TALESOF STUDENTLIFE Books byHermann Hesse PETERCAMENZIND BENEATHTHEWHEEL GERTRUDE ROSSHALDE KNULP DEMIAN STRANGENEWSFROMANOTHERSTAR KLINGSOR'SLASTSUMMER WANDERING SIDDHARTHA STEPPENWOLF NARCISSUSANDGOLDMUND THEJOURNEYTOTHEEAST THEGLASSBEADGAME IFTHEWARGOESON. . .POEMS AUTOBIOGRAPHICALWRITINGS STORIESOFFIVEDECADES MYBELIEF REFLECTIONS CRISIS TALESOFSTUDENTLIFE Talesof StudentLife HERMANNHESSE Edited,and withanintroduction,by THEODOREZIOLKOWSKI Translatedby RALPHMANHEIM Farrar,Straus and Giroux NEWYORK Translationcopyright1976byFarrar,StrausandGiroux, Inc. FriendsandTheFourthLifeoriginallypublishedinGerman underthetitlesFrezmdeandDervierteLebenslaufrespectively,inProsaausdemNachlass,copyrght 1965by SuhrkampVerlag.Berthold,copyright1945byFretz&WasmuthVerlagAG,Zurich;allrghtsreservedbySuhrkamp Verlag Allrightsresered PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada byMcGraw-HillRyersonLtd.,Toronto PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Firstedition,1976 LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Hesse,Hermann.Talesofstudentlife. TranslationofBerthold,Freunde,andDervierteLebenslauf. 1.Students-Gerany-Fiction.I.Title. P4525Ta1J)[PT2617.E85]833'.9'1275-35871 Contents Theyear of compositionfollowseachtitle INTRODUCTIONBYTHEODOREZIOLKOWSKIviBerthold( 1907-8) 3 Friends(I 907-8)5 I The Fourth Life(1934) FirstVersionI 25 SecondVersionI 95 Introduction IN 1904HermannHesseconfdedtohisstepbrother KarlIsenbergthatschoolingistheonlymodemculturalquestionthatItakeseliousl yandthatoccasionally getsmestirredup."Atfrstglance,suchsolicitudemay seemparadoxicalandevenhypocri ticalinayoungman who onl ytenyearsearlier,at agesixteen, hadimplored his parentstotakehi m out of school permanently. Hesse's briefstintofformaleducationamountedtoasuccession oftensi ons,problems,andmi sfortuneswhichwereforeshadowedwhenthefve-year-oldfut ureauthorhadtobe transferredfromonenurseryschoolto another because of headstrong and unruly behavi or.The l etters of hi s puzzled anddespondentparentscontai nadi smayingaccountof thenexttenyears-arecordnotsi mplyofordinary schoolboypranksbutofsuspectedarson, i ncapacitating psychosomati c i l lnesses,and attempted sui ci de.Yeteverythi ngseemedtosuggest, onthesurfaceatl east ,that abri ll i ant academi c career could be expected of thi stalentedyouth,thesciononbothsidesofhi sfamily ofwell-educatedProtestantmi ssi onari es .Hesse' sperformanceinthegrammarschoolofhisBlackForesthometown,Cal w, wassopromi si ngthat hewassentawayat age twelvetotheLati nSchoolin nearby Goppi ngen. Here hepreparedhimsel fforthest ateboardexami nati ons, whicheachyearadmi ttedaselectgroupofstudentsto viii) T A L E SO F S T U D E N T L I F EtheprestigiouscloisterschoolsofWiirttemberg,from whichtheynormallyproceededtotheUniversityof Tibingenfortraininginanacademicorclericalprofession.Asaresultofhisperformanceinthecompetition, HessewasacceptedatMaulbronn, aformerCistercian monastery,whichheenteredinSeptemberI 8g1.At frst thingsseemedtogosmoothly,tojudge fromtheenthusiasticlettersthatthenewseminarianwrotehometohis parents.Onlysixmonthslater,however,heranaway from schoolandhadto bebrought back bythelocalconstabulary,andafewweeksafterthat, Hesse'sparents withdrewhim from Maulbronn. Stillcherishinghopesfor hiseducation,thedispiritedfatherandmothersenttheir recalcitrantsonfromoneschooltoanotherforthenext