musical taste, as
16 Underlining the analogy between 'KarnevaP and the 'Maskenball', Karalaschwili highlights the dialectical
character of both: 'Erstens darf man nicht auBer acht lassen, daB der Maskenball, gleich dem Karneval, einen
prinzipiell ambivalenten Zwei-Pol Charakter hat, wo Unten und Oben, Tod und Geburt, HaB und Liebe auf
unmittelbarste Weise zusammenhangen' (176).
17 Douglas stresses that while laughter might arise from humour, the lack of it does not necessarily indicate the
absence of the latter: 'One can appreciate a joke without actually laughing, and one can laugh for other reasons
than from having perceived a joke' (148).
18 Douglas highlights the importance of the social sphere in the individual appreciation of humour by pointing
out that 'the social dimension enters at all levels into the perception of a joke. Even its typical patterning depends
on a social valuation of the elements' (151). She goes further and affirms that 'all jokes are expressive of the
social situations in which they occur' (152). Like humour, laughter is socially determined: 'laughter is just as
much a culturally determined phenomenon as humour' (Bremmer and Roodenburg, 3).
169

identified by Ziolkoski (see Chapter 3, section 1). Indeed, Ziolkowski identifies a
threefold pattern in the development of Hesse's 'Humor', moving 'from a desperate
gallows humor, through the rousing laughter of the Immortals, to the beatific smiling
irony of the Glass Bead Game' (1965, 69). 19 Without refuting Ziolkowski's argument,
Hesse's 'Humor', as it appears from his works, does not undergo substantial changes
throughout his career. Hermann Lauscher's 'fast feindselig[e] Ironie' (1900; SW 1,
224) prefigures the bitter irony and sarcasm of Haller in Der Steppenwolf (1927). Leo's
'frommes dienendes Bischofslacheln' (SW 4, 586) in Die Morgenlandfahrt (1932), or
indeed Vasudeva's 'helle[s] Lacheln' (SW 3, 443), is reminiscent of the benign smile
of God in Knulp (1915). 20 Richard's resounding laughter in Peter Camenzind (1904)
'Oh, wie er [Richard] lachen konnte' (SW 2, 60)-resonates with the immortal
laughter of Mozart: 'O wie lachte da der unheimliche Mann [Mozart]' (SW 4,198) in
Der Steppenwolf (1927) * Therefore, there is not so much an evolution in Hesse's
'Humor' certain qualities can indeed be found in any of the periods outlined by
Ziolkowski as more a shift in emphasis, an intensification in the recurrence of
certain symbols (e.g. the serene smile that expresses an all-embracing harmony) and
images such as the corrosive sneering laughter that surfaces more often and gain
prominence in a particular period.
Having clarified the meaning of 'evolution' in the present discussion, the
remainder of this section will highlight aspects of Hesse's 'Humor' taking into
account the turning points in his life and career (see the periodization given in
19 Boulby alludes to a similar triadic pattern in the development of Hesse's 'Humor' when he observes with
regard to Siddhartha: 'The harshness, the stoniness of Demian's trance face has been softened; the
hermaphroditic smile of the Buddha speaks a serenity which in a later novel is to be transformed into laughter'
(138). It is also worth underlining that the threefold pattern of the evolution of Hesse's 'Humor', as indicated by
Ziolkowski, does not fully overlap with the three phases of Hesse's life as outlined in the first section of Chapter
3.
20 See the end of section 6.5 in this chapter, note 56.
21 A further example is provided by a passage in Der Steppenwolf. The moment of bathos brought about by
Harry's almost imploring request at the end of the novel, 'Und wenn ich Ihnen, Herr Mozart, das Recht
abspreche, uber den Steppenwolf zu verfugen und in sein Schicksal einzugreifen?' (SW 4, 202), followed by
Pablo's reply, 'Dann [...] wurde ich dir vorschlagen, noch eine von rneinen hubschen Zigaretten zu rauchen'
(ibid.), recalls the way in which the narrator of'Sommerschreck' (1906), published some 20 years earlier than
Der Steppenwolf, interpolates a sequence full of pathos with the humorous remark 'der ich ohne Vorstrafen war':
' Aber war es nicht vielleicht allzu grausam, daB ich daftir nun durchs Feuer laufen muBte, nackt und mit Ketten
gefesselt mitten durch einen grofien, lodernden Feuerbrand? Hatte man mich, der ich ohne Vorstrafen war, nicht
einfach kOpfen kOnnen, oder meinetwegen ertranken oder hangen?' (1906, 348).
170

Chapter 3, section 1) along with the three-phase evolution identified by Ziolkowski
(see above).
The imprint of Keller, Jean Paul, and E. T. A. Hoffman can hardly be
overstated in relation to Hesse's 'Humor', especially in his early career. Hollis deals
extensively with the legacy of the three authors and E. T. A. Hoffman in particular,
and Boulby too underlines their imprint. 22 'Robert Aghion' (1913), Boulby notes,
'contains farcical elements which indicate a long-continued groping after the elusive
key to Keller's masterly humor' (70).
In 'Uber Jean Paul' (1921), Hesse indirectly alludes to Jean Paul's influence by
underlining the emergence of self-irony in Jean Paul's works:
er [Jean Paul ist] zum grofien Humoristen geworden, und sein Humor beruht
nicht wenig mit auf einem heimlichen Selbsterkennen, auf einem stillen
Wissen von der eigenen Schwache des Dichters, der in seiner Schreibstube ein
Herrgott, im taglichen Leben aber ein armer, nervoser geplagter Mensch ist.
(GS VII, 264)
Interestingly, Hesse continues by associating Jean Paul's 'Humor' with the awareness
of the contrast between an eternal, ideal self and a temporal, real one: 'Die Erkenntnis
des Selbst im Ich, der iiberzeitlichen im zeitlichen Ich, [ist] als Ahnung vorhanden
[...] iiberall in seinen Werken' (ibid.).
A second aspect of Hesse's 'Humor' is the satire, light or caustic, directed
against his contemporary society and its new spiritual orientation, as indirectly
ironized in Peter Camenzind ('Sie [namenlose Dichter] hatten sich geschamt, sich vor
Gott zu beugen, aber sie lagen auf Knien vor dem Zeus von Otrikoli'; SW 2, 52), or of
its technological frenzy, as couched in the humorous title 'Gesprach mit dem Of en'
(1919; SW 8, 334-35) or in Haller's bias against the gramophone.23
As mentioned above, the 'smile' ('lacheln' and its derivatives) is a key symbol in
Hesse's poetics that is generally associated with positive connotations; yet Unterm
22 Hollis examines Hoffmann's legacy in Der Steppenwolf (The Return of Hoffman'; 1973, 35-37) as well as in
earlier works (The Influence of Hoffmann';1973, 15-18).
23 When Hermine offers to teach him how to dance, Haller observes: 'ich spiirte alles in mir Widerstand leisten,
was ich als alter verwohnter Musikkenner gegen Grammophone, Jazz und moderne Tanzmusiken einzuwenden
hatte' (SW 4, 113). Hesse's relation to technology was briefly mentioned in the context of the discussion on jazz
as 'Sprache der Maschinen', see note 84 in Chapter 3, section 4.
171

Rad (1905-1906) is a noticeable exception among Hesse's major narrative fiction. In
this novel, 'lacheln' is ambivalent, in that the smile on the faces of the pupils7 mothers
('Die Mutter schauten sinnend und lachelnd auf ihre Sohne'; SW 2,185) is the foil for
Hans' 'hilflose Lacheln' (228).
The First World War, which is a watershed in Hesse's life (see Chapter 3,
section 1), represents a turning point in his 'Humor' too. As Hollis notes, 'it was
mainly after the First World War that Hesse's satire acquired the sharp edge to it that
had been largely lacking before the war' (1973, 23). Among the major works Hesse
published after the end of the war, the three short novels published in 1919,
particularly Klingsors letzter Sommer, are harbingers of the themes, atmosphere, and
the caustic bitterness of Der Steppenwolf.24 Demian (1919), the composition of which
dates back to 1917, along with Siddhartha (1921) are, for Ziolkowski, the works of
Hesse which had least to do with humour: 'Hesse was far too greatly preoccupied
with the construction of an ideal as an escape from his emotional crisis of the war
years' (1965, 65; see also note 20 in this chapter). 25
In Hesse's second phase, as identified in Chapter 3 (section 1) and
approximately coinciding with the period marked by the 'rousing laughter of the
Immortals' (see above in this section), Hollis underlines the break with the past
represented by Der Steppenwolf and the unsympathetic tone assumed by the narrative
voice (in the Tractat' and in Haller's own ' Aufzeichnungen'), which is now overtly
critical towards the main character (Haller): 'gone are the days of Peter Camenzind
and Hermann Lauscher, individuals whose lives we were asked to follow with
sympathy' (1973, 70). Furthermore, Hesse's theoretical speculation on 'Humor'
comes more to the fore in his three major works of the second period of his career:
Kurgast (1925), Die Nurnberger Reise (1927), and Der Steppenwolf (1927). 26 Moreover,
while 'laughter' ('Lachen'), another recurrent symbol in Hesse, is a noisy nuisance in
24 The other two short novels of the same year are Kinderseele and Klein und Wagner.
25 Like 'Humor', 'lacheln' and its derivatives are not to be found in Demian.
26 Section 6.3 provides examples of Hesse's elaboration on 'Humor' in these three works.
172

