Narcissus and Goldmund

Narziss and Goldmund
New cover from Picador publishing
Author(s)	Herman Hesse
Original title	Narziß und Goldmund
Translator	1932 Geoffrey Dunlop; 1968 Ursule Molinaro
Country	Germany
Language	German
Genre(s)	Fiction
Publisher	Fischer Verlag
Publication date	1930
Published in English	1932 (Dunlop translation as Death and the Lover); 1968 (Molinaro translation as Narcissus and Goldmund)
Media type	Print
Pages	320 p.
ISBN	0-312-42167-2
OCLC Number	51118419
Dewey Decimal	833/.912 21
LC Classification	PT2617.E85 N413 2003
Preceded by	Steppenwolf
Followed by	Journey to the East

Narcissus and Goldmund (also published as Death and the Lover) is a novel written by the German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in German as Narziß und Goldmund in 1930. At its publication, Narcissus and Goldmund was considered Hesse's literary triumph; bibliographically, it follows Steppenwolf.

Synopsis

Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a young man, Goldmund, who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as "the meaning of life", or rather, meaning for his life. Narcissus, a gifted young teacher at the cloister school, quickly makes friends with Goldmund, as they are only a few years apart, and Goldmund is naturally bright. Goldmund looks up to Narcissus, and Narcissus has much fondness for him in return. After straying too far in the fields one day, on an errand gathering herbs, Goldmund comes across a beautiful Gypsy woman, who kisses him and invites him to make love. This encounter becomes his epiphany; he now knows he was never meant to be a monk. With Narcissus' help, he leaves the monastery and embarks on a wandering existence. Goldmund finds he is very attractive to women, and has numerous love affairs. After seeing a particularly beautiful carved Madonna in a church, he feels his own artistic talent awakening and seeks out the master carver, with whom he studies for several years. However, in the end Goldmund refuses an offer of guild membership, preferring the freedom of the road. When the Black Death devastates the region, Goldmund encounters human existence at its ugliest. Finally he is reunited with his friend Narcissus, now an abbot, and the two reflect upon the different paths their lives have taken, contrasting the artist with the thinker.

Themes

In this novel the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Apollonian versus Dionysian spirit is evident. The polarization of Narcissus's individualist Apollonian character stands in contrast to the passionate and zealous disposition of Goldmund. Hesse, in the spirit of Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, completes the equation by creating Goldmund as an artist and wanderer (a Dionysian endeavour) balanced out by Narcissus, the structured and stable priest-monk (an Apollonian approach), and highlighting the harmonizing relationship of the main characters.

Goldmund is presented as an evolving seeker who attempts to embody both Apollonian and Dionysian elements, thus capturing Nietzsche's conception of the ideal tragedy. Goldmund comes to embody a wide spectrum of the human experience, lusting for the gruesome ecstasy of the sensual world yet capturing and representing it through his talent as a sculptor.

Like most of Hesse's works, the main theme of this book is the wanderer's struggle to find himself, as well as the Jungian union of polar opposites (Mysterium Coniunctionis). Goldmund represents art and nature and the “feminine mind”, while Narcissus represents science and logic and God and the “masculine mind”. These "feminine" and "masculine" qualities are drawn from the Jungian archetypal structure, and is reminiscent of some of his earlier works, especially Demian. Throughout the novel, Goldmund increasingly becomes aware of memories of his own mother, which ultimately results in his desire to return to the Urmutter (primordial mother).

English translations

The first translation into English, by Geoffrey Dunlop, appeared in 1932 under the title Death and the Lover. In 1968, a translation by Ursule Molinaro was published as Narcissus and Goldmund. In 1994 a new translation by Leila Vennewitz was shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize.

In popular culture

The novel was the basis of a song, a favorite played at their concerts by the American band Kansas titled "Journey from Mariabronn". It was released on their first album Kansas and in a live versions on Two for the Show and Device - Voice - Drum.