Nietzsche and hesse an influence study

Abstract

This thesis sets out to explore the influence of Nietzsche upon Hesse throughout the latter's lifetime. It concentrates mainly on the major novels, although there have been one or two divergences from these where space has permitted. During his literary career, Hesse also made many references to Nietzsche in letters, essays and reviews, and these have been incorporated as much as possible into this text. At the beginning of his career, Hesse was drawn to Nietzsche both by his theory of aesthetics, an attraction which soon faded, and by his use of language, for which he retained life-long admiration. Hesse replaced his enthusiasm for Nietzsche's aesthetics with a more general interest in Nietzsche the man and poet. In the following years his attention turned to Nietzsche's theories of the artist (a perennial theme in his own works). After a lapse in interest came the period of his most intense involvement with Nietzsche during the latter half of, and immediately following the First World War, for it was at this time that he felt the greatest personal empathy with Nietzsche. The next years show Hesse incorporating various aspects of Nietzsche's . philosophy, especially his theories of cultural disease and decadence into his 'outsider' novels. As Hesse aged, he grew away from Nietzsche, seeing Jakob Burckhardt as the major influence upon the second half of his life, but signs of Nietzschean influence are still evident in his last two major novels, and he retained his regard for Nietzsche until the end of his life. This thesis traces in chronological order the various phases of Hesse's interest in Nietzsche and attempts to assess the influence asserted by Nietzsche in both the literary and the personal spheres of Hesse's life.