Kurgast, it turns into the resounding and chilling laughter of the Immortals in Der
Steppenwolf.27
Narzifl und Goldmund represents a turning point in Hesse's career and in his
relation to music (see Chapter 3, section 1) and is also a second watershed in Hesse's
employment of 'Humor7 . As noted in Chapter 3 (section 1), Hesse's erotic vein and
imagery gradually die away and humour which, according to Field, is 'lacking' in
this novel (1970, Chapter 8, section 3, para. 3 of 11), prefigures what Ziolkoswki
refers to as the 'beatific smiling irony' and Boulby calls 'sovereign irony' (250), a
rarefied and nearly impalpable presence in Hesse's two major late works, Die
Morgenlandfahrt (1932) and Das Glasperlenspiel (1943). 28
6.3 Ideal vs reality: 'Galgenhumor' and Romantic irony
As discussed in Chapter 1, and stressed throughout this thesis, Hesse's dialectical
framework informs his artistry at various levels. His poetics draws on the clash
between opposites (e.g. spiritual and sensual, nature and society, the immanent and
the eternal), often portrayed as if they were in the process of finding their
reconciliation in an ideal synthesis, as symbolically expressed by the state of perfect
harmony Siddhartha reaches in the end. In Chapter 1 (section 2) attention is also
drawn to those characters in Hesse's novels who embody opposite inclinations (e.g.
Narzifi and Goldmund) and, in the same context, it is stressed that two opposites are
often not only mutually dependent but also linked with other polarities, as in the
case of 'light' and 'dark' (see Chapter 1, section 2) or logos and melos, which reflect an
aspect of the opposition between masculine and feminine, in turn related to the
dualism of 'order' and 'freedom'. As noted in the same section of Chapter 1,
polarities are not ranked, none of them is indeed in the ascendancy over the others;
27 Annoyed by the Dutch guest and his noisy habits, Hesse notes:' Achtzehn Stunden des Tages wird in Nummer
64 geplaudert, gelacht, Toilette gemacht, Besuch empfangen' (Kur, SW 11, 77; my emphasis). As far as Der
Steppenwolf is concerned, 'Ironic' and its derivatives crop up several times in the 'Vorwort des Herausgebers',
while the Tractat' expounds on 'Humor' at great length.
28 With regard to the decline of Hesse's erotic imagery in the last stage of his career, see citations from Freedman
HQTQ^ anH Rrtco in tKa -fii-o* OQ^*;^,-. ^,-r/^Vioi-itot-1
and Rose in the first section of Chapter 3.
173

however, the dualism of 'ideal' and 'reality' is topical in Hesse's works, and this is
thematically more apparent in what have been identified (see above) as the last two
phases of his life and creativity. From Kurgast to Der Steppenwolf, from Narzift und
Goldmund to Das Glasperlenspiel, the cleavage between 'Wirklichkeit7 and 'Ideal'
occupies a pivotal position. Kurgast, for instance, revolves around the clash between
the ideals of a writer and his human idiosyncrasies (and those of his fellow spa
gests). In the context of Der Stepppenwolf, Hollis stresses that '[t]he pair of opposites
which cause Harry to suffer most is ideal - reality' (1973, 87). As far as Das
Glasperlenspiel is concerned, the novel builds on the contrast between the ideality of
Castalia and the 'Welt draufien' (SW 5,132). 29
Hesse's strong attention to the antithesis of 'ideal' and 'reality' is concomitant
with the more prominent role played by 'Humor' after the first, and especially
during the second phase of his career. The reason for this correlation is, as will be
stressed in what follows, that Hesse's 'Humor' is essentially rooted in the antithesis
of ideal and reality.
In two of the three major works Hesse wrote during the second period, Die
Nurnberger Reise and in the section of the Tractat' in Der Steppenwolf, he expounds on
his idea of 'Humor'. A passage from the former work articulates the main
characteristics of 'Humor' in the first person of the autobiographical account:
Und wenn ich heute, unterm steigenden Druck meines Lebens, mich zum
Humor fluchte und die sogenannte Wirklichkeit von der Narrenseite
betrachte, sei es auch nur fur die kurze Stunde einer Zwischenstufe, so ist
auch das nichts als ein Ja zu jener heiligen Stimme und ein Versuch, den
Abgrund zwischen ihr und der Wirklichkeit, den Abgrund zwischen Ideal
und Erfahrung fur Augenblicke mit gebrechlichen fliegenden Briicken zu
iiberspannen. Tragik und Humor sind ja keine Gegensatze oder sind vielmehr
nur darum Gegensatze, weil die eine den andern so unerbittlich fordert. (NR,
SW 11,156)
Three elements of this excerpt demand attention in relation to Hesse's concept of
'Humor'. First, the dimension of 'Humor' becomes accessible 'unterm steigenden
29 This standpoint is not blind to the fact that the clash between ideal and reality plays a fundamental role in
works of the previous period such as Hermann Lauscher, Peter Camenzind, or Klingsors letzter Sommer;
nonetheless, it acknowledges the greater emphasis which is laid on that dualism, which appears more explicitly
on a thematic level in the works of the last two phases.
174

Druck [des] Lebens': a feeling of crushing defeat needs to be experienced before an
individual can discover 'Humor', as Mozart puts it before Harry's execution in Der
Steppenwolf. 'Humor ist immer Galgenhumor' (SW 4, 200). Secondly, 'Humor'
represents an attempt to bridge the gap between ideal and reality. Finally, in line
with his idea of polarities, Hesse regards tragic and comic as mutually dependent.
Chapter 1 dealt with polar opposites and their complementarity; my present
concern therefore rests with examining Hesse's 'Galgenhumor' as the direct filiation
of the antithesis of ideal and reality which, as will be discussed, is also the backbone
of the concept of Romantic irony. The discussion will then move on and highlight the
crucial ethical divide between Hesse's 'Galgenhumor' and 'die romantische Ironie'.
In 'Zum Gedachtnis' (1916), Hesse indirectly provides a lucid example of
'Galgenhumor', or 'the irony of despair' (Hollis 1973, 48). Although the word is not
mentioned, Hesse's recollection of the moment he learns of his father's death in
March 1916 captures the essence of 'Galgenhumor':' Auf meinem Tisch lagen Briefe,
und dariiber lag das Telegramm, und ich las und mufite lacheln' (SW 12, 300). As an
expression, 'Galgenhumor' chiefly appears in four major works of the last two
phases: Die Nurnberger Reise, Der Steppenwolf, Narzifl und Goldmund, and Die
Morgenlandfahrt.30 The need for gallows humour is indeed felt on certain evenings of
Hesse's journey to Nuremberg: 'Ich verbrauche an solchen Abenden viel von ihm,
von Humoren jeder Art, namentlich von Galgenhumor' (SW 11,163). In Der
Steppenwolf, the expression crops up several times, and in one case it is also evoked
by the oxymoronic slogan on one of the doors of 'Magisches Theater': 'Die lachende
Tram Kabinettftir Humor' (SW 4,179; original emphasis). Goldmund experiences the
'tiefe Hoffnungslosigkeit' (SW 4, 371), but also the 'Lacherlichkeit' (ibid.) of his love
for Lydia, when his lips are close to her while his hands caress Julie's (her sister) legs.
In this novel, 'Galgenhumor' is also associated with Viktor, whom Goldmund calls
30 The idea of Galgenhumor' is, however, as 'Zum Gedachtnis' suggests, prefigured in earlier works: Lulu
knows that 'die Kunst des Lebens [besteht] im Leidenlernen und Lachelnlernen' (HL, SW 1, 276); recalling a
small, pink flag in one of Luigi's paintings, Klingsor notes that all the sorrows of the world and their risibility
seem concentrated in that detail: 'In dieser kleinen, dummen Rosafahne ist alles Weh und alle Resignation der
Welt, und auch noch alles gute Lachen iiber Weh und Resignation' (SW 8, 292).
175

'Witzbold und frechen Bettler' (SW 4, 382), and indirectly associated with the
hardships and uncertainties of his vagrant life:
Goldmund, noch wenig mit dem Galgenhumor und dem Vagantenlatein
dieser Gattung bekannt, fiirchtete sich zwar ein wenig vor dem langen
struppigen Flegel und dem wenig angenehmen Gelachter, mit dem er [Viktor]
seine eigenen Spafie begleitete. (SW 4, 378)
In Die Morgenlandfahrt, gallows humour is explicitly connected with the fear of death:
Todesfurcht und Galgenhumor' (SW 4, 560). What all these examples have in
common is that 'Galgenhumor' entails the concurrent emergence of opposite feelings
(e.g. 'Hoffnungslosigkeit' and 'Lacherlichkeit'), which is concordant with the
definition of humour discussed in the first section of this chapter, and surfaces in
situations where the individual feels dispirited (as in the case of Hesse and
Goldmund), and the self is humiliated (see Haller's execution) or endangered (e.g.
fear of death). In other words, 'Galgenhumor 7 poses a threat or undermines the
principium individuationis and, as in the case of Goldmund's menage a trois and in
Mailer's situation in 'Magisches Theater', stems from the clash between the ideality of
a given state (love for Goldmund, ideals for Haller) and the actual condition in which
the characters find themselves (unfaithfulness for Goldmund, despair in Haller's
case).
Like 'Galgenhumor' irony too is based, as a means of expression, on the
contrast between what is said and what is actually meant: 'I have had enough of my
holiday, I cannot wait to go back to my underpaid job!' is an illustration. In Roflhalde,
Hesse provides a subtler example of this linguistic device. Veraguth's son, Albert,
replies angrily and defiantly to his father's request to stay at the table where they are
having lunch together. Veraguth's response is ironic and mocking:
Meinetwegen, du bist ja Herr im Hause, nicht wahr? Falls du iibrigens Lust
hast, wieder einmal mit Messern nach mir zu werfen, so lafi dich, bitte, nicht
durch irgendwelche Vorurteile davon abhalten! (SW 3, 86-87)
Veraguth obviously means that Albert is not the 'Herr im Hause' and, although he
seems to exhort his son to show his rebellion more overtly, he is in fact aiming to
smother any such future insolent gesture. Along with an essentially linguistic
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employment of irony, a wider concept emerges during the Romantic period, when
'what had been only a vehicle for linguistic ambiguity [...] turns into an exciting
epistemological instrument perfectly suited to handling the ambivalences of the
universe' (Furst, 34). This notion, known as Romantic irony, is generally ascribed to
Friedrich Schlegel, who developed the concept taking his cue from Fichte, as Hesse
too observes in the epistolary section of Hermann Lauscher, Tagebuch 1900': 'Ich weifi
wohl, das [die Ironie] ist Romantik. Das ist Fichte in Schlegel, Schlegel in Tieck und
Tieck ins Moderne ubersetzt' (SW 1, 312).31 Romanticism transformed irony into a
multilayered concept, rooted in the contrast between 'Wirklichkeit' and 'Ideal', the
far-reaching implications of which extend from epistemology to ethics, although the
main focus of the Romantic reflection was, however, eminently aesthetic.
As opposed to authors of the Classical period of German literature, Romantics
believed that not even art could bridge the rift between ideal and reality.32 The
Romantic idea of 'irony' stems precisely from the realisation that '[ajbsolute
Vollendung ist nur im Tode' (Schlegel, 131); consequently, through their irony,
Romantics acknowledge the impossibility of the portrayal of an ideal unity in their
works: 'Sie [Ironie] bedeutet eine Absage an die asthetische Utopie - an den Traum
von Vollkommenheit, der im Bild der Kunst alle Dissonanzen aufgehoben sehen
mochte' (Strohschneider-Kohrs, 88).33 The immediate corollary of such an 'Absage' is
'eine Einschrankung und Modifikation der Empfindung, eine kritische Bewufitheit'
(Strohschneider-Kohrs, 87). Artists must be aware of the limits of their own work
and, therefore, keep a tight rein on their creativity. They have to detach themselves
31 For a discussion on the origin of Romantic irony, see also Strohschneider-Kohrs (75-97), Schultz (371-372),
and Pirandello who, like Hesse, gives visibility to Tieck's contribution to the development of the concept (see p.
9). Ironically, as Furst points out, without however refuting F. Schlegel's paternity of the concept 'the term does
not occur in any of his writings published during his lifetime, nor indeed in those of his fellow Romantiker. (29)
[...] [Y]ou will not find 'romantische Ironie' except in three entries in Friedrich Schlegel's private Literary
Notebooks which were not deciphered and published until 1957 (by Hans Eichner)' (30). In Hesse's works too,
'Ironie' and its derivatives do not crop up often either, and the word does not occur at all in works such as Knulp,
Klingsors letzter Sommer, Siddhartha, and Narzifi undGoldmund.
32 Although the contrast between ideal and reality is key to the development of Romantic irony, it was not just
Romantics who elaborated on this opposition. In his Uber naive undsentimentalische Dichtung (1795), Schiller
classified poetry as elegiac, satirical, or idyllic, according to the relation between ideal and reality as portrayed in
a given work.
33 A further implication of the Romantic standpoint is that the awareness of lack of unity, implicit in the
unattainable reconciliation of opposites, is reflected in the work of art, the nature of which now tends to become
fragmentary.
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from their own creation through an act of 'kritisch[e] Distanzierung' (Strohschneider-
Kohrs, 87), which, by implication, leads to a reflection on the work of art that is
ultimately incorporated in the work itself. 34 For Romantics, 'Die Ironie [...] 1st Mittel
der Selbstreprasentation von Kunst' (Strohschneider-Kohrs, 87). It is largely on
account of the 'critical detachment' Don Quixote expresses that Romantics greatly
admired Cervantes' work (see Furst, 33) which, not by chance, builds on the
discrepancy between the ideal vision of the protagonist and the reality portrayed by
the narrator.35 Moreover, both 'kritisch[e] Distanzierung' and 'Selbstreprasentation',
which also form the basis of T. Mann's concept of irony as 'Distanz, apollinische
Meisterschaft, Freiheit' (letter of 11 November 1939; 1937-1947,121), foster an act of
'transcendence and self-transcendence' (Furst, 34) in the artist.36 In the section
'Tagebuch 1900' of Hermann Lauscher (see above), one of Hesse's early works largely
influenced by the Romantic perspective, the act of self-transcendence implied by 'die
romantische Ironie' is couched in the narrator's wish to see his 'schwerbliitige Art'
dispelled by means of irony:
Ironie? Wir haben wenig davon. Und doch, sonderbar, liistet mich oft nach
ihr. Meine ganze schwerbliitige Art aufzulosen und als schmucke Seifenblase
ins Blaue zu blasen. Alles zur Oberflache machen, alles Ungesagte mit
raffinierter Bewusstheit sich selber als entdecktes Mysterium reservieren! (HL,
SW 1, 312)
The observations above show key aspects of Romantic irony which are certainly part
of Hesse's theoretical background. Moreover, like Romantic irony, Hesse's
'Galgenhumor' centres on the dualism of ideal and reality; however, the nature of
Romantic irony, as noted above, is essentially aesthetic, while Hesse's 'Humor'
combines elements of the reflection of Romantics with ethical stances that can be
traced back to Kierkegaard who, at a later stage than Romantics, elaborated on the
34 The Romantic stance, as Strohschneider-Kohrs underlines, entails that '[ein] Werk nicht nur etwas darstellt,
sondern zusatzlich auch von sich selber spricht - sich selber darstellt' (84).
35 The name of'Don Quixote' appears in Hesse's biographical account 'In den Felsen: Notizen eines
»Naturmenschen«' [1907]; SW 11, 314) and novels such as Der Steppenwolf (see SW 4: 71, 143) and Die
Morgenlandfahrt (SW 4, 545). In 'Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur' (1929), Hesse praises Cervantes' text as an
all-time classic: 'Aus Spanien holen wir uns vor allem andern den Don Quijote von Cervantes, eines der
grandiosesten und zugleich entzuckendsten Biicher aller Zeiten' (OS VII, 319).
*6 Thomas Mann's irony will be discussed in the context of Hesse's narrative irony in section 6.6.
178