yearandahalf.Finally, inOctoberofI 8g3,pleadinga headachethathadpersistedforthreeweeks, Hessepersuaded his familytotake him outofschoolforgood.That marked the end of his formal education. Hesse'sinterestineducationalquestionsresulteddirectlyfromhisownmisadventures."Schoolruinedmein manyrespects,''hecontinuedinthelettertohisstepbrother,"and Iknow of few men of character who didnot haveasimilarexperience. Allthat Ilearnedtherewas Latinandlying,becauseyoucouldn'tgetthroughCalw andthe Gymnasium without lying. " Up to apoint ,Hesse's concernrefectedthespiritofthetimesinGermany shortlybeforeWorldWarI . Forroughlyadecade,so manyplaysandnovelswerewrittenaboutschoolandi ts discontentsthattheyproducedagenreknownsimplyas Schulliteratur:EmilStrauss'sFriendDeath( I go2), HeinrichMann'sTheBlueAngel(1 gos),andRobert Musil'sTheConfusionsofYoungTorless( 1906)are amongthemostfamiliarexamples. ButHesse'sconcern wasmorethanaconcessiontoafashionableliterary trend. Forsixtyyearshiswritings-includingletters, essays,andautobiographicalrefections-returnobses-Introduction (ix sivelytohisyearsinthe schoolroom.Fromthebeginning ofhiscareertotheend,manyofhismajorworkscan properlybeconsidered"pedagogical"inonesenseoranother:either they consti tute an indictment ofthe existi ng schoolsystem, likethenovel BeneaththeWheel( rgo6); or, likethe"pedagogicalprovincethatprovidesthe backgroundforT1zeGlassBeadGame( 1943 ) _ theyrepresent an idealized educational system inwhichthe individualis encouragedtodevelophisuni quecapacitiestothe fullest extent.Itishardlysurprising.therefore,tofndi nHesse'sfctionanumberofstoriesthatdealwithschoolboys. students ,andtheirproblems .Whatdistinguishesthethree talescollectedhere-"Friends,""Berthold,''andthesocal led"FourthLife" -isthelivelinesswithwhichtheyrecreatestudent lifeatYariousmomentsinGermanhistory (thefndesiicle,t heThirtyYears War,andtheearly eighteenthcentuy )andthecloseconnectioninwhich they standtot hreeofHesse'smajor novels . LikeallofHesse' sfcti on,t hesethreestoriesare heavi l yautobi ographicalinsubstance. Inhisprefaceto Gerbcrsau(1949) , acollecti onofworksdeal i ngwithhis Swabianhomcto\\11,Hesseremarked :"\Vhcnevcrasa writerIspeakoftheforestortheriver,ofthemeadow val l ey,oftheshadeofthechestnutsorthefragranceof thefirs ,itisal waystheforest aroundCal w, theri ver Nagol d, thefirwoodsandtheches t nut treesofCalwthat arcmeant;andal sothemarket place,thebridgeand chapel ,Bi schofstrasseandLedergassc,themarshandthe meadowpathtoI li rsaucanberecognizedeverywherein mybooks-eveninthosethatarcnotexplicitl y Swabian. '' I t isclearthatt heheroesofal lthreetalesgrewupin Hesse'shometown.In"Friends , "HansCal wer'sname hi ntsat hi sori gi n, amievenErwinMiihl etal'sname ( Mihl etal" mi l l val l ey )sugges tst henarrowval leyof theNagoldwi thi tsmanymi l l s. Theat tentivereaderof X) T A L E S O F S T U D E N T L I F E"Berthold"and"TheFourthLife"willsoonnote,moreover,thatBerthold'sunspecifedhometownandKnecht's Beutelsperg,orBeitelsperganderKoller,areidentical: walledtownsstandinginanarrowvalleyabovearapid mountainstream,withasplendidcobblestonesquare fanked bytimberedhousesandadornedwithafountain,andaGothicchurchtoppedwithaprovisionalwooden tower.ThemonasterywhereBertholdbecomesaskilled Latinist ismodeled after Maulbronn,and Berthold's life i n CologneisbasedonHesse'sexperiencesinthepensions