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

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.
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