concept of irony and its scope. 37 For Kierkegaard, irony entails a 'detachment' but
only in relation to the individual and inasmuch as it allows human beings to restrain
their individuality, which would otherwise be unbridled. Irony is a means of self-
analysis and introspection that yields balance and morality to the life of a person:
Anders als die Romantiker betont Kierkegaard [...] den Lebens-Sinn der Ironie:
wie mit dem Zweifel die Philosophic, so beginne mit der Ironie die »vita
digna«. (Strohschneider-Kohrs, 94)
As noted above, Hesse's 'Galgenhumor' too limits the sphere of the principium
individuationis which, for Hesse, is the last hurdle in the advancement towards the
final stage of 'Menschwerdung', entailing the totality of being. 38 The ideal and all-
embracing unity Hesse and his protagonists strive for lies behind their principium
individuationis, as indirectly suggested by Hesse's diary entry of February 1921 with
regard to his understanding of the beatitude of Nirvana:
Nirwana ist, wie ich es verstehe, das Zuriickkehren des Einzelnen zum
ungeteilten Ganzen, der erlosende Schritt hinter das principium
individuationis zuriick, also, religios ausgedriickt, Riickkehr der Einzelseele
zur All-seele, zu Gott. ('Tagebuch 1920/1921', SW 11, 640-41)
His characters follow different paths to shake off the shackles of their individuality.
Klein extinguishes his personality through his suicide. Among the ascetic Samanas,
Siddhartha attempts to annihilate even his most elementary needs. Klingsor and
Haller experience a temporary suspension of their principium individuationis,
pursuing alcoholic oblivion or the joyful communion with other human beings, as
discovered by Haller in the 'Maskenball': '[i]ch war nicht mehr ich, meine
Personlichkeit war aufgelost im Festrausch wie Salz im Wasser' (SW 4,160). 39 As
37 Although Kierkegaard commented on irony in several works, his thesis 'On the Concept of Irony with
Continual Reference to Socrates' ('Om Begrebet Ironi med stadigt Hensyn til Socrates'), submitted in 1841, is
the work which deals most extensively with the subject. Hesse's ethical approach to irony is also one of the
points of divergence with T. Mann, whose employment of irony was prevalently aesthetic. The consequence of
this divide between the two writers will be discussed in connection with their use of narrative irony in the last
section of this chapter (6.6).
38 Hahn notes that '[t]he problem of a dissolution of individualism was pivotal to Hesse's generation' (Hahn,
397). The 'self, which equates to a prison for Pablo ('Personlichkeit [...] ist das Gefangnis'; Ste, SW 4, 166), is
also, according to Magris, 'the cardinal principle of the bourgeois social order' (Magris 1977, XXIX; my
translation).
39 This point in the novel is also brought out in the context of Hesse's relation to dance as a form of
entertainment in Chapter 3, section 5. It should be noted that, for both Klingsor and Haller, art entails the
sublimation and extinction of the principium individuationis.
179

observed in Chapter 3 (section 2), meditation is prescribed as an antidote to the
narcissism of gifted players in Das Glasperlenspiel.40 'Humor7, or 'Galgenhumor', and
self-irony which, as will be discussed in the next section (6.4), implies a process of
'reflection', an attitude of the self directed back at itself, is the route Hesse follows
especially in the three major works of his second phase (Kurgast, Die Nurnberger Reise,
and Der Steppenwolf)*1 In the third person of the account of Kurgast, where Hesse is
both the narrator and 'der Kurgast Hesse' (SW 11,108), the narrative voice describes
the characteristic ritual ('automatischen Scheinhandlungen', ibid.) of the meals at the
spa as laughable. Moreover, enlightened by a moment of revelation, the narrator
suddenly experiences the conflation of the observing and experiencing self ('die
Vereinigung der beiden Ich, des essenden und des zuschauenden', ibid.), a
circumstance that brings him to laugh at himself and at the overall situation:
plotzlich mufite ich das Glas schnell wegstellen, derm mich erschiitterte von
innen her eine plotzlich aufgesprungene, ungeheure Lachlust, eine ganz
kindische Frohlichkeit, eine plotzliche Einsicht in die unendliche
Lacherlichkeit dieser ganzen Situation.42 (Ibid.)
Self-irony is also what Hesse, in Die Nurnberger Reise, opposes to vanity which, to
some degree, every person possesses, not only virtuosi or artists, but 'auch der Asket,
auch der an sich selbst Zweifelnde' (NR, SW 11,163).43 As far as Der Steppenwolf is
concerned, Hollis points out that self-irony is 'by far the most important form of
humour in [the novel]' (1973, 41), something which entails an act of 'self-
transcendence' (119).
40 It is worth recalling Hesse's view that virtuosity, which for him often bordered on excessive individuality, at
times tainted the performances of extraordinarily talented musicians (see 3.2).
41 The crucial difference between 'Galgenhumor' and self-irony is that, while the former emphasizes the agent,
external to the individual, that triggers a particular situation or event (see the death of Hesse's father or Haller's
execution), the stress on the latter lies on voluntary, self-inflicted humiliation.
42 As will be discussed in the next section (6.4), Hesse's use of the literary device of the double is not only
closely connected with self-irony but also with the theme of the mirror.
43 In Die Nurnberger Reise, too, the device of the double is exploited in connection with the emergence of self-
irony. The third-person narrator observes himself and ridicules his own vanity: 'Der Beobachter in mir (eine
Figur, welche nicht zu den Personen dieser Erzahlung gehort), der mit den zufalligen Freuden und Leiden des
reisenden Barden nichts zu tun hat, als dafl er sie notiert, er war dabei und wird ein andermal sachlicher von
diesen Erlebnissen sprechen. Heute spricht nur der reisende Tenor, der zufallige Mensch in mir, der Zufalliges
erlebt und leidet' (NR, SW 11, 178). Indeed, the overtones of'Reisende Tenor' conjure up the Wagnerian tenor
Muoth and his insatiable longing, as portrayed in Gertrud. Moreover, through the contrast between 'Der
Beobachter' and the tenor ('der zufallige Mensch'), the passage brings out the dualism of the ideal (transcendent)
and the real (immanent) self.
180

