Summary We plumb the depths of the world of illusion in the sequence entitled “Sansara.” Sansara, the polar opposite of Nirvana, is identified in the Buddhist system with illusion, spiritual death, and ultimate despair. Many years pass during this sequence that takes place in the city, and the fine poetic […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: SansaraSummary and Analysis Part 2: With the Childlike People
Summary This second sequence of Part II develops Siddhartha’s acquaintance with Kamala and introduces Siddhartha to Kamaswami. Significant is the meaning inherent in names, beginning with “Kama”; Kama is the Hindu god of lustful love and desire. The word “swami” designates Kamaswami as a master — in this case, the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: With the Childlike PeopleSummary and Analysis Part 2: Kamala
Summary Unlike Part I, the second part of this novel was written with extreme difficulty. Part I, Hesse said, flowed in a potent burst of creative energy, but this creative energy seemed suddenly to run dry; Hesse didn’t know how to continue his story or how to end it, so […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 2: KamalaSummary and Analysis Part 1: Awakening
Summary This brief sequence portends a basic turning point in the novel and signals the end of Part I. The mood of this sequence is one of great loneliness, for Siddhartha is beyond the point of being able to return home again, and now he has parted ways with Govinda. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: AwakeningSummary and Analysis Part 1: Gotama
Summary In this sequence, Siddhartha goes with Govinda to hear the teachings of Buddha, and Govinda remains with Buddha to become his disciple. Siddhartha, however, feels that everyone must find his own way to salvation and, hence, does not remain. The “Gotama” sequence begins with Buddha’s taking alms in the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: GotamaSummary and Analysis Part 1: With the Samanas
Summary It is in this sequence that Siddhartha and Govinda attempt to gain salvation through asceticism. Using as a premise the ascetic idea that the sensual world is transitory and illusory, Siddhartha attempts to void his self and thus void with it all the torments of the senses. He resolves […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: With the SamanasSummary and Analysis Part 1: The Brahmin’s Son
Summary The novel begins with a brief retrospective glance at Siddhartha’s Brahmin (priestly Hindu caste) family background, his upbringing, and the innocence and tranquility of his childhood. We are promptly aligned with Siddhartha at the threshold of young manhood and simultaneously observe the orthodox Brahmin father of Siddhartha who, with […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: The Brahmin’s SonCharacter List
Siddhartha The protagonist of the novel, his life is vaguely based on that of Gotama Buddha (563?-483? B.C.), born Prince Siddhartha Gotama. Siddhartha is the personal name and means “he who is on the right road” or “he who has achieved his goal.” Gotama is the clan name, and Buddha, […]
Read more Character ListAbout Siddhartha
This novel is one of Hesse’s finest and, certainly, is the finest product of Hesse’s so-called psychoanalytic period. Begun in 1919, with its first section (through “Awakening”) dedicated to the pacifist author Romain Rolland, the book’s composition spanned nearly three years. The second section (through “By the River”) was written […]
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