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 © Winkler Film 1996 |
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© Winkler Film 1996 |
On what basis can Siddhartha be appreciated as literature?
Discuss the thematic significance of water imagery in Siddhartha .
Analyze Hesse's portrayal of women in Siddhartha .
Appraise the role of teachers in Siddhartha.
Compare the characters of Siddhartha, his father, and his son.
Identify the most significant symbol in the novel and justify your choice.
State one possible theme of the novel, and support your position.
Give your opinion on why Siddhartha is considered an important novel in the canon of world literature, and why it was seminal in the nomination of Hesse as a Nobel Prize winner.
Instructor's Recommendation: I would like to see an essay on the theme of circularity, or how many cycles (where one ends where one begins), are illustrated in the story. You could consider how Siddhartha must regain his innocence by becoming like a child again before entering "heaven;" how "enlightenment" frees one from the cycle of suffering; how Siddhartha must free himself from the cycle of following Buddha and find his own way.
Historical Sources and Themes
Sources Of Siddhartha: The East
Siddhartha, set in India, is subtitled an "Indic Poetic Work," and it
clearly owes much to Indian religions. But the question of the exact nature
of Hesse's debt to various aspects of Indian religion and philosophy in
Siddhartha is quite complicated and deserves detailed discussion. Elements of
both Hindu and Buddhist thought are present and it is useful to make
distinctions between them when the sources of the novel are discussed.
Buddhism
"Siddhartha" is one of the names of the historical Gotama, and the life
of Hesse's character resembles that of his historical counterpart to some
extent. Siddhartha is by no means a fictional life of Buddha, but it does
contain numerous references to Buddha and his teachings.
The basic teaching of Buddha is formulated in the Four Noble Truths and
the Eightfold Path. Proceeding from the premise that suffering exists and that
a release from it must be found, Buddha constructed his system. The First
Noble Truth is the fact of suffering. The Second Truth is that suffering
arises from human desire for something, and that this desire can never be
satisfied. The Third Truth is that there is a way to achieve a release from
suffering. And the Fourth Truth prescribes the manner of overcoming suffering
and attaining true knowledge.
The first two steps in the Eightfold Path, which leads to the cessation
of suffering, are right understanding and right resolution; a person must
first discover and experience the correctness of the Four Noble Truths (it is
not sufficient to profess a superficial belief), and then resolve to follow
the correct path. The next three steps likewise form a kind of unit: right
speech, right behavior, and right livelihood. These reflect the external
aspects of a person's life, which must not be neglected. The interior
disciplines constitute the final three steps: right efforts, right
mindfulness, and right contemplation. By this means, the follower of Buddha
can arrive at Nirvana.
One critic, Leroy R. Shaw, has pointed out that Siddhartha is divided
into two parts of four and eight chapters, and proceeds from this insight to
interpret the work as an illustration of Buddha's Truths and Path; in the
first chapter Siddhartha learns the existence of suffering, in the fifth
(which corresponds to the first step of the Path) he begins his journey along
the correct path, etc. Shaw, then, comes to the conclusion that at the end
"the difference between Siddhartha and Gotama, which had seemed so vast to the
seeker at his meeting with the sage, becomes non-existent." This is
certainly true in one respect; both Gotama and Siddhartha have arrived at a
final condition of Harmony (although the nature of the Harmony differs
considerably). But Siddhartha's way was clearly not that of Buddha. The
division of four and eight seems nevertheless to allude to the Truths and the
Path, since a more natural division of the novel, considering its structure,
would be into three sections of four chapters each.
Other aspects of Buddha's teachings are also of interest. Buddha was
rather logical, scientific, and rational in his approach. He did not speak of
supernatural phenomena or an afterlife, and he dismissed the possibility of
miracles. Buddha taught self-reliance. He had little use for rituals and
formalistic laws, and he urged each man to work out his own salvation-which
would, of course, be possible only within the framework of the Four Noble
Truths and the Eightfold Path. The historical Gotama, like the figure in
Siddhartha, taught that love and deep attachment to anyone or anything was
wrong, since it leads to suffering. Buddha never defined the state of Nirvana
as he understood it, beyond saying that in it the cessation of suffering is
attained, and that this is accomplished by the absolute extinction of the
will.