wherehe livedwhileattendingschoolfollowinghisdebacleatMaulbronn.Knecht'sDenkendorfwasinrealityanother ofthe famed cloister schools ;andthe pattern of life there is precisely the same as that at Maulbronn. Hesse never attendedauniversi ty. In1895hewroteto afriendstillatMaulbronnthathehadnointentionof goingbackto school ."In fact,there has never beenatime whentheuniversitywasmoredispensablethanitisatpresent-atleastforpeoplel ikeme,who asamatterof principlearenotenteringanykindofgovernmentservice. "YethebecameintimatelyfamiliarwiththeuniversityinTtibingen,whichisattendedbothbythestudents in"Friends"andbyKnechtin"TheFourthLife."The UniversityofTtbingen, especiallyinconjunctionwith thefamousStift(theresidencefortheologicalstudents whichismentionedinbothstories ) ,waslongoneofthe mostinfuentialinsti tutionsinGermanintellectuallife. Duringonegloriousperiodattheendoftheeighteenth century, Hegel,Schelling, andHolderlin werefellowstudentsintheStift .ThepoetMorike,thetheologianD. F.Strauss, andtheaestheticianF. T. Vischeraremerelya fewofthedistinguishedSwabianswhofollowedprecisely thesameeducationaltrackthroughthecloisterschools totheStiftandthe university inTtibingen.SoHesse was familiarwithTtibingenasanimportantinstitutionboth Introduction (xi fromthe historyof hisnative \Vtrttembergandfromthe biographies of some of his favorite wri ters.Beyondthat,hespentfouryearsi nTtibingen-from theautumnof1895throughthe summerof18gg-as an apprenticeandthenasastockclerki nHeckenhauer's bookstore.Tobesure,hedidnotleadtheidlestudent's life describedin"Friends" :afterworkingfrom7: 30 A.M. to7:30P.M.sixdaysaweek, he spentmostofhiseveningswritinghisfrs tliteraryworks(notablythepoems ofRomanticSongsandthepoemes-en-proseof AnHour beyondMidnight)andreadinghiswaysystematically throughGerman literatureofthe Romanticperiod.However,throughhisassociationwithformerseminary friendsnowin Ttbingen,Hesse was iwitedfromtime to timetoparticipateinafairsattheStiftandtheuniversity,wherehehadfrequentopportunitytoobservethe studentfraternityliethathedepictswithsuchironyin "Friends. "Ashesubsequentlywrotetoacorrespondent whomistakenlyassumedthathehadstudiedattheuniversity :"NeitherhaveIeYerbeenastudent , norhaveI everbeensympathetictostudentlife.Forthemostpart studentsboththeseriousandtheboisterousones-are anabomination.Ifoundthewholeuniversitybusiness foolishand consideritashamethatsuchalargesegment oftheyoungergenerationregardsstudyingastheonly respectableandpropercareerchoice.InTi.bingen, whereIlivedforfourfullyearsandspentalotoftime withstudents,Igotmyfillofthewhol ebusiness. "Yet thesefouryearsenabledI I essetoincludein"Friends"a vividanddetailedportrayalofstudentlifeinGermany aroundtheturn of thecentury. Thedramaoffriendshipthatisactedoutagainstthe backgroundofuniversitylifeinTiibingenisvirtually archetypalforHesse'sfiction:arelationship,wi thpronouncedhomoeroticovertones,betweentwoyoungmen. xii) T A L E SO F S T U D E N T L I F Eonealeaderwithastrong cravingforconsciousnessand independence,theotheratalentedbutweakerfollower, whoisjoltedoutofhischildlikeinnocencebyhisfriend, butwholongstoreturntothesecurityandapprovalof society.InanumberofworksHessehasexploredthis relationshipinitsvariousconfgurations;butbotharchetypalfguresrepresentaspectsofhisowncharacter. "Friends"couldbedesignatedinonesenseasaresponse