A deftly crafted biography of the author of Siddhartha, whose critique of consumer culture continues to inspire millions of readers. Against the horrors of Nazi dictatorship and widespread disillusionment with the forces of mass culture and consumerism, Hermann Hesse’s stories inspired nonconformity and a yearning for universal values. Few today would doubt Hesse’s artistry or his importance to millions of devoted readers. But just who was the author of Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, and Demian? Gunnar Decker weaves together previously unavailable sources to offer a unique interpretation of the life and work of Hermann Hesse. Drawing on recently discovered correspondence between Hesse and his psychoanalyst Josef Lang, Decker shows how Hesse reversed the traditional roles of therapist and client, and rethinks the relationship between Hesse’s novels and Jungian psychoanalysis. He also explores Hesse’s correspondence with Stefan Zweig―recently unearthed―to find the source of Hesse’s profound sense of alienation from his contemporaries. Decker’s biography brings to life this icon of spiritual searching and disenchantment who galvanized the counterculture in the 1960s and feels newly relevant today.
Author(s): Gunnar Decker, Peter Lewis
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 801
Tags: Critique, Consumer Culture
Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Epigraph......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Introduction: Doppelgänger in a Straw Hat......Page 10
1. A Child’s Soul: Oppression and Rebellion......Page 24
2. The Self-Proclaimed Writer......Page 97
3. Awakening of Individuality......Page 123
4. At Home Crossing Borders......Page 165
5. Portrait of the Successful Artist as a Young Man Wandering beneath Clouds......Page 213
6. A New Beginning in Switzerland and the First World War......Page 302
7. Escape to Ticino: Making a Fresh Start and Falling to Earth in the South......Page 387
8. The Awakening of Steppenwolf......Page 482
9. Traveling to the East......Page 552
10. On the Nature of The Glass Bead Game: The Looming Presence of the Third Reich......Page 610
11. The Old Man of the Mountains: Hesse’s Continuing Journey Inward......Page 674
Chronology......Page 734
Notes......Page 738
Acknowledgments......Page 770
Index......Page 772