Hinduism
Elements of this Indian religion are also present in Siddhartha. Hinduism
is not as dogmatic as Christianity, or even as Buddhism. One important -
perhaps the most important - aspect of Hinduism is the concept of the Search
or Quest for Truth. Whereas the Buddhist and the Christian each has a specific
(if ultimately unknowable) goal and general guidelines which he can follow to
attain it, for the Hindu the quest itself is all-important. As T. W. Organ
aptly remarks, "The Christian says, 'Seek and ye shall find.' But the Hindu
says, 'Seek and ye shall find.'"
There are obvious parallels between Hinduism and Siddhartha, and these
have not been overlooked by critics. Most critics even assert that Hinduism
is a more significant source for the book than is Buddhism. Eugene F. Timpe,
for example, in a study which is methodologically similar to that of Shaw,
has analyzed parallels between Siddhartha and the Bhagavad Gita, an important
poetical document of the Hindu religion. Timpe maintains "that Hesse was
influenced largely by the Bhagavad Gita when he wrote his book and that the
protagonist was groping his way along the path prescribed by the Bhagavad
Gita." Hesse was indeed familiar with this important work, and a comparison
between it and Siddhartha is rewarding.
As Timpe points out, the basic central problems of Siddhartha and the
Gita are similar: how can the hero attain a state of total happiness and
serenity by means of a long and arduous path? The development of each
character is divided into three distinct stages: in Siddhartha there are - as
one would expect in Hesse - innocence, followed by knowledge ("sin"), which,
together, lead to a higher state of innocence accompanied by increased
awareness and consciousness.
In the Gita the path is similar, but not identical. It goes from action
to knowledge to wisdom. Action is the first stage in the hero's long road to
perfection. Not arbitrary human actions are meant, but rather a form of
action produced by acceptance of the Divine element in an individual. The
person then moves toward knowledge-knowledge of the Self and of the Absolute,
which ultimately are revealed to be identical. The renouncing of all earthly
attachments is a necessary component of each of the first two stages of
development. A kind of self-fulfillment is stressed. An individual must find
and follow his own path, for the ultimate goal cannot be attained by any
form of imitation, however noble and admirable the model or teacher may be.
The final, and highest, stage is characterized by reverence and wisdom. The
seeker reveres and even worships the Absolute, with which he is identical.
Direct parallels with Siddhartha can be drawn. Hesse's hero seeks his
own path to fulfillment. Although his path is one of trial and error, he is
always at least unconsciously aware of the nature of his quest. He comes to
realize that seeking a goal will ultimately prove to be limiting. From
Vasudeva he acquires knowledge of what true action is. Finally, he is
transfigured and attains wisdom.
Hesse's Comments On Indian Religion
In 1932 Hess published a "diary fragment" written some twelve years
earlier, during the composition of Siddhartha. In this interesting and
revealing essay, he comments extensively on Indian religion. His remarks are
important, but should not be accepted uncritically as the "final word" on
any of the subjects which he discusses.
In the diary Hesse acknowledges his long-standing interest in India. He
says that this interest was previously largely confined to questions of
philosophy, but that recently has become more oriented toward religion. He
sees Buddhism as a kind of "Reformation," but - like all religious
reformations - it eventually tends to be more destructive than constructive.
(Ultimately Buddhism denies rather than affirms life.) Hesse discusses the
Buddhistic conception of Nirvana, and observes that whereas he previously
accepted the doctrine, he now inclines toward the belief that God respects
individuality. Buddha may well have reached Nirvana, but other men will not be
able to find a "shortcut" by following and imitating him. Hesse rejects the
rationalism of Buddha's teachings which, he says, previously attracted him.
The mystical aspects of Christianity acquire correspondingly more appeal.
Hesse, then, feels that he is moving away from the philosophical position of
Buddhism.
Many of the themes of Siddhartha can be seen reflected in Hesse's
discussion of Buddhism in the essay. The title character of Hesse's story
objects to the negative (destructive) aspects of Gotama's teaching. He rejects
Gotama's way as a model for himself, although he recognizes the greatness of
the Buddha and he insists upon the right to reject all teachers in favor of
his own individual path to fulfillment.
The primary theme of Siddhartha is the individual's difficult search for
self-fulfillment. Both the means used by the hero in his quest and the nature
of the fulfillment which he finally attains are important.
Teachers
Siddhartha and Govinda use different approaches in their search for truth
and harmony. Early in life, Govinda listens to the Buddha and is convinced of
the validity of his teachings. He completely follows his teacher in every
respect, completely devoting his life to the pursuit of these ideals. Govinda
leads a happy, peaceful life, but he feels that he has not attained the level
of understanding and serenity enjoyed by his great teacher. Near the end of
his life he once again seeks the advice of a teacher who has apparently found
the secret for which he is searching. In this instance the teacher is
Siddhartha, and from Siddhartha's smile-not from his words!-Govinda finally
gains at least some (emotional) insight into the nature of Unity.
