Harry Haller, a middle-aged intellectual, moves into a lodging house in a medium-sized, generic town, which is never named. Despairing and melancholy, Harry feels himself to be “a wolf of the Steppes,” or “Steppenwolf,” adrift and alone in a world that is incomprehensible to him and offers him no joy. Steppenwolf recounts Harry’s pain and …
“For Madmen Only” through the “Treatise on the Steppenwolf” Summary [H]e knew all the time . . . that he was in reality not a man, but a wolf of the Steppes. (See Important Quotations Explained) Harry Haller’s autobiographical records begin with a typical day, which Harry says he passes reading books and experiencing physical …
Steppenwolf – The First Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
Summary The narrator explains that the work to follow constitutes the records of a man who called himself the Steppenwolf, the “wolf of the Steppes.” The narrator identifies himself as the nephew of the landlady of the lodging house where the Steppenwolf spent nine or ten months before mysteriously disappearing. The narrator assures us that …
After the “Treatise on the Steppenwolf” through the meeting with Hermine Summary After closing the Treatise and reading his own poem about the Steppenwolf, Harry reflects on what the Treatise predicts for his future. Harry’s idea that he will kill himself unless he goes through a profound change reminds him of other instances in his …
Steppenwolf – The Second Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
After the Black Eagle through the Tea Dance Summary “Oh! how stiff you are! Just go straight ahead as if you were walking . . . Dancing, don’t you see, is every bit as easy as thinking. . . .” (See Important Quotations Explained) Harry runs into his landlady upon returning to his house the …
Steppenwolf – The Third Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
The Fancy Dress Ball Summary An experience fell to my lot . . . that I had never known . . . the mystic union of joy. (See Important Quotations Explained) Harry plans to meet Hermine at the Fancy Dress Ball, which is a masquerade. He is going without a costume, while she is going in …
Steppenwolf – The Fifth Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
Pablo and Maria Summary Harry’s immersion in the world of dancing, drink, nightclubs, and restaurants is accompanied by what he calls a “disintegration of the personality.” In keeping with the principles set out in the Treatise, Harry starts to see himself as a composite of thousands of other souls. This disintegration is very painful, especially …
Steppenwolf – The Fourth Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
id=”The Steppenwolf”> The Steppenwolf – A middle-aged recluse who lives alone in a bourgeois lodging house. Harry Haller refers to himself as a “Steppenwolf” because he feels like a lonely wolf of the steppes, removed from the obsessions and conventions common to most people. Harry believes himself to be divided between two extremes: a man-half who …
The Magic Theater Summary “Nothing,” said he in the mirror, “I am only waiting. I am waiting for death.” “Where is death then?” “Coming,” said the other. (See Important Quotations Explained) Outside the Magic Theater, Pablo holds a small looking glass up to Harry. Harry sees the trembling reflection of a creature into which a …
Steppenwolf – The Sixth Part of Harry Haller’s Records Read More »
Hesse published Steppenwolf in 1927, after a failed marriage and two subsequent years of debauchery. Harry Haller’s age, profession, intellectual interests, and unpopular pacifist journalism match Hesse’s own. Hesse suggests that Harry is actually a reflection of himself. Just as the concept of “the Steppenwolf” is useful to Harry for self-analytical purposes, Harry is useful …