toHesse'simmediatelyprecedingnovel. Beneaththe WlzeelendswhenHansGiebenrath,unabletoendurethe pressuresof theacademic system,drops out ofschool and commitsuicide,whilehisstrongerfriend,Hermann Heilner( thefirstofmanycharacterswithHesse'sown initials )survives. In"Friends"thesituationisbalanced: ErwinlVIihletalisawakenedfrominnocencebyHans Calwer.Unableto follow his friend into an alienated independence,heatfrstsinksintoprofigacy,butthenrecoversand,withtheapprovalofhisfraternitybrothers, becomes engagedandsettlesdowntohismedicalstudies, whileHansCalwer,forsakinghisfruitlessattemptto emulatethepeasantphilosopherHeinrichWirth,moves ontoanotheruniversitytopursuehisquestfor knowledge. ThisambivalentresolutionrefectsHesse'spersonal dilemmaatthetimehewrotethestory.In1907,atage thi rty, Hesseunderwentaprofoundemotionalcrisisfollowingseveralmonths of illness. Thesuccessofhisnovel Peter Camenzind( 1904)had enabled himtogetmarried andtosettledowninGaienhofen,aremotevillageonthe GermanshoreofLakeConstancewith-asHessewrote toStefanZweig-"notrains, noshops,noindustry,and notevenapastorofitsown. "Sincetherewerenocraftsmen in the vill age,he hadto manage all the repairs on his house;sincetherewasnobutcher,hehadtorowacross thelaketothenearestSwisstowntopurchaseevery sausage. ForseveralyearsHesseenjoyedtheimageof Introduction (xiii himselfasahappyhomeowner. But by1907hewasalreadybeginningtofeelrestrictedandtobelievethatthe veryindependencehesought wascausing hi mtosubside into preciselythekindofphilistinism he hadtried so desperatelytoavoid.Thisdilemmaisrefectedinthetwo leadgfguresof"Friends. "ErwinlItihletalrepresents the concessions to wife,family,and career that Hesse had madewhenhemovedtoGaienhofen;but HansCalwer betraysHesse'sunsatisfedl ongingforfreedomand,above all, for consciousness. Hessereturnedtothisarchetypalconfgurationwhen hewroteDemian( publishedin1919 ) ,andtheparallels betweentheearlystoryandthenovelareunmistakable.UkeErwinlIhletal,EmilSinclairisledoutofchildhoodintotherealmofadultconsciousnessand responsibilitybyhisbolderfriend ;andaftertheirbreakhefrst longstofndhiswaybackintothelostparadiseofchildhoodinnocencebeforehesuccumbstothelureofprofigacy.HansCalwer.intur. anticipatesDemian'srather elitistcontemptforthe"herdpeople"aswellashisrelgiousquestfortrut h. AndCalwer' sfriendshipwithHeinrichWirthanticipatest hecrowdofreligiousseekersvegetari ans,Buddhi sts, utopians. Tolstoyans-whosurroundDemian.Buttheconcl usionofthenoveliswholly di fferent = Attheend, itis:laxDemianwhohasperished, whileEmi lSincl airremai nsbehi ndtocontinuethework oftheyoungmanwhohadbeenhi sfri endandleader. I n otherwords,thearchetypalrelat ionshipi sidenticalwith theonein"Fri ends"andBcncatl1tl1c\VI1ccl,butthebalance i s shi ftedexperi mental l y i n eachwork. Hesseonceremarkedthat heconsideredthereligious impulsethe"deci si vecharacteri st ic" of hi s li feandworks . Soitishardl ysurpri si ngthatthecommoninterestthat bringsllansCal werandHeinrichWi rthtogethershould betheirstudyofrel i gionandthatthecentralfiguresof "Berthol d and"The Fourth Li fe" are students of theology.xiv) T A L E S O F S T U D E N T L I F ETobesure,thenatureofthisinterestinthestoriesmirorsHesse'smoodatthetimeofcomposition.Whenhe wrote"Friends"and"Berthold"( around1907-8)the thirty-year-oldwriterwasstillinthethroesofhisrebellionagainst what he consideredthe narrow