Siddhartha likewise listens with great respect to the words of the
Buddha. He does not become a disciple, but he nonetheless learns three
important things as a result of this encounter: 1) it is possible to achieve
one's goal in life, for the Buddha has done so; 2) the general nature of the
goal, for himself, must be self-fulfillment; and 3) this goal can be achieved
only through his own effort, and not by following a teacher. As in Demian,
Nietzsche's influence is apparent here; the reader is strongly reminded of
Nietzsche's Zarathustra, who exhorts his listeners not to follow him, but
rather to excel him, to go beyond his stage of development. The Hindu notion
of the importance of the quest itself, vis-a-vis the specific goal, is also
reflected.
Nature of the goal
Siddhartha's final sense of fulfillment is mystical and hence cannot be
defined with precision. In this respect, it resembles the Nirvana of Buddhism,
which also cannot be defined exactly. In general, Siddhartha's final serenity
is based on the realization that all things are one. Even an apparently
insignificant object such as a stone shares a common existence with the most
noble aspects of creation. Death is not to be viewed as the end of life, but
as the release of the person into eternity-into the eternity of the universe,
to be sure, and not into the eternity of a religious afterlife. The most
important aspect of Siddhartha's final state of awareness is love, an
unselfish, undirected love. As he tells Govinda, the world should be
(intuitively) loved rather than (rationally) studied and explained.
Generation gap
An important aspect of the theme is the relationship between father and
son. When Siddhartha is approximately twenty years old, or slightly younger,
he leaves his father, never to return. The father, a happy, successful, and
thoroughly admirable man, cannot understand why Siddhartha does not wish to
follow in his footsteps. To his credit, however, the father soon comes to see
that Siddhartha must be allowed to find his own mode of life and establish
his own values. Reluctantly, he allows his son to depart with his blessings.
The situation recurs when Siddhartha's own son rejects the life chosen
for him by his father. Siddhartha, as Vesudeva points out, has not learned
from his own experience. Just as Siddhartha demanded the right to reject the
admirable life of his father, so too does Siddhartha's son. Siddhartha, like
his own father secure in the knowledge that he has found the "truth," for a
long time fails to recognize that he was able to gain access to this truth
only by means of long years of seeking and suffering, by trial and error. He
cannot understand why his son must leave without learning from his example,
and without profiting from his long years of experience. Here he forgets an
important principle which he formulated years earlier. When he spoke to the
Buddha he said that he could not judge for anyone else, and that he had to
judge for himself. Now he violates both parts of this earlier principle.
Father-World and Mother-World
The division of the world into two poles is a common theme in Hesse's
writings. These two poles are usually represented as the Father-World
(intellect, reason, spirit, stability or permanence, discipline), and the
Mother-World (emotion, love, fertility, birth, death, transience, nature, the
senses). While this symbolism is of greater importance in other works, such
as Demian and The Glass Bead Game, it is also present and is consistently
developed in Siddhartha. For example, Siddhartha's father admires his son's
intelligence and thirst for knowledge, and he wants him to become a priest
and a man of learning; his mother, on the other hand, admires his physical
appearance and his natural grace.
Govinda is a representative of the Father-World. Early in life he most
admires Siddhartha on account of his intellect, and at the end of his life he
feels uneasy when Siddhartha requests that he kiss him on the forehead (a
display of emotion). The Buddha, too, is of this world. It is explicitly
stated in the novel that he has "brought the cycle of rebirth to a
halt" - thereby excluding the most fundamental aspect of the Mother-World.
Siddhartha's position vis-a-vis the two worlds changes during the course
of the novel. Early in life he unites the virtues of each of the poles (as is
reflected, for example, in the different qualities admired by his father and
his mother.) When he joins the Samanas he rejects entirely the World of the
Mother, as the narrator indicates when he reports that Siddhartha felt scorn
when he saw such things as funerals and death, lovers, mothers and their
children, and priests making decisions relating to the proper time for the
sowing of crops (all aspects of the World of the Mother). Later, Siddhartha
comes to accept the Mother as part of the Unity of all things and thereby is
able to attain his final state of serenity. There is a similarity between the
final stage of Siddhartha and that of Goldmund in Narcissus and Goldmund. Just
as Siddhartha, who accepts the World of the Mother, is shown to be in a way
superior to Govinda, who is limited to the World of the Father, so is Goldmund
in a way superior to the more limited, if admirable, Narcissus.
