Analysis Of Herman Hesse's Narcissus And Goldmund

Herman Hesse’s novel, Narcissus and Goldmund, explores two individuals’ contrasting search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality, in which can be interpreted in two manners. First, the reader can interpret each character as representing or encompassing elements found within a single human being. The second method of breaking down Hesse’s writings was that of viewing the characters as being separate individuals, continuing to transform and change. The latter of these two methods was my preferred method in analyzing and understanding as I was reading, but upon reflection it was the first method that had the most influence.

The two main characters in this novel reflect two opposing forces in life, the religious and the artistic. These

Narcissus was always confident with his chosen career as a young teacher at the monastery, he had a "capacity to sense the characters and destiny of people, not only my own destiny, but that of others as well” (8). In comparison to Goldmund, Narcissus is an ascetic thinker, ignoring any temptations from his life that will lead him astray from his faith and career. He viewed the world in a broader and more prophetic manner than Goldmund, being fully “awake” and conscious to his own being (61). Narcissus, seeing that Goldmund repressed much of his childhood, works to inspire Goldmund self-evaluate and self-overcome. It was when Narcissus saw that Goldmund had overcome his past and his own self that he encouraged him to continue his journey beyond the boundaries of the monastery, stating that the in Goldmund’s case, "mind and nature, consciousness and dream world lie very far apart" (62). Unlike Narcissus, Goldmund did not enter the monastery due to a calling or desire to pursue religious life, but rather as an act of penance for the actions of his mother. Although not completely genuine, he had intended “to remain in the

In comparison, Goldmund represents Dionysian qualities such as irrational, blurred boundaries, will, flow, and feeling. Although opposite, these characters portray a greater, parallel balance. Freud would equate Goldmund’s confusion and fear of commitment back to the trauma he experienced as a child, specifically regarding his parents. His father pushed him to repress his mother’s memory, resulting in dreams in which his mother appears to him saying, “You have forgotten your childhood" (76). With the Freudian technique of dream analysis, Goldmund is able to make his unconscious, conscious and recall the memory of his mother. The ongoing theme of duality represents Jung’s theories regarding polar opposites. Archetypes, specifically that of anima, are portrayed in Goldmund’s character, representing nature and the more feminine mind. His ongoing journey for his mother encourages him to search beyond his biological mother to Eve, the mother of all men. Animus, in comparison, is depicted in Narcissus’s character, representing science, logic, and the more masculine mind. Each of these psychologies encourages individuals to seek individuation and authenticity, strengthening all aspects of oneself in order to become whole and complete as Goldmund attempted to do after his absence from