Herman Hesse’s novel Demian can be perceived as an autobiography of a person who survived the war. But its meaning is much deeper, and the spiritual quest of the main character Emil Sinclair can be considered a manifesto of the whole generation.
Isaac von Sinclair, a German diplomat and writer, was born almost a century before the birth of Hermann Hesse. He was a close friend of Friedrich Hölderlin, an idealist poet who dedicated his life and work to themes of love and suffering.
In 1919, at the age of 40, under the pseudonym of Emil Sinclair, Herman Hesse published his Demian. The History of Emile Sinclair's Youth. The writer chose this nickname not accidentally, as he greatly appreciated Hölderlin. Friendship and the quest of a new philosophy of were important to both Hölderlin and Sinclair. Thus these themes are major in the novel.
Emil Sinclair - the protagonist and at the same time the narrator of the novel - is growing up in a small town where life is rigidly regulated by moral and religious dogmas. Some literary critics see the writer's hometown in these descriptions. This is “bright” side of Emil’s life, which is strictly and properly protected. There is also another side, which entices the young man, and this side is “dark”. This “dark” side is the world of servants, street boys, little thieves and criminals. Sinclair is entangled in problems and lies. And there is only one person – Max Demian, who helps the lost boy to solve the problem of his mental confusion.
Emil Sinclair is moving by emotions, and his path is not always straight or predetermined. Demian helps Sinclair in his quests again and again. Friends are looking for a philosophy, that not only distinguishes between good and evil by predefined criteria, but also contains what is on the verge of good and evil.
Another important person that young Emile meets is Demian's mother, Eve. He admires her not only as a spiritual mentor, but also as a woman. However, Emil does not embody this passion in life because "Mrs. Eve" is for him, rather, "a symbol of inner world of his."
Emil’s spiritual search is interrupted by the World War I. Sinclair is severely injured by the grenade explosion. But at the very moment of the explosion, he is experiencing something like a rebirth. Later the young man accidentally meets mortally wounded Demian. He is glad of this meeting, as can finally say words of gratitude and farewell to Max, as has finally found a way to himself.
Hesse created Demian under the impressions of World War I. The novel is the result of his fascination of psychoanalysis by the method of Karl Gustav Jung. While working on the text, the writer decided to undergo therapy with one of Jung's followers. Literary critics see the novel as a "poetic incarnation" of Jung's deep psychology, that is, therapy against separation from the familiar environment for personal reasons and historical circumstances.
Thus, Emil Sinclair, allegedly unknown writer, instructed readers to get out of the dictates of war. Hesse's novel has electrified the audience, as many soldiers in those days were coming back from the trenches entirely bewildered and trying to find new landmarks, which would help them to differentiate between good and evil. Emil Sinclair became an example for young people who went through the war but were just starting to look for themselves.
