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

Chapter 1 Hesse's dialectics and creative process
Every work of art functions as a system, the components of which are structured and
integrated in a coherent whole with both internal and external connections.
Symmetry and proportion help to shape the internal relations of a painting, and
repetition plays a similar role in music and literature (e.g. refrains, anaphoras).
External associations range from the historical or social context to references to other
works of art (e.g. the use of allegory and parody). A work of art is thus a network of
intra-, inter-, and extratextual elements: it consists of internal relations and
correspondences as well as connections with the world outside itself. Referring to the
novel, Karalaschwili points out that a work of art expresses an individual vision of
the world endowed with a sort of universal resonance: '[Djer Roman ist, wie eine
beliebige kiinstlerische Form, ein Weltmodell' (77). Within this vision, certain stylistic
and poetical elements will more than others define and characterize the specific
'Weltbild' of an artist. 1
To a critic or indeed to anyone who is merely familiar with Hesse's work, the
title of this thesis, 'dialectics of time', will immediately bring to mind one of the
signature aspects of his art, the theme of opposites. Binary oppositions inform
Hesse's thought and creative process, as well as his writing on a formal level (e.g.
metrical patterns), to such an extent that his art comes to resemble a complex and
dynamic network of antinomies. 2 Hesse's reception has been marked by similarly
divergent, almost diametrically opposed, opinions: 'Das bipolare Prinzip wirkt sich
in der Rezeption auch dahin aus' (Moritz, 69). There has always been a hiatus
between the general appreciation of Hesse's vast readership and the more sceptical
approach of some critics; his great international renown is at odds with his more
limited reputation in his native country.3
1 'Weltbild' is part of the subtitle of Karalaschwili's text.
2 'Es [das Polar itatsdenken] ist ein holistisches Konzept, das sowohl einen iibergreifenden weltanschaulichen
Lebensentwurf reflektiert als auch konkrete Manifestation auf sprachstruktureller Ebene fmdet [...] Hesses Werk
[ist], kein polares, sondern ein multipolares Netzwerk' (Gommen, 20 and 45).
3 Oscillating between enthusiasm and rejection, Hesse's readership is similarly divided over the quality of a
given work. As Hesse observes in a letter of July 1930: 'Wer mir zum "Siddhartha" gratulierte, lehnte meistens
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