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

jedem Punkt der Reihe in der innigsten, lebendigsten Wechselwirkung und
gegenseitigen Beziehung stehen. (SW 11,125)
On the one hand, the two voices of the melody evoke the counterpoint technique,
with every note of each voice, in fact, set against a note of the other; on the other
hand, the series 'einander erganzen', 'einander bekampfen', 'einander bedingen', is
redolent of the standard sonata form, whose texture springs from the continual clash
between two opposing themes. The aspiration to the simultaneous interplay between
two levels (Baroque and Classic) and the conflicting themes of the sonata form
(Romantic) are therefore complementary and key features in Hesse's writing and
thought.
2.5.1 'Ungestaltbare Gestalt': On the verge of paradox
The opposing tendencies of Romanticism and Classicism have another equivalent in
Hesse: the contrast between 'Geist' and 'Seele' to which we referred in the previous
chapter (section 2). This distinction recurs frequently in his work. 'Geist' signals the
realm of words and is imbued with male or paternal connotations; 'Seele', on the
other hand, relates to the world of the mother: '[Goldmund neigt] dazu, alles Geistige
als vaterlich, als unmiitterlich und mutterfeindlich anzusehen' (SW 4, 320).
Goldmund's father encompasses the world of the mind, the realm of words,
steadiness; as opposed to this, his mother embodies nature, music, drive, love.54 The
world of 'Geist' draws Goldmund towards balance and harmony and helps him to
restrain his impulses and appetites; his mother, on the contrary, does not speak but
resounds like a melody in his mind, and her voice has such overtones as 'Wollust'
and Tod' (SW 4, 410).55
Mitten im Lesen oder Lernen, mitten zwischen den Schulkameraden konnte
[Goldmund] in sich versinken und alles vergessen, nur den Stromen und
Stimmen des Innern hingegeben, die ihn hinwegzogen, in tiefe Brunnen voll
dunkler Melodie, in farbige Abgriinde voll marchenhafter Erlebnisse, deren
54 In an autobiographical sketch, 'Kindheit des Zauberers', Hesse's father is contrasted with his mother by means
of her musical skills: 'meine Mutter war voll Musik, mein Vater nicht. Er konnte nicht singen' (TF, 456).
55 In this regard, it is worth registering that Goldmund's mother appears in the novel only through her son's
recollection. Without uttering any words, she is an active force in her son's mind.
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