This is the first of what will be a collection of essays written in my earliest days as a student, in my early twenties, during the 1970’s.
I was an undergraduate student majoring in Philosophy at the time (later changed to Music) and my writing reflects that, I think. As I unearthed these papers recently, I was surprised to see how little my style has changed over the years, although it is fairly obvious that I was an aspiring academician as I composed these pieces. I was also very honored to receive a proprietary award in “Interdisciplinary Scholarship” upon graduation, due to my efforts in both departments.
I will share these periodically, and hope that you will enjoy them.
From December 17, 1971:
Throughout Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, we find a peculiar phenomenon; the Steppenwolf leads the life of a recluse, and, on the whole, lives in an attempt to repudiate bourgeois life, yet he cannot escape it, and indeed, seems at times not to want to. We find the epitome of this sometimes conscious, sometimes unconscious attitude in the Steppenwolf’s relationship with Hermine, who has compromised herself to that life of the middle class, and who leads him into it. This leads us to ask: was Haller (the Steppenwolf) misguided in his attempt to constantly transcend the mundane sort of existence of the bourgeoisie? In other words, is it possible for man to achieve the sort of quasi-permanent mystical state that Haller so avidly sought, or is such an attempt doomed to failure from the start? If we use the Steppenwolf as an example of the sort of person most likely disposed to such an endeavor, do we still not find ample evidence from his lack of success, that such a goal is impossible to achieve? Is it therefore not possible that bourgeois life is inescapable, and perhaps necessary, for man to at least maintain his existence, in one way or another?
Let us examine the Steppenwolf as a case in point. First, we should note that Haller’s isolation from society is self-imposed. That is, he differs from a religious hermit insofar as his seclusion is alterable; he can escape into the world whenever he chooses, without having to answer to anyone in authority over him. Secondly, his life is not that of an ascetic, necessarily, for he may indulge in alcohol, as he does, without reproof from anyone. These two characteristics seem to define Haller more as a social misfit than a religious hermit, for he is still in a position to relate to society, if he so chooses, but he chooses not to, most often.
Why, then, does he choose the life of a recluse? Apparently, it is because he seeks transcendence, and cannot find it in the mundane life of the middle class; indeed, it is that which he seeks to transcend.
I think we can understand easily enough why the Steppenwolf should seek transcendence; he has experienced it already in music, and in great literature, and he wants to experience it over again. Next to such an experience of spiritual uplift, daily life seems inadequate, yet we find in the Steppenwolf a paradox: he is at times fascinated with mundane things; he enjoys some of the modes of middle class life, in spite of his desire for transcendence. Does this mean that he was not genuine in his search for transcendence, or, by the same token, in his dislike for the bourgeois life which surrounded him? I think not. Rather, I feel that his attitudes were too extreme; he naturally felt some disgust for middle class life, because of its offer of nothing but relatively minor pleasures (in comparison to the greater joys of mysticism), and its concomitant complacency, but there is nothing inherently disgusting about that. The problem arises when such a life is unrelieved; when nothing but the same sort of temporary and superficial pleasures can be experienced, then life becomes mundane and disgusting.
It seems to me, however, that in attempting to overcome such a predicament as living such an existence, Haller went to the other extreme, and thought that he should experience transcendence as his normal way of life. Of course, he did not always live up to his ambition, especially when he nearly abandoned it with Maria and Hermine, et al. But this, I feel, is merely proof that such an ambition can never be completely satisfied by anyone. Even while he was completely convinced of his mission, so to speak, he was still unwittingly caught up in such mundane things as the polished leaves of a plant in his boarding house.
Another indication that transcendence was not enough to satisfy the Steppenwolf lies in the fact that he constantly looked forward to death as an escape from this life. Obviously, if he had been sufficiently able to transcend this life, he would not have had to look forward to dying as a release.
Wherein lies the answer to the Steppenwolf’s problem, then? I think it has been suggested by Hesse himself in the novel: in a sense of “balance”, which is an earmark of the bourgeoisie. We cannot find the answer to the riddle of life in any extreme position, whether it be spiritually or materialistically oriented, for we are neither completely spiritual, nor corporeal, but a combination. Therefore, Haller’s attempt to blot out the mundane aspects of life was doomed, for we are partly material beings, and cannot escape that aspect of our lives. It is only when we admit only that part of our existence, that we prevent complete satisfaction of our lives; for our souls, at least those with a certain amount of vision, seek after communion not only with a God or some transcendent realm, but also with other human beings.
It is understandable that Haller should allow the transcendent vision to take precedence over all else in his life, for as such, it is eternal and oriented towards the future (which probably reinforced his desire for death), yet, he was mistaken, I feel, in denying the immediacy of his existence as a human being, with material needs and desires, as well as spiritual ones.
What I am suggesting is that too much transcendence is equivalent to too much of a good thing. We must keep in mind that the transcendent experience is a “peak” experience; otherwise, it loses its value. But, if it cannot be compared to anything else; namely, the mundane, it cannot be experienced as such, and is robbed of its potential. Perhaps, in some future mode of existence, speaking in terms of an afterlife, we may experience what we now call transcendence permanently, as purely spiritual beings. If this is the case, however, it will be possible because of the purely spiritual nature of such an existence. This, then, is the only way in which Haller’s ambition can be fulfilled; as long as we remain human beings with body and spirit, we must not deny either, but live out all our dimensions to the fullest.
-From Advanced Philosophy, age 21, unedited
Copyright 2026, Ann L. Vivian
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