As will be emphasized in the next section (6.4), Romantic irony as well as self-
irony implies a process of 'reflection' that, in Hesse's works, is frequently conveyed
through the employment of a mirror, or other reflective element, in the fiction of the
plot. The short story 'Maler Brahm' (1906), where the protagonist's self-portrait
foreshadows Klingsor's 'Selbstbildnis' (see the next section, 6.4), offers an early
example of Hesse's use of self-irony in combination with the theme of the mirror:
Unter den Bildern, die er hinterliefi, war ein merkwurdiges Selbstportrat aus
seiner letzten Zeit. Ein griindlich und riicksichtslos studierter Kopf, hasslich
verwahrloste Ziige eines alternden Trinkers, leicht grinsend, und ein
unentschlossen trauriger Blick. Aus irgendeinem Grunde hatte Brahm jedoch
iiber das fertig ausgefuhrte, gewifi nicht ohne peinliche Selbstironie gemalte
Bild kreuzweis zwei dicke rote Pinselstriche gezogen. (SW 6, 528; my
emphasis)
6.4 The mirror
According to Schlegel's concept of irony, a work of art must trigger and include a
reflection upon itself. Schlegel signals this shift in perspective from the Classical
period of German literature referring to the Romantic work of art as Toesie der
Poesie' (135) and, taking his elaboration further, states that it is within the scope of
art 'diese Reflexion immer wieder [zu] potenzieren und wie in einer endlosen Reihe
von Spiegeln [zu] vervielfachen' (139). 44 Schlegel's postulate resonates with one of
Hesse's most frequengly recurring themes: 'the mirror'. From his early works (see
excerpt from 'Maler Brahm' above) to Joseph Knecht's reflections on the lake surface
in the last part of Das Glasperlenspiel (1943), mirrors, self-portraits, and fleeting
reflections on a surface especially water are a distinctive element of Hesse's
fiction. The purpose of this section is to illustrate various functions of the motif in
Hesse's works by providing examples of its different occurrences and manifestations.
As noted above, water is an element repeatedly associated with the theme of
the mirror (see Field, 1970, Chapter 8, section 4, para. 11 of 16) from Hesse's early
44 This new approach paved the way to the idea of the work of art as a self-referential system, the extreme
consequences of which were feared and highlighted by Jean Paul and Kierkegaard, among others.
181

works, and the motif (the mirroring process on the water) is also linked with another
recurrent symbol in Hesse, laughter. In the opening page of 'Der Inseltraum', one of
the sections of Hesse's first collection of poems, Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht (1899),
the narrator catches a glimpse of his 'smiling' eyes on a flat watery surface: 'Nun
lachten sie [meine Augen] hell und grofi mich aus dem glatten Spiegel an' (ESM, SW
1,172). In Unterm Rad (1905-1906), the crystal-clear waters of the river form a smiling
surface: 'Niemals hatte der Flufi einen so reinen, griinblauen, lachenden Spiegel
gehabt, noch ein so blendend weifies, brausendes Wehr' (SW 2, 252). The reflection
on the river assumes a similar function, yet a much deeper and wider significance
(see below in this section), in Siddhartha (1922):
Der Flufi lachte, er lachte hell und klar den alten Fahrmann aus. Siddhartha
blieb stehen, er beugte sich iibers Wasser, um noch besser zu horen, und im
still ziehenden Wasser sah er sein Gesicht gespiegelt. (Sid, SW 3, 458)
In Narzifl und Goldmund (1930), where the mirror motif is ubiquitous, the
reflection on a watery surface is connected with another element, the motif of the
'double' which, Boulby notes, makes its way into Hesse's fiction since Hermann
Lauscher (1901).45 In the watery mirror of a fountain, for instance, Goldmund's
reflected image instantly changes into the face of the woman he wants to seduce: 'An
einem Brunnenbecken blieb er stehen und suchte sein Spiegelbild. Das Bild pafite
briiderlich zum Bild der blonden Frau, nur war es gar sehr verwildert' (SW 4, 468) ,46
The combination of motifs (mirror and double) resurfaces in the last chapter of the
novel, where an old, withered Goldmund stares at his own reflection in a 'kleine[m]
Spiegel' (SW 4, 523) hung on wall where he is surprised to see a good-looking man
smiling back at him: 'Er [Goldmund] lachte leise vor sich hin und sah das Spiegelbild
mitlachen: einen schonen Kerl hatte er da von der Reise mit nach Hause gebracht!'
(ibid.). It is possible to trace the joint motif of the double and the mirror back to
45 'It is in this form, the mirrored or painted face, that the motif of the double, introduced into Hermann
Lauscher, recurs most often in Hesse's later works' (Boulby, 145). Further reference to the 'double' in Hermann
Lauscher see the discussion in Chapter 1, section 6.
46 Cf. Goldmund's reflection in a well a few chapters earlier where he discovers the transformation his contours
have undergone: 'Im dunklen Brunnenspiegel sah er sein eigenes Bild und dachte, dafi dieser Goldmund, der ihn
aus dem Wasser anblickte, langst nicht mehr der Goldmund des Klosters oder der Goldmund Lydias sei' (SW 4,
398-99).
182

previous works such as Klein und Wagner (1919; see example below), Siddhartha, and
Der Steppenwolf (1927), including Haller's humorous conversation with himself in
front of the mirror which betrays his psychological dissociation: 'Im Spiegel stand Ich
[...] «Harry», sagte ich, «was rust du da?» «Nichts», sagte der im Spiegel' (Ste, SW 4,
191). In Siddhartha, the protagonist's disgust at his own reflected image recalls Dorian
Gray's reaction to the sight of his portrait that shows Dorian's moral decay: 'so oft er
[Siddhartha] sein Gesicht im Spiegel an der Schlafzimmerwand gealtert und
hafilicher geworden sah, so oft Scham und Ekel ihn uberfiel' (Sid, SW 3, 425).
The excerpt from Siddhartha also illustrates one of the main functions of the
mirror within Hesse's works: by reflecting and, occasionally, distorting their
contours, the 'mirror' allows Hesse's characters to discover or acknowledge
possibilities and hidden facets of their inner self. This introspective moment, implicit
in the reflection process, often paves the way to a moment of revelation, as in most of
the examples given above and in Klein und Wagner at the point in the story where
Klein inadvertently seizes a 'Handspiegel' (SW 8, 277), from which 'schien ihm sein
Gesicht entgegen, das Gesicht Wagners, ein irres verzogenes Gesicht mit tiefen
schattigen Hohlen und zerstorten, zersprungenen Ziigen' (ibid.). This passage also
shows that the mirror motif allows Hesse to hint at the underlying unity of opposites
through an ideal, optical synthesis. The images of Klein and Wagner are connected
by way of the mirroring process without any physical point of contact between the
two figures.
The 'mirror' also acts as a prism that either multiplies or fragments the
personality of a character in all its elementary components through its refraction.
One morning, Sinclair recognises his friend Demian in the portrait of Beatrice, but
then, he later realises that the features in the painting resemble his own: 'Ich wufite es
nicht. Oder eigentlich doch. Einmal habe ich ein Bild von dir gemalt, Demian, und
war erstaunt, dafi es auch mir ahnlich war' (Dem, SW 3, 340). The multitude of
images that Klingsor incorporates in his self-portrait achieves a similar effect:
'Viele, viele Gesichter sah er hinter dem Klingsor-Gesicht, im grofien Spiegel
zwischen den dummen Rosenranken, viele Gesichter malte er in sein Bild
183

hinein: Kindergesichter sufi und erstaunt, Jiinglingsschlafen voll Traum und
Glut, spottische Trinkeraugen, Lippen eines Diirstenden, eines Verfolgten,
eines Leidenden, eines Suchenden, eines Wustlings, eines enfant perdu 7 . (SW
8, 329-30)
The technique undergoes further refinement in Der Steppenwolf, where two
characters, Hermine and Pablo, are Haller's projections and 'mirrors' of his own
personality:
Warum sprach Pablo so viel? War nicht vielleicht ich es, der ihn sprechen
machte, der aus ihm sprach? Blickte nicht auch aus seinen schwarzen Augen
nur meine eigene Seele mich an, der verlorene bange Vogel, ebenso wie aus
den grauen Augen Herminens? (SW 4,164)
Furthermore, not only the mirror reflects multiple aspects of the personality but the
self, in turn, mirrors the multifarious, external reality of the world. In 'Der Dichter',
one of Hesse's 'Marchen', the main character's highest ambition is 'die Welt so
vollkommen in Gedichten zu spiegeln, dafi er [Der Dichter] in diesen Spiegelbildern
die Welt selbst gelautert und verewigt' (SW 9, 43) ,47
The multiple perspective afforded by an 'endlose Reihe von Spiegeln' is fully
exploited, and at various levels, in Der Steppenwolf, where there is a proliferation of
mirrors.48 The tractate prefigures Harry's encounter with a 'kleine[m] Spiegel' that
materializes in 'Magisches Theater' in the form of a 'Spieglein' (SW 4, 58) that Pablo
holds in front of Haller (SW 4,165). As observed in the Introduction to this thesis,
Haller's neurosis mirrors his society's crisis (Freedman 1973,164), the Magic Theatre
appears as a mirror house, and the entire novel is constructed like a Russian
matryoshka doll, employing a complex focalization strategy. The fictitious editor
and author of the preface (first focalization) gives an account of his acquaintance
47 It should be stressed that, in the passage from 'Der Dichter', the artistic process of reflection aims to 'refine'
('lautern') and eternize ('verewigen') the reflected object. Die Morgenlandfahrt contains a further example of
the equation of self with the mirror: 'Und jetzt, wo ich dies Wichtigste, oder doch etwas davon, aufzeichnen und
festhalten will, 1st alles nur eine auseinanderscherbende Masse von Bildern, die sich in einem Etwas gespiegelt
haben, und dieses Etwas ist mein eigenes Ich, und dieses Ich, dieser Spiegel erweist sich uberall, wo ich ihn
befragen will, als ein Nichts, als die oberste Haut einer Glasflache' (SW 4, 557).
48 Both Boulby and Freedman comment similarly on the theme of the 'mirror' in Der Steppenwolf. 'Steppenwolf
is full of mirrors. The novel sets out with the reflection of city lights on wet asphalt streets and enters into more
and more complicated worlds in which physical mirrors take a prominent place. His "sister" Hermine looks in a
pocket mirror; Haller views himself and his double in mirrors, and the entire action culminates in Pablo's
Cabinet of Mirrors. Even the characters are intricate mirrors for one another' (Freedman 1973, 163; see also
Boulby, 186).
184

with Haller and introduces Haller/s manuscript (second focalisation) which, in turn,
includes a third perspective, that of the Tractat vom Steppenwolf (SW 4, 43).
Stewart, who describes the main 'process' of the novel as 'refraction 7, underlines the
modern and complex structure of Der Steppenwolf pointing out that '[i]nstead of one
authorial voice there are several distinct narrators, stressing the subjective and
multiple nature of experienced reality7 (84). 49 'Die drei Lebenslaufe' (SW 5, 409-516),
part of Knecht's 'hinterlassene Schriften 7 (SW 5, 395), suggest a similar employment
of the mirror motif on a narrative level in the context of Das Glasperlenspiel. Indeed,
the three biographies seem to portray the same psychological type but from different
angles and in different settings. 50
As noted in the preceding section (6.3), the mirror motif also resonates with
Hesse's use of self-irony, which is that particular type of 'self-reflection' which leads
his characters to be confronted with the cleavage between their real and ideal or
idealized self and to laugh at this discrepancy. In his account of his journey to
Nuremberg, Hesse notes:
ich kenne besser als irgendeiner den Zustand, in welchem das ewige Selbst in
uns dem sterblichen Ich zuschaut und seine Spriinge und Grimassen
begutachtet, voll Mitleid, voll Spott, voll Neutralitat. (NR, SW 11,164)
The next section will deal with a particular incarnation of the double and with their
humour and irony in the context of Der Steppenwolf.
6.5 Pablo and Mozart: Two faces of the same fool51
49 The process [of Der Steppenwolf] is refraction, picturing the multiplicity like light refracted in a sequence of
inter-relating mirrors' (Stewart, 85).
50 'In all three [biographies]', Boulby observes, 'there is present the idea ofimitatio', all are situated in an
essentially timeless, unhistorical world and all deal with some species of sainthood' (307). Although there is not
evidence to substantiate this affirmation, Hesse's use of the mirror motif on a narrative level suggests the he had
internalised and attempted to reproduce the multiplicity of perspectives that Cubism pursued. Karalaschwili
highlights the centrality of the theme of the mirror and motif of reflection for the 'Erzahlschluss' of Hesse's
novels: Tektonisch heben sich die SchluBszenen bei Hesse in der Regel von der ubrigen Handlung ab und
erinnern an jenen in den bildenden Kunsten ziemlich verbreiteten kompositorischen Kunstgriff, bei dem in den
Hauptraum des Bildes ein kleineres Bild eingesetzt wird, das von Grundtext durch einen Rahmen abgehoben ist,
der die Form eines TUrspalts, eines Fensterrahmens oder eines Spiegels haben kann' (163).
51 This section draws on my article: The Unbearable Lightness of (Being) Mozart, or Mozart in Steppenwolf in
Mozart, eine Herausforderungfur Literatur undDenken: Mozart, a Challenge for Literature and Thought, ed.
by R. G6rner and C. McLaughlin (Bern; Frankfurt a. M.; New York: Lang, 2007), pp. 255-63.
185

