AuthorofSTEPPENWOLF
TheGerman-SwissauthorofSteppenwolfisHermanHesse(July
1877-August1962).
ThetenthnovelbyHermannHesseDerSteppenwolf,combines
autobiographicalandfantasticelements.Releasedin1927andnamedafterthe
lonesomewolfofthesteppes,orcoyote,thebookinlargepartreflectsa
profoundcrisisinHesse'sspiritualworldinthe1920s.Thebookispresented
asamanuscriptbyitsprotagonist,amiddle-agedmannamedHarryHaller(who
hasthesameinitialsasHessehimself,arecurringdeviceinhisbooks),who
leavesittoachanceacquaintance,thenephewofhislandlady.Inthisnote,
HessestatesthatSteppenwolfwas"moreoftenandmoreviolentlymisunderstood"
thananyofhisotherbooks.
- Amiddle-agedreclusewholivesaloneinabourgeoislodginghouse.Harry
Hallerreferstohimselfasa“Steppenwolf”becausehefeelslikealonelywolf
ofthesteppes,removedfromtheobsessionsandconventionscommontomost
people.Harrybelieveshimselftobedividedbetweentwoextremes:aman-half
whosharestheidealsandinterestsofhumanity,andabeast-halfthatsees
thoseaspirationsasfutile,absurdvanities.
HermannHesse,theauthorofSteppenwolf,wasbornin
1877intheBlackForestregionofGermany.
Hesse’sfamilysubscribedtoPietism,aProtestantreligionthatemphasizes
heartfeltdevotionandcharitableactivityratherthandogma.Various
membersofthefamilyhadbeenmissionariesinIndiaorreligious
publishers,andHessewasexpectedtocontinuethisreligiouslegacy.Hewas
senttoamonasterybutleftafterayear.
Whenyoung,Hessereadalotanddecidedtobecomeanauthor.Afteryearsof
struggling,hegainedrecognitionwiththenovel
PeterCamenzind(1904).
DuringWorldWarI,HessemovedtoMontagnola,Switzerland,andbecamea
Swisscitizen.
HessefoundfamewiththenovelsSiddhartha
(1922),
Steppenwolf(1927),
andNarcissusandGoldmund(1930),
allofwhichaddressthesplitbetweentheworldofphysicalsensationand
theworldofmentalreasoning.Theauthor’sprimaryinfluencesinthesenovels
wereGermanRomanticism,late-nineteenth-centuryaestheticism,andIndian
andChinesereligiousphilosophy.Inhisnovels,Hessetriedtoreconcile
thephysicalandspiritualelementsofhischaracters,whosedesires
frequentlyinvolvetranscendingtherealmoftheindividualandenteringthe
realmoftheuniversalspirit.ThelivesofHesse’scharactersaregenerally
uncomfortable,buthisproselendsromancetotheirsuffering.
ThepublicationofSteppenwolfin
1927causedascandal,asthenovel’scandid
accountsofthecorruptelementsofacitydisappointedreaderswhohad
becomeaccustomedtoHesse’shighlyspiritualworks.Criticsclaimedthat
thenovelwastooobviouslyconfessional,asitsprangoutofacrisisin
Hesse’sownlife.Hewrotethenovelafterthefailureofhisfirstmarriage
andthecollapseofhisbriefsecondmarriage.Indeed,Hesse,whowasshy
andhadalwaysfeltmostcomfortableathome,hadgoneonsomethingofa
socializingrampage,frequentingthebarsanddancehallsofZurich.He
spentmostofhisdaysdrinkingalcoholandmostofhisnightswriting
self-pityingpoems.Thesepoems,which
offerapainfullyhonestrecordofHesse’salcoholism,suicidaltendencies,
andsenseofmentalandphysicalestrangement,serveasinteresting
companionpiecestothenovel.