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. ...
crucial and antithetical point in Hesse: the main characters of his novels aspire to such an intensification of their individuation which borders on its opposite, leading to the dissolution of their personality. 31 As observed by Boulby in relation to Siddhartha and Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse's leading characters strike an unmistakeable note of 'personality' in seeking to free themselves from their 'ego': 'we know since Siddhartha that legend is the ultimate refuge of that utter paradox, the supreme "impersonal individual," the artist-saint' (282). 32 In reality, a coherent set of ideas underlies these contradictions, and what seems to strike a discordant note is, put into perspective, in perfect agreement with the rest. Hesse stresses on several occasions that, for him, a truth is such only if its opposite remains true too: taken together, opposite truths are twin components of an underlying unity. 33 As with opposite proverbs, truths have to be contextualized: the validity of 'he who hesitates is lost' does not undermine or contradict the veracity of 'act in haste, repent at leisure', as long as these are considered under appropriate circumstances. 34 Hesse's statements on Romanticism can be seen to agree with each other by means of a slight shift in emphasis. Hesse's defence of a significant period of German literature and music does not conflict with his preference for Baroque and Classic music rather than Romantic. Similarly, in line with his idea of 'Menschwerdung', Hesse stresses that individuals should follow their own path in life and take their stands regardless of the authority or general trend in society. On 31 This is in analogy with Jung's idea of the 'self as a paradox: 'Jung charakterisiert das Selbst als »absolute Paradoxie«, indem »es in jeder Beziehung Thesis und Antithesis und zugleich Synthesis darstellt«' (Karalaschwili, 95). 32 Referring to Das Glasperlenspiel, Boulby comments: 'The biography of a Castalian by a Castalian for Castalians should by definition be but a history of function, in a sense an exemplary, skeletal vita [...] but in practice, of course, a strongly personalized impression of Joseph Knecht is conveyed, all the same. The apparent avoidance of personal detail applies only to trivialities; at each vital point the function has personality, the skeleton has flesh' (277). 33 '[V]on jeder Wahrheit ist das Gegenteil ebenso wahr!' (Sid, SW 3, 465). 34 The reference to proverbs and parables is not accidental, as these often contain teachings couched in paradoxes. This is, for instance, the case of Hsiang-lin's pithy reply to a monk in 'Joseph Knecht an Carlo Ferromonte' (1961), where Hesse, using the name of Knecht, relates an anecdote from the pre-Buddhist Chinese tradition to Karl Isenberg (Carlo Ferromonte): 'Ein Monch fragte Hsiang-lin: Was ist der Sinn davon, daB fern vom Westen her der Patriarch gekommen ist? Hsiang-lin erwiderte: Vom langen Sitzen miide' (SW 12, 687). The humorous overtones of Hsiang-lin's response indirectly shed light onto the mechanism of humour, the matrix of which is the juxtaposition of antithetical ideas (see 6.1). In the context of Hesse's camouflage of actual names, see 1.6. 25
the other hand, he is convinced that every human action must be subject to judgement, whether moral or aesthetic. The appraisal of a truth is therefore subject to the context or frame of reference in which the truth is evaluated. With Hesse, the frame of reference is usually temporal, since time is the determining factor, and this holds true in two, ironically opposite, directions. On the one hand, time and its unfolding explain and dissolve contradictions; on the other, the abolition of time, which is an illusion, leads to the unification of opposites. In 'Bin Stuckchen Theologie' (1932), Hesse outlines three progressive stages through which the psychology of an individual evolves: childhood, the time when the process of individuation is in an embryonic phase, and the child lives in harmony with the outer world; adulthood, when a pronounced individuation brings about a rift with the external world; and a third level, bestowed on those who have developed their personality to the point where they can renounce it and merge with the totality of the world. This final communion, however, takes place on a higher plane than the harmony experienced during childhood.35 Siddhartha's and Knecht's personalities therefore clash with their wish to submit their egos to the totality of existence only if their personalities and wish are considered simultaneously; but if we view them in sequence, Siddhartha's and Knecht's pursuit of a