As noted above (6.1) that the last part of Der Steppenwolfis set against the backdrop of
a carnival atmosphere. When Haller joins the 'Maskenball', it is already in full swing:
In alien Ra'umen des grofien Gebaudes war Festbetrieb, in alien Salen wurde
getanzt, auch in Kellergeschofi, alle Korridore und Treppen waren von
Masken, Tanz, Musik, Gelachter und Gejage iiberflutet. (Ste, SW 4,154)
He is unsure whether to stay or leave the party, when he finds himself surrounded
by masked people, amongst whom some are dressed as clowns: '[ich] wurde
vertraulich angepufft, von Madchen zum Besuch der Champagnerstuben
aufgefordert, von Clowns auf die Schulter gehauen und mit du angeredet' (Ste, SW 4,
154). The saxophonist Pablo is there, playing in the band; Harry encounters Maria
soon after and, finally, Hermine, with whom he spends the rest of that night.
At the end of the ball, Pablo joins the couple and leads them into a room of the
dance hall, where he offers Haller a cigarette, the smoke of which is as thick as
incense, and a drink, an 'Elixier', that makes Harry feel weightless, as if he were 'mit
Gas gefiillt' (Ste, SW 4,165). After they have been engaged in conversation for a
while, Pablo invites the two to follow him into his little theatre, which he later refers
to as the 'Magisches Theater'. Harry and Hermine have to part, walking down two
corridors running along opposite wings of the theatre, and meet at the end. In the
boxes branching off the long round corridor, Harry is faced with several dream-like
experiences one takes place in a sort of circus, where an animal tamer plays tricks
with a 'Steppenwolf. Harry is still wandering along the corridor when he overhears
the music from Mozart's Don Giovanni and, not long after, he becomes acquainted
with someone resembling Mozart himself as had often appeared in Haller's dreams. 52
Like a clown, this character mocks and plays tricks on Haller. It is at the end of this
series of extraordinary events that, in a sort of epiphany, Haller realises that the
person in front of him is Pablo, not Mozart. The discussion in the foregoing chapters
has dealt with some of the implications of this sudden twist in the narration, which is
now examined in the light of those elements of Mozart's and Pablo's humour that
make them as incarnations of the 'joker' and, to some extent, of the 'fool' in
52 '»Mozart!« dachte ich und beschwor damit die geliebtesten und hochsten Bilder meines inneren Lebens'(SW
4, 191).
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Shakespearean dramas. 53 Drawing on this discussion, the end of the section seeks to
demonstrate that, even though 'Humor' is portrayed as a feature of the here and now
in the Tract', Pablo's earthly quips are at one with Mozart's eternal laughter, by
virtue of the similarities in their sarcastic remarks on Haller and also because of
Haller's discovery, made at this turning point in the novel, that they are like two
sides of the same coin.
According to Douglas, a joker is an initiator, '[h]e is worth contrasting with
persons undergoing rituals of transition, mourners and initiands' (159); and Haller
certainly goes through an initiation process, where Pablo and Mozart play the role of
master of ceremony. Douglas also adds:
Perhaps the joker should be classed as a kind of minor mystic. Though only a
mundane and borderline type, he is one of those people who pass beyond the
bounds of reason and society and give glimpses of a truth which escapes
though the mesh of structured concepts. Naturally he is only a humble, poor
brother of the true mystic, for his insights are given by accident. (159)
Although the 'insights' of Pablo and Mozart do not seem given 'by accident7, they
both lay emphasis on unconventional truths; mental disorders such as insanity or
schizophrenia are praised by Pablo as the beginning of wisdom and the main quality
of an artist respectively. 54 Furthermore, Pablo appears to Harry as a young chess
player at some point, sitting on the floor 'nach morgenlandischer Art' (SW 4,179) at
his chessboard, conjuring up the idea of an Indian spiritualist. As Douglas observes,
'[t]he joker as god promises a wealth of new, unforeseeable kinds of interpretation'
(160), and Pablo, in the guise of the young chess player, shows Harry how to play
with his 'selves', arranging the pieces facets and fragments of Haller's
personality on the chessboard in order to achieve different combinations. Pablo and
53 Chapter 3 (section 4) focuses on the aesthetic ('high' and 'low' art) and spiritual consequences (eternity not
only bestowed to individuals of extraordinary personal gifts), while Chapter 4 analyses this sudden
transformation in the context of metamorphosis (section 5). Mary Douglas' definition of the 'joker' will provide
the term of comparison for the paralles herein drawn with Pablo / Mozart.
54 'So wie die Verriicktheit, in einem hohern Sinn, der Anfang aller Weisheit ist, so ist Schizophrenic der Anfang
aller Kunst, aller Phantasie' (SW 4, 181-82). The questioning of the boundaries between sanity and madness is a
common trait in a large part of early twentieth-century literature. In Doktor Faustus, Zeitblom underscores the
blurred confines of sanity in relation to the eccentric and extravagant habits of Ludwig II of Bavaria: 'Wahnsinn,
so setzte ich auseinander, sei ein recht schwankender Begriff, den der SpieBbUrger allzu beliebig, nach
zweifelhaften Kriterien, handhabe. sehr friih, ganz dicht bei sich selbst und seiner Gemeinheit, setze ein solcher
die Grenze vernUnftigen Benehmens an, und was dariiber gehe, sei Narrheit' (Mann 1947, 430).
187

