Summary Steppenwolf leaves the gallery exhausted. He is surprised by the door labeled “HOW ONE KILLS FOR LOVE.” Immediately, he recalls his first dinner with Hermine and her statement that she would command him to kill her. Steppenwolf becomes desperate and attempts to rearrange his pieces on the chess board. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Galleries 5-7 (death of Hermine, Mozart, & Steppenwolf’s punishment)Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 4 (lovers)
Summary Steppenwolf returns to the gallery labeled “ALL GIRLS ARE YOURS” as a refuge from the previous adventure. He is transported back in time to the day he met Rosa Kreisler. This is a magical experience for Steppenwolf because he revisits this moment in his life in the body of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 4 (lovers)Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 3 (taming the wolf)
Summary Steppenwolf plans to play chess, but he is distracted by the gallery labeled “MARVELOUS TAMING OF THE STEPPENWOLF.” He recognizes the animal tamer as himself, mean and absurd. The man commands the wolf to perform menial tricks such as kneeling, playing dead, carrying food in his mouth, and retrieving […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 3 (taming the wolf)Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 2 (playing chess)
Summary Steppenwolf contemplates several possibilities for his second adventure including transforming into a plant or animal, Kamasutra, suicide, Eastern mysticism, capitalism, art and music, humor, and solitude. Steppenwolf chooses “GUIDANCE IN THE BUILDING UP OF THE PERSONALITY. SUCCESS GUARANTEED.” He meets a chess player who resembles Pablo. The chess player […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 2 (playing chess)Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 1 (automobiles)
Summary Everyone leaves, and Pablo invites Hermine and Steppenwolf into the Magic Theater. They enter a sparse room with a blue light where Pablo gives them cigarettes and drinks laced with mind-altering substances. Pablo tells Steppenwolf that the “elixir” will allow him to see “the world of your own soul […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Magic Theater, Gallery 1 (automobiles)Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Fancy Dress Ball
Summary Steppenwolf wakes up and gets dressed for the ball. He does not have a partner, so he chooses not to disguise himself and to arrive late. He visits a tavern called the Steel Helmet and observes the other inhabitants. Steppenwolf experiences a sense of farewell and “bourgeois sentimentality.” He […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Fancy Dress BallSummary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Steppenwolf and Hermine discuss death
Summary Hermine and Steppenwolf discuss death. Steppenwolf reveals that he is happier than he has ever been due to Maria, their affair, and Hermine’s friendship; however, he believes that his happiness is temporary. Death awaits him. Hermine agrees and confides that she is waiting for death and eternity as well. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Steppenwolf and Hermine discuss deathSummary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Affair with Maria
Summary Hermine applauds Steppenwolf’s newly acquired dancing skills and his newfound appreciation of jazz. She also dismisses his protest that he is too old to learn about love and sex. Steppenwolf realizes that the treatise was right about the presence of thousands of souls. He believes his friendship with Hermine […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Affair with MariaSummary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: First Date with Hermine
Summary Steppenwolf returns home the next morning and encounters the aunt. She invites him to tea, and they discuss her nephew’s wireless set. Steppenwolf anticipates his date with Hermine. He guesses her name, and she asks if he has learned to dance since their last encounter. Hermine reminds Steppenwolf that […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: First Date with HermineSummary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Meeting Hermine
Summary Steppenwolf leaves the professor’s house and decides to commit suicide that night; however, he realizes that he is afraid of death, and even more frightened of bringing about his own death. Unable to change his mind, he decides to walk the streets in a desperate attempt to delay his […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Harry Haller’s Records: Meeting Hermine