The purpose of "Steppenwolf" is to point out an eternal spiritual belief. As Hesse wrote in "Steppenwolf": "Only in the alternation of two eras, two cultures, two During the period when religions intertwined, life truly became suffering and hell.” The feeling of “having experienced soul death” and feeling like one was born in the wrong era is actually due to the fact that one was born in the transition between two eras.
There are reasons to say that Haller’s mental crisis and illness are not isolated phenomena, but have certain typicality and characteristics of the times. As the author said through the publisher, "If I regarded his autobiography as just the morbid hallucinations of some poor mental patient, then I would consider whether it is necessary to make it public. However, I saw more What is this, is it a record of an era? Haller’s mental illness is not a strange disease of an individual person, but a strange disease of the era itself, and is the mental illness of Haller’s entire generation.” The famous critic Hans. Meyer has also pointed out in his article "On Steppenwolf" that "Steppenwolf" is closely related to H?lderlin's "Hyperion", Heine's "Germany - A Winter's Fairy Tale" and Heinrich Mann's " Like "The Servant", it is "a novel criticizing the situation in Germany". Hesse lived in an era when capitalism entered the imperialist stage and various social contradictions further intensified. Hesse saw that this system was declining and felt that a new era was coming, but he had neither a clear concept nor a correct understanding of this new era. He was opposed to the typical capitalist system in the United States and did not agree with it. The Bolshevik Revolution and the Soviet System. His protagonist Haller is the kind of person who "is in the transition period between two eras. They have lost their sense of security and no longer feel innocent. Their destiny is to doubt life and regard the question of whether life is meaningful as personal pain and disaster. experience it”.
According to Hesse’s view, the development of technology and the use of machines have made society more and more materialistic, “more and more sweeping away the last nest of the creative spirit, and the noise of Americanized machines always stands Violence is on the side of the soul, and death is on the side of life", making people slaves of machines. In this "age of technology and money, war and greed", people advocate material and technology, and pursue naked material interests. Spiritual morality is not taken seriously, and traditional culture and humanitarian ideas are destroyed. Upright intellectuals like Haller are in conflict with the harsh reality. They are unwilling to join in the same trend, and they cannot see the way to transform society and cannot see the power of the masses. But the ideological contradiction of Khalil Harrer not only exists in the conflict between him and the external social environment, but also in the disharmony and inconsistency in his heart. "Steppenwolf" and "Hermina" met just when he had no way out. "Steppenwolf", who was chased by death with no way to escape, met "Hermina" in the tavern, and regarded "Hermina" as God: "Hermina"'s voice was not only pleasant to the ear, but also Also caring and understanding. Once "Steppenwolf" discovered in the magic theater that "Hermina" was not the God who saved him (she slept naked with Pablo), he killed her with a knife without hesitation. It was as if the scene of man killing God (whom he believed in) was once again staged.
The conflict between Haller's intellectuals and harsh reality is his conflict with the outside world. His heart is also full of contradictions. He is both human and animalistic, with a noble and bright side and a vulgar and dark side. He hates the small townspeople and is accustomed to their lives; he hates order but cannot get rid of it. He dissected his soul in the magic theater and saw himself split into countless selves. He found that the thoughts that animal trainers, ministers, generals, and lunatics could think up in their minds were also hidden in his own body. They were also so abominable, barbaric, vicious, crude, and stupid. He heard Mozart's laughter, so he decided to endure the evil to the end, travel to his inner hell again, purify his soul, and seek spiritual harmony and unity. It can be said that "Steppenwolf" is a novel written for the purpose of purifying the soul.
In this era of technology and money, in this era of violence and utilitarianism, it is only natural for intellectuals to be hesitant and confused. However, it is not only that. In addition to the spiritual crisis of the times, there is also the eternal crisis of human nature itself. The latter only intensifies the turmoil of life under the stimulation of the former. While maintaining faith, only a true person will have everything he calls for and desires. "Steppenwolf" is immortal, and its immortality highlights the unique personality charm of the German writer Hesse. This novel emphasizes individuality and loneliness, and focuses on romantic and uninhibited personal issues and feelings. It closely adheres to the lifeblood of the times in its elegance. This is also an inner matter of faith. The writer Hesse himself once pointed out that the purpose of "Steppenwolf" is to point out an eternal spiritual belief. While maintaining the belief, it reveals the contempt for spirituality in that era, and this contempt for those with high culture and high spirituality. The mourning of cultivators. Only true people will have everything they call for and desire.
In addition, "Steppenwolf" is not only a book with the purpose of purifying the soul, but also a book that issues a "Cassandra Warning". In Germany in the 1920s, national chauvinism was very strong, and militarism and revenge sentiments were on the rise.
Hesse points out through the protagonist's mouth that people have not learned lessons from the First World War. Every day, thousands of people are enthusiastically preparing for the next war. Thousands of newspapers, magazines, thousands of speeches, Public and secret meetings promoted false patriotism and fanned the flames of revenge. "Two-thirds of my countrymen read this paper, hear this tune every morning and every evening, are daily indoctrinated, reminded, incited, stirred to dissatisfaction and anger, all this The purpose and outcome is to break out a war." However, Hesse's fearful warning was not listened to, but was ridiculed by public opinion. "Steppenwolf" is an expressionistic novel full of violent fantasy. Hesse made extensive use of dream forms in his novels, vividly displaying the inner world of a middle-aged European intellectual after the First World War. Hesse loved nature and was tired of urban civilization. He used the skillful technique of stream of consciousness and his writing is beautiful and delicate. His novels are rich in fantasy and have profound symbolic meaning. They are considered to have a "surrealist" style. Thomas Mann called it "the German Ulysses."
"Steppenwolf" is different from Hesse's other novels. It clearly embodies a difficult abstract philosophy with German characteristics, and even the bold use of psychological stream of consciousness techniques. It is different from the gurgling flow of poetry and the gentle melodiousness of philosophy shown in "Narziss and Goldmund", and is also different from the growing pains and faint sadness shown in "Under the Wheel". What is presented here What comes out are the symptoms of the entire era and the wailing of patients. The rapid exploration and troubled struggle have the meaning of "a trapped animal still fighting".
Like Hesse’s other novels (and like all his prose and poetry), this novel also rejects the coercive power of the collective, emphasizes individuality and loneliness, and focuses on romance. And uninhibited personal issues and feelings. Such an unmistakable direction is also called straight forward, straight forward, straight forward, straight forward. This always reminds people of Eliot's long poem "The Waste Land". The two are of the same origin in terms of metaphor, but one is more passionate and romantic, and the other is more rational and colder, but they both closely follow the lifeblood of the times in their elegance. .