Steppenwolf is the tenth novel by Hermann Hesse, combining autobiographical and fantastic elements. The book in large part reflects a profound crisis in Hesse's spiritual world in the 1920s. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (406x617, 230 KB) Summary Scanned in Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born poet, novelist, and painter. ... In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ... For music albums named Autobiography, see Greek eauton = self, bios = life and graphein = write) is a form of biography, the writing of a life story. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The barcode of an ISBN . ... For the book, see Steppenwolf (novel) Steppenwolf album cover Steppenwolf is a 1960s and 1970s rock n roll band, best known for the hits Born to Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride. They were named after the novel Steppenwolf by German author Hermann Hesse. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born poet, novelist, and painter. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ...

Plot introduction and history

At the beginning of 1924 Hesse married his second wife, singer Ruth Wenger. However, after several weeks he left Basel, only returning closer to the end of the year, and then renting a separate apartment. After a short trip to Germany together Hesse stopped seeing Wenger almost completely. The resulting feeling of isolation and inability to make lasting contact with the outside world led to increasing despair and thoughts of suicide. 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: , French: , Italian: ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as of 2003). ... Despair in common usage is the condition of having abandoned hope. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ...

Hesse started working on the book in Basel and continued it in Zurich, publishing in 1926 a precursor to it - a book of poems titled The Crisis. From Hermann Hesse's Diary. The novel itself was published in 1928. Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ...

Plot summary

The book is presented as a manuscript by its protagonist, a middle-aged man named Harry Haller (who has the same initials as Hesse himself, a recurring device in his books), who leaves it to a chance acquaintance, the nephew of his landlady. The acquaintance adds a short preface of his own and then has the manuscript published. The title of this "real" book-in-the-book is Harry Haller's Records (For Madmen Only). A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ...

As it begins, the hero is beset with reflections on his being ill-suited for the world of "everybody", the regular people. In his aimless wanderings about the city he encounters a person carrying an advertisement for a "magic theater", who gives him a small book, Treatise on the Steppenwolf. This treatise is cited in full in the novel's text (another level of self-reference) as Harry reads it. The pamphlet addresses Harry by name and seems to describe him perfectly, as a man who believes himself to be of two natures: one "high", spiritual and "human"; while the other is "low", animal-like, a "wolf of the Steppes". This man is entangled in an irresolvable struggle, never content with either nature because he cannot see beyond this self made construct. The pamphlet gives an explanation of the multifaceted and indefinable nature of every man's soul,which Harry is either unable or unwilling to recognize. A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses...

The next day Harry meets a former academic friend who invites Harry to his home. While there Harry both becomes disgusted by the nationalistic mentality of his friend, and offends the man by criticizing his wife's picture of Goethe(a figure Harry later dreams about), thus cementing his belief that he is not fit for the society of other men. Trying to postpone returning home where he plans to commit suicide, Harry chances upon a young woman in a dance hall, Hermine. They talk at length, with Hermine alternatively mocking and indulging him. By promising another meeting, Hermine provides Harry with a reason to start "learning to live". Over the next few weeks Hermine finds Harry a lover, teaches him to dance and introduces him to a saxophonist named Pablo. After attending a lavish masquerade ball, Pablo leads Harry to his "magic theater", where conservative notions about his soul disintegrate, and Harry participates in several fantastic episodes, culminating with him killing Hermine with a knife, apparently fulfilling her own earlier request but really showing his continuing ignorance. Harry is consequently judged by Mozart, who condemns him to "listen to the radio music of life", challenging him at the same time to "reverence the spirit behind it". Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. ... A masquerade ball (or masque) is an event which the participants attend in costume, usually including a mask. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ...

Characters in "Steppenwolf"

• Harry Haller – the protagonist, a middle-aged man
• Pablo – a saxophonist
• Hermine – a young woman Haller meets at a dance
• Maria – Hermine's friend

Major themes

The duality of human nature is a major theme in the novel, and the two main characters, Harry Haller and Hermine, illustrate the duality. Harry illustrates the duality through an inner conflict and an outer conflict. Inwardly, he believes two natures battle within him, a man and a wolf. While he longs to live as a wolf free of social convention, he continually lives as a bourgeois bachelor, but his opposing wolfish nature isolates him from interaction with others until he meets Hermine. Hermine illustrates the duality of human nature through an outer conflict. Hermine is a socialite, a foil to the isolated bachelor, and she coerces Harry to subject himself to a social admission of her design in exchange for her murder. As Harry struggles through social interaction, his isolation diminishes as he and Hermine grow closer to one another. The ultimate goal of Harry's internal struggle is revealed in the gallery title "Marvelous Taming of the Steppenwolf". This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Trivia

