description: Moral conviction, not political inclination, determined Hermann Hesse’s participation in German sociopolitical matters. The belief that artists, the ever-alert guardians of human values and cultural heritage, were society’s admonishing conscience, determined Hesse’s sociopolitical engagement, fashioned his considerable body of political articles, and made him a chronic persona non grata in Germany. It was likewise not the spiritual lure of the Orient that drew Hesse eastward – for him, the East was less a spiritual journey than an aesthetic adventure. Although Hesse remained a Westerner in thought and belief, his art acquired an enriching exotic cast and his essays and reviews an added Eastern dimension.This bipartite study focuses upon these two evolving major engagements – Hesse’s continuous adult sociopolitical involvements and his lifelong preoccupation with Eastern thought and belief, both firmly rooted in his family’s passionate Pietist dedication to the service of God and humankind – and their impact upon both Hesse and his writings.
language: English
title: Hermann Hesse: Between the Perils of Politics and the Allure of the Orient
titlecomplete: Hermann Hesse: Between the Perils of Politics and the Allure of the Orient (Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics)
ratings_count: 2
publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers