Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by
Hermann Hesse
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
First published in 1919, I think
Demian would have hit me differently had I been reading it in the postwar ethos. Unlike
Narcissus and Goldmund, this felt rather dated, but intriguing enough as a love child of
Catcher in the Rye and the
Sorrows of Young Werther with a dash of Nietzsche and Freud thrown in.
The book was originally published under the alias "Emil Sinclair" who is, in fact, the novel's protagonist. The book isn't really so much about Max Demian, the weirdly prophetic and enigmatic figure who pops up in Sinclair's life, but more about Sinclair's psychological and spiritual growth---or journey (that might be more apt). Hesse isn't subtle about light vs. dark, but what is refreshing about the story is that the two aren't diametrically opposed, or at least that seems to be the insinuation. Women are used as functional figures rather than significant characters, and I can't help but think that the beautiful Beatrice was a nod to Dante and Frau Eva seemed connected to Eden's Eve. Given that one of Demian's first expositions is a reinterpretation of Cain and Abel's story, this sort of intertextuality wouldn't surprise me. Sinclair's dreams are fairly central features to the story, and Hesse's exposure to Freud and Jung is laid bare: "...dreams that had emanated from the unconscious, of dreams in which humanity groped after its intimations of future potentialities" (123).
Sinclair is young and impressionable, at least at first, and Demian rocks his world with his individualistic interpretation of Biblical stories and way of living. The organist Pistorius is a transitional figure, as Sinclair is still looking for a mentor, but also feeling the tug of a need to make his own path. When Sinclair stays with Demian's mother (Frau Eva), things get a bit Oedipal, and fairly cultish. It is hard to connect to Sinclair, who seems to become increasingly Übermenschisch (in some ways), but he's interesting enough (as we are privy to his every rumination and dream). I'd reckon that this would not be the best introduction to Hesse for the uninitiated, but a worthwhile read for those who loved his other works.
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FTL2025 6B challenge Demian ---------> Night Watch (Phillips)
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