The river
In Siddhartha, this one symbol far surpasses all others in importance.
Suggesting fluidity as well as the paradoxical union of permanence and flux
(it seems to remain always constant, although the individual drops of water of
which it is composed are constantly changing), the river is an age-old symbol
suggesting eternity and a kind of spiritual understanding or communion.
Leonard Cohen's song "Suzanne" is a recent example of the symbolic use of the
river which is in some respects similar to that found in Siddhartha.
The river, as a body of water, also suggests the world of the Mother, the
world of nature. Water is the source of life and is necessary to maintain
life; it is associated with fertility. Water frequently appears in literature
with this symbolic value. The significance of the natural world of fertility,
creation, love, and death, as opposed to the artificial unchanging world of
the intellect (the Father-World) is more fully developed in other works of
Hesse, especially in Narcissus and Goldmund and The Glass Bead Game. But
Siddhartha rejects the Father-World of the Samanas in favor of the world of
the senses, and eventually he attains a synthesis of the two.
A river is mentioned in the important first paragraph of the story, where
we are told that Siddhartha grew up on a river bank. Siddhartha was, then,
exposed to the river during his childhood, which symbolically suggests that
he was receptive to the "message" of the river - the Unity of all things.
The river is conspicuously absent in the description of Siddhartha's time
among the Samanas, for their world is sterile and their way of life does not
lead to unity. When he tells Govinda why he feels that he must leave then, he
repeatedly says that he is "thirsty," reflecting his unconscious knowledge of
the importance of water, and of the Mother-World which it represents. When
Siddhartha leaves the Samanas, the narrator comments that he becomes aware of
the beauties of nature, especially of the river.
The river which Siddhartha crosses at this stage of his life retains the
symbolic values discussed above, and also adds a new one: it is a boundary
between the world of the Samanas and the world of the senses, between the two
worlds which Siddhartha must learn to synthesize.
It is casually mentioned that a river flows through the town in which
Kamala lives and in which Siddhartha dwells for some twenty years. This
suggests on the one hand that the world portrayed here is basically the World
of the Mother, of nature; but the symbolism is not developed and accordingly
Siddhartha's gradual loss of a feeling of self-esteem can be related to his
lack of contact with the river during these years.
Siddhartha' rejuvenation begins when he leaves Kamala and his worldly
life, and comes upon the very river which he crossed some twenty years
previously. At his low ebb, Siddhartha experiences despair and desires death.
But these thoughts disappear when he stares into the water and hears the
mystical sound "Om," "Perfection." While he sleeps, the soft sound of the
water has a soothing effect and when he awakens he feels greatly refreshed.
Siddhartha rapidly comes to depend upon the river. He learns from it the
secret of the Unity of all things, and he is soothed by its soft voice. As
Vasudeva points out, the river knows everything, and people who are receptive
can learn from it. For most people, he adds, the river is an obstacle - as it
is for the many weary travelers who must cross it. But for a select few it is
not an obstacle, but rather something profound, something sacred. Siddhartha
grows in wisdom and he attempts to formulate his understanding of what the
river has taught him: there is no past or future, everything is present -
there is a mystical unity in all things.
The river is instrumental in enabling Siddhartha to overcome his final
obstacle, the lingering sorrow and pain he feels because of his son's
departure. One day when Siddhartha sets out to search for his son, the river
speaks to him - but not in its usual soothing tone. This time the river laughs
at him. Siddhartha looks into the water and sees his own reflection, which
reminds him, however, of his father. He is reminded of the pain he caused his
own father years earlier when he departed, never to return, and gradually
perceives that the river is pointing out to him the repetitious nature of
events. Nothing is new, everything is an integral part of a unified whole,
including such things as the inevitable separation of fathers and sons. The
various voices of the river, the laughter and the sorrow, seem to merge, and
finally Siddhartha hears only the sum: the word "Om."
The smile
A second important symbol in Siddhartha is the smile. Each of the three
characters in the story who attain a final state of complete serenity is
characterized by a beautiful smile which reflects their peaceful, harmonious
state. In each case this smile is a completely natural phenomenon; it cannot
be created at will by people who have not attained the prerequisite state of
harmony with life.
The first character who is described as possessing this smile is Gotama,
the Buddha. When Siddhartha first sees him, he recognizes him immediately,
largely on account of this mysterious smile. Gotama is imperturbable and he
retains his smile - and his equanimity - even when Siddhartha engages in
debate with him. As Gotama turns to leave, it is his smile which most deeply
impresses Siddhartha, for in it the peace and saintliness of the Buddha is
epitomized. The narrator comments that Siddhartha was to remember this smile
for the rest of his life.
