| Demian | |
| Title Orig: | Demian: Die Geschichte Einer Jugend |
| Translator: | N. H. Priday |
| Author: | Hermann Hesse |
| Country: | Germany |
| Language: | German |
| Publisher: | Fischer Verlag |
| Release Date: | 1919 |
| English Release Date: | 1923[1] |
| Media Type: | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages: | 390 pp (1962 English edition, paperback) |
| Isbn: | 0-06-093191-4 |
| Isbn Note: | (first English edition, paperback) |
| Dewey: | 833/.912 21 |
| Congress: | PT2617.E85 D413 1999 |
| Oclc: | 40739012 |
Demian: The Story of a Boyhood is a bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. Demian was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, but Hesse was later revealed to be the author; the tenth edition was the first to bear his name.
Emil Sinclair is a young boy raised in a middle class home, amidst what is described as a Scheinwelt, a composite word meaning "world of illusion," so his entire existence can be summarised as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the Hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth (see Plato's cave and dualism). Accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate and friend 'Max Demian', he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self. The novel's eight chapters are these:
Since at least 1914, if not 1909, Hesse had been encountering the newly growing field of psychoanalysis as it moved through the German intellectual circles. During the 1910s, Hesse felt that the psychological difficulties that had tormented him since youth needed to be dealt with through psychotherapy. In 1916–17 he underwent psychoanalytic treatment with Josef Lang, a disciple of Carl Jung. Through his contact with Lang and later, in 1921, from being psychoanalyzed by Jung, Hesse became very interested in Jungian analysis and interpretation. Demian is replete with both Jungian archetypes and Jungian symbolism. In addition, psychoanalysis helped Hesse identify psychological problems which he had experienced in his youth, including internal tension caused by a conflict between his own carnal instincts and the strict moralism of his parents. Such themes appear throughout Demian as semi-autobiographical reflections upon Hesse's own exploration of Jungian philosophy.[2]
One of the major themes is the existence of opposing forces and the idea that both are necessary.
The novel refers to the idea of Gnosticism, particularly the god Abraxas, showing the influence of Carl Jung's psychology. According to Hesse, the novel is a story of Jungian individuation, the process of opening up to one's unconsciousness.
In the Jungian interpretation of Demian, women do not play a vital role but instead are used as feminine symbols. At the beginning, Sinclair looks up to his sisters and mother, and even his house maid. While at school, he sees a beautiful woman whom he calls Beatrice, and towards the end of the novel, when Sinclair is an adolescent man, he discovers Demian's mother, Frau Eva. These women do not have major roles in the story, but Hesse uses them symbolically as facets of the depths of Sinclair's mind.
The Gnostic deity Abraxas is used as a symbol throughout the text, idealizing the interdependence of all that is good and evil in the world. Demian argues that Jehovah, the Jewish God, is only one face of God; it rules over all that is wholesome, but there is another half of the world, and an infinite god must encompass both sides of this world. The symbol of Abraxas appears as a bird breaking free from an egg or a globe.
Thomas Mann wrote an introduction to the book in 1947.