sterility ofthe pietismofhisyouth.Asaresul t, wefndthereligious impulse manifesting i tself as afascination with other and specifcallynon-Protestantformsof religion.In"Friends" Hesseal ludestothespectrumofreligioussectsthat sprangupinEuropetowardtheendofthenineteenth century, includingnotablyaninterestinBuddhismand otherOrientalreligions. Hessehadgrownupinahome inspiredwiththespiritofIndia,forbothhisparentsas wellashismaternalgrandfatherhadbeenmissionaries there. "FromthetimeIwasachild,"helaterwrote,"I breathedi n andabsorbedthe spiritualsideofIndiajustasdeeplyasChristianity. "Andthisimpulseledhim, i n 1911, t o make the trip t o I ndia which resulted, years l ater, inthenovelSiddhartha(I 922).WhenHansCalwerexploresBuddhismandattends lectures on Oriental studies, heisacting out Hesse'sownpreoccupations. The backgroundof"Berthold,"incontrast,isCatholic. I n 1903,inoneofthefrequentlettersthat he wrote home inacalculatedeforttoshockhisdevoutfamily,Hesse observedthatnotheologycouldbetooradicallymodern forindependentthinkers,butheknewofnomore"brilliantmodel"ofapeople'sreligionthanCatholicism. Hesse'sgenuineadmirationfortheri tual, symbolic,and aestheticaspectsofCatholicismlastedtotheendofhis life,manifestingitselfinsuchworksashisearlybiographyofSt. FrancisofAssisi( I 904) andthechapterin TlzeGlassBeadGamethatportrays the life oftheDesert Fathers.In"Berthold, " then,Hesseretracedhissymbolic autobiographyasitmighthavebeenhadhegrownupa CatholicduringthetimeoftheThirtyYears'War.Again wenotemanyofthesamefictionalcomponentsthatoc-Introduction (XV curin"Friends, " butheretheyappearinadiferent patter.Here,too,thehomoeroticfriendshipbetweenstudentfriendsl eads totheindoctrinationintosex byagil fromthelowerclasses , theturmoilandconfusionsof youthfulgrowth, andthe lossofchildhoodinnocenceregardedasthefallfromparadiseintoconsciousnessand guil t ( animagethatoccursasaleitmotivinHesse' sfction).For reasonsthat remain unclear,Hesse nevercompletedthisstoryoftherenegadeseminarianwhokillshis bestfriendandthenvanishesintotheexcitementofthe Thirty Years'War. QuitepossiblyHessedecidedthatthe pronounced sexuali ty of the theme was too explicit for the ratherprudishtastesofKaiser\Vilhelm' sGermany. However,the fragment( whichwa8not publishedunti l 1945) contains most of the narrative elementsthat wentinto the novelNarcissusandGoldmund( 1930 ), writtensome twenty years l ater.Inthatnovelthetimehasbeenshiftedbackfromthe seventeenthcenturyintoanunspecifedbutstillmonolithicallyCatholicerainthel ateMiddleAges .( I tisnot unlikelythatHessewantedtofocusontensionswithina unifedCatholicworldandnotonthewhollydiferent confictbetweenCatholicismandProtestantismwhich wouldhavebeeni nevitableduri ngtheThirtyYears' War. )LikeBerthold,Goldmundgrowsupwithouta motherandissentbyhisfather intothemonastery.Both BertholdandGol dmundarcstrong, handsomeyoung men, inexperiencedi nthewaysof t heworldbut inordinatelyresponsivetosensualpleasures ;forboth,thelife ofthesensesbegi nswhentheyarcseducedbyolderand experiencedgirls . Berthold'sclosestfriendatschoolis Johannes, theprofessional -albei tcyni cal l yMachiavellian-churchmanwhohasthenamethatNarcissus adoptsafterhisinvestitureasapriest. Themostconspicuous physicalcharacteristicofJohannes-Narcissusis athinasceticfacewithsoul ful eyesandlongblackeye-xvi) T A L E S O F S TU D E NTL I F El