The Journey to the East

There seem to be as many interpretations of this odd little book as there are readers of it. In it I saw a reflection of my own ongoing journey through the world of literature, history, philosophy and science, guided and accompanied by great characters both created and real; perhaps without the loss of faith and consequent distress experienced by the protagonist/narrator.

In my opinion this particular edition is overburdened by its lengthy, turgid introduction by Timothy Leary, although there are one or two nuggets of interest to be panned from it.

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?

I didn't get it

Mistična družina glavnog lika H.H.-a bez granica prostora i vremena po datom naslovu putuje ka istoku. Kako na odredište nisu stigli istok to čini simbolički određenim, jednako kako putovanje čini trajnim stanjem koje se nikada neće dovršiti. Članovi su tu dok su spremni služiti. Dojma sam, obzirom na stil pisanja, spomen istoka i Hesseova ostala djela, samo služenje nije pretpostavljeno osobi već ideji umjetnosti. Članovi družine su umjetnici svih vrsta, biti će tu dok budu podredili sebe onom što traženo djelo zahtjeva.

U Sidarti, napisanom deset godina ranije, kraj romana povezan je sa Sidartinim odbacivanjem ega uz istovremeno shvaćanje kako je ego sastavni dio čovjeka, on je unutarnji poriv koji ih tjera da si daju vrijednost i svrhu. Sidarta tako živi izvan društva, promatra ga u obliku rijeke i njenog toka kojim je simbolično prikazana ljudska povezanost. Produhovljenje nije tu za čovjeka, tako ni dolazak na odredište u naslovu romana. Članovi će ostati u družini na putovanju dok sebe budu podredili umjetničkom djelu, nešto što je temelj stalnog konflikta svakog umjetnika. U romanu je to naglašeno željom H.H.-a da napiše povijest družine, ne zbog toga što svijet treba imati pisani dokaz njenog postojanja već što mu je potrebno da On napiše to djelo. Ono mu je svrha kako bi dao značaj i pisani trag svom postojanju.

“That is just what life is when it is beautiful and happy - a game! Naturally, one can also do all kinds of other things with it, make a duty of it, or a battleground, or a prison, but that does not make it any prettier.”

“Once in their youth the light shone for them; they saw the light and followed the star, but then came reason and the mockery of the world; then came faint-heartedness and apparent failure; then came weariness and disillusionment, and so they lost their way again, they became blind again.”

Well, this is another gem by Hermann Hesse. The story revolves around the narrator joining a cult which is on a journey to the east. The entire novel is metaphorical in nature with profound themes running in the background. It follows the narrator through the entire journey with different interesting characters involved. I have always been a fan a Hesse's style of wrting and this book isn't an exception. Surely worth reading!