Narcissus and Goldmund

_This is the story of two very different young would-be monks in the medieval cloister of Mariabronn. Narcissus was a lunar type- introverted, a thinker and a scholar. On the other hand, Goldmund was a classic solar type- extroverted, a lover and an artist. _Yet, these two beings of seemingly opposite temperaments became the deepest of life-long friends. This is because different strengths- and different weaknesses- complement each other. In this way two unbalanced natures may in strange alchemy fulfill each other. They may be able to see their shadow in the other- and their pivotal conflict. _It was in this way that Narcissus saw his friend Goldmund's central repressed crisis. It was this shattering revelation that drove Goldmund out into the world beyond the sheltered cloister. It drove him to a life on the edge as a life-long wanderer. He started in a search for his nearly forgotten mother and ended by finding the eternal feminine in all women. Yet the years of hardship and horror (including murder, the Great Plague, and prison) took their toll on him. When after over a decade of wandering, he finally encountered his friend Narcissus again it saved his life- both literally and spiritually. _I could not imagine a more Jungian novel. Nor could I imagine a better expression of the meaning of profound friendship.

Having read all of Hesse works, I find them all fascinating and profound, but none more so than Narcissus and Goldmund. This masterpiece explores the balance between living for yourself and living for others. These two characters and how they relate and understand the other is just beyond words. I first read this book in High School and over the next 20 years have re-read it many times. It never grows old as it invokes our innermost desires and failures. Do miss out on this great read.

This is the third novel of Hesse's that I have had the joy of reading (Sidhartha and Demian are the other two). After finishing it, I wondered why as an educated man and student of literature I had not heard about it years ago. Of the three Hesse novels I have read, this is the best. Like the other two, it is a testament to searching for your own path in life and refusing to be lead by the status quo, but it is so much more.The story revolves around, as the title implies, Narcissus, a young monk who urges Goldmund, a cloister student, to find out who he really is rather than be bullied by his father's wishes into a life of religious servitude. The novel focuses on Goldmund's journies through the German Empire of the 1300s and his discovery of art, nature, and love. It reveals powerful scenes of plague-ridden Europe as well as introspective conversations between the two men on the nature of reason and imagination. Hesse carefully questions love, life, religion, god, education, and complacency without making his conclusions mere propaganda. This is one of those books that, when all is over, makes the reader wish there were more.I can't recommend it enough.

I live quite close to Calw, Germany, where Hesse grew up, and even nearer to Maulbronn, whose cloister is a World Heritage Site and the setting for Mariabronn, where Narcissus and Goldmund meet. If you visit Maulbronn today, the cloister looks amazing like it is described in the opening scenes of Narcissus and Goldmund.Hesse was mightily unhappy when he was sent to school at Maulbronn; he translated that misery into the restlessness of the student Goldmund in this novel. Goldmund has no mother (presumably she died giving birth to him--or maybe she ran off. We can't be sure.) His distant and cold father leaves Goldmund at the monastery to be educated. Now in the Middle Ages, there was nothing unusual in that; monasteries were the schools, seats of learning, medical centers and scientific research institutes.Goldmund meets Narcissus, a handsome, ascetic young novice monk who is well suited for the monastic life and is an ideal monk and incredible scholar. Goldmund, who is the complete opposite from Narcissus (worldly, sexual, sensual) develops a strong friendship with Narcissus, who senses something is very wrong with Goldmund and tries to help him.Goldmund's subsequent wanderings take him on fantastic adventures and ultimately to finding himself. Narcissus, too, must discover himself, but not in the way he had expected.This is by far Hesse's most beautiful novel, and an exciting story, too. This is a very good translation; I've read the original German and this translation preserves some of the rhythm of the language that is naturally lost when brought into English.

I first read Narcissus and Goldmund when I was about 20. The conflicts between mind/heart, reason/passion, intellect/emotion were the fulcrum around which my personal voyage of self-discovery turned - at that age.Now, at 42, I have reread this book. I never appreciated the first time 'round that Hess was describing a completed life. I was too fixated on Goldmund's emancipation through travel. But in the end, after his return to the cloister to create true art, Goldmund hit the road again. He tried in vain to recapture youth only to be spurned by Agnes, the woman he considered to be the most beautiful - and the most like himself. This was a classic description of what we now call the "mid-life crisis".Neither Narcissus nor Goldmund ended up truly happy, I believe. But that is not the point at all. There was a mutual recognition of the richness in their separate lives. And there was a love and a respect for those differences.As we all grow up it is these deeper lessons that Hess seeks to impart to us. I'm glad I picked up this excellent book once again and am not surprised to see other reviewers who have done the same with similar results.A book for living dangerously, and fully.DH