ashes.ItisJohannes-likeNarcissusl ater-whofrstawakenshis younger friendtothe realizationthat monasticlifeisnothistruecalling,whilehehimself ishappily reconciledtothelifeofaprinceofthechurch. Inboth worksamajorcrisisisprecipitatedbyagirlnamed Agnes.Thereareofcourseconspicuousdiferences :notably,theearlyfragmentbreaksofwhenBertholdkills Johannes, while inthe novel Narcissus becomestheabbot ofthe monasteryandfnallyrescuesGoldmund from execution."Berthold"endswhentheprotagonistfees Colognetoenterthe ThirtyYears'War,just asGoldmund leavesthe monastery and becomes involved inthe worldly eventsofhisage.Yet"Berthold, "apartfromi tsCatholic andseventeenth-centuryvariationofthestudentarchetype in Hesse's fction,isclearlythe model that Hesse had inmindfortwodecadesuntilhefnallyreshapeditinto one of his most popular novel s.The so-called "Fourth Life" was undertaken many years l aterunderwhollydiferentcircumstances.WhenHesse beganwriting TheGlassBead Gameintheearlythirties, its central idea was "reincarnation as a form of expression forstabilityinthemidstoffux,forthecontinuityof traditionandofspiri tuallifeingeneral. " Tothisendand asthestructuralprincipleofhisopusmagnum,heenvisioned"anindividual butsupratemporal life. . . aman whoexperiencesi naseriesofrebirthsthegrandepochs inthehistoryofmankind."Ashetoldhissisterin1934, "Thebookisgoingtocontainseveralbiographiesofthe sameman,wholivedonearthatdiferenttimes-orat l eastthinksthathehadsuchexistences. "Bythetimeit waspublishedin1943,however,thenovelhadgone throughasignifcantshiftinplan:theoriginallyenvisaged"parallellives"werereducedintheirfunctionto "fctionalautobiographies"writtenasschoolexercisesby thehero,JosefKnecht, andincludedinanappendiat theendofthenovel .Thefnalversioncontainsthreeof Introduction (xvii theselives:astoryofprehistorictimes( "TheRainmaker"),anepisodefromthepatristicera( "TheFather Confessor"),andataleofclassicalI ndia( "TheI ndian Lie"). "The FourthLife,"whichismentionedseveraltimesi thetextofthenovel,wastohavecenteredaroundan eighteenth-centurySwabiantheologianwho subsequently gaveup hischurchlyduties forthesake of music. Hewas to have been "a pupilof Johann AlbrechtBengel, afriend ofOetinger, andaguestoftheZinzendorfcommunity. " Tothisend, thenarratorofTheGlassBeadGamecontinues, Knechtreadandexcerptedanumberofoftenobscureworksconcerningecclesiasticallawandpietism,andstudiedtheliturgyandChurchmusicoftheperiod.However, Knechtlefthisworkunfnished :hehadcollectedtoo many factsand hadpursuedtoomanytangents ofinvestigationtobeabletoshapehismateriali ntoa "Life"suficientlyintegratedforthepurposesofhisCastalianeducation. I twasnotuntil1965thattwoversionsofthis"Fourth Life"wereposthumouslypublished, revealingforthe frst time that Hesse hadactual ly workedonthe Swabian "life" describedinhisnovel .Anditwasimmedi atelyapparent whyHessehaddiscardedtheproject :"TheFourthLife," undertakenaccordi ngtotheoriginalplanofrather lengthy"parallellives, "wasfartooextensivetobereducedtothe size or themuch briefer fictionalbiographies actuallyincludedwithintheframeworkofTheGlass BeadGame.Asanexerciseinsymbolicautobiography,as adepictionofstudentlifeintheeighteenthcentury,and as atestimonyto Hesse's obsessionwi thpietism,however,thisuncompleted "FourthLife" i s afascinating document onitsownmerits.Hessewasattractedtoeighteenth-centurySwabian pietismforavarietyofreasons. I