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

More recent literary employment of the leitmotiv [...] does indeed exhibit the
direct influence of Wagner's operatic practice (e.g. most of Thomas Mann's
works, D'Annunzio's Trionfo della morte, and Proust's A la recherche du temps
perdu)* (1968, 6-7)
As far as Hesse is concerned, certain elements of his style evoke the leitmotiv
principle as Wagner intended it. As noted in Chapter 2 (section 1), repetition is a
signature aspect of Hesse's language in Siddhartha. Field links 'the characteristic
deliberate cultivation of repetition as a stylistic feature by Hesse' (Chapter 8, online)
with the use of leitmotifs in his prose:
Repetition, which permeates the style in the form of recurring words, phrases,
and sentences, leads structurally to the use of leitmotifs, many of which we
have mentioned, such as the river symbol and the beatific smile. 34 (Field,
Chapter 6, on-line)
Ziolkowski, for whom 'Hesse [...] makes ample use of the leitmotiv' (1965,194),
identifies some recurring ideas which link to that musical form: the mark of Cain
(das 'Kainszeichen') in Demian which applies to 'those whom destiny has set apart as
leaders in the spiritual revaluation' (1965,122), and the phrase 'only for madmen'
('Nur fur Verriickte') which occurs several times in Der Steppenwolf. Certainly, these
are leitmotifs in a literary context, yet their use cannot compare to the way Wagner
employed this technique. As noted above, Wagner's motifs are developed and
orchestrated in unity with the performance on stage. Through their reappearance at
different points of the drama, they are able to make subtle comments to the listeners.
In the case of 'the mark of Cain' and 'only for madmen', they are repeated and
emerge in different contexts within each novel, but they do not undergo any
'rearrangement', there is no new 'orchestration' to trigger an unexpected association
with a given motif. 35 Wagner's treatment of leitmotifs has therefore no palpable
bearing on Hesse's restatement of 'Kainszeichen' or 'Nur fur Verriickte'.
33 'Da Thomas Mann den Effekt einer musikalischen Struktur vor allem durch die Schafftmg eines Motiv- und
Themengeflechtes bzw. durch eine direkte Thematisierung von Musik zu erreichen versucht' (Moritz, 337).
34 Field identifies the theme of awakening ('Erwachen'), discussed at the end of the present section, as 'the most
characteristic leitmotif in the work' (Chapter 6, online).
35 It should be noted that, despite the lack of any noticeable change in instrumentation or arrangement on Hesse's
part, the motif and symbol of'das Kainszeichen' becomes, in Demian's words, 'deutlicher' (SW 3, 340) when