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Washington University in St. Louis

Hermann Hesse as Ambivalent Modernist

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This dissertation asserts that the Hermann Hesse approaches the themes and techniques of literary Modernism with ambivalence. The first chapter outlines the role of philosophical and literary walking in Hesse's work in general as well as how these depictions differ from those produced by his predecessors. The second chapter takes Hesse's reinterpretation of Nietzsche and Rousseau and applies it to three of Hesse's early novels, Unterm Rad, Peter Camenzind, and Knulp. The third chapter examines Der Steppenwolf as an ambivalently Modernist autobiography, using Eugene Stelzig's notion of Seelenbiographie. The last chapter examines Hesse's two final novels, Die Morgenlandfahrt and Das Glasperlenspie as exemplars of Hesse's ambivalence towards modernist literary techniques overall.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Germanic Languages and Literatures
Year dc:date.available
2010

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Jackson, Theodore
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Lutz Koepnick

Subjects

dc:subject × 8

Rights

Language dc:language
English (en)

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-1166

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Washington University in St. Louis
Base URL
openscholarship.wustl.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Jackson, Theodore. Hermann Hesse as Ambivalent Modernist. Dissertation thesis, 2010. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/167