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

movements of a tripartite sonata. Moreover, Hesse's statement on the structure of
Der Steppenwolf, cited above, does not necessarily imply that the writer had adopted
the sonata as a model for his novel, his appears as a metaphor to express his
conviction that Der Steppenwolf, far from being a piece of chaotic patchwork, was as
well structured as a sonata.43 Ziolkowski is, nonetheless, aware of the limitations of
his analogy, as noted by Schneider: The analogy can only be accepted with
reservations, as Ziolkowski concedes7 (381).
For the present discussion, Ziolkowski's major merit lies in having pointed
out two fundamental traits of Hesse's aesthetic and thought: the Romantic tension
between opposites, expressed by the contrasting themes of the sonata form, and the
Baroque and Classic heritage, reflected in the technique of counterpoint, associated
with the technique of double perception. 44
Although the sonata form dates back to the Classic period, it is by way of
Beethoven central to Romanticism;45 in fact, its expressive possibilities were extended
and developed by Romantic composers. 46 According to the definition given above
(see note 34), the standard sonata form revolves around the opposition of two themes
introduced, at the outset of the 'exposition', by different keys (first theme in the tonic,
second in the dominant); the thematic contrast is then worked out throughout the
'development' section. Finally, the 'recapitulation' bridges the initial gap and releases
the tension between the two themes, presenting both in the home key. If, as
maintained by Cardinal, 'the true logic of Romanticism lies in the reconciliation of
the polarities' (Cardinal, 27), the sonata form is the ideal Romantic medium.
In his preparatory work for Das Glasperlenspiel, Hesse used to jot down notes
on musical structures. One of his entries refers to the sonata form, described in terms
43 Commenting on Hesse's statement on the sonata-like structure of Steppenwolf, Dttrr points out: 'Zwar ist hier
die Art der Form nicht allzu wortlich zu nehmen; ein andermal empfindet Hesse den Aufbau einem Kanon oder
einer Fuge ahnlicher' (Dttrr, 54).
44 'Romantic thought', Cardinal notes 'positively revels in the tension created by uniting opposites' (43).
45 'According to Koch's treatise of 1793 [Introductory essay on composition: The mechanical rules of melody]',
Grout notes, 'the form of the first movement, now known as sonata form or first-movement form, consists of two
large divisions, each of which may be repeated. The first has one main period, the second two, resulting in three
periods within a binary form' (452; original emphasis).
46 In his speculation on music, Leverkuhn comes to the conclusion that '[i]t was Beethoven's decision [...] to
elevate the development section of the sonata form to the central event of musical discourse' (Vaget, 170).
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