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