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What do you make of this novel? Hesse himself said in a later postscript to it that although a reader is free to look into the novel as he prefers to, the novel provides a solution to Waller's torment. The solution lies in the higher plane where the Immortals reside. Eastern, especially Indian, mythology and philosophy played a huge role on Hesse's own intellectual life, as did psychoanalysis. However, as someone put off by the ideas that form the bulk of Indian philosophy (renunciation of this idea of one self, all is all, and i am in everything yada yada yada), I don't know if there is anything to take away from it.
There are clear influences from earlier German philosophy, especially via Nietzsche whose continuous stress on dancing and laughing has been played to the full in the novel. I did enjoy such scenes, with Mozart and Goethe both, and the first half or so of the book was also enjoyable despite there being a lot of what we would nowadays term cliché and cringy, such as the whole deal about "steppenwolf is on the prowl." I don't see the wolf in Waller, maybe it is a flawed analogy/metaphor.
The structure is also somewhat flawed and awkwardly paced. I found the part after he meets Hermoine to be nauseating. Such a quick shift in his personality, or at least what he thinks his personality is, was disgusting to witness. However, there are adequate opportunities for looking at Waller from an objective POV. His conversations with Hermoine, where she takes on a motherly role (which I initially found somewhat creepy, also helped by the suggestions of the nephew about Waller's trouble upbringing) were enlightening and formed one of the best parts of the novel. I don't know how to reconcile the fact that this part of the novel was both disgusting and enlightening. I think I am letting myself be clouded by own biases about the sort of life Steppenwolf starts living - one of enjoyment in normal things and the like.
There are very many layers to this book not all of which I think I can decipher or grapple with in thought. Overall, I liked it.
So, in conclusion, I found it to be a somewhat flawed but overall profound novel. I am hoping to read Demian after this, as well as some works which might touch upon related themes.
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>>8652280
One does not read "steppenwolf" without reading "Demian" and "Siddharta" first. Well, "Siddharta" is optional, but "Demian" is obligatory.
In fact the correct order should be: Demian, Siddharta, Steppenwolf, The glass bead game.
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>>8652280
I didn't liked it. Maybe I was too young or too dense, but I found it utterly boring. The only alright part was when he was talking about the burgeoise.
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>>8652354
This.
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>>8652280
I don't think it's that flawed. Harry changes when he meets Hermine because it shows how shallow his personality and problems are, that company from an attractive woman who cares about him is all he needs to take the first step to change. My speculation is that she is also the reason many people took the ending of the book as a downturn. They fell for Hermine just like Harry did, and unlike him, they didn't learn to move past it, and were stuck with the typical idea of a girl who solves all your problems.
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>>8652280
I'm almost a hundred pages in, so I can't say much about the pacing or his interactions with Hermine(although I will say that as a long term shut-in, when a girl enters your life your personality takes a shift). I enjoy the prose, the philosophical themes are clear and as usual for Hesse, it's relevant and applicable to life.
The thing I don't get is in the foreward, Hesse says it's his most violently misunderstood work because people identified with the Steppenwolf to affirm their own duality. I don't know what he expected, it's a common sentiment and even after dissecting it philosophically, a dualistic perspective still has its uses. I identify with the Steppenwolf and dualism, but I also concede to the "solutions" examined by Hesse, of a manifold existence. Dualism can be, at times, an efficient and sufficient means of expressing one's being, so long as it's limitations are acknowledged. I think Hesse intended to defeat dualism, but there's nothing that can't be quickly and easily bisected for the sake of expression or introspection
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>>8652280
First of all, this: >>8652354. Hesse's ideas and what he's trying to do in Steppenwolf becomes clearer if you've read those two.
For some reason Hesse's novels don't lendd themselves well to a psychological reading from a contemporary perspective, even though he himself shows a lot of influence from the likes of Freud and Jung. For you to get some insight into Haller's(not Waller) vaguely trippy adventure, try interpreting it as a spiritual/mystical journey with Hermione and Pablo as allegories, not Haller trying to remedy his personality flaws.
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