Hello everyone !

Hermann Hesse is, without doubt, one of my favourite writers. Currently, I'm experiencing some health problems and it's a wonderful comfort to open one of his books, to lose myself in its pages and perspectives. And, every time I do, I can't help but sense a part of me within what I read. I love the expression: "the reader half writes the poem" and so it is very true.

I was happily surprised to discover this forum last night. And, so, for argument sake, I thought I'd share one of my Siddhartha stories with you all. When I was still working, I taught senior high school English, in Niagara Falls, Canada. One of my students was/is a very bright girl from Denmark. I lent her a copy of Siddhartha, thinking that she'd relate and enjoy the work. Initially she said she thought it was wonderful. Then, out of the blue, she said: "There's only one problem with that book, it completely lacks the female perspective ! " I didn't know what to say, but it did make me think.

So, instead of sharing how I view her criticism, I thought it would be a great idea to ask you all how you'd respond ?

Good to meet you all !

John

Hi Hi !
infact I¹m male and I can¹t say much about what a woman feels while reading that book
I think the novel , like most of Hesses work deals with the problem of finding yourself and building your true character .
And in my opinion you come to a fulfilled charakter when it
comes to a confusion of your male and female charactaristics or when you integrate male and female power
and qualities .
and I would not devide between male and female perspektive in the question of finding your Buddha nature .

ciao
macke

macke,

that's an excellent response and explanation. I agree with you ... but, then, again, I'm also a male and so I don't know how a woman would perceive the story. All I can say is that I'm in agreement; enlightenment, I would think, is beyond sexual differentiation ... but, we have to accept the possibility that the roads for the two are likely different ones and perhaps this is what she didn't like about "Sidhartha," that his road was not one that she could relate to.

Now, to come clean, my response to the student was more like that of the others, that have read the post, without responding because when she said it, I was knocked off balance and honestly didn't know what to say without upsetting her. My feeling was the same as your's ... but, I took the cowardly or enlightened way out ...... silence.

Thank you for responding ... I wasn't sure anyone would.

Sincerely,

John

I AM a female reader. I have just finished Siddhartha as part of my summer search for new material to teach in the fall. I agree with Annonymous who answered your post that the novel has to do with the cycle of life and "finding one's self." Most novels DO have a feminine or masculine point of view or perspective, but I think that in this novel, the perspective is human period. The primary female character Kamala was also on a "search," but I think her path was not delineated because the bulk of the focus was on Siddhartha. And, in the end, I think she found a "peace" similar to that which both Siddhartha and Govinda found. My answer to your student would have been that Siddhartha's experiences were universal and not so much based on sexuality.

K

HOW ABSOLUTELY TRUE. HESSE WAS THE SENSAI OF THE ROMANTIC. HE WAS ABLE TO PEER INTO OUR DEEPEST YEARNINGS AND CREATE POSSIBLE AND HABITABLE WORLDS, HOWEVER PARADOXICAL THEIR RULES. MAGISTER LUDI THE PRIME EXAMPLE.

IT IS TRUE THAT HE FOLLOWED A MALE STAR, THAT MOST OF HIS FEMALE CHARACTERS PLAY MINOR ROLES, BUT THAT WAS A PRODUCT OF HIS LIFE AND TIMES. I AM NOT SURE WHO IS THERE NOW TO TAKE HIS PLACE AS A FABULIST, AND CONSTRUCTOR OF DREAM PALACES, BUT HIS GENTLE AURA ALLOWS ALL WHO DARE TO ENTER HIS HEAVENLY REALISED REALMS.

It's interesting to hear from a female (kws) that Siddhartha encompasses the female perspective as well. I, as a male, would have assumed otherwise, but then again, I guess I am biased. However, I would have made the comment that a male point of view does not take away from the value of the work. After all, much of Hesse's writing was in some way autobiographical, and thus, such a perspective would be natural. I think that it is important to realize that not every work of art or literature has to necessarily be universal, but can still be appreciated within the confines which it sets for itself. Siddhartha, though, does seem to reach out to quite a large number of people.

