I wonder why Hermine wanted Heller to kill her. Maybe we are all born suicides. Her personality was too dissolved by Pablo etc. that she couldn't do it herself. Maybe?

I think that Hermine existed, but in the magic theatre it was her "reflection" that was there and that was stabbed by Harry. The sequence within the theatre was Harry's trip, his fantasy unleashed. It was Harry that has craved death, Hermine did not. Hermine existed to teach Harry how to laugh and not be so serious all the time, and he uses "the reflection of a knife" to stab the "reflection of a girl". She gave him life, and he takes it from her, it is symbolic. In his fantasy he kills the part of him that is vibrant. Hermine was a part of Harry and I think she was an extention of Harry, and in that way it was his own fantastic suicide.

have a look at erich fromm

so, do you believe you've got it?
you've gotten "the point?"

The thing which stayed with me the longest after reading Steppenwolf was something Hesse wrote about the personality being the prison of your mind. This seemed very true to me, and afterwards I became more aware of the fact that so much of my reactions were defensive mechanisms, and I never seemed to be very spontanious. And it seemed clear that Harry had also imprisoned himself, by his dogmatic ideas about what he did and didn't like (jazz for example), and he'd reached a point where he had resricted himself so much that he was drowning. Tthe only way out was to challenge and break the biased views he had which meant he had to experience this sensual existence. I don't think that Steppenwolf meant to give so much a message of "therapy through hedonism" more that to grow you need to come into situations where you can experience for yourself things you don't accept and see them for what they really are and hopefully come to terms with them.

It's also interesting to see how you can find yourself fullfulling certain "roles", father, son, husband, employed worker, friend and how you can be completely different person in each of these situations. Probably because you know how you "should" behave in these situations, ie a kind of a survival thing, which is related to the personalitly/prison thing.

Did anyone else think much about this topic? - whether it was right or wrong or whatever?

My lasting impression of Hesse is his energy and youthfulness. At 50 he has appealed to young people around the world with Steppenwolf and shown himself to be younger in spirit than all of them. He must be a great asset to young people whose optimism is faltering. Harrys Redemption is quite real. Rx

I think about this topic a lot.
My screen name, Arx, is Latin for "fortress," I use it because I often feel like I am so wrapped up in the processes of my mind that I can't communicate or even function in society. No one ever notices this. I guess they just think I'm quiet. I'm a model, so my work doesn't involve much communication. I feel heartened that someone else feels trapped in their mind but still manages to live. That's why I love Hesse so much. He also makes me feel less lonely : )

There is a wall that separates,
the hospital from the holy.
A door in the middle that reads,
"For Madman Only."

Pretending to be,
all
that you
see.
Pretending to be,
that,
which blinds
me.

I walk the nights
a lone and angry man.
A magic theater in my hand.
So warm and wet I feel so young,
entrance not for everyone.

Pretending to be,
all
that you
see.
Pretending to be,
that,
which blinds
me.

The bourgeois burden
of the orderly.
A clean parquet floor
an a fresh trimmed tree.
This stair at the top is where I'll sit.
Please don't break.

Pretending to be,
all
that you
see.
Pretending to be,
that,
which blinds
me.

This is something I wrote after reading Stepenwolf. It is on our upcoming album.

HI!

There are plenty of personal, cultural, philosophical reasons why you feel depressed.

I can't recommend this stronly enough, downloading and listening to this mp3 clip several times until it sinks in - will lift you up, and help you find your way. Paste link below into your browser to begin the download
http://mckenna.psychedelic-library.org/Terence%20McKenna%20-%20Unfolding%20the%20Stone%20p1%206-1-1991%20rc.mp3

or go to the website
http://mckenna.psychedelic-library.org/

As a matter of fact, I am going to re-read Steppenwolf again. The first time I read I was fascinated by his ideas, but somehow it overwhelmed me...I hope the 2nd reading will prove to be fruitful.
Edit: I am not saying the 1st reading wasn't fruitful...it's just that I need more reading to understand what his intent is.