Demian (Criticism)

Criticism

Liz Brent

Brent has a Ph.D. in American culture, specializing in film studies, from the University of Michigan. She is a freelance writer and teaches courses on the history of American cinema. In the following essay, Brent discusses the theme of religion in Demian.

Sinclair's struggles with religion, particularly Christianity, throughout Demian, are central to the development of his personal identity and individualized belief system. This process of development occurs in two distinct stages. First, Sinclair begins to question the precepts of devout Christian faith in which he was raised. Secondly, Sinclair learns to consider the spiritual wisdom of other religions and belief systems from throughout the world and throughout history. By the end of the novel, Sinclair does not completely renounce Christianity, but picks and chooses elements of various religions and philosophies — including Christianity — by which to make sense of his true nature and his experience of the world around him.

In the first phase of his journey, Sinclair learns to question traditional interpretations of Christian doctrine. He does not, however, completely renounce Christianity, as ideas, beliefs, and stories drawn from the Christian tradition continue to play a key role in his journey toward his true inner self. He does, however, learn to interpret Christian doctrine in unconventional ways.

As the novel opens, Sinclair is ten years old and his understanding of the world is firmly rooted in the Christian precepts of good and evil. The young Sinclair perceives the world as consisting of two realms: the good, light world of religious piety; and the evil, dark world of sin. The first time Sinclair experiences an inkling of religious doubt is after he tells a lie, the consequences of which result in his feeling that he has entered the dark world of evil and sin. Because he is keeping a secret from his parents, the feeling that he possesses knowledge unknown to his father results in a perception that the "holy image" he had of his father as all-powerful has been diminished. Sinclair's feelings toward his father represent his feelings about God — thus, his perception of the "holy image" of God is likewise diminished by his personal experience of the "dark" realm of sin.

Sinclair's path toward the realization of his personal identity is aided by the influence of key people who open his mind to independent thought. Demian is the first such influence, encouraging Sinclair to question traditional interpretations of biblical stories, such as Cain and Abel, the Prodigal Son, and Jacob. For example, Demian interprets the biblical story of Cain and Abel, in which Cain is a murderer of his own brother, in such a way that Cain is considered the hero of the story. Demian also provides a nontraditional interpretation of the mark that God is said to have put on Cain's forehead. Rather than being a mark of sin, Demian interprets the "mark" as a metaphor for an air of "distinction" others perceived in Cain. Demian explains that it is likely Cain had "a little more intellect and boldness in his look than people were used to." This point is significant later in the story, because Demian and his mother, Frau Eva, describe various people (and eventually Sinclair) as having "the mark" — by which they mean such people have a quality of distinction about them which suggests a desire to strive for independent thought and true self-knowledge.

Demian goes on to explain to Sinclair that he is not claiming the biblical story of Cain to be inauthentic; rather, that "Such age-old stories are always true but they aren't always properly recorded and aren't always given correct interpretations." This explanation captures the attitude toward Christianity expressed by Hesse throughout Demian: Christianity contains some age-old wisdom, valuable lessons, and meaningful iconography, but each person must look beyond conventional interpretations of religion to find his or her own personal truths.

During confirmation classes, Demian's influence on the development of Sinclair's capacity for independent thought increases through the regular questioning of the teacher's traditional approach to biblical stories. Sinclair notes that, as a result of Demian's influence, "cracks had begun to appear in my religious faith." However, Sinclair asserts that these new ideas did not cause him to question the significance of a spiritual life, but, "On the contrary, I still stood in the deepest awe of the religious." Sinclair's strong feeling for the importance of some form of spirituality, although not necessarily a conventional Christian faith, remains constant throughout the novel.

Hesse's attitude toward religion as expressed in Demian thus calls for the importance of religious questioning on the part of the individual, while also acknowledging the value of some form of understanding of oneself and the world in terms of religious ideas. Sinclair explains that Demian "had accustomed me to regard and interpret religious stories and dogma more freely, more individually, even playfully, with more imagination." This freer, individualized interpretation of the Christian doctrine in which he was raised is the first step in Sinclair's journey toward his true inner self and the formulation of his personal identity.

In the second phase of his journey toward self-knowledge and self-actualization, Sinclair learns to draw from the wisdom of many religions, cultures, thinkers, and historical eras in order to formulate his own personal belief system. By the end of the novel, Sinclair's conception of himself and the world is no longer divided into "two realms" of light and dark, but includes a perception that both elements are part of a larger whole. Sinclair's concept of a god who encompasses both realms is referred to as Abraxas.

