The initiation novel as a genre and its elements in selected novels by Hermann Hesse

The theoretical part of this master thesis is based on the literary genre of the initiation novel, as presented by Daniela Hodrová. In an effort to gain a deeper insight into the novel's typical figures and spatial motifs, the theoretical part also contains a summary of archetypes described by C. G. Jung. In the practical part, principles of the initiation genre are demonstrated on the novels Demian and Steppenwolf written by the German author Hermann Hesse. The aim of the thesis is to provide a proof that the two novels can be assigned to the initiation novel genre and also to make use of the means presented in the theoretical part for an analysis of the initiation of the protagonists. The initiation in Demian is presented as a precursor of the initiation described in Steppenwolf. Therefore, the result of this thesis is also an attempt to present the philosophical connection between the analysed novels. KEYWORDS Demian, Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse, initiation novel, Daniela Hodrová, archetyp