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

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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