Beneath the Wheel
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| Author | Hermann Hesse |
|---|---|
| Original title | Unterm Rad |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | S. Fisherman |
| Released | 1906 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | pp |
| ISBN | NA |
Beneath the Wheel (Unterm Rad) is a novel written by Hermann Hesse. It is also sometimes titled The Prodigy in English.
[edit] Plot summary
Beneath the Wheel tells the story of a boy, Hans Giebenrath, who is highly gifted and as a result sent to a seminary in Maulbronn. However, all his education is just focused on increasing his knowledge and neglects him as a person. He finally finds a friend, Hermann Heilner, at the seminary, who is less hardworking than he is and more liberal-minded, and this friendship acts as a kind of relief for Giebenrath. In the end, Heilner is expelled from the seminary and Giebenrath is sent home some time later as his performance steadily decreases and as he develops symptoms of mental illness. At home, he finds it difficult to cope with his present situation, in particular as he has lost most of his childhood to study and never had time to form lasting personal relationships with anyone within his small village. He starts an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and seems to enjoy the work, as it is concrete, in opposition to the abstract world Hans has become accustomed to in the scholarly realm. However, Giebenrath drowns under suspicious circumstances in the end. It is not explicitly mentioned that Hans commits suicide, though scholars maintain there is ample proof to support the claim.
This book is one of Hesse's first novels and offers a severe criticism of education that focuses only on the students' performance. In that respect it is typical of Hesse. There are also some biographical links to Hesse himself, as he also attended a seminary (in fact the same as Giebenrath did in Beneath the Wheel) and was also expelled from it.
| The Work of Hermann Hesse | |
|---|---|
| Poems Romantic Songs, One Hour After Midnight, Poems | |
| Novels: Peter Camenzind, Beneath the Wheel, Gertrude, Rosshalde, Knulp, Demian, Klein and Wagner, Klingsor's Last Summer, Siddhartha, Kurgast, Die Nürnberger Reise, Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund, Journey to the East, Autobiographical Writings, The Glass Bead Game | |
| Essays: If the War Goes On ..., My Belief: Essays on Life and Art | |
