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. ...
on 'responsibility7, as emerges from Das Glasperlenspiel where, as in Sartre, it is inextricably bound to the idea of freedom: 'wer hoher steigt und grofiere Aufgaben bekommt, wird nicht freier, er wird nur immer veranrwortlicher' (SW 5, 74).59 A certain Existentialist attitude is discernible in works such as Siddhartha and, above all, Der Steppenwolf, as witnessed by the studies of Lange ('Daseinproblematik' in Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf: An existential interpretation, 1970) and Hollis (see the chapter 'The existential aesthete', in 'Hermann Hesse's "Steppenwolf": A study in humour and Humor', 1973). 60 Thematically, Lange identifies elements of Der Steppenwolf which are typical of the existentialist perspective: the '"Daseinproblematik" the problem of "how are we to live?"' (1970, 4); the theme of the 'outsider' (ibid.); and 'man's relatedness to man - love, friendship, [...] communication or lack of it7 (34). Apart from these general features, there is a further aspect that is central to our argument. As in Sartre, despite the absurdity of existence, the idea of commitment to life and 'this' world resounds powerfully in this novel of Hesse, as illustrated by Hermine's reprimand to Harry for his despondency: Dein Leben wird auch dadurch nicht flach und dumm, wenn du weifit, dafi dein Kampf erfolglos sein wird. Es ist viel flacher, Harry, wenn du fur etwas Gutes und Ideales kampfst und nun meinst, du miissest es auch erreichen. Sind denn Ideale zum Erreichen da?61 (SW 4,115) As noted above, the antithesis of reality and the ideal, which is central to Hesse's thought and, to a considerable degree, the blueprint for all his works, is common to Romanticism and Existentialism. On the other hand, the stress on earthly 59 The concept is restated later in the novel (see SW 5, 323) and crops up in previous novels such as Der Steppenwolf, where Mozart links it with original sin: 'Sie [Wagner und Brahms] konnen auch nichts dafur, daft Adam den Apfel gefressen hat, und miissen es doch biiBen. [...] Das Leben ist immer furchtbar. Wir konnen nichts dafur und sind doch verantwortlich' (SW 4, 193). In the context of Steppenwolf, Lange notes that 'Hesse, like Sartre, underscores the need to take responsibility for one's own "Dasein", in contrast with the irresponsibility of the Mass' (1970, 56). 60 Commenting on Siddhartha's quest for belonging ('Er aber, Siddhartha, wo war er zugehorigT'; SW 3, 399, my emphasis), Moritz notes: 'Es handelt sich also um eine besondere, existentielle Einsamkeit' (306). Similarly, Haller appears extraneous and lonely to the bougeois narrator: ' Unzugehorig, einsam und fremd saB er, mil einem kiihlen, aber sorgenvollen Gesicht vor sich nieder blickend' (SW 4, 20, my emphasis). Tellingly, Lange describes '[mjetaphysical alienation - the estrangement of the individual from the Universe and from meaning' as 'basic to all existentialist thought' (1970, 60). 61 'Man's situation, as Sartre sees it, is absurd and tragic; but does that rule out integrity, nobility, or valor, or the utmost effort?' (Kaufmann, 47). 87
existence and the dismissal of any transcendent unity draws a neat dividing line between the two philosophical movements. In passing or in monographs, secondary literature has extensively dealt with Hesse's connections with Romanticism on both the poetic and the formal level. In the previous two chapters, we discussed the Romantic legacy in relation to Hesse's 'thinking in polarities' (Chapter 1) and stressed the Romantic influence on the development of the sonata form (Chapter 2), the dynamics of which have a bearing on Hesse's poetics. 62 With regard to the formal aspects of his works, Hesse draws on certain Romantic topoi (i.e. remote times and places) and literary forms such as the Bildungsroman and Marchen. 