Hermann Hesse: Life and Art

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"Every life is a journey to oneself." These words are from Hermann Hesse's work Demian and reflect the author's own philosophy of life. Essentially, all of Hesse's works are about self-examination and existential views of life as it is and as it could be. Internal and external, alienation and sociality are set against each other in his writings. The characters of the Glass Bead Game, Designori and Knecht, come from two different worlds, yet they are both part of Hesse himself. Like his characters, Hesse has felt at times in his life like a lonely wolf, shunned by the rest of the world. Just as Harry Haller, he has expressed anti-war, critical opinions. Although the Nobel laureate's novels and stories have reached a wide readership, they often remain enigmatic. This work highlights the complex, intriguing connections that link the life phases of one of the great solitary narrators of our century to the world revealed in his works.