t represented, frst, a returntothespiritualandintellectualsourcesofhisown xviii) T A L E S O F S T U D E N T L I F Eyouth,towhichhewasboundinanintenselove-hate relationship.Inthisstory Hesse is investigating fctionally theimpactofhispietisthomeandeducationonhisown development . Moreover,thescenesandlocalesofhis earlylifehaveaprominentplaceinthehistoryof Swabianpietism.Fromtheseventeenthcenturyon,Calw wasafocalpointforpietism.Goppingen,whereHesse attendedLatinSchool,wasthebirthplaceofthenoted theologianFriedrichChristophOetingerandthefery preacherJohannFriedrichRock. Maulbronnandthe othercloisterschoolshadbeencentersofpietism, and theirpedagogicalmethodswereshapedin nosmallmeasurebythebiblicalscholarBengel,whowasapreceptor forthirtyyearsatDenkendorf.Infact,theworksof BengelandOetingerstillbelongedtothestandardcurriculumatMaulbronnwhileHessewasastudentthere. Ti.ibingen, fnally,wastheintellectualcenterofpietism duringtheearlyeighteenthcentury.Itwastherethat Oetinger,Bilfnger,andothersformulatedthedoctrines ofpietism;thatRockfoughtideologicalbattlesforhis congregationof "Inspired";thatZinzendorf sought ofcial recognitionforhisteachingsandforhisMoraviancommunityatHerrnhut. Inturningbacktopietism,Hesse wasrecapturingmanymemoriesofhisownchildhood and youth,and hewasreturningtotheperiodofcultural andintellectualhistoryinwhich,as he often proclaimed, he felt most at home.Wecanascertainwithfair accuracywhatHesseread inpreparationforhisundertaking. InI 934hewroteto hissisterAdelethathehadborrowedallthevolumesof Spangenberg'sbiographyofZinzendorffromtheZurich library.Thenarratorofthefrstfragmentreportsthat in thenineteenthcenturytwobooksaboutBengelappeared, "which, tobesure,tel llittleabouthislife,butimpart manysayings,sermons,andlettersbyhim" -adescriptionthatenablesusto identifythebiographiesbyJ.C.F.Introduction (xi BurkandOscar\Vachter.Andinthetexti tselfHesse recountscertainepisodesfromOetinger'slifethat he couldhavefoundonl yi nOetinger'sautobiography. Of course, Hessehadreadagreatdealmore:hewasgenerallyfamiliarwiththehistoryandcultureof\Vlrttemberginthel aterseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies.But by far most of his materialcame from the cited biographies of Bengel,Zinzendorf, and Oetinger.JosefKnecht , tobesure, isafcti tiousfgurein"The FourthLife. "But hemovesthroughaframeworkofhistoricalrealitythatrevealsHesse'scarefulstudyofhis sources. Manyofthefguresinthestory-Bengel , Oetinger, Rock, Zinzendorf-arehistoricalpersonages.Knecht'sbirth( around1709)ISdatedbyreferencetoa historicalevent-thetreatyofRij swij k, whichin1697 settledtheWarofthePal ati nateSuccession.Andeven thoughHessedoesnotmentiontherulingmonarchby name, thecharacterizationofthemanandhisreignin theopeni ngparagraphsi ssoclearthatwehavenodifcultyinrecognizingEberhardLudwig, theprofigatebutpopul arDukeofWlirttembergfrom1693 t o1733,who wascourageousenoughtoshel terFrenchemigresfrom the religious persecutions of Louis XIV. Thehistori cal backgroundisconj uredupbyavariety of means. I n everycase, forinstance. Hesseborrowedthe namesofhi snon-hi storicalfi guresfromcontemporary sources .InthefrstversionKnecht'ssisteriscal led Beni gna, anamethatHesseknewfromOetinger'sautobiographyasthenameofOetinger'sdaughter. Knecht's frstteacher,PreceptorRoos,bearsthenamesofawellknownpieti st, lIagnusFriedrichRoos( 