| Abstract [eng] |
Hesse formulates the conception of a particular spiritual maturation, according to which the end of Knecht’s life could hardly be interpreted as the unfulfillment or defeat. Knecht is understood as part of the process. Knecht dies, but the process – the evolution of the spirit of mankind – continues and does it namely thanks to Knecht, because Knecht has taken it from Music Master and, having substantially moved it forward, gives it to his student Tit. The life of Knecht as totality becomes a particle of the life of mankind. After Knecht’s biography, Hesse presents three bildungsnovellas, where the student has the same “servant’s” name and where the spiritual development process develops above all the epochs and cultures (Pagan, Christian and Indian stories). By employing the composition of the novel, Hesse creates an impression of spiritual growth, cosmic universality and continuity. |
