What is to be made of the Knecht' s introductory quote? It suggests that, for the serious individual, nothing is more necessary than to spend considerable portion of life considering and pondering the exitence of that which is niether demonstrable nor probable. I beleive the quote refers to the origin of life. The end of the book suggests that Knecht returned to the origin - water. God hovered over the face of the waters and created the world. What do you think?

I think that the glass bead game represents academia. Knecht is successful in this protected environment and safe. When he ventures into the real world , in the form of the icy lake, he dies, completely unnprepared for reality. I think that Hesse is saying that the academic world of the universities is out of touch with reality.