1727-1803). Anotherkeyfi gureofKnecht'syouth,Spezial Bilfinger, is anomi nalcousinofGeorgBernhardBi l fnger(I 693-1750) , ProfessorofTheologyandsuperintendentofthe TlibingenStift,whowasaprotegeofBengelandacoll eague of Oetinger.x) T A L E SO F S T U D E N T L I F EWhilethegeneralbackgroundi ssufusedwithdetails of eighteenth-century history,inhistreatment ofBengel,Oetinger,andZinzendorfHessestayedconspicuously closetohissources.Bengel, forinstance,doesnotsaya wordthatisnotinstrictkeepingwiththeimageofthe manthat emerges fromhis lettersand recorded conversations. Moreover,manyofBengel'sutterancesinthestory areadaptedfromhisownwritings. Thecharacterization ofOetingerismoreindirect, representingfrequentlya fctionaldistillationofpassagesfromhisautobiography ( e. g. ,the account of his meetingwiththe CabalistKappel Hecht).AndthedescriptionofZinzendorf'svisitto Tibingenissimplyacreativeexpansionofapassagein Spangenberg's biography.Hesse'suseof hi s varioussourcesamountsto farmore thanmechanicalcopying.Tocitej usttwoexamples :a passageinaletterbyBengelinwhichBengelruminates ontheprofessionoffountainmasterpromptedHesseto makeKnecht'sfatheronesothathecouldincorporate thatpassage into his text. Butthat means,in turn,thatall thepassagesconcerningfountainsandtheprofessionof fountainmasterwerestimulatedindirectlyatleastby this external source. Second, it turns out that many of the details of Oetinger's life-indeed,the whole outline of his biography-contributedsignifcantlytotheportrayalof Knecht'slife( e. g. , theencounterwi ththemillerwho urges the students to read Jakob Bohme). To study Hesse's useofhissourcesisafruitful exerciseinthetechniques of l i terary montage.When he had reachedthe point at which Knecht leaves Tiibingen,Hesseattemptedto recast hisstory.In the frst versionthemassesofeclecticmaterialthat he hadappropriatedforhisnarrativewerenotsatisfactorilyassimil atedintothebodyofthestory.Hesseseemstohave workedratherrapidly, retainingtheessentialoutlineof thefrstversion-indeed,followingitsocloselythat Introduction (x many passagesaresimplycopiedwordforwordintote second version-but tryingto integrate hismaterial more efectivel y. Thisstrivingforintegrationisthepriciple that explainsalmostallofthes tylisticchangesbetween the two versions. AsHesseworkedandastheconcepton ofthenovelitselfchanged, however,itbecameevident thatthematerialfromthisrichlydocumentedperiodof Germanculturalhistorywastoooverwhelmingtoallow itselftobereducedtoabriefchapterinTheGlassBead Gameonthescaleoft heotherthree"lives. "SoHesse discontinued his workonone of hismost fascinating and revealing li terary endeavors.These threestori es, t hen,aford usanunusual glimpse intothewriter'sworkshop, representi ngastheydothe archetypalstructureofDemimz,thepreliminaryplotof NarcissusandGoldmmzd,andadiscardedsectionofThe GlassBeadGame.Andl i keallofHesse'sworks ,tey amount toexercisesi nsymbolicautobivgraphythatprovideuswi thi l l umi nat i ngi nsigh tsi ntothelfeandmind oftheauthor.Speci fically_ theyrefectHesse'sprofound concernwi t hguc . Li \ t ; t sIl i \' l' .I twi l ldo yougood . .. " \Vhal dorou1 1 1 ca n ?" " Li \' ti l l l hclrcsha i r; J smuchasyouCl l l . \Vorkoutofdoorsi f possi ble. Ic; 1 1 1 l i ndyousuchwor k. Apartfrom t i Ll l . c; J I1 1 0I I H' :t l . dr i nk1 1 1 1 l i quor, l c; J ,orcol l' ce. ; I JI sl op smok i ng. Li \'