Demian
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| Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth | |
 The cover of Demian by Hermann Hesse. |
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| Author | Hermann Hesse |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Geschichte von Emil Sinclairs Jugend |
| Translator | Hilda Rosner |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperClassics (Eng. trans) |
| Publication date | 1919 |
| Published in English |
1962 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 176 pp (first English edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0060931914 (first English edition, paperback) |
Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919, but a prologue was added in 1960. Demian was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, but Hesse was later revealed to be the author. The name "Emil Sinclair" was chosen because he was a friend of the poet Novalis, whom Hesse adored. The novel was written in just three weeks.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Emil Sinclair is a young boy who was raised in a bourgeois home described as a Scheinwelt. "Scheinwelt" is a play on words and means world of light as well as world of illusion. Through the novel, accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate Max Demian, he descends from and revolts against the superficial ideals of this world, eventually awakening into a realization of self.
[edit] Character List
- Emil Sinclair - the main protagonist of the novel. Sinclair is confused as to what his life is, and is going to be, and constantly seeks mentorship throughout the novel.
- Sinclair's mother and father - symbols of safety toward which Sinclair first finds refuge, but eventually rebells against.
- Franz Kromer - An Austrian bully whose psychological torture leads Sinclair to meet Max Demian.
- Max Demian - Childhood friend and mentor of Sinclair. Demian leads Sinclair to his eventual Self Realization. Early in the narrative, he mysteriously deters Kromer's bullying of Sinclair. The precise action is unknown to the reader.
- Alfons Beck - the "sarcastic and avuncular" oldest boy in the boardinghouse into which Sinclair enrolls after his confirmation. Beck serves as a minor mentor to Sinclair, and introduces Sinclair to the joys and pitfalls of alcohol.
- Pistorius - a rector, organist at a local church, and temporary mentor for Sinclair. Pistorius teaches Sinclair how to look inside himself for spiritual guidance.
- Frau Eva - Max Demian's mother. She becomes Emil Sinclair's ideal, first in visions, then in person. She is the woman who Sinclair sees in the park, falls in love with, and names 'Beatrice'
[edit] Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
[edit] Themes
[edit] Embrace of duality
A major underlying theme of this novel is opposing forces and the idea that both are necessary.
[edit] Spiritual Enlightenment
The novel references concepts of Gnosticism, particularly the god Abraxas, and shows the influence of Sigmund Freud's system of psychoanalysis. Hesse said the novel was a story of Jungian individuation, the process of opening up to one's unconscious.
[edit] Woman as an ideal form
Throughout the stages of Emil Sinclair's life, he refers to various females as an ideal archetype. As a young boy, he contrasted his sisters, who fit naturally into the "world of light," with the family's maid, who seemed to live a double life. During his school days, he glimpsed a beautiful woman and revered her as an ideal (named for Dante's Beatrice) that he used to pull himself out of a moral and spiritual decay. Finally, as a young man, he meets Frau Eva, who he sees as the culmination of everything he has been striving toward. All of these women are portrayed more as symbols than fully developed characters, and they are used to shape the protagonist's views of an ideal.
[edit] Symbols
[edit] The God Abraxas
The Gnostic deity Abraxas is used as a symbol throughout the text, idealizing the harmonious union of all that is good and all that is evil in the world. Demian argues that the Catholic God is an insufficient god; it rules over all that is wholesome, but there is another half of the world. The symbol of Abraxas appears in the novel as a bird breaking free of an egg or a globe.
[edit] The Sparrow Hawk
Symbolizes Demian becoming one with himself
[edit] Style
Though this is an earlier work, the style of Demian is pure Hermann Hesse. Hesse quickly dramatizes moral and theological points, directly through the thoughts of the main character and his intense interaction with life teachers. Hesse's legacy is to economize by forming a drama which focuses entirely on direct, chthonic discovery that could be shocking to early 20th century readers.
[edit] Notable Passages
These passages are segments of the novel that best demonstrate themes and lessons to be learned when reading Demian. They are the central ideas and morals of the book.
"Der Vogel kämpft sich aus dem Ei. Das Ei ist die Welt. Wer geboren werden will, muss eine Welt zerstören. Der Vogel fliegt zu Gott. Der Gott heisst Abraxas."
(The bird struggles out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born, must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas.)
"Fate and temperament are two words for one and the same concept." That was clear to me now.
I have no objection to worshiping this God Jehovah, far from it. But I mean we ought to consider everything sacred, the entire world, not merely the artificially separated half! Thus alongside the divine service we should also have a service for the devil.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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