Mozart play practical jokes on Harry, jokes occasionally linked to the theme of death,
such as Hermine's stabbing, or Mailer's bizarre execution; and, as Douglas points out
the joke, working on its own materials, mimics a kind of death. Its form in
itself suggests the theme of rebirth. It is no coincidence that practical jokes are
common in initiation rites, along with more concrete expressions of dying and
being reborn. (160)
As with the character of the Shakespearean 'fool' (e.g. the Fool in King Lear, the
Clown in Hamlet), who, protected by his role, can afford to voice discomforting truths
couched in their (sometimes irreverent) jokes, Pablo and Mozart do not spare their
flippant remarks:
Sollte wirklich dieses schone Madchen von Ihnen nichts andres zu wiinschen
gehabt haben als einen Messerstich? Machen Sie das einem andern weis! Na,
wenigstens haben Sie brav zugestochen, das arme Kind ist mausetot.55 (SW 4,
200)
Moreover, Mozart (as well as Pablo) maintains a sneering and irreverent attitude
towards Harry in the Magic Theatre:
He, mein Junge, beifit dich die Zunge, zwickt dich die Lunge? [...] O du
glaubiges Herze, mit deiner Druckerschwarze, mit deinem Seelenschmerze,
ich stifte dir eine Kerze, nur so zum Scherze.56 (SW 4,194)
The Shakespearean 'fool7 and the pair Pablo / Mozart have a further feature in
common: their mockery is often delivered with a play on words and riddles. While
digging a grave, the Clown addresses Hamlet saying 'You lie out on't, sir, and
therefore 'tis not yours. I For my part, I do not lie in't, and yet it is mine' (Hamlet V,
1,120-21, 383). Pablo teases Harry with sayings such as in 'Du kennst ja aber das alte
weise Wort: ein Spiegelein in der Hand ist besser als zwei an der Wand. Haha!
(Wieder lachte er so schon und schrecklich)' (SW 4,168).
55 '[The] freedom to indulge in parody and unexpected truth telling, and the additional freedom to be wantonly
licentious without incurring blame are the two privileges of the fool which made it worth the while of normal
men occasionally to assume his role' (Swain, 63).
56 The conspicuously disjunctive, rhythmic pattern of this nonsense, where the musical, phonetic aspects of the
language gain ascendancy over the meaning, appears as the filiation from authors such as Tieck, Brentano, and
E. T. A. Hoffmann. In Der goldene Topf, for instance, the speech of the first voice Anselmus hears coming from
the elder bears similarities to Mozart's nonsensical riddle: 'Zwischen durch zwischen ein zwischen Zweigen,
zwischen schwellenden Bliiten, schwingen, schlangeln, schlingen wir uns Schwesterlein Schwesterlein,
schwinge dich im Schimmer schnell, schnell herauf herab' (E. T. A. Hoffmann, 5).
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Mozart and Pablo, who share some features of the 'joker 7 and the 'fool', are
also the two characters, along with Goethe and his 'Greisenhumor' (SW 4, 94) most
associated with humour. It is, however, the tractate that, laying emphasis on three
crucial points, provides a theoretical premise of 'Humor 7 . Firstly, humour is a
product of the imagination (cine imaginary aber souverane Welt7 (SW 4, 57).
Secondly, paradox seems to be its essence:
In der Welt zu leben, als sei es nicht die Welt, das Gesetz zu achten und doch
iiber ihm zu stehen, zu besitzen, 'als besafie man nicht, zu verzichten7, als sei
es kein Verzicht alle diese beliebten und oft formulierten Forderungen einer
hohen Lebensweisheit ist einzig der Humor zu verwirklichen fahig. (SW 4, 58)
Thirdly, 'Der Humor bleibt stets irgendwie biirgerlich7 (SW 4, 57) and is not an aim
in itself but more of an intermediate state for those individuals of exceptional gifts
who, nonetheless, are not ready for 'den Sprung ins Weltall 7 (SW 4, 58):
It would be wrong to imagine that 'Humor7 is the actual goal which Hesse has
in mind for Harry. The tractate tells him that humour is the key not to wisdom
but to 'Lebensweisheit7 . 57 (Hollis, 98)
This is what the reader knows about 'Humor7 before Pablo shows Harry into his
'kleines Theater7 (SW 4,166). Here, Pablo, a 'mortal7, explains to Haller the aims of
the 'Magisches Theater 7, which is a 'Schule des Humors'(167), where Harry will have
to learn to laugh and where he will be taught not just pedestrian 'Humor7, the modus
vivendi prefigured by the tractate, but 'hohe[r] Humor 7 (ibid.), which hints at the
humour of the Immortals. 58 It is therefore interesting to note that Pablo, who is a
living person in the fiction of the novel, and whose sense of humour must therefore
be the earthly surrogate the 'Tractat7 expounds on, instructs Haller in the art of
57 '[H]umor', Boulby maintains, 'confessedly the key to an imaginary reconciliation, will prove an inadequate
panacea' (205; original emphasis).
58 It this context, it is worth noting that, conceptually, 'hohefr] Humor' appears as the way out of the impasse in
which the narrator of Tagebuch 1900' in Hermann Lauscher (1901) finds himself. In that work, the narrating
voice, who observes that the philosopher, the aesthete ('Schonheitsucher'), and the saint ('Christ') reject
compromises as well as 'Humor', wonders whether a certain kind of humour exists which does not automatically
entail the relinquishment of one's ideals: '1st es der Philosoph, der Schonheitsucher oder der Christ, zu dessen
Ideal die immer gleiche »Welt« in peinlicherem Kontraste steht? Alle drei jedenfalls leiden, und alle drei
verschmShen die Kompromisse, also das »von Fall zu Fall«, und den Humor. Oder gibt es wirklich einen Humor,
vom gemeinen Witz abgesehen, dessen letzter Grund nicht eine Schwachheit, ein Schwindeln und Zuriicktreten
vor der schmerzlichen Konsequenz des Idealisten ist?' (SW 1,310).
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superior wit. Furthemore, Mozart's laughter has the same distinctive characteristics
of Pablo's:
Dabei lachte er [Pablo] laut auf, nur ein paar Tone, aber sie durchfuhren mich
heftig, es war wieder das helle, fremdartige Lachen, das ich schon vorher von
oben gehort hatte.59 (SW 4,166; my emphasis)
Pablo's laughter is defined by the adjective 'hell 7 and by the fact that it seems to
resound from another realm 'fremdartige Lachen' (cf. 'aus einem den Menschen
unerhorten Jenseits' below), both attributes of Mozart's laughter:
Da klang hinter mir ein Gelachter, ein helles und eiskaltes Gelachter, aus einem
den Menschen unerhorten Jenseits von Gelittenhaben, von Gotterhumor
geboren. (SW 4,191; my emphasis)
It is therefore my contention that the 'Gotterhumor' of the Immortals and the
'Humor' prescribed as a passage and stage in the process of 'Menschwerdung' in the
'Tractat' are not mutually exclusive, but the former manifestation of 'Humor' is
rather the ideal prolongation of the latter.60 Through the dual character of Pablo /
Mozart, Hesse, perhaps to some extent unconsciously, portrays the reconciliation
between humour and ideals a synthesis which was still far to be prefigured in
Hermann Lauscher (see note 46 in this chapter). 61 Pablo's humour contains a spark of
immortal laughter, and death is not the dividing line between authentic and trivial
laughter but rather their point of union, as Hesse indirectly alludes in one of his
diary entries of 1921:
59 In this passage, Haller associates Pablo's laughter with the chilling sound he hears at the end of the
'Maskenball': 'Irgendwo, in einer unbestimmbaren Feme und Hb'he, hb'rte ich ein Gelachter klingen, ein
ungemein helles und frohes, dennoch schauerliches und fremdes Gelachter, ein Lachen wie aus Kristall und Eis,
hell und strahlend, aber kalt und unerbittlich' (SW 4, 163). The attributes of this laughter, which is as cold as ice
anticipate, by implication, the 'scheufilich dunne Eisluft' (SW 4, 194) Haller feels in the atmosphere of the
Immortals.
60 As Furst notes, the contrast between divine and mundane laughter can be traced back to F. Schlegel, who
'drew a sharp distinction between different levels of irony, underlining the divergence between the "lower"
types-rhetorical, polemical, and parodistic-and that irony which he designated as true, complete, absolute,
partaking of the divine. Such authentic irony is "das hochste Gut der Menschheit" for it is the means whereby
man may confront and, ideally, transcend the contradictions and limitations of the finite world' (33).
61 This is also in line with Hermine's exhortation to Haller not to abdicate the battle for what he believes in,
although ideals are not fully attainable: 'Dein Leben wird auch dadurch nicht flach und dumm, wenn du weiBt,
daB dein Kampf erfolglos sein wird. Es ist viel flacher, Harry, wenn du fur etwas Gutes und Ideales kampfst und
nun meinst, du mussest es auch erreichen. Sind denn Ideale zum Erreichen da?' (SW 4, 115). Similarly, as Hollis
notes, the detachment humour affords is not necessarily at odds with the pursuit of one's ideals and should not
ultimately be a hindrance to action: 'Far from stopping him [Haller] fighting war, "Humor", would allow him to
continue' (1973, 134). Moreover, Theodorou points out: 'Auch Goethe [in Der Steppenwolf] hat, trotz seines
humorvollen Lachens seinen Ernst nicht verloren (143).
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1st man [...] einmal zu Ende, ist einmal die voile Einsicht, die voile Harmonic,
das voile fertige Lacheln und Jasagen da, ist dies Ziel einmal erreicht: dann
lachelt man und stirbt, das ist der Tod, das ist die Erfullung des Diesmaligen,
der willige Eintritt ins Gestaltlose, um daraus wiedergeboren zu werden.
('Tagebuch 1920/1921', SW 11, 630)
'[D]as voile fertige Lacheln' is not a prerogative of the afterlife only but can be
experienced in this earthly life too, even if only just a moment before dying ('dann
lachelt man und stirbt'). For Klingsor, not only death, 'das grofie Gespenst' (SW 8,
312) whose sneer freezes his heart, 'laughs' but life does 'laugh' too: 'Wie lacht das
Leben, wie lacht der Tod!' (SW 8, 311).62 Death and life are reconciled by way of
laughter which implies the acceptance of both.
6.6 The limitations of Hesse's narrative irony and the claim of his
artistry to immortality
The previous section draws to a close on the pairing of Pablo's humour and Mozart's
immortal laughter which, along with the 'smile', is a distinctive feature of those
characters associated with timelessness in Hesse's works (see the beginning of this
chapter). In discussing self-irony, attention was drawn to its 'reflective' properties
that were linked with the emergence of the mirror motif (see section 6.3 and end of
section 6.4). Section 6.4 also brings out the composite focalisation framework through
which Haller's life is presented to the reader: respectively, filtered through the point
of view of the bourgeois narrator in the preface, in Haller's own account
('Aufzeichnungen'), and under the lens of the Tractat'. The novel projects an image
of Haller that results from the intersection of the three perspectives which, like
mirrors, 'reflect' the same 'subject' although from different angles. Stewart, who
underlines the multiplicity of the perspectives in the novel (see section 6.4), however,
notes that this process of reflection is devoid of any authentic narrative irony:
62 'Plotzlich lacht das groBe Gespenst, plotzlich friert uns das Herz, plotzlich fallt uns Fleisch von den Knochen'
(Kli, SW 8, 312). To stress further the role death plays in bringing together the eternal and the mortal laughter,
'smile' is the link between God and the protagonist of Knulp just before the latter surrenders to death in a
snowstorm: 'Der liebe Gott [...] lachelte immerzu' (SW 3, 215) and Knulp's eyes Machelten' (217).
191

The various sections do not [...] really reflect ironically upon each other; there
is no such complex or self-questioning relationship between them they
present us rather with a sequence of clearly expanding and deepening
insights. (93)
In other words, the three sections offer all concordant portrayals of Haller, and the
reader never comes to question the authority of the narrative voice. 63 Der Steppenwolf
is not the only work by Hesse where this lack of narrative irony emerges at least in
the form it appears in the twentieth century (see discussion below) and Stewards
observation may well be extended to the whole of his fiction. Hesse's reader never
experiences that startling feeling of surprise and confusion Mann's novels, for
instance, are able to elicit when their author suddenly casts a shadow on the narrator
through the direct utterance of one of the characters. Doktor Faustus, for example,
largely builds on Zeitblom's (narrator's) veneration of the protagonist and composer
Adrian Leverkuhn, on the exaltation of the latter's geniality and 'aufierordentlich[e]
Gaben' (Mann 1947, 87). In Zeitblom's account, Leverkiihn's sharp mind even allows
him to engage in a subtle and intellectually sophisticated dialogue with the 'devil',
who appears to the composer in Chapter XXV (221-51). 64 Zeitblom's portrayal of
Leverkuhn is maintained untarnished until the last few pages of the novel when
Adrian himself presents his last work ('Leverkiihns apokalyptische[s] Oratorium',
486) to a few friends whom he summoned for the occasion. Zeitblom describes the
composition as a combination of '[das] Seligst[e]' (ibid.) with '[das] Grafilichst[e]'
(ibid.), and the reader expects the composition to be the zenith of Leverkiihn's career
and the ultimate musical creation. However, the dramatic tension is shattered, and
the reader's image of Adrian is suddenly called into question at the beginning of
Leverkuhn's speech ('Anrede', 495), characterised by convoluted, ludicrous, archaic
phrasing that conjures up more the image of someone who has lost his reason than
that of a musical genius:
63 Borrowing Boulby's terminology from his discussion on Narzifl und Goldmund, the three sections of
Steppenwolf offer ' restatement [s] in reflective form' (242).
64 The encounter with the devil marks a turning point in Leverkuhn's life and underscores one of the facets of
temporality in the novel; as for the other literary incarnations of Faust, Adrian's longing for eternity is indeed the
motive behind his deal with the devil.
192

