Ratings11
Average rating3.7
The hero, a German choirmaster recalls an unfruitful pilgrimage to the East during his youth and begins to realize its hidden spiritual meanings. Reprint.
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I'm planning to re-read all of Hesse over the next couple of years. I hadn't read this one since college, so I didn't remember much, but it holds even more meaning for me now than it did then and I think it will stay with me. The title in German is Die Morgenlandfahrt. Morgenland is “east” in a metaphorical way–the land of morning–whereas the literal east is Osten. So we can assume, as many of said, that the Journey is not literally to the East or the Orient–although Hesse was fascinated by Asia and Asian religions–but is instead more of a journey toward our origins, the source of light and life. In searching for this origin, what do we remember, what do we lose, whom do we transgress against?