Steppenwolf Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Steppenwolf Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Araucaria (symbol)

When Harry first saw the Araucaria plant in the lobby of his dwelling house, he was delighted. Araucaria and smell of cleanness acts as a symbol of the bourgeois order: "Don't you smell it too, a fragrance given off by the odor of floor polish and a faint whiff of turpentine together with the mahogany and the washed leaves of the plants — the very essence of bourgeois cleanliness, of neatness and meticulousness, of duty and devotion shown in little things". This plant made Harry think about his life, although he felt himself as if he was excluded from it a long time ago. Thus, Araucaria is a beacon of the lost world and a symbol of the bourgeoisie hated by Harry.

Mirror (symbol)

While reading a book, we realize why 'Mirrors' occupy a central place among the symbols in the book, full of multiplicity of individuals and immersion in their own soul. A trip to the Magical Theater is a chance to look at 'mirror' of ourselves and find a shelter for those parts of our personality, who deeply fell asleep inside us. The novel is full of "reflections". Even the "Trait on Steppenwolf" can be seen as a symbolic mirror, which is especially liked by Harry Haller. There are also persons who represent one more type of a mirror in the novel. Hermine is the most important among them. She serves as the best-needed mirror for Harry. He notes that "looking at Hermine is like looking at a mirror". Moreover, according to Hermine, Haller also shows her aspects of her soul to which she was previously blind. So, they are a reflection for each other.

Chess pieces (Allegory)

The meaning of сhess pieces lies in the personification of all those parts into which the personality decays. Steppenwolf told that he saw the integrity of his personality splits into many "I". Their number seemed to have increased without end as they become smaller and smaller, "somewhere as big as chess". The dozens of such figures were put on the 'chessboard' (that stands for life of the person), where they have to go through their 'game'.: “"Then be so kind as to place a few dozen of your pieces at my disposal." "My pieces—?" "Of the pieces into which you saw your so-called personality broken up. I can't play without pieces."”

Mozart Symphony (Motif)

The fact that Harry loves music greatly is clear from the very beginning, when it is described what happens to Haller while listening to the symphony. As we know, Mozart is the greatest idol of Harry. Two things stand out the most, among the most disappointing in the contemporary popular culture - it's a radio and a gramophone. Haller does not like this approach to contemporary music, because music is spiritual and sacred. for him This high attitude to music is inherent in the German aesthetic theory of romanticism, which regards music as one of the most important art.

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