Achtbar, insoders liebe Briider und Schwestern. [...] Erstlich, [...] will ich mich
gegen euch bedanken, beide der Gunst und Freundschaft, von mir unverdient,
so ihr mir erweisen wollen durch euer Hereinkommen zu Fufi und Wagen. 65
(495)
By discrediting his narrator, an event which never occurs in Hesse, at least not in
such terms, Mann employs 'a mode of narration that is not only authoritative, but
also displays an ironic self-awareness of its own mediating role' (Midgley, 5). 66
Although Boulby observes that self-irony is integral to the style of Das
Glasperlenspiel, where '[t]he reflective posture is, in fact, itself directly ironized' (299),
and Vahlbusch seeks to demonstrate that the statements of the narrator of Unterm
Rad should not be taken at face value (see especially his section 'Tendentiousness',
26-39), the lack of an ironic interplay between the different levels of narration has
often been regarded, along with Hesse's didactic tone and the marked biographical
character of his fiction, as one of the shortcomings of his artistry which has
undermined the significance of his contribution to twentieth-century literature. 67
'Despite all', Stewart comments:
there is indeed a sense in which Hesse's writing claims the kind of validity
unredeemed by irony that belongs to the nineteenth rather than the
twentieth century. [...] For all his stress on humour, it is perhaps precisely that
which Hesse lacks as writer. [...] Ultimately [he] has not fully achieved that
65 Midgley illustrates a similar example of Mann's use of narrative irony through the free indirect speech
(Erlebte Rede) in the context of the Buddenbrooks (see Midgley, 4-5)
66 Considering the similarities linking the narrative framework ofDoktor Faustus and Das Glasperlenspiel,
Boulby draws attention to the distance between Mann's and Hesse's employment of irony, as illustrated by the
different characterisation and function of their respective narrators: 'The analogy [of the 'mock biographer' of
Das Glasperlenspiel], both formal and to some extent psychological, with Mann's Serenus Zeitblom suggests
itself. But it does not take us very far; unlike Mann's narrator, Hesse's lacks self-pity as he lacks self-criticism'
(note 56, 276). Similarly, Field observes: '[the] reciprocal dependence of "nature" and "spirit" [in Siddhartha]
offers one of many points of comparison with Thomas Mann's treatment of the theme in The Transposed Heads.
The major difference lies in Mann's hilariously ironical and satirical handling of the material, while Hesse
maintains an exalted poetic tone' (1970, Chapter 6, section 2, para. 7 of 15). Theodorou, who stresses the
modernity of Der Steppenwolf, therefore misses the point when he ascribes the same 'Distanzirung' achieved by
Mann's narrative irony to Hesse's novel: 'Wahrscheinlich gibt es in Hesses ganzem Werk keine einzige Stelle,
an der er so «modern» ist wir am Ende der Steppenwolf-Erzahlung. [...] Nur hier hat Hesse jene Verbindung von
Ergriffensein und Distanzierung erreicht, die wir sonst nur bei Thomas Mann kennen' (148).
67 Boulby, who stresses that 'Hesse can only be evaluated as a didactic writer' (242), brings out this aspect in the
context ofNarzifi und Goldmund: 'symbol[s are] not allowed to speak for [themselves], but [are] interpreted by
commentary; but this technique [...] was always an integral feature of Hesse's work, for [his] lyrical novels are
also all didactic novels, poem and tract are combined in them' (ibid.). According to Magris, Hesse is at times
guilty of the 'poetic sin' of explicitly describing those truths (such as the unity of life) that poetry only really
captures when it does so indirectly, and through a fleeting glimpse (see Magris 1977, XXX; my translation). The
discussion in Chapter 1 (section 6) touches upon the criticism scholars level at the personal tone of Hesse's
fiction.
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Modernist distance from the norms of Realist writing and its bourgeois
readership that his novel [Steppenwolfl seems at first to open up. (94)
In tune with Stewards observation, Hesse, who must have been conscious of the
limitations of his art on a formal level, regarded himself as a traditional writer who
rarely tries his hands at experimenting with new forms, as the following excerpt
from a letter of 1949 illustrates:
Ich bin, glaube ich, iiberhaupt immer als Literat ein Traditionalist gewesen,
mit wenigen Ausnahmen war ich mit einer iiberkommenen Form, einer
gangbaren Machart, einem Schema zufrieden, es lag mir nie daran, formal
Neues zu bringen, Avantgardist und «Wegbereiter» zu sein. (GS VII, 683)
It is however interesting that, despite the formal limitations of Hesse's fiction, which
betrays a predominantly nineteenth-century approach, where 'the reader is [...]
asked to respond as to a traditional narrative contract, to "believe" an authoritative
narrative voice7 (Stewart, 93), Hesse's work still enjoys wide currency among readers
and great attention from critics almost fifty years after his death. Without the
ambition of giving an exhausting picture of his fortunes through the years or the
intention of extending the discussion to all the factors that contribute to the modern
appeal of his work, it is worth singling out a facet of his style that accounts for the
singularity of Hesse's case. Magris, who like Stewart expresses reservations about the
'modernity' of Hesse, identifies an aspect of his artistry which compensates for the
lack of narrative irony and, indeed, appears as its necessary counterpart:
Hesse expresses his poetic truths with unequivocal and direct clarity,
something that has meant that his work has been confined within the literary
tradition of the nineteenth century, and prevented him from transcending, on
a formal and linguistic level, the nineteenth-century psychological self, a
transcendence that he in fact portrays, thematically. It is in this aspect of his
artistry that both the great appeal and the limitations of Hesse's work rest.68
(1977, XXI; my translation).
The clear-cut perspective projected by Hesse's works, the intensively passionate and
idealist impetus of his heroes, and the often uncompromising exploration of their
68 The premise of Magris' statement reads: 'Despite everything, Hesse's work lacks irony: while irony is present
in the narrative, the kaleidoscopic irony that touches human illusions and forms of life, there is no irony directed
back at itself, at its playing with forms, or at the message the author seeks thereby to convey' (ibid.).
194

inner self ultimately call for an authoritative narrator and determine the lack of ironic
interplay between the different narrative levels. Hesse's characters express a modern
consciousness of the blurred boundaries between good and evil, they are aware of
the multifaceted and elusive riddle of their personality, yet this awareness does not
deter them from action or from taking a moral stand, they are not like Musil's
protagonist 'ohne Eigenschaften', they do not relinquish their quest for truth and
identity although, like Existentialists, they acknowledge the absurdity of life. As a
direct consequence of this approach, irony cannot be all-pervasive, and the
humorous handling of the material must be restricted Hesse's 'Humor7, like
Nietzsche's, betrays an adamant seriousness (see note 6 above).69 As observed in
connection with the discrepancy between Hesse's great international renown and the
more limited fortune of his work in Germany or the cleavage between the opinions of
his readership and the criticism of scholars (see preliminary section of Chapter 1), the
dichotomy between Hesse's form, often heavily influenced by the past, and his
message, the actuality of which captures the present and points to the future, appears
as a further aspect of his dialectical framework and one of its inevitable paradoxes.
Ironically, Hesse's shortcomings seem to stem from his merits: those (prevalently
formal) aspects of his oeuvre, which to a contemporary reader appear outdated and
bound to the nineteenth century, are the inevitable premise and counterpart of the
relevance and modernity of its content which, to date, has stood the test of time.
This chapter highlights the connections between the dialectics of 'Humor' and
temporality in Hesse's theoretical framework. Hesse's 'Humor' or 'Galgenhumor' is
indeed expression of the dualism between ideal and reality which, in turn, resonates
with the concept of Romantic irony and the tension between time and eternity. In
Hesse's works, the cleavage between ideal and real self often surfaces in the form of
self-irony and, on a formal level, is concomitant with the emergence of the themes of
the mirror and the double. In Der Steppenolf, the contrast between sublime and
mundane 'Humor', ideal and reality, transcendence and immanence, is symbolically
overcome through the common identity of Pablo and Mozart. The close of the
chapter questions Hesse's literary merits in the light of the lack of narrative irony, as
employed by Thomas Mann and a large number of Modernist authors, and
69 Commenting on the modernity of the Steppenwolf, Midgley observes: 'it [Der SteppenwolJ] captures that sense
of cultural crisis that was prevalent in Germany after the First World War. [...] And on the other hand it
expresses that awareness of personality as something disunited and disparate, which is an important strand in the
Modernist revolt against traditional methods of narrative representation' (12).
195

concludes that what might seem a shortcoming is in fact the inevitable counterpart of
one of the most compelling facets of Hesse and his protagonists: morality.
196

Conclusion
Although secondary literature has rarely given specific or extensive attention to the
question of temporality in the oeuvre of Hermann Hesse, time reverberates across
the whole of this author's fiction, gaining thematic prominence especially in the
works of his second and third creative phases. From Klingsors letzter Sommer to Das
Glasperlenspiel by way of Siddhartha, Der Steppenwolf, and Die Morgenlandfahrt, Hesse's
main characters in these two periods are all confronted directly with temporality and
its intricacies. For Klingsor, time is '[die] schlimmste Tauschung' (SW 8, 317), one
which the artist should try to dispel; Siddhartha seeks an escape from the 'wheel of
time' and the cyclicity of repetitions that life perpetuates throughout the generations
('das Rad der Wiedergeburten'; SW 3, 385). In his long fumbling search for
immortality, Harry Haller, who has to learn that eternity can be compressed into a
moment of mirth, is finally condemned to an ambivalent 'Strafe des ewigen Lebens'
(SW 4, 201). ! H. H., for his part, embarks on a journey that crosses lands as well as
and centuries, while Knecht pursues a reconciliation between the almost
supratemporal ideal of Kastalien and the temporality of the 'Welt draufien' (SW 5,
132) in Das Glasperlenspiel.
Temporality is clearly not confined to the works mentioned above, where it is
thematically prominent; it also surfaces in much of Hesse's early work. In Hermann
Lauscher (1901), for instance, the realm of childhood constitutes a fundamental,
however lost, temporal domain. References to Hesse's epoch are to be found
especially in Peter Camenzind (1904), where the mechanisation of contemporary
society, as well as the idiosyncrasies of intellectuals and artists, are satirized (see 6.2),
and in Unterm Rad (1905), which expresses a critical stance on the German
educational system of the time. The narrator of 'Taedium Vitae' (1908) experiences
time as an ancestral fear, a void that has to be filled, and in seeking to do so he
adumbrates the positions that most characters in the later works will share: 'Seit
1 Goethe, one of the 'Unsterblichen' in the novel, reveals to Harry that 'die Ewigkeit ist bloB ein Augenblick,
gerade lange genug fur einen Spafi' (SW 4, 97).
197

Jahren war ich nicht mehr in dem scheufilichen und unwiirdigen Zustand gewesen,
dafi ich die Zeit furchtete und verlegen war, wie ich sie umbringe' (SW 7, 232).2
What is common in both Hesse's work and private documents, of any period
is, however, his dialectical response to temporality. Like his protagonists, Hesse is
torn between the urge to escape the reality of everyday life-along with his
particularly problematic historical context-and the impulse to participate in the
minutiae of existence.
Within Hesse's dialectical framework, it is clear that music assumes a crucial
position. Both the sonata form and the counterpoint technique, with their structural
emphasis on the mutual dependence between themes (sonata form) and between
subject and countersubject (counterpoint) foster Hesse's 'thinking in polarities' and
illustrate two sides of his dialectics: while the sonata form emphasises the
antagonistic complementarity of the themes, the counterpoint brings out the
concordant interplay between subject and countersubject as well as the harmonious
coalescence of the various voices. Moreover, the simultaneity underlying the
dynamics of counterpoint is, for Hesse, suggestive of the eternal (see below).
Hesse's dialectics is also at play when he polarizes the past and present of
music history. The music he regards as 'klassisch' constitutes a temporal niche, a
retreat outside his time and, for Hesse, almost outside time. Through classical music,
Hesse measures the value of contemporary composers such as Max Reger, Ferruccio
Busoni, Bela Bartok, as well as the idiom of jazz and its for him problematic
aesthetic significance.
The dualism of lofty intellectualism and childlike enthusiasm for life is a
further facet of Hesse's dialectics of time in addition to being a component of Hesse's
relation to music. The veneration of the transcendental attributes of classical music,
as expressed in his works, from Hermann Lauscher to Das Glasperlenspiel, is the
counterpart of his attitude towards less reflective forms of musical expression such as
whistling and dance (e.g. Tito's 'Opfertanz').3
2 See also the discussion in the Introduction to this thesis.
3 Harry Haller also brings out the polarization ofmelos (music) and logos (words) as a distinctive feature of
German thought, at least since Romanticism, as Chapter 2 sought to emphasize.
198

