As I continue my second major odyssey through the writings of Hermann Hesse, I turn to his first novel, Peter Camenzind, published in 1904.
It follows the story of the titular character, a young man from the countryside, who goes away to college and subsequently embarks on various travels, friendships and cultural ventures. The novel concludes with Peter returning to his home village to support his ageing father.
What I really like about Peter Camenzind is its streamlined and simple format. Also, Hesse does not settle for stereotypical or "obvious" plot elements or characterizations. The tale is laid out in a pleasingly organic way, exuding a charm and fluency which are outstanding even by Hesse's standards.
The character of Peter Camenzind is quite idiosyncratic but eminently plausible, and he does not necessarily conform to what we expect from protagonists in this type of novel, by Hesse or others. The reader is challenged to accept and recognise that we all have our own quirks and that we all react in different ways to our influences, our upbringing and our environment. We are perhaps mistaken if we cherish the notion that all people develop within a narrow set of parameters. Young Mr Camenzind is by no means a caricature.
It is telling, I think, that on revisiting the stories of Hermann Hesse, I am a good deal less receptive to the "supernatural" dimension than I was in the past. Instead, I distil things down to a "philosophical" and worldly interpretation, and I would contend that one does not need to be religious or spiritually inclined to be animated and invigorated by Hesse's observations.
As ever, Hesse demonstrates a great facility for evoking imagery through words, imagery which conjures up a vibrant but believable series of locations and situations. This to me suggests a fertile imagination and an observant mind, in addition to solid and wide-ranging personal experience.
The philosophical drive, if one was intended, does not seem as clear and as strong in this novel as is the case with some of Hesse's others. The reader is left with the task of interpreting much of what transpires within the pages. Apart from the standard Hesse themes of self-discovery and a search for personal identity, the "message" is comparatively diffuse here, and the novel is none the worse for that. Only in his later works would Hesse flesh out and engage with his regular fields of inquiry in more concentrated form.
Peter Camenzind's story is an indication that Hesse's work was more varied than some might imagine, and that it evolved and developed over time. It is also fair to say that keen antennae are required to discern the differences and nuances. Even if one accepts that the author's books cover similar ground, I would rather have writing of this quality, continuity and profundity than that of novelists whose subject matter is all over the map but anodyne. Reading Hesse is a journey and an education, not just a form of "entertainment" or relaxation.
Due to the apparent absence of an all-pervading major theme, the story-line, which is told in the "first person", glides along smoothly, relatively uncluttered by weighty concerns. Hesse is highly adept at basic, enjoyable story-telling, quite apart from his other qualities.
So what did I learn from Peter Camenzind's story? Well, a conception which crops up here and there is the sense that our experiences, good and bad, even if we do not put them to concrete or tangible use, equip us and embolden us to tackle life's ongoing challenges and trials, although we do not always realise this. In addition, what sustains us is a belief, even a confidence, that something good or rewarding will eventually be ours. This faith may be misplaced and unlikely in reality to ever bear fruit, but a tentative form of progress, consciously and otherwise, towards this vague objective is in the main healthy, provided that we do not visualise the ultimate goal too pedantically or obsessively.
Throughout the novel, Nature, and mankind's relationship to it in the modern age, is a recurring topic. The notion of revering and studying Nature as a means of appreciating and loving our fellow humans more fully is put forward. I must confess that this aspect of Camenzind's wanderings and reflections hit home with me, as someone who has become aware from personal experience of the realities of alienation and detachment.
Recognising that we interact with Nature, as well as being part of it ourselves, may assist in renewing some severed connections, as well as enabling us to steer a more fulfilling and mindful course, by breathing in Nature's gifts. Beauty comes in many forms. These questions are arguably even more pressing and relevant today than when Hesse was composing this story.
The portions of this novel which I relished most were those which chronicled Camenzind's travels, especially those to Italy, and the manner in which he relates the healing and soothing effects of mixing with and befriending ordinary people, with their modesty, humility and earthy goodness. It is perhaps not a coincidence that those people lived more closely attuned to Nature and its munificence.
I sensed that in a way Hesse was setting the authenticity and genuineness of common folk against some others who he encountered in the worlds of academia and art, those who had been affected by ego, vanity and ambition. These points do not really feel to me like an attempt to "romanticize" the distinction, but the writer makes them eloquently enough.
Another argument which caught my attention when studying Peter Camenzind was the idea that observing and associating with individuals is often more instructive and stimulating than an "abstract" examination of humanity as a whole. An example of this is the main character's relationship with the disabled man Boppi, a friendship which is documented most lovingly and touchingly. To be of genuine utility and value, do these relationships need to go beyond the superficial level?
In emphasizing such a "grass roots" method of studying people, Hesse may have been effecting another subtle dig at academia and scholarship, who knows? This introduces us to a field which he would return to, in various forms, later in his career.
Hesse appears to be arguing in his accounts of Camenzind's friendships that we need to value our relationships, learn from them, see them as a two-way process, and harness them to improve and enrich ourselves and the world around us. It is never too late to soak up life's beauty and warmth, and never too late to attain a semblance of realization, and we should not necessarily fear death.
I have always been somewhat sceptical of the oft-asserted suggestion that travel "broadens the mind". Perhaps what it does accomplish is to help us to get closer to a clue to our true selves, and put other areas of our existence into a clearer perspective. Introduced to different people and backdrops, we may see things which we previously shunned or decried in a new light. This was another of my take-aways from the Camenzind wanderings.
I find it refreshing and interesting that the story does not have a "natural" or definitive ending, as is regularly the case with similar novels, even those of Hermann Hesse. Many of Peter's plans and ambitions remain unclear and unfulfilled, but his experiences and the things which he has learned and achieved together form part of his identity and his personality, and are the resources on which he will draw as his life moves on.
I would say that Peter Camenzind is one of Hermann Hesse's most concise, rewarding and enchanting works. With its broad but important range of questions it might serve as a useful introduction to the thought-world and style of this remarkable writer.
