Narcissus And Goldmund Research Paper

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Cyclical Structure of Narcissus and Goldmund



Narcissus & Goldmund, by Herman Hess, contains a distinct cyclical structure. This structure is contributed to through characters, themes, ideas, times, and places. Each of these elements facilitate the development of an organized, creative work, delving deep into the human psyche to reveal that both Narcissus and Goldmund are players in the same game. There are three separate cycles present in the novel. The first cycle occurs during the first year or two after Goldmund has left Mariabronn. It concludes with Goldmund witnessing a woman giving birth. He sees in her face the face of all of the women he has ever been with, and this connection between love and birth purges him of the …show more content…

The characters Goldmund comes in contact in this cycle give a definite image of pain and death. This is exemplified in the plague scene, wherein Goldmund comes to terms with death, and understands how it transcends, as art does, the mother and father worlds. Ideas presented in this cycle concern the Eve-mother, whose face represents all of the women Goldmund has ever known, and the principle which unites them all together. There is a complete range of characteristics in this cycle, including moth love, bliss and birth as well as cruelty, decay, and death. Time and place play an important role in this scene, especially in the Plague episode where everything was hurried, and then Goldmund lived with Robert and Lene outside the city in a house together while the Plague killed many people that remained in the town. In the third and final cycle, Goldmund experiences a relationship with Agnes. On the first day he meets her, he experiences his greatest exctasy, but on the second day, her husband finds him and sentences him to death. Only through Narcissus does Goldmund escape with his life. He returns to Niklaus, but finds him to be dead. Characters in this section are more spiritual than

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