In the discussions on music in Chapters 2 and 3, attention has naturally been
drawn to the existing works of criticism that deal with the legacy of Mozart, and his
connections with the character of Pablo in Der Steppenwolf. This thesis, however, has
sought to highlight in particular the less obvious affinities between Hesse and
Wagner which are as yet unexplored by scholars, who have possibly been misled by
Hesse's bias against Wagner and the overtones of his music. Both Wagner and Hesse
express similar synaesthetic aims (see Chapter 2), the structural modernity of both
Tristan und Isolde and Der Steppenwolf lends itself to the parallel illustrated in Chapter
3, and finally, Hesse's emphasis on the transformation of time into space resonates
with the libretto of Wagner's Parsifal (Chapter 5).
As fundamental to a musician as to a writer is memory.4 It stores the past and,
not surprisingly, plays a crucial role in Hesse's oeuvre right from his early work, as
noted above in relation to Hermann Lauscher. Hesse's main characters seek to
reconnect to or come to terms with their childhood, which represents the fulcrum of
their psychological and emotional characterization. Childhood is also associated with
the Orient which, as in Die Morgenlandfahrt, is portrayed as 'the cradle of humanity',
an idealised place and the point of confluence of present, past, and future. The East
is, itself, also a fundamental pole in Hesse's dialectics, being the 'mirror' in which the
West reflects its contours and through which western civilisation is offered insights
into itself.
The Orient, indeed, influences Hesse's idea of metamorphosis. Change, which
is an inevitable consequence and measure of time, for Hesse is counterbalanced by
the voluntary and creative act of Piktor, whose transformations obliquely relate to his
name ('the painter', 'the artist') rather than being 'metonymic', as argued by
Ziolkowski and Gallagher (see Chapter 4).
Time also appears throughout Hesse's work as the foil for eternity, which is
coded in recurring images and symbols. Circularity, for instance, implicit in the
water cycle described by the river in Siddhartha and in the endless succession of
4 As noticed in the Introduction to this thesis, the temporality of memory is frequently closely linked with that of
dreams in Hesse's works, and the realm of dreams is clearly one of the possible future areas of investigation in
relation to the subject of time.
199

irths and deaths, as portrayed in 'Kindheit des Zauberers', is one of Hesse's
privileged topoi; simultaneity is also, then, a topos which, for Hesse, entails the
compression of any timeline into a point where all events, past, present and future,
overlap. Both the interplay of voices in the counterpoint technique, as noted in the
context of Kurgast, and the river which, despite its flowing, appears identical every
instant and in each of its points, conjure up an idea of simultaneity. And in this
connection, the concept of unity provides Hesse with further images which elicit
timelessness: the underlying common origin of the whole of Creation; the unity of
past, present, and future; and the coalescence of the spatial and temporal, and the
visual and the auditory, in an all-embracing sensorial domain. 5
In Hesse's terms, 'Humor' and its symbols, such as 'laughter' (Lachen) and the
'smile' ('Lacheln') are suggestive of the eternal, as noted in Chapter 6. The chilling
laughter of Goethe and Mozart in Der Steppenwolf is depicted as a distinctive feature
of their immortality. The 'smile' accompanies the deaths of both Knulp and
Goldmund, underscores the state of perfection reached by Buddha, Vasudeva, and
Siddhartha, and signals the pious inclinations of Leo in Die Morgenlandfahrt as well as
the benign inclination of God towards a dying Knulp.
As observed in Chapter 1, paradoxality is one of the essential components of
Hesse's dialectical paradigm. Time seems to be abolished, to Hesse's mind, through
the temporal unfolding of music, the essence of which he describes as 'reine
Gegenwart', a dimension where past and future merge into an everlasting present.
Forgetting is crucial to the healthy workings of memory, which offers a limited
repository that constantly discards part of its contents in order to store new elements.
At certain moments of revelation, or 'epiphany', the narrating time expands far
beyond the span of the narrated time, and the eternal appears as paradoxically
compressed in or within the fleeting.
5 Hesse's strong emphasis on the concept of unity resonates with Herman Dooyeweerd's holistic notion of time.
In A new critique of theoretical thought (1953-1958), the Dutch scholar seeks to unify various pre-existing
perspectives on time, such as Bergson's psychic time and Einstein's relativistic (i.e. spatial) approach.
Dooyeweerd identifies a common denominator to all these approaches, which he calls modalities. His concept of
unity would be a point of departure for future comparison with Hesse and an element which could shed further
light onto Hesse's notion of time.
200

Through Klingsor, who defines time as the worst illusion, Hesse reminds us
that the mystery of time and its contradictory nature constitute the origin of the
aforementioned antitheses, which would all disappear if time did not exist. The
elusiveness of this 'geheimnisvolle[s] Element' (Mann 1924, i) or 'ratselhaftes Ding'
(Mann 1924,169), as Thomas Mann calls it, has been much debated since classical
antiquity, as also demonstrated by the renowned statement of Saint Augustine that
underlines the intuitive understanding but problematic explanation of time. 6 Life
would be inconceivable without time, yet it is time that terminates every existence, as
Guy Debord, paraphrasing Hegel, has more recently observed: 'time is a necessary
alienation, being the medium in which the subject realizes himself while losing
himself, becomes other in order to become truly himself (115-16). 7
Hesse cannot pin down 'The point of intersection of the timeless I With time'
(T. S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages' V; 1944, 30), nor can he provide any definitive solution
to the riddle and contradictions of time. What he does offer is a poetic and dialectical
answer. Like Goethe, who perceives the ebb and flow of time in the life of the
universe ('Ein- und Ausatmen der Welt', see Chapter 1), and T. S. Eliot, who stresses
that 'For most of us, there is only the unattended I Moment, the moment in and out
of time' (T. S. Eliot, 'The Dry Salvages' V; 1944, 30), Hesse resolves the tension
between the here and now and the eternal in a perennial pendulation between the
two extremes, as he does with all polarities such as ideal and reality, the spiritual and
the sensual. 8 However, to reach this 'elasticity' and to be able to 'breathe in and out of
time', individuals have to intensify their personality to the point where they can
relinquish their selves, which need to be subdued, or crushed through
'Galgenhumor' and self-irony, and finally dissolved in the totality of existence. In
other words, Hesse prescribes 'selflessness and self-surrender' (T. S. Eliot, The Dry
6 'Provided that no one asks me [what time is], I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know'
(Saint Augustine; Book XI, 230; see also the Introduction to this thesis).
7 Debord's observation resonates with Hesse's perspective on the temporality of change (imposed by time) and
metamorphosis (afforded by time).
8 Hesse exemplifies his oscillation between opposites in Kurgast: 'Mein Verhaltnis zum sogenannten "Geist"
zum Beispiel ist genau dasselbe wie das zum Essen oder Trinken. Manchmal gibt es nichts in der Welt, was mich
so heftig anzieht und mir so unentbehrlich scheint wie der Geist, wie die Moglichkeit der Abstraktion, der Logik,
der Idee. Dann wieder, wenn ich davon satt bin und das Gegenteil brauche und begehre, ekelt aller Geist mich an
wie verdorbenes Essen' (SW 11,114).
201

Salvages' V; 1944, 30), as one of his diary entries of approximately January 1921
illustrates:
das Ziel ware die Entwicklung zum iiberpersonlichen Ich, zum Heiligen, der
auf die Welt und Zeit nicht mehr personlich reagiert, sondern in dessen
Seelenzustand das Chaos der Welt zu Sinn und Musik wird, in dessen Atem
Gott ein und aus geht' (Tagebuch 1920/1921', SW 11, 633)
In this respect, the dual character of Pablo and Mozart represents a
paradigmatic synthesis of Hesse's perspective on time, being also, as we have sought
to demonstrate, the point of convergence of all the themes analysed in this thesis. The
transformation of Mozart into Pablo represents the 'unexpected moment' of
revelation for Harry, and an instance of metamorphosis. Their joint identity affirms
the interdependence of eternal, classical music and ephemeral tunes and also
suggests that the laughter of the Immortals is the prolongation of the earthly quips of
those individuals who, like Pablo, have been able to go beyond their principium
individuationis and laugh at themselves without losing sight of their ideals. Most
importantly, their pairing indicates that the eternity of Mozart and the temporality of
Pablo's life are not mutually exclusive but linked dimensions, connected through the
channel of sporadic moments of understanding. Hesse underlines that earthly life
contains the germ of the timeless and that, as T. S. Eliot expresses it in the final line of
the second section of 'Burnt Norton': 'Only through time time is conquered' (1944, 6).
A final point, which was only briefly mentioned at the end of Chapter 6 and
might attract further attention from scholars, is that all aspects of temporality
discussed in this thesis have ethical implications and overtones. Morality is one of
the attributes of the music Hesse calls 'klassisch' which, to his mind, is of exemplary,
everlasting significance. 'Selflessness' is a quality which, according to Hesse, most
virtuosi lack. Memory, in H. H.'s account in Die Morgenlandfahrt, should have
prevented Europe from consigning the atrocities of the First World War to oblivion,
thereby avoiding an even more catastrophic conflict twenty years later. As opposed
to the aesthetic implications of Romantic irony, the scope of Hesse's 'Humor' and
self-irony is, in fact, essentially ethical.
202

Chapter 6 draws to a close precisely on this aspect of Hesse's oeuvre, which
acknowledges the blurred boundaries between good and evil without abdicating
responsibility or renouncing a moral choice. As opposed to Thomas Mann and other
German intellectuals who were intoxicated by the belligerent frenzy sparked at the
outbreak of World War I, Hesse voiced his opposition to the conflict with
determination, and it is probably in this respect, as Magris suggests, that Hesse's
stature and modernity rests:
Hesse's entire life stands as an important moral example; it is the exemplary
life of a man whose discernment allowed him to resist the lures of the
irrational. [...] While much inferior to Mann on a poetic level, Hesse was able
to see deeper than Mann did, and right from the start, into both the European
crisis and the shipwreck of reason. 9 (Magris 1977, XVIII and XIX, my
translation)
This, we acknowledge, is one of the most compelling elements of Hesse's legacy and
one of his most convincing claims to eternity.
9 Mann retrospectively, and with irony, captures the feelings of that historical moment in the fiction ofDoktor
Faustus: 'O blOde Ode! O Hundedasein, wenn man nichts machen kann! Gabes doch nur Krieg da drauBen,
damit was los war!' (1947, 237).
203

HERMANN HESSE,
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GENERAL
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Michael Glenny (London: The Harvill Press, 1995)
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