state of depersonalisation is not at odds with their individuation but is rather its inevitable, chronological consequence. The perspective is reversed, and time appears as the origin of all contradictions, if we follow Siddhartha's train of thoughts in his dialogue with Govinda in the last section of the novel: Es scheint ja so, weil wir der Tauschung unterworfen sind, dafi Zeit etwas Wirkliches sei. Zeit ist nicht wirklich, Govinda, ich habe dies oft und oft erfahren. Und wenn Zeit nicht wirklich ist, so ist die Spanne, die zwischen 35 'Der Weg fuhrt aus der Unschuld in die Schuld, aus der Schuld in die Verzweiflung, aus der Verzweiflung entweder zum Untergang oder zur Erlosung: namlich nicht wieder hinter Moral und Kultur zuriick ins Kinderparadies, sondern iiber sie hinaus in das Lebenkb'nnen kraft seines Glaubens' ('Ein Stuckchen Theologie', SW 12, 154). While the first stage (childhood) is 'primitive', the second (adulthood) is marked by loneliness and despair. However, people can reach a third level, which entails a reconnection with the totality of being but, to that purpose, the principium individuationis must be dismantled, renouncing all individuality (see also the discussion on self-irony in 6.3). 26
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crucial and antithetical point in Hesse: the main characters of his novels aspire to<br />
such an intensification of their individuation which borders on its opposite, leading<br />
to the dissolution of their personality. 31 As observed by Boulby in relation to<br />
Siddhartha and Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse's leading characters strike an unmistakeable<br />
note of 'personality' in seeking to free themselves from their 'ego': 'we know since<br />
Siddhartha that legend is the ultimate refuge of that utter paradox, the supreme<br />
"impersonal individual," the artist-saint' (282). 32<br />
In reality, a coherent set of ideas underlies these contradictions, and what<br />
seems to strike a discordant note is, put into perspective, in perfect agreement with<br />
the rest. Hesse stresses on several occasions that, for him, a truth is such only if its<br />
opposite remains true too: taken together, opposite truths are twin components of an<br />
underlying unity. 33 As with opposite proverbs, truths have to be contextualized: the<br />
validity of 'he who hesitates is lost' does not undermine or contradict the veracity of<br />
'act in haste, repent at leisure', as long as these are considered under appropriate<br />
circumstances. 34 Hesse's statements on Romanticism can be seen to agree with each<br />
other by means of a slight shift in emphasis. Hesse's defence of a significant period of<br />
German literature and music does not conflict with his preference for Baroque and<br />
Classic music rather than Romantic. Similarly, in line with his idea of<br />
'Menschwerdung', Hesse stresses that individuals should follow their own path in<br />
life and take their stands regardless of the authority or general trend in society. On<br />
31 This is in analogy with Jung's idea of the 'self as a paradox: 'Jung charakterisiert das Selbst als »absolute<br />
Paradoxie«, indem »es in jeder Beziehung Thesis und Antithesis und zugleich Synthesis darstellt«'<br />
(Karalaschwili, 95).<br />
32 Referring to Das Glasperlenspiel, Boulby comments: 'The biography of a Castalian by a Castalian for<br />
Castalians should by definition be but a history of function, in a sense an exemplary, skeletal vita [...] but in<br />
practice, of course, a strongly personalized impression of Joseph Knecht is conveyed, all the same. The apparent<br />
avoidance of personal detail applies only to trivialities; at each vital point the function has personality, the<br />
skeleton has flesh' (277).<br />
33 '[V]on jeder Wahrheit ist das Gegenteil ebenso wahr!' (Sid, SW 3, 465).<br />
34 The reference to proverbs and parables is not accidental, as these often contain teachings couched in<br />
paradoxes. This is, for instance, the case of Hsiang-lin's pithy reply to a monk in 'Joseph Knecht an Carlo<br />
Ferromonte' (1961), where Hesse, using the name of Knecht, relates an anecdote from the pre-Buddhist Chinese<br />
tradition to Karl Isenberg (Carlo Ferromonte): 'Ein Monch fragte Hsiang-lin: Was ist der Sinn davon, daB fern<br />
vom Westen her der Patriarch gekommen ist? Hsiang-lin erwiderte: Vom langen Sitzen miide' (SW 12, 687).<br />
The humorous overtones of Hsiang-lin's response indirectly shed light onto the mechanism of humour, the<br />
matrix of which is the juxtaposition of antithetical ideas (see 6.1). In the context of Hesse's camouflage of actual<br />
names, see 1.6.<br />
25