Thought I may reflect on duality – which I sometimes feel is an all-encompassing attribute that governs life, science, philosophy and what not. Flesh and spirit. Matter and form. Art and intellect. Emotion and contemplation. Apollo and Dionysius. Wave and Particle. Good and Evil. And so on. Even the unisex culture that people are so excited about these days, is in essence, an acceptance of the equivalence of the interdependent states – the masculine and the feminine. Every concept, every issue and every facet of our life, I feel, can be viewed as an entity made up of two states. They embrace each other to form a whole, and thus appear in the form they do (subject to perception). It is however not necessary to do a forced bifurcation to apply this principle, the result of which could be called an illusion.
Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund is a magnificent work of literature that weaves fiction into the fabric of this seemingly fundamental and atomistic characteristic of nature. As the publisher truly notes: It is a theme that transcends all time. It is a body and soul shaking debate (Note the duality of the phrase!). The two protagonists N and G are portrayed as personifications of opposites - one adheres to a hermetic religious life and another into the more ‘decadent’ artistic life. It is a story of the friendship between these two characters. The dualism seems to be on a collision course, and yet, it only beautifully serves to strengthen their friendship built on differences and ensures that despite years of separation, they continually think of each other and enrich each other's life through a different world view. A duality of reciprocity between images (that serve as the guiding light for Goldmund) and ideas (-do- for Narcissus) is conveyed elegantly.
The novel’s great triumph is the portrayal of the universality of dualism: Hesse not only brings about a union of art and intellect; but he also shows convincingly that art itself in its pristine form reflects a dual nature. True Art, as a practice, as a form of expression is in itself ephemeral. Goldmund senses how his intense love of art could also fleetingly turn to hatred. Through the philosophy of the sublimity of art Goldmund (and hence, Hesse) conveys a sense of union between the father and mother worlds, of ‘mind and blood’. 'Encompassing utter sensuality and pure abstraction, a true work of art merges instinct and spirituality and hence becomes an enigma, one that bears the double face of male and female.'
