{"id":5137,"date":"2018-05-21T22:27:44","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T20:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=5137"},"modified":"2020-05-30T21:49:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T19:49:58","slug":"narziss-und-goldmund-hermann-hesse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2018\/05\/narcissus-and-goldmund-hermann-hesse\/","title":{"rendered":"Narcissus and Goldmund \u2022 Hermann Hesse"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

At the moment, I\u2019m working on finishing my entire stack of unread books, finally getting to those that have been sitting on the lower end of the pile. I\u2019ve already read a few works by Hermann Hesse, but so far, they\u2019ve only moderately impressed me. I remember The Steppenwolf<\/em> as a very successful novel, but overall, I don\u2019t connect much with the spiritual aspects of his works. Nevertheless, Narcissus and Goldmund<\/em> intrigued me \u2014 not least because of Hesse\u2019s beautiful language, as reading his sentences is a very pleasant experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Narcissus and Goldmund<\/em> is set in the Middle Ages and begins in the monastery of Mariabronn, where the young novice Narcissus and the student Goldmund meet. They become close friends but recognize their opposing natures. While Narcissus is the rational thinker, Goldmund turns out to be an artist yearning for sensual and worldly life. Eventually, Goldmund leaves the monastery to lead a wandering life as a (life) artist. At the heart of the novel lies the opposition between these two archetypes and life paths \u2014 between the ascetic intellectual and the man of the senses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In this story, the reader follows Goldmund as he wanders through life, experiencing countless impressions and encounters, growing bit by bit through them, often reflecting superficially on his experiences, and eventually immersing himself in art. The story flows smoothly, is pleasant to read, and unfolds without any major dramatic arc. Still, I was always curious to see where it would all lead, and Goldmund\u2019s wild life naturally carries something of an adventure. Goldmund soon loses touch with Narcissus, but it is clear from the start that Hesse will eventually reconnect the two. In this context, Goldmund\u2019s life story feels somewhat constructed, as it\u2019s obvious that Hesse aims to portray an artist driven by the pursuit of life and love. He certainly succeeds \u2014 Goldmund is indeed the embodiment of the artist type \u2014 but I found it a bit exaggerated. Moreover, I\u2019m not sure whether life in the Middle Ages really worked that way, and whether it was so easy to seduce the female population of the countryside. Goldmund is described as a handsome young man, but that seemed a little too convenient to me. On the other hand, he\u2019s not exactly squeamish either. All in all, his amorous adventures are quite entertaining to read.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

From The Steppenwolf<\/em>, I noted down numerous truly profound quotations. The book was full of thoughts I found fascinating because they touch on aspects of human nature that concern us all, and because the Steppenwolf, as an outsider, observes society from a unique perspective. I found very few such captivating thoughts in this book, perhaps because the theme of opposition between the thinker and the artist doesn\u2019t particularly move me. Of course, the novel carries deeper layers, such as the recurring image of the \u201cGreat Mother,\u201d who spiritually guides Goldmund and repeatedly calls him back into the world. A life as a lonely wanderer \u2014 far from the safety of a structured existence, without a permanent home, money, or recognition \u2014 naturally raises other questions and reflections. Transience, dying, and death are ever-present elements that Goldmund repeatedly encounters and that accompany him throughout his life\u2019s journey. Overall, however, Goldmund drifts rather aimlessly through the beautiful German lands, reflecting only within certain bounds, and I didn\u2019t find him particularly sympathetic in the end. The book didn\u2019t evoke much empathy in me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“Perhaps there were husbands and fathers whose faithfulness did not rob them of sensual pleasure? Perhaps there were men settled in one place whose lack of freedom and danger did not cause their hearts to wither? Perhaps. But he had never seen one.” (p. 241)<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I was especially curious about the ending \u2014 about the conclusion Hesse would draw for these two fates and what his insight would be. It turns out to be rather spiritual, culminating in a striving for divine perfection through self-realization, where the \u201chow\u201d of this process is not decisive. I found that a bit thin, though it certainly aligns well with Hesse\u2019s understanding of religion. Influenced by his early encounters with Hinduism and Buddhism as well as his Christian upbringing, Hesse seemed to hold a concept of God that transcended any particular religion, regarding all faiths as equally valid. That\u2019s an individual and liberal outlook, which I find very appealing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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My edition from Suhrkamp Verlag is one of a boxed set I inherited from family. I don\u2019t find the Suhrkamp books particularly attractive. Content-wise, there\u2019s nothing to complain about, but these plain little volumes \u2014 with their bright and somewhat dull cover typography \u2014 aren\u2019t exactly bibliophile treasures. The glued binding isn\u2019t very sturdy either, and some pages have torn slightly at the bottom. By the end, I didn\u2019t even dare to open it fully. There\u2019s no afterword or commentary, which puts it on the lower end of the scale. However, the books are very inexpensive \u2014 The Great Novels: 7 Volumes<\/em> (ISBN 9783518066966) can be found used for as little as 8 euros.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> I\u2019m not a Hermann Hesse fan and probably never will be. I found the book entertaining, and Hesse\u2019s prose is a real pleasure to read. Following Goldmund\u2019s wandering life is a small adventure in itself, though the novel lacks the depth I so enjoyed in The Steppenwolf<\/em>. The contrast between the thinker and the artist is the central theme here, which Hesse portrays beautifully. Those who like Hesse will surely enjoy this novel too \u2014 but for me, it\u2019s not one of those books one has<\/em> to read.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Book information:<\/strong> Narcissus and Goldmund<\/em> \u2022 Hermann Hesse \u2022 Suhrkamp \u2022 305 pages<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the moment, I\u2019m working on finishing my entire stack of unread books, finally getting to those that have been sitting on the lower end of the pile. I\u2019ve already read a few works by Hermann Hesse, but so far, they\u2019ve only moderately impressed me. I remember The Steppenwolf as a very successful novel, but … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Narcissus and Goldmund \u2022 Hermann Hesse”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Narzi\u00df und Goldmund \u2022 Hermann Hesse - lesestunden","description":"Im Augenblick bin ich dabei, meinen Stapel ungelesener B\u00fccher komplett auszulesen und komme nun auch zu B\u00fccher, die bisher weiter unten rangiert sind. Von Herma"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,20],"tags":[168],"class_list":["post-5137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics","category-reviews","tag-hermann-hesse"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/narziss_goldmund_beitrag_2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}