63 Siddhartha and Narzifl und Goldmund have their settings in the Orient and the Middle Ages respectively. Demian, Siddhartha, and Narzifi und Goldmund count as examples of Bildungsromane. With regard to Marchen, which Weibel describes as 'Kanon aller romantisierenden Kunst' (132), the significance of the genre goes beyond Hesse's collection of fairy tales published in 1919 (Marchen). In 'Kurzgefafiter Lebenslauf (1921-1924), Hesse identifies operas and especially Die Zauberflote (SW 12, 60) 'als die hochste Form des Marchens' (59). For Ziolkowski, Hesse's oscillation between Romanticism and Existentialism is reflected in a number of his novels: 'he strives in Siddhartha, Narzifl and Goldmund, and the Journey to the East—to create the transcendent ideal of resolution that he rejects in Demian, The Steppenwolf, and The Glass Bead Game' (1965, 359). In Siddhartha, Hesse portrays the unity of all forms of being as well as of inanimate objects, and the essence of Narzifl und Goldmund and Morgenlandfahrt lies in the final and ideal merging of two opposing forces. As for the second group of novels mentioned above, it is clear that the war shatters any hope of harmony in Demian, and the protagonist 62 For a discussion of Hesse's Romantic heritage, see Weibel's monograph, Hermann Hesse und die deutsche Romantik (1954), Freedman's article 'Romantic Imagination: Hermann Hesse as a Modern Novelist' (1958), or Ziolkowski's chapter 'Between Romanticism and Existentialism' in The novels of Hermann Hesse (1965). 63 Strictly speaking, the genre of the Bildungsroman traces its roots back to the Enlightenment, yet it has been largely exploited by the Romantics as pointed out by Cardinal: '[the novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre] was particularly important to the Romantics; it offered a blueprint for the Bildungsroman, the novel of development, combining realistic and imaginary elements, that was flexible enough for the Romantics to use it again and again' (13).
- Page 43 and 44: consideration. 55 Clearly, any aspe
- Page 45 and 46: This chapter, which is the necessar
- Page 47 and 48: In the twentieth century, the adven
- Page 49 and 50: 609). 14 Klingsor even calls on the
- Page 51 and 52: This conception of music, reflected
- Page 53 and 54: eproducing the soloist's frenzy, in
- Page 55 and 56: Spafi'). A further point we drew at
- Page 57 and 58: they revolve around a common 'home
- Page 59 and 60: More recent literary employment of
- Page 61 and 62: In the chapter 'Erwachen', after hi
- Page 63 and 64: 'modulated' and developed, identify
- Page 65 and 66: movements of a tripartite sonata. M
- Page 67 and 68: In addition, Hesse's main character
- Page 69 and 70: Drin eins das andre halt, Zeigen si
- Page 71 and 72: Klange alle wie die Stimme der Mutt
- Page 73 and 74: father, soul and spirit. 59 To Gold
- Page 75 and 76: evolution of his connections to mus
- Page 77 and 78: Music means solace for Kuhn in Gert
- Page 79 and 80: Furthermore, the erotic element of
- Page 81 and 82: Hesse's penchant for 'klassische' (
- Page 83 and 84: the aesthetic qualities of a piece
- Page 85 and 86: creation is, for Hesse, the princip
- Page 87 and 88: 'Hesse had nothing against virtuosi
- Page 89 and 90: undramatisch' (letter of 1898 to He
- Page 91 and 92: As far as the formal plane is conce
- Page 93: called 'absurd'. 53 The most conspi
- Page 97 and 98: in that the former's opera paves th
- Page 99 and 100: 'Bine Arbeitsnacht' (1928), he poin
- Page 101 and 102: debate on jazz but also by the Nazi
- Page 103 and 104: catchy tunes threaten to drain art
- Page 105 and 106: individuationis—accepting his lim
- Page 107 and 108: Singen oder Summen oder auch nur da
- Page 109 and 110: die Erden und Sterne harmonisch im
- Page 111 and 112: in the euphoria of the 'Maskenball'
- Page 113 and 114: Chapter 4 Memory, metamorphosis, an
- Page 115 and 116: Hesse's approach to memory and the
- Page 117 and 118: Hesse's main characters who, almost
- Page 119 and 120: ich sah mich wahrend der ganzen Vor
- Page 121 and 122: with music, which would eventually
- Page 123 and 124: correlative' of childhood in Hesse.