I would say that if all great novels had to include the female perspective, or male for that matter, they would cease to be what they are. Siddhartha is one of my favourite short reads - I've read it dozens of times. The book is about his own quest for fulfillment, not anyone elses. At the point in the book where he 'screws' (sorry for being crass - but that is what it is) her, the reader does not need to know her feelings. The reader (if most are like me) is being enlightened as to how one singular individual treads the road leading, for him, to inner peace as a ferryman, with the river as teacher and friend. I think anyone looking for a "female perspective" (or any other perspective other than "Sid's") is missing the point of the book.

The first thing that occurred to me wasn't Hesse's Siddhartha, which may have all male characters, but Steppenwolf where Hermine and Hermann are part of each other. It strikes me that Hesse sees both male and female in each of us. In Siddhartha it was the river where the noises and pictures all flowed together into one and eventually 'Om'.

I find this surprising because "Siddhartha" is a revolutionary work in its Eastern-influenced combination between the masculine and feminine. Obviously influenced by the yin/yang balance, it was a brave and new thing to consider. It only seems particularly masculine due to a very modern and ignorant perspective, one that has taken the feminine revolution for granted.

I believe that "Siddhartha" is the next step from "Steppenwolf", creating the actual androgynous mind from the split fantasy. In her novel "A Room of One's Own", Virginia Woolf discusses the androgynous mind, which is the supreme artistic mind. It's a combination of both male and female characteristics; the true artistic voice combines both so equally that it's almost impossible to distinguish between either. It's interesting that both were published during a similar time period.

Siddhartha may seem masculine because of Hesse's writing style and adaptation of the Bildungsroman, but not because of its content. The content seems more masculine, but that's only due to a sexuality and eroticism that is necessary to the novel. It's part of the realism that distinguishes Hesse's adaptation from the story of the actual Siddhartha Gautama.

Also, these kinds of judgments can't really be made without a good understanding Hesse's actual text. So many things are lost in translation and misunderstanding of Hesse's German, which is quite beautiful, tranquil and transcendent.

I still think it is missing the point to look for an insight into any other character in this wonderful story other than Siddhartha's own. Are we supposed to understand his lover's or his father's viewpoint? His friend's?His lover's? - It is unnecessary to understand what led her to be his sexual initiation? We are not following them - they are a different story.

We are following the life of one person as if his path were our own. In his place we could only guess or sense the feelings, motives and state of being of anyone else he encounters. We are not supposed to have any divine insight to the other characters; rather I believe Hesse desired the reader to acknowledge that ones own self is the most important entity to understand. We are not meant to possess the eye of god or have the gift of glimpsing others' souls. The story is a simple one. The message in this book (for me) is that human contact (speech/friendship/sex/kinship etc) are only true pleasures if there is a thirst for knowledge of one's self alongside them, because if we abandon that quest for self knowledge (actualisation?) then all else in life is ultimately meaningless?

My relation with Herman Hesse and his literature starting up 3 moths ago at the same time I break my relation with my girlfriend....I suppose this was the last issue to learn Shiddartha but the fact is that I am 26 years and I beleave that is the worse moment in my life. Im always thinking in my decisions, in my internal destiny and perhaps that is the route cause to read Herman Hesse.

My Life seems to be ok. I finished my university development and the postgrade studies and I began to work in a successful company of consultory....at this moment Im going to work change due to ofer in other Company...for to gain more money and...everything seems to be ok...but Im usually feel sadness and Shiddartha let me know the purpose of the human relatinos and emotional status in the whole human life.

As per your question, I tried to present this book to one pretty girl I knew her from this summer, but is true that the female Perspective is absolutly out of place...but Im not sure...

Is one of the unfairness of this life.

Thanks from Europe (Spain)

In the lives of many famous peoples (Jesus, ...) told by the ones near to them or, like in Buddha's case, the ones that have great respect for there teaching(Hesse), many of writer's caracteristics are put in the story. The basic story is the same but no Luka, no John, no Marko, no Matej tell it the Jesus's path the same. If there was a girl writeing down his life story, you can bet her way would be just as much different!
There is no universal way of looking back on things and the Hesse's way is just one of many!

The answer to the Danish student is - a female writer should provide the female perspective. Hesse wasn't incapable of building other characters, but every central character comes from only from inside - that is his strength and his weakness, and i don't think he should be faulted for it.

