The Artistic Dilemma: Estheticism Versus a Study of Herman Hesse\u27s Das Glasperlenspiel

It is the purpose of this paper to analyze one important aspect in the writing of Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), in particular that aspect as it appears in the novel Das Glasperlenspiel (1943). The duality of estheticism and life--meaning here active, involved or non-esthetic life--within an artist, which will be called here the artistic dilemma, is a major theme running through all of Hesse\u27s works and, indeed, his life. Das Glasperlenspiel has been chosen as the focal point of this discussion because it embodies, as Hesse\u27s last novel, a culmination of all those thematic tendencies--including the artistic dilemma--developed in earlier works