- Page 125 and 126: equally pressing desire to release
- Page 127 and 128: mit Entsetzen erinnerte ich mich an
- Page 129 and 130: Hesse ascribes his fascination with
- Page 131 and 132: weigert sich, es will sich haufig a
- Page 133 and 134: exceptions (see the myth of Pygmali
- Page 135 and 136: internalized and replaced by transf
- Page 137 and 138: to India ('Erinnerung an Mwamba').
- Page 139 and 140: there are occasions when we experie
- Page 141 and 142: Beschreibung einiger Augenblicke ku
- Page 143 and 144: In the first place, time is no long
existence and the dismissal of any transcendent unity draws a neat dividing line<br />
between the two philosophical movements.<br />
In passing or in monographs, secondary literature has extensively dealt with<br />
Hesse's connections with Romanticism on both the poetic and the formal level. In the<br />
previous two chapters, we discussed the Romantic legacy in relation to Hesse's<br />
'thinking in polarities' (Chapter 1) and stressed the Romantic influence on the<br />
development of the sonata form (Chapter 2), the dynamics of which have a bearing<br />
on Hesse's poetics. 62<br />
With regard to the formal aspects of his works, Hesse draws on certain Romantic<br />
topoi (i.e. remote times and places) and literary forms such as the Bildungsroman and<br />
Marchen. 63 Siddhartha and Narzifl und Goldmund have their settings in the Orient and<br />
the Middle Ages respectively. Demian, Siddhartha, and Narzifi und Goldmund count as<br />
examples of Bildungsromane. With regard to Marchen, which Weibel describes as<br />
'Kanon aller romantisierenden Kunst' (132), the significance of the genre goes<br />
beyond Hesse's collection of fairy tales published in 1919 (Marchen). In 'Kurzgefafiter<br />
Lebenslauf (1921-1924), Hesse identifies operas and especially Die Zauberflote (SW<br />
12, 60) 'als die hochste Form des Marchens' (59).<br />
For Ziolkowski, Hesse's oscillation between Romanticism and Existentialism is<br />
reflected in a number of his novels: 'he strives in Siddhartha, Narzifl and Goldmund,<br />
and the Journey to the East—to create the transcendent ideal of resolution that he<br />
rejects in Demian, The Steppenwolf, and The Glass Bead Game' (1965, 359). In Siddhartha,<br />
Hesse portrays the unity of all forms of being as well as of inanimate objects, and the<br />
essence of Narzifl und Goldmund and Morgenlandfahrt lies in the final and ideal<br />
merging of two opposing forces. As for the second group of novels mentioned above,<br />
it is clear that the war shatters any hope of harmony in Demian, and the protagonist<br />
62 For a discussion of Hesse's Romantic heritage, see Weibel's monograph, Hermann Hesse und die deutsche<br />
Romantik (1954), Freedman's article 'Romantic Imagination: Hermann Hesse as a Modern Novelist' (1958), or<br />
Ziolkowski's chapter 'Between Romanticism and Existentialism' in The novels of Hermann Hesse (1965).<br />
63 Strictly speaking, the genre of the Bildungsroman traces its roots back to the Enlightenment, yet it has been<br />
largely exploited by the Romantics as pointed out by Cardinal: '[the novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre] was<br />
particularly important to the Romantics; it offered a blueprint for the Bildungsroman, the novel of development,<br />
combining realistic and imaginary elements, that was flexible enough for the Romantics to use it again and<br />
again' (13).
Change language