Steppenwolf : The Disintegration of Harry Haller as it Relates to Music

Steppenwolf The Disintegration of Harry Haller as it Relates to Music Among the umpteen themes present in Hermann Hesses 1927 novel Steppenwolf, two stand out as basic threads around which the story is constructed the isolated nature of the workman and the duality of existence (Bent 471). Harry Haller, the protagonist of the novel, is portrayed as an outsider to society and to modern t i he must spit out with his own outmoded ideals and bestiality to embrace humanity and reality. His Zerrissenheit, or decomposition (literally translated, the state of being torn apart Bent 1142), culminates in the wizardly Theater at the finish of the novel. Here, he finds himself a changed man, with a clearer savvy of human and social relations. Harry Hallers progress to this point can be traced through his changing perception of music and the role it plays in his life as he becomes increasingly disenchanted with his former lifestyle and actively interested in his new one, his under standing and acceptance of new and old music undergoes a significant change. The preface to the novel establishes Harry Haller as a great lover of music. In it, Hallers landlord remarks on his habits and characteristics. One of the almost striking encounters he has with Haller takes place at a symphony one night First some Handel was played, noble and lovely music. But the Steppenwolf sit down absorbed in his own thoughts...After the Handel came a little symphony of Friedemann Bach, and I saw with surprise how after a few bars my queer began to smile and abandon himself to the music...for about ten minutes he was so happily lost and rapt in pleasant dreams... ... the seriousness and spirituality of the piece. Hallers Zerrissenheit culminates in an understanding that humor, love of life and passion with a sense of dominance are essential to spiritual health. To live comfortably and notwithstanding richly need not be an unattainable standard of life. One whitethorn b e original without pretense, whole with many parts it is certainly achievable to understand the holy pain of a long, complex movement and yet still take pleasure in the fast step of a fox trot. Works Cited Bent, William Rose. Hermann Hesse. Bents Readers Encyclopedia. 4th ed. novel York HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1996. Bent, William Rose. Zerrissenheit. Bents Readers Encyclopedia. 4th ed. New York HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1996. Hesse, Hermann. Steppenwolf. New York Henry Holt and Company, 1927.