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

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.
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