Vesudeva also possesses the mystical smile of peace and harmony. A man of
very few words, the ferryman often allows his smile to speak for him, and it
is a more effective agent of expression than any words could possibly have
been. Like the Buddha, Vasudeva is satisfied that he is at peace with the
world, and with existence.
Siddhartha does not possess this radiant smile at first. He sees it in
Gotama and Vasudeva and recognizes its significance, but is too engrossed in
physical things to be able to smile serenely himself. First, with the Samanas,
he concentrates on mastering his bodily needs. Then, through Kamala and
Kamaswami, he learns to enjoy sensual pleasures and soon masters this aspect
of life. Finally his love of his son and then his sense of pain over losing
the boy keep him from attaining serenity. Only when the ferryman takes his
final leave, and Siddhartha gazes into his face and listens to the message of
the river, does he finally acquire a radiant smile like that of his friend,
signifying his own attainment of a state of Unity.
The smile, like the river, suggests perfection and unity, and it is
Siddhartha's smile that makes such a strong impression on Govinda at the close
of the story. Just as Siddhartha perceived unity and perfection by listening
to and gazing into the river, Govinda comes to feel at least an intimation of
the Unity of all things by looking into Siddhartha's face and experiencing a
genuine emotional response to the saintless revealed in his smile.
The smile and one aspect of the much more complicated
river are closely related. Each suggests unity and harmony, and each is
associated with Siddhartha at key junctures in his life. Although Gotama
possesses the smile, the absence of the river as a significant factor in his
life suggests that the smile is symbolic of one aspect of existence, whereas
the river must also signify the World of the Mother, a world with which the
Buddha has no contact.
Externally, the book is divided into two distinct parts. The first part,
which comprises four chapters, describes Siddhartha's childhood and adolescent
years, and reaches its conclusion when he leaves Govinda and the Buddha to
seek a new life in the world of nature, renouncing his past life of
asceticism. The first part, then, is devoted to his years of preparation for
life, and the second part-which includes the remaining eight chapters of the
book-to his years of experiencing life, and his eventual attainment of a sense
of serenity and harmony with life. As was pointed out above, the division of
four and eight may suggest the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of
Buddha.
According to a different structural principle, the work is seen to be
divided into three more or less equal sections of four chapters each. The
first four describe Siddhartha's years of preparation for life; the second
group of four is devoted to his experiences in mastering the arts of love
(with Kamala) and business (with Kamaswami); and the final group portrays his
later years, when he lives near the river and comes to understand its message.
Although it is impossible to determine exactly the amount of time which passes
in the novel, we are told that Siddhartha is a young man when he meets Kamala,
and that he is in his forties when he leaves her. He spends many years by the
river, and so it would seem that each of the three groups of four chapters
describes a period of approximately twenty years, or about one-third of
Siddhartha's life.
It is significant that the novel has two structural principles, one
external and one internal. Each division is appropriate; it is natural to
divide Siddhartha's life according to either one. The presence of two
different but equally valid structural principles corroborates one of the
novel's main themes: the necessity of avoiding superficial generalizations and
oversimplifications, and of finding harmony by means of the successful
integration and synthesis of disparate elements.
The style of the novel is extremely simple, in keeping with its plot,
theme, and general tone. The syntax is uncomplicated and with the exception of
a few technical terms from Indian philosophy, the vocabulary is
straightforward and rather limited. Frequent use is made of leitmotifs,
parallelism, and repetition, and-in the original German, at least - the
language is rhythmical and lyrical. The style is reminiscent of a poetical
religious text, and as a critic has pointed out, it has a "meditative"
quality; phrases and even words invite the reader to pause for meditation.
The story is told by an omniscient third-person narrator, with frequent
direct and indirect quotations of the words and thoughts of various
characters, especially of Siddhartha. Almost invariably the narrator looks at
things from Siddhartha's perspective, and even when other characters are
discussed or quoted, it is always done to throw light on Siddhartha. Even
though there is an omniscient narrator, the reader is really being exposed
continually to Siddhartha's point of view. A significant break in this pattern
can be seen at the very end of the book. When Govinda gazes into Siddhartha's
face and responds to what he sees, the narrator's point of view shifts and it
is now from Govinda's perspective that we perceive the reality of the world
and of the novel.
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