The Steppenwolf, a work to reflect on

To talk about Hermann Hesse is to talk about one of the most recognized writers of the 20th century. To talk about Hesse’s work is to talk about Siddharthaof Demian and, of course, Steppe wolf. Although I would like to point out that, in addition to being a novelist, Hesse was also an essayist, poet, etc.

Hesse is a well-documented author, whose influences are reflected in his works; He was fascinated by German romanticism, he admired Goethe and Nietzsche, but also Mozart and had strong influences from Indian and Chinese philosophy. Reading Hesse is a journey through all these influences and cultures, but also a journey towards your own being, towards human nature.

Steppe wolf It is one of his most recognized works, and one of the most read among young people during the 20th century.. It is a short but profound novel, in which the author combines some fantastic elements with his own thoughts and ideas. The plot is presented through a literary device known as a found manuscript, that is, the author disassociates himself from his work and a new author appears, the author of the manuscript. This technique has been very present throughout literary history, it also appears in The Quijote.

Autobiography in Steppenwolf

There are many similarities that we find between character and author in Steppe wolf. The work corresponds to some notes written by Harry Haller, the protagonist, during his stay in a rented room. The landlord’s nephew finds these notes and makes a brief introduction.

The rest of the work is narrated in first person and is divided into: “Notations by Harry Haller, Only for Crazy People”, where the protagonist describes himself as a ‘steppenwolf’, expressing his dreams, delusions, thoughts and disagreements; “Steppenwolf Tractat, Not for Everyone,” a philosophical and psychological essay that allows the reader to delve deeper into Harry’s world and understand his personality. Finally, we find a continuation of “Notes by Harry Haller, only for crazy people.”

The novel immerses us in Harry’s world, his thoughts and feelings. He is a lonely being who cannot fit into the world, invites reflection, to find the meaning of life in a modern society, a society for the masses in which it seems that there is no place for intellectuals or for those who are different. For this reason, it is not surprising that it has been widely read among adolescents, at which time we began to look for our place and understand ourselves.

The novel is marked by autobiography, it is a hermetic novel, in which the bourgeoisie of the time is criticized.. It is a work that delves into the depths of the protagonist, investigates his personality and his inner world.

We see in this work different ways of life based on the isolation of the protagonist.. You also discover the nocturnal world, where pleasures are taken to the extreme. Anything is possible, there are no rules and the characters are involved in a cloud of drugs, music, fun and sex.

Some of the clues of this autobiography are:

The initials: the protagonist of Steppe wolf His name is Harry Haller, whose initials coincide with those of Hermann Hesse.Living between two eras: both author and protagonist live between two eras, in a period of transition and are lonely and misunderstood beings.The idea of ​​suicide: that “not fitting in”, that disease of intellectuals in the 20th century is very present in the work. The idea of ​​suicide is recurrent and Hesse himself tried to commit suicide.The woman: One of the most significant events in Hesse’s life was his divorce; throughout the work, various reflections are made about this fact. Harry tells us that he was married, but his family life collapsed due to his wife’s madness and, in this way, he isolated himself and became the Steppenwolf.Herminie: She is the most significant female character, her name is the feminine name of Hermann and represents a splitting of the personality; the other side of the protagonist.

This description of the protagonist corresponds to the construction of the archetype of the superfluous man, very present in literature and which depicts a cultured, intelligent and melancholic man framed by nihilism. Harry Haller lives in a world that he feels does not belong to him, he is a ‘superior’ man, an intellectual who isolates himself and lives in a constant ‘to be or not to be’, trying to understand himself. A kind of Hamlet of the 20th century.

The steppe wolf, a psychological reflection

Steppe wolf presents the main characteristics of the Menippean satire, a genre where the characters are usually ridiculed intellectual men, something we see in Hesse’s work, especially in the final part of it. The work is a reflection that starts from the agony of the protagonist and leads us to the search for laughter..

Harry Haller is a cultured and misunderstood man who is convinced that inside him live a man and a wolf who are in conflict.. Haller has lost interest in life, he is pessimistic and nothing around him can make him happy, he despises the world in which he lives and the people who inhabit it. His life has no meaning, until he comes across a bright sign that invites him to go to a place called the Magic Theater.

The Magic Theater is something like the rabbit that chases Alice in Wonderlandit is something that catches his attention, although at first Harry does not dare to enter. Alice arrives in a new world, completely different from the world in which she is used to living, in that place everything is possible and she must face numerous dilemmas, she cannot recognize herself, she no longer knows who she is; In the same way, that call that Harry feels for the Magic Theater is the beginning of the new world that she is about to discover.

At the end of the work, Harry will fall down that rabbit hole that is the theater and begin his journey towards this new world to discover: the true nature of his being. and the complexity of it. Through games, historical figures and eccentric situations, we will discover the true nature of this werewolf, who must learn to laugh at himself.

Here, Harry will understand that numerous “I’s” live inside him and that they all coexist in a kind of chess game.his person cannot be limited to man and wolf, but is a great multiplicity of personalities.

Steppenwolf presents us with a (non-metaphorical) masked ball in which the protagonist must search for himself. A hermetic and reflective work on the evil of the intellectuals of a time that also represents a state of consciousness.

You might be interested…