• In early 1926 Hesse had several sessions of psychoanalysis with Dr. I. Lang, a student of Carl Jung; Jungian notions of "self", or "the I", as a complex superimposition and not a monolithic whole form the philosophical basis of the book.
• In the winter of the same year Hesse was taking dance lessons with Julia Laubi-Honegger (Hermine's prototype), and attended with her a masked ball at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zürich.
• Hesse's landlady and the apartment he rented from her in the winter of 1924 in Basel are described in the novel as those of Haller.
• The symbol of the Steppenwolf itself can be traced to Nietzsche's "differentiated loner", whom he also termed a "beast" and a "genius".
• It is likely that the figure of Pablo and the depiction of jazz music in the book is influenced by Hesse attending several performances by Sidney Bechet.
• A consistent motif in the book is the excellent simplicity of Mozart, particularly in comparison with more weighty, "complex, dense" German composers such as Johannes Brahms.

1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the work of Sigmund Freud. ... Carl Jungs partially autobiographical work Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Fontana edition Carl Gustav Jung (IPA: ) (July 26, 1875, Kesswil – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) was a Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology. ... View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop Zürich (German: , Zürich German: Züri , French: , in English generally Zurich, Italian: ) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Film version

In 1974 a film version was released. It starred Max Von Sydow and Dominique Sanda, and was directed by Fred Haines. Steppenwolf is a film adaptation of Hermann Hesses 1928 novel of the same name. ...  , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... Dominique Sanda (born Dominique Marie-Françoise Renée Varaigne on March 11, 1948 in Paris), is a French actress and former fashion model. ...

Allusions/references from other works

Hesse's 1928 short story "Harry, the Steppenwolf" forms a companion piece to the novel. The story is about a wolf named Harry kept in a zoo, who entertains crowds by destroying images of Germanic cultural icons like Goethe and Mozart.

The band Steppenwolf took their name from the title of the novel. It has been suggested that The Sparrows be merged into this article or section. ...

The Danish band Steppeulvene also took their name from this novel. Steppeulvene was a danish hippie band that made the album HIP in 1967 under heavy influence of psychedelic drugs. ...

The 1976 Hawkwind album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music features a 9¾ minute song loosely based on the novel, featuring vocals by Robert Calvert, violin by Simon House and saxophone by Nik Turner. Additionally, "He was a Steppenwolf" is a song by Boney M (Farian/Kinkhammer/Jay) from 1977. See also: other events of 1976 list of years in music 1970s in music // January 6 - Peter Frampton releases Frampton Comes Alive! January 7 - Kenneth Moss, a former record company executive, is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for involuntary manslaughter in... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Robert Newton Calvert (9 March 1945 - 14 August 1988) was the lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind intermittently from 1972-1979, who went on to a less successful but intriguing separate career. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. ... Nik Turner (born Nicholas Turner, 28 August 1940, in Oxford, Oxfordshire), is a British musician, best known as a founder of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. ... Boney M was a Eurodance, pop, and disco group, comprising four West Indian singers and dancers and masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian, and who were successful during the 1970s. ...

The movie Heimat (film) has a scene which makes a point out of the fact that one of the characters, Hermann Simon, has been influenced by the novel. Heimat is a trilogy of episodic films by Edgar Reitz which views life in Germany between 1919 and 2000 through the eyes of a family from the Hunsrück area of the Rhineland. ...

Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born poet, novelist, and painter. ... ... Poems is a collection of 31 poems written by the German author Hermann Hesse between 1899 and 1921. ... Peter Caminzind was the first novel by Hermann Hesse and contains a number of themes that were to preoccupy many of Hesses later works, most notably the individuals search for a unique spiritual and physical identity amidst the backdrops of nature and modern civilization and the role of... Beneath the Wheel (Unterm Rad) is a novel written by Hermann Hesse. ... Gertrud is a 1910 novel by Hermann Hesse. ... Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclairs Youth is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919, but a prologue was added in 1960. ... Siddhartha is an allegorical novel by Hermann Hesse which deals with the spiritual journey of an Indian man called Siddhartha during the time of the Buddha. ... Narcissus and Goldmund (ISBN 0-312-42167-2) is a novel written by the German author Hermann Hesse and was first published as Narziß und Goldmund in German in 1930. ... Journey to the East is a short novel by German author Hermann Hesse. ... The Glass Bead Game (German: Das Glasperlenspiel) is the last work and magnum opus of the German author Hermann Hesse. ... If the War Goes On: Reflections on War and Politics is a series of essays and other writings by the German author, Hermann Hesse. ...

Notes

External links

• Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf
• Steppenwolf the Genius of Suffering by Hassan M. Malik
• Steppenwolf at the Internet Movie Database