Narcissus and Goldmund

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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. It was the novel directly after Der Steppenwolf, which won Hesse critical acclaim. Narcissus and Goldmund was, at the time of its release, considered Hesse's literary triumph and international success (though now the earlier Siddhartha has become known as Hesse's classic).

[edit] Synopsis

Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a young man who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany. The young man, Goldmund, has just left a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as "the meaning of life", or rather, meaning for his life. He was brainwashed by his single father into thinking he wanted to become a monk and use his life exclusively to serve God. Narcissus, a young teacher at the cloister school who has the uncanny ability to look into people’s souls and determine their destinies, quickly makes friends with Goldmund (they are only a few years apart, and Goldmund is naturally bright) and instantly recognizes that Goldmund is not meant for the monastery life. This comes as a sickening shock to Goldmund, whose mind had been going against his nature in a series of youthful mental conflicts recently. After straying too far in the fields one day, on an errand gathering herbs, he comes across a beautiful woman and they kiss and she invites him to have sex later. This encounter pushes him over the edge and he knows he was not meant to be a monk. Goldmund is filled with the desire to experience everything, learn about life and nature in his own hands-on way. With Narcissus’ support, he leaves the monastery and wanders around the countryside.

This sets the stage for the rest of the novel, which follows Goldmund on his many adventures on the move. It spans many, many years, detailing specific incidents where Goldmund learns something important, and he often muses on these findings and the ways of life.

The most poignant scene in the novel occurs when Goldmund is assisting a woman in labor. As the child is born, he sees the look of intense pain and suffering on the woman's face. This look reminds him of the look on women's faces when they have an orgasm. This scene leads us to conclude that pain and ecstasy are on opposite sides of the same spectrum, so they are naturally similar feelings. Many prominent emotions of ours that we can easily pinpoint are exclusive to our species. Greed, hatred, pride, and maybe even the most coveted emotion of all, love, are all strictly human emotions. Many basic natural emotions we possess have been subdued over time because of our intelligence. But the Ecstasy/Pain spectrum is the one major thing that still connects us to the natural world, these pure animal feelings that no one is ashamed of. These feelings come from our nature, and all humanity will forever be attached to it because of our most important emotions, the emotions that form the basis of all other emotions, the worst, most intense pain and suffering, and the greatest feelings of elation and ecstasy we could possibly imagine. We will never be able to escape these physical feelings, no matter how advanced our science or subdued our natural instincts.

[edit] Themes

In this novel the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Apollonian versus Dionysian spirit is evident. The polarization of Narcissus's individualist Apollonian character stands in contrast to the passionate and zealous disposition of Goldmund. Hesse, in the spirit of the Nietzsche's "Birth of Tragedy", completes the equation by creating Goldmund as an artist (an Apollonian endeavour), and highlighting the harmonizing relationship of the main characters.

Goldmund is presented as completely rounded character as he comes to embody both Apollonian as well as Dionysian elements, thus capturing Nietzsche's conception of the ideal tragedy. Goldmund comes to embody the entire spectrum of the human experience, lusting for the gruesome ecstasy of the Dionysian world yet capturing and representing it through artistic Apollonian creativity.

Like most of Hesse's works, the main themes of this book seem to be the struggle between man and nature, as well as the union of polar opposites. Goldmund represents art and nature and the “feminine mind”, while Narcissus represents science and logic and God and the “masculine mind”. These "feminine" and "masculine" qualities are drawn, of course, from the Jungian archetypal structure, and is quite reminiscent of some of his earlier works, especially Demian. Throughout the novel, Goldmund increasingly becomes aware of memories of his own mother, which ultimately results in his desire to return to the Urmutter (primordial mother).

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