On the contrary, Hesse is working towards a very female perspective on life. I was delighted to see a man write the way he does.
The entire concept of reaching thought through feelings, instead of reaching feelings through thought is a very female way of operating. His books start from the traditional male way of thinking and gradually expand their way to the passive, expansive female way.
A woman may not be able to identify with the beginning but the end....the end makes you feel whole again - it achieves the perfect balance between male and female. I don't see why anyone should have any trouble identifying with that.

In fact, except for Kamala, there is no women in Hesses¹s Siddhartha. Even Kamala is a type of Siddhartha¹s sex-teacher and that¹s all: all she teaches him is about caress, orgasm, physical relations in general. We can also see someone similar to her in Saramago¹s Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo, with the character Maria de Magdala, who iniciates Jesus de Nazarà in sex arts. Can¹t the women share anything else than sex with their partners? Sex is wonderful, but is not enough in a complete relationship.
Ana Flores - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Dear John,

Too many bright young women have an attitude about "the female perspective"! They need to read and experience, as a person.

I'm a 53 year old woman, who discovered Hesse in my 20's.

I'm an old hippie & feminist. Tell her to open her mind!

So nice for you to care!

Barbara

I, even as a male, have questioned the subject you have brought up. My first experience with Hesse was "Narcissus and Goldmund" wich immediately won me over as an adolescent male, I was able to relate very clearly with many of the things he wrote. I have read several of his other works including sidhartha. I am currently in the middle of "The Glass Bead Game." All of the books I've read have been primarily about male characters, who have mostly male friends, with the exception of "Demian" and the significant role his mother plays. And in reading "The Glass Bead Game," a section of the book, covering the role of women in "Castalia," called to my attention perhaps what your student is talking about when she says "lack of female perspective," as being an ongoing theme in Hesse's novels.
I have always tried to understand why I could relate so well with Herman Hesse's writings, and one of the couclusions I came to, was that, He is writing about his personal experiences with human development, i believe he draws deep within himself for his inspiration. And he is a male, just like me. Unfortunately I think alot of the connection I feel to Hesse is a relsult of the feelings for, and perceptions of the world around us that are similar because we are men. I say this is unfortunate because I would love to share my enjoyment in reading his work with both males and females alike. And I think it would be unfair to judge Hesse as a bad author because He does not include in his works something that he could never be expected to truly understand, such as the experiences and feelings of a developing female person. He does an outstanding job at conveying the things he does understand, part of this involves developing an appropriate character in an appropriate setting, which, by using predominantly male characters, he does extremely well.
Perhaps an appropriate response to your student would be " You're right, there is not very much female perspective in his 'Sidhartha,' in fact, perhaps the predominantly male perspective is what enables me to connect with the author and enjoy the novel as much as I do." Perhaps John, if you could ask her some questions that would allow her to clarify to you why she feels as she does, you might gain even more insight into the similarities and differences between the male and female "perspective" and experiences in personal development.
I welcome responses to my argument, I am quite interested to find out if anybody agrees with me, and if not where my arguement falls short.
By the way I still do recommend Hesse to both male and female friends of mine equally, this way they can draw their own conclusions.

Pleasant reading,
Jason

All, please go back and read Gertrude, Hesse's 3rd novel. What conclusions can you draw regarding Herman's attitudes towards women?

I am from India; I have known most traditional/philosophical literature to be written by men and oriented towards men. But 'Siddhartha' is fairly universal in its potrayal of human emotions and desires and infact brings out similarities between Kamala and Siddhartha, (' "Maybe"said Siddhartha wearily."I am like you. You cannot love either, otherwise how could you practise love as an art? perhaps people like us cannot love ...")

Your friend sees the world through feminist glasses I'm afraid. Her comments are nothing more than sexist claptrap. I'm sorry if the book Siddhartha is not potically correct enough to include "woman's issues." Any imbecile could tell that the book was about personal growth, self-realization, etc... Althought the protagonist happened to be a man in this case, there is nothing to prevent a woman from following a similar spritual path. The Buddha himself taught there is no difference between men and woman when it comes to enloightenment.

Every human being sees the world from her/his individual, unique perspective. A man has a male perspective, a woman has a female perspective. Hermann Hesse was a man, so he had a male perspective - what else? It is stupid to demand a female perspective from a man - like a child crying that there are no peaches growing on the apple-tree.