While in a class at boarding school, Sinclair finds a note stuck in his textbook that refers to a god called "Abraxas." Although he hasn't seen Demian in years, and has no idea where to find him, Sinclair is certain that the note has come from Demian by some mysterious means. The next day, his professor, Dr. Follens, lectures to the class about the ancient concept of Abraxas as expressing a "profound philosophy." He explains that the name Abraxas "occurs in connection with Greek magical formulas and is frequently considered the name of some magician's helper such as certain uncivilized tribes believe in even at present." Dr. Follens continues, "But it appears that Abraxas has a much deeper significance." He concludes, "We may conceive of the name as that of a godhead whose symbolic task is the uniting of godly and devilish elements." Sinclair understands from the lecture that Abraxas combines both good and evil, light and dark, into one realm, and is thus "the god who was both god and devil."

Although Demian does not name the god Abraxas until years later, the ideas he expressed to Sinclair while they were still in grade school put forth a similar ideal of uniting both the "light" and "dark" elements of the world into one god, rather than separating the world of good from the world of evil. Demian argues that, in relegating part of the world to the realm of evil, "this entire slice of the world, this entire half is suppressed and hushed up." He asserts, "we ought to consider everything sacred, the entire world, not merely this artificially separated half!" Demian uses as an example the suppression of sexuality exerted through Christian teachings. His point is that the realm of life that includes sexuality should also be regarded as an element of the divine. (However, this does not mean that Demian advocates hedonism or debauchery; when Sinclair runs into Demian while on vacation during his period of drunkenness, Demian points out that excessive drinking seems to hold little spiritual or mystical value.)

The development of Sinclair's personal belief system is furthered by his exposure to a broad range of unconventional ideas as presented to him by key people in his life. Sinclair's friendship with Pistorius during his final year at boarding school further opens his mind to a wide range of religious and philosophical ideas. Rather than conforming to traditional Christian beliefs, Pistorius teaches Sinclair to consider Eastern religious beliefs, as well as philosophical ideas such as that of Frederich Nietzsche, and even scientific theories. Pistorius also exposes Sinclair to further exploration of the concept of Abraxas. Like Sinclair, Pistorius was raised in a deeply religious household, and yet has chosen not to follow the traditional practice of Christianity. Instead, he draws from a variety of sources of wisdom and mystical enlightenment to formulate his own understanding of the spiritual element of the world. Sinclair is further exposed to a broad range of unconventional religious and philosophical ideas toward the end of the novel, when he becomes part of the social circle of freethinkers who gather at the home of Demian and Frau Eva.

In Demian, Hesse ultimately does not renounce Christianity, but suggests the possibility of combining the beliefs and ideas of many different cultures, religions, and thinkers in order to formulate a personal understanding of oneself and the world. At one point in the novel, Pistorius comments that, although he is no longer faithful to the Christian church, "I'm still interested to see what kinds of gods people have devised for themselves." Hesse's message about religion in Demian may be summed up as the following: each individual must "devise" his or her own set of religious or spiritual ideas; this should come about a result of much self-reflection, or soul-searching, as well as contemplation of many forms of spiritual wisdom from throughout history and culture; and no one set of beliefs is necessarily meaningful to any given individual. Hesse seems to be calling for a sort of religion of the individual, which draws freely from the wisdom of the ages throughout the world and is constructed by each person in accordance with "the promptings of [his] true self."

Source: Liz Brent, Critical Essay on Demian, in Novels for Students, The Gale Group, 2002.

What Do I Read Next?

• The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) is the seminal text on dream theory by Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. Hesse was familiar with the theories of Freud and considered him a strong influence.
• Dreams (1974) is a selection of writings about dreams by Carl Jung, one of the fathers of psychoanalytic theory. Hesse was a psychoanalytic patient of Jung, and Demian was written in part as an expression of the effect Jung had on him.
• The Magic Mountain (1924) is one of the best-known novels by Thomas Mann, a friend and fellow German writer to Hesse. The Magic Mountain is about a young man's experiences in a tuberculosis sanitarium in the mountains.
• All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), by Erich Maria Remarque, is a now-classic narrative based on the experiences of a German soldier in World War I.
• The Complete Stories (1983) of Franz Kafka includes many masterpieces by an author whom Hesse regarded as one of his major influences. Some of Kafka's most celebrated stories include "Metamorphosis" and "The Hunger Artist."
• Siddhartha (1922) is one of Hesse's most celebrated novels. It tells the story of the early life of Buddha.
• Magister Ludi: The Glass Bead Game (1943) is one of Hesse's most celebrated novels. It takes place in the future in an elite community of intellectuals and scholars.
• In The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse (1995), the author combines elements of Eastern religion and European folktales to create original stories relevant to the modern world.
• German Expressionism (1997), edited by Stephanie Barron and Wolf-Dieter Dube, provides images of German expressionist paintings as well as discussion of German expressionism in drama, music, film, and architecture.
• The German Empire, 1870 – 1918 (2000), by Michael Stümer, offers a social and political history of Germany during the era of the German Empire.