Steppenwolf

Protagonist and Novel Information

• The protagonist of the novel 'Steppenwolf' is Harry.
• The book-within-the-book in 'Steppenwolf' is titled "Tractat vom Steppenwolf" (Treatise on the Steppenwolf).
• The treatise in 'Steppenwolf' describes the dual nature of the Steppenwolf, a bourgeois and a wolf-like outsider.

People and Characters

• The person who introduces Harry to the indulgences of the 'bourgeois' is Hermine.
• Harry experiences his fantasies in a mystical, fantastical world, the "Magic Theater".

Publication and History

• The novel Steppenwolf was written by Hermann Hesse.
• The novel was first published in Germany in 1927.
• The English translation of the original German title 'Der Steppenwolf' is "Steppenwolf".
• The first English edition of the novel Steppenwolf was translated by Basil Creighton.

Background and Criticism

• The precursor to the novel Steppenwolf, published by Hermann Hesse in 1926, was a collection of short stories called "Blick ins Chaos" (A Glimpse into Chaos).
• During the writing of Steppenwolf, Hesse's despair and suicidal thoughts returned due to his marriage problems and the death of his mother.
• American novelist Jack Kerouac dismissed the novel Steppenwolf in his book Big Sur.
• The primary criticism of the novel Steppenwolf was that it was too pessimistic and decadent.

Renewed Interest and Adaptations

• Popular interest in the novel Steppenwolf renewed in the 1960s.
• The counterculture movement of the 1960s primarily renewed interest in the novel Steppenwolf.
• Hesse's short story "Klein und Wagner" forms a companion piece to the novel Steppenwolf.
• In Hesse's novel The Glass Bead Game, the term "magic theater" refers to a mystical or fantastical world.
• The 1974 film adaptation of the novel Steppenwolf starred Max von Sydow and was written and directed by Fred Haines.