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. ...
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). 131
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). 132
- Page 87 and 88: 'Hesse had nothing against virtuosi
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- Page 91 and 92: As far as the formal plane is conce
- Page 93 and 94: called 'absurd'. 53 The most conspi
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- Page 97 and 98: in that the former's opera paves th
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- Page 101 and 102: debate on jazz but also by the Nazi
- Page 103 and 104: catchy tunes threaten to drain art
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- Page 107 and 108: Singen oder Summen oder auch nur da
- Page 109 and 110: die Erden und Sterne harmonisch im
- Page 111 and 112: in the euphoria of the 'Maskenball'
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- Page 115 and 116: Hesse's approach to memory and the
- Page 117 and 118: Hesse's main characters who, almost
- Page 119 and 120: ich sah mich wahrend der ganzen Vor
- Page 121 and 122: with music, which would eventually
- Page 123 and 124: correlative' of childhood in Hesse.
- Page 125 and 126: equally pressing desire to release
- Page 127 and 128: mit Entsetzen erinnerte ich mich an
- Page 129 and 130: Hesse ascribes his fascination with
- Page 131 and 132: weigert sich, es will sich haufig a
- Page 133 and 134: exceptions (see the myth of Pygmali
- Page 135 and 136: internalized and replaced by transf
- Page 137: to India ('Erinnerung an Mwamba').
- Page 141 and 142: Beschreibung einiger Augenblicke ku
- Page 143 and 144: In the first place, time is no long
- Page 145 and 146: Beja underlines that, for both Berg
- Page 147 and 148: Karalaschwili refers to as the 'Zei
- Page 149 and 150: (unity, memory, and music) merge in
- Page 151 and 152: of Hesse's personal creed as well a
- Page 153 and 154: Nichts war, nichts wird sein; alles
- Page 155 and 156: The complex symbol of the river in
- Page 157 and 158: as revealed by the opening line of
- Page 159 and 160: While Mann's image of endless repet
- Page 161 and 162: Glasperlenspiel). Clearly, 'authori
- Page 163 and 164: spread very rapidly to the human sc
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- Page 167 and 168: Verwandlungen, Goethe and Mozart-Pa
- Page 169 and 170: und die Worte waren kleine schwarme
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- Page 173 and 174: greater foe than emotion' (Bergson,
- Page 175 and 176: of experience may be arbitrary and
- Page 177 and 178: identified by Ziolkoski (see Chapte
- Page 179 and 180: Rad (1905-1906) is a noticeable exc
- Page 181 and 182: however, the dualism of 'ideal' and
- Page 183 and 184: 'Witzbold und frechen Bettler' (SW
- Page 185 and 186: from their own creation through an
- Page 187 and 188: observed in Chapter 3 (section 2),
Hesse's characters discover that, despite their resistance, they have to immerse<br />
themselves in the flow of change if they want to achieve a breakthrough in their<br />
search for an antidote to time. Metamorphosis offers them an effective way of<br />
opposing the inevitable transformations brought about by time.<br />
Piktor discovers that happiness in paradise is linked to the ability to fluidly<br />
pass from one state or shape to another: 'Er sah namlich, dass rings um ihn her im<br />
Paradiese die meisten Wesen sich sehr haufig verwandelten, ja dafi alles in einem<br />
Zauberstrome ewiger Verwandlung floss' (PV, SW 9,190).46 This does not only apply<br />
to human beings but extends to all creatures of paradise,<br />
auch bei Pferden, bei Vogeln, bei Menschen und alien Wesen kann man es ja<br />
taglich sehen: Wenn sie nicht die Gabe der Verwandlung besitzen, verfallen<br />
sie mit der Zeit in Traurigkeit und Verkummerung und ihre Schonheit geht<br />
verloren.47 (Ibid.)<br />
A second point is that Hesse's protagonists are in the dark about<br />
metamorphosis until other characters introduce them into its secrets: an old boatman<br />
(Vasudava) in Siddhartha; a bird in paradise in Tiktors Verwandlungen'; 'die<br />
Unsterblichen' (Goethe and Mozart) in Der Steppenwolf, and Erwin in 'Innen und<br />
Aufien'. In the case of Piktor and Haller, these characters, who act as mentors, have a<br />
special perspective on life: they are immortals (see 6.4).<br />
4.6 Epiphany<br />
In his lectures on 'Human factors of information systems and human-computer<br />
interface and interaction', Basden addresses the way in which memory functions.<br />
Dealing with long-term memory, he stresses that, although the various stages<br />
involved in the long-term memory process may lead one to think that memorizing<br />
always implies a gradual development needing continuous reinforcement,<br />
46 See 6.4 ('the mirror') and 6.3 (on the abolition of {\\eprincipium individuationis through 'Galgenhumor' and<br />
self-irony).<br />
47 Frau Dillenius in 'Eine Senate' holds a similar view of happiness: 'Sie war nicht damit zufrieden, daB eine<br />
Blume nur eine Blume und ein Spaziergang nur ein Spaziergang sein sollte. Eine Blume sollte eine Elfe, ein<br />
schOner Geist in schOner Verwandlung sein' (SW 6, 456).<br />
131
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