Steppenwolf

Haller and the professor’s wife make awkward conversation while they wait for the professor. Haller sees a portrait of Goethe, which he dislikes because it depicts an idealized version of the poet. The professor arrives, and he tells Haller about an article in a newspaper criticizing another man named Haller for being unpatriotic. Haller knows that he is the man being criticized, but he does not say anything. During dinner, conversation is stilted, and they end the meal in silence. In the drawing room, Haller openly criticizes the image of Goethe, which offends the professor’s wife. She leaves, and the professor says Haller should not speak so openly. Haller says Goethe would have spoken openly, confesses to the lies about his living situation, and admits to being the Haller criticized in the paper. Haller leaves and plans to end his life that night. The wolf inside him relishes having offended the professor.

Haller wanders the night and fights with himself, knowing he wants to end his life if he returns home. He finds the Black Eagle, a tavern and dance hall. Inside, he sits with a young woman who reminds him of someone from his youth, but he cannot remember who. The woman asks his name and situation, and Haller says his name is Harry and he cannot go home. The woman tells Haller to drink some burgundy, orders him a sandwich, and cleans his glasses. While she talks, she commands Haller to eat and drink, and she calls him a baby. Haller explains the picture of Goethe, and the woman laughs at him. When Haller says living is harder than dying by suicide, she tells him he is already making progress toward living. She asks him to dance, but he says his parents never allowed him to learn. She makes fun of him, saying his parents are dead and he has never truly lived. She decides to dance, and she tells Haller to sleep. Haller is attracted to her, and he obeys her, closing his eyes. Though he thinks he will not be able to sleep in such a noisy place, he laughs to himself and drifts off to sleep.

Haller dreams he is entering a hall to meet Goethe while on assignment with a newspaper. There is a scorpion nearby that worries Haller. Haller hopes Molly, a character from a poem by Gottfried August Bürger (spelled Beurger in the text), is there. Goethe is old and wears a medal. Haller agrees with Goethe that modern people do not appreciate classic art enough, but he criticizes Goethe for being insincere. Goethe finds Haller’s accusation humorous and applies it to Mozart. Haller says Mozart did not live long. Goethe wanted to live forever when he was alive, and he says eternity happens in a moment, just long enough for a joke. Haller asks about Molly, and Goethe shows him a small leg. Haller wants the leg, but he fears it is the scorpion. Goethe dances, and Haller laments that Goethe took the time while alive to learn to dance, while he did not. Haller wakes up to the woman in the Black Eagle asking him for some money.

The woman says she is going to another bar with another man, and Haller is disturbed. He asks her to stay with him and offers to go wherever she wants. She rejects his offer, saying she needs to keep her promise to the other man. She arranges a room for Haller at the Black Eagle, so he can avoid the “razor,” or suicide at home. She tells him that his criticism of the Goethe portrait aligns with her own feelings about portraits of the saints, which often depict them in ways she finds ludicrous. She makes fun of Haller’s arrogance, and they make plans to meet on Tuesday night for dinner. Haller sleeps at the Black Eagle and wakes the next day thinking of the woman. He returns home, and the aunt greets him. He feels social and has tea with her, discussing issues of religion and science. Haller says time is the last illusion to be breached by science. The “razor” remains threatening, but Haller is excited that the woman from the Black Eagle might teach him to live again.

Haller enjoys his anxiety over his date, shaving, buying new clothes, and pacing in anticipation. He brings orchids to the restaurant, and he marvels when the woman arrives. She is impressed with the orchids, praises and criticizes his appearance, and laughs and chides Haller for not yet having learned to dance. He asks her name, and she wants him to guess it. She says she sometimes looks like a boy, and Haller thinks she looks like his friend Herman from childhood. She says her name is not Herman, and Haller guesses her name is Hermine. She confirms, and she says she is a mirror to Haller. Becoming serious, Hermine says she was drawn to Haller because they can understand each other, and Haller must follow all her orders. She says her plan is to make Haller fall in love with her, which will restore his desire to live. She says she lives off men, but she will not live off Haller. However, she will then ask him to kill her, which he must do. Haller is disturbed, and he wonders how such a lively and happy woman could want to die. He tells Hermine about the treatise, and she laughs, thinking the idea of being a Steppenwolf is ludicrous. She calls Haller a little boy, but she says that animals are “right.” Explaining, she says animals are never embarrassed and always know what to do.

Hermine says Haller must get a gramophone so they can practice dancing. Haller agrees, but he cannot imagine enjoying modern music compared to his Mozart and books. The next afternoon, they meet again. Hermine asks Haller about the article in the newspaper criticizing him. Haller explains that he wrote against WWI while it was happening, opposing jingoism and encouraging the German people to look inward for the source of the war. Others, under the guise of patriotism, lashed out at Haller for lacking faith in his country, but Haller knows they only want another war. Hermine agrees that war is inevitable, but she says that fighting it is like trying to fight off death. Haller worries that this paradigm makes life meaningless, and Hermine says she will bring meaning to Haller’s life. They shop for gramophones, and Hermine makes them go to many shops to find the best one.