Hermann Hesse, Der Steppenwolf [Steppenwolf]

James M. Skidmore (University of Waterloo)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1927

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Metafiction
Novel

Resources

Perhaps Hermann Hesse’s best-known novel, Der Steppenwolf (1927) has for years been a favourite among readers protesting the status quo, the establishment, and middle-class values. A mix of fiction, fantasy, and essay, this work at times seems to defy classification, and even though it is imbued with the spirit of the Weimar Republic and its many critics of Western civilization, it has managed to cross the borders of both time and space, becoming popular in America in the 1960s and doing a great deal to establish Hesse’s reputation outside of German-speaking Europe.

Like Hesse’s two other great novels from the 1920s, Demian and Siddhartha, Steppenwolf was closely connected to its …

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1194 words

Citation: Skidmore, James M.. "Der Steppenwolf". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 February 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11491, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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