Hermann Hesse's 1922 novel Siddhartha tells the story of a man named Siddhartha and his spiritual journey set in ancient India. Siddhartha leaves his home to join ascetic Samanas and later encounters Gautama Buddha and his teachings. Throughout his life, Siddhartha seeks spiritual enlightenment by various means, including through asceticism, living with courtesans, and worldly pleasures. In the end, Siddhartha finds inner peace and wisdom by living simply as a ferryman. The book explores themes of self-knowledge, desire, love, and finding spiritual peace within. Hesse drew from Eastern religions and philosophy to represent India and spiritual

1. Presented by :
Bhatt Riddhiben D.
riddhi28bhatt@gmail.com
Sem : 2
Roll No. : 15
Paper Name : 110 (History of English Literature)
PG Year : 2020-2021
PG Enrolment No. : 3069206420200004
MAHARAJA KRISHNKUMARSINHJI BHAVANAGAR UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

2. 
 Representation of India in the Twentieth Century
European Literature
 Brief Introduction of Hermann Hesse
 Impetus for Writing & His Practice
 Siddhartha
 Storyline of ‘Siddhartha’
 Buddha & his teachings
 Chapter Titles in ‘Siddhartha’
 Theme
 How ‘Siddhartha’ represented India?
& Why we read this book?
Key Objectives

3. 
 Rudyard Kipling: Kim (1901)
 E M Forster: A Passage to India (1924)
 T S Eliot: The Waste Land (1918-22)
 Herman Hesse: Siddhartha (1922)
 Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse (1927)
 H.G. Wells: Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)
Representation of India in the Twentieth
Century European Literature

4. 
Hermann Karl Hesse
 Born : 2 July 1877
 Died : 9 August 1962 (aged 85)
 Occupation : Novelist, essayist, poet, painter
 Genre : Fiction
 Works : The Glass Bead Game
Siddhartha . Steppenwolf
Narcissus and Goldmund
 Depicted in his works :
1. The duality of spirit and nature
2. Body versus mind
3. The individual's spiritual search outside the restrictions of the society
Herman Hesse
(Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hermann
Hesse". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May. 2021)

5. 
 Hesse wanted to cure his sickness with life by immersing
himself in Eastern philosophy
 Hesse lived as a semi-recluse and became totally immersed in
the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures
 Each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity,
self-knowledge and spirituality.
Impetus for Writing & His Practice

6. 
 The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit
language, siddha (achieved) + artha (meaning or wealth).
 The two words together mean "he who has found meaning (of
existence)" or "he who has attained his goals".
What is meaning of ‘Siddhartha’?

7. 
 An allegorical novel that deals with the spiritual
journey of a man known as Siddhartha
 The protagonist spends his lifetime searching for
peace, faith, and meaning
 Siddhartha Takes place in ancient India around the
time of Gautama Buddha
 Likely between the 5th and 7th centuries BC.
 The Buddha's name, before his renunciation, was
Prince Siddhartha Gautama. In Siddhartha, the
Buddha is referred to as "Gautama“
 The novel is structured on the three stages of life of
traditional Indian philosophy:
1. student (brahmacarin),
2. householder (grihastha) and
3. recluse/renunciate (vanaprastha)
Storyline of ‘Siddhartha’
From (“Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.”
Web.10 May 2013. Pinkmonkey.com. 1997.)

8. 
 Any individual who has achieved
 often lightenment without the aid of others
 Generally considered founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha
Gautama Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama
 Suffering is a part of life
 Desire originated from Ignorance and Desire originated
from Ignorance and caused Suffering
 Eliminating Desire and Ignorance can Eliminating Desire
and Ignorance can cause Suffering to subside
 The Eightfold Path leads to cessation of Suffering
Buddha & his teachings

9. 
Part One
The Brahmin’s Son
With the Samanas
Gotama
Awakening
Chapter Titles in ‘Siddhartha’
Part Two
Kamala
Amongst the
People
Samsara
By the River
The Ferryman
The Son
Om
Govinda

10. 
 Happiness :
 Comes from spiritual peace
 Siddhartha seeks in different stages of life
 The Quest :
 Siddhartha’s search for Atman, inner spirit
 Love :(parent/child; male/female) is
 Friendship
 Siddhartha and Govinda and
 Siddharth and Vasudeva the Ferryman
Theme

11. 
 The study of Siddhartha provides not only insight into Eastern
religions thought but also a valuable representation of the
influence of religion and culture on literature
 Provides insight into the theme of ones search for personal
identity
 Protagonist: Siddhartha is restless and seeks self-realization and
inner knowledge.
 Leaves father’s household to join
 Antagonist: Siddhartha’s base: Siddhartha’s base instincts
which lead him to ordinary physical pleasures created by
 Kamaswami: business
 Kamala: prostitute
How ‘Siddhartha’ represented India?
& Why we read this book?

12. 
 The first noble truth tries to address the nature of
suffering
 The second noble truth tries to address the cause of
suffering
 The third noble truth says suffering can be
eliminated by removing or overcoming desire
 The fourth noble truth tries to address the tools
needed to live a more meaningful life

13. 
Hermann Hesse in ‘Siddhartha’
“I have always
believed, and I still
believe, that
whatever good or
bad fortune may
come our way we
can always give it
meaning and
transform it into
something of
value.”

14. 
 Butler, Colin. “Hermann Hesse's ‘Siddhartha’: Some Critical
Objections.” Monatshefte, vol. 63, no. 2, 1971, pp. 117–124. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/30156543. Accessed 24 June 2021.
 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hermann Hesse".
Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May. 2021,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hermann-Hesse.
 Freedman, Ralph. “Hermann Hesse.” Contemporary Literature,
vol. 10, no. 3, 1969, pp. 421–426. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/1207576.
 Gregory-Guider, Christopher C.. "Siddhartha". Encyclopedia
Britannica, 16 Mar. 2017,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siddhartha.
 Malthaner, Johannes. “Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha.” The German
Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 2, 1952, pp. 103–109. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/401276. .
References

15. 