560 Hesse, Hermann
love in Siddhartha
Siddhartha experiences and learns to recognize the
value and necessity of love from three groups of
people in this novel: his family, his friends, and his
lover. To achieve his goal of oneness, Siddhartha
lives according to different sets of values and beliefs,
and he comes to realize that many people play an
important role in his life and are essential to his
ultimate happiness. Without loving and being loved
he feels alone and dissatisfied, but when he loves,
admires, and respects the things and people around
him, he is able to achieve peace.
When the story begins Siddhartha is a child
and everyone loves him. Though he gives joy and
pleasure to others, he is not content. Thus when he
is a young man, he fears that his parents’ love and
that of his friend Govinda will not be enough to
satisfy him. Because Siddhartha’s father loves him
and recognizes that he truly desires to become a
monk, he permits Siddhartha to leave the family
and join the samanas. Years later, when Siddhartha
has a son of his own, he better understands his own
father’s reluctance. Kamala spoiled their son and
the son does not adjust well to his father’s simple
lifestyle. Siddhartha consequently struggles with his
son’s choices and must learn to grant him indepen-
dence. Vasudeva helps Siddhartha realize that he is
smothering his son with love, through his kindness
and patience, and that he too must permit him to
experience the world firsthand.
After Siddhartha and Govinda part, they remain
friends and their paths cross twice again. Both
times Govinda does not recognize him, but Sid-
dhartha immediately knows that the man is his
childhood companion. The first occasion is after
he has stopped gambling and is contemplating how
to proceed. Govinda sees him and is worried about
a man sleeping in the dangerous forest by himself.
While they talk Siddhartha realizes how much he
loves Govinda and that it was his own inability to
love that had made him so ill. Their second encoun-
ter takes place at the end of the story, while he is
working with Vasudeva. Govinda hears about the
ferryman, who is rumored to be a sage, and he goes
to see him with the hope that Vasudeva will be able
to still his restlessness. When Siddhartha reveals
who he is, Govinda asks him to share any realiza-
tions he has had. Siddhartha tells him that it is most
important to love the world, and though Govinda is
skeptical, he obeys Siddhartha’s final command to
kiss his forehead. Through this act, which was driven
by love, Govinda is also able to achieve the oneness
for which he had been searching.
Vasudeva becomes an important friend to Sid-
dhartha while on his quest. Their first encounter is
brief and takes place after he has left the samanas.
He crosses the river but is unable to pay, because
these monks do not have material possessions, so
Vasudeva asks for his friendship as compensation.
After leaving Kamala, more than 20 years later he
again crosses the river there. Siddhartha stays with
Vasudeva and also takes up his occupation. Here
he is finally able to achieve oneness, by learning to
listen from Vasudeva and the river. Vasudeva has a
successful method to teach Siddhartha what he has
been searching for, including how to love others.
When Siddhartha sees Kamala for the first time,
he decides that he wants to learn the art of love
from her. Though numerous women are attracted to
Siddhartha and he is attracted to many, Siddhartha
had not yet been in love or had a sexual experience.
This changes when he observes Kamala and conse-
quently asks her to be his lover. Through his time
with her, he learns that though love can be won,
bought, received, or found, it cannot be stolen as he
initially threatens; love must be reciprocated if it is
to be enjoyed. Although Siddhartha is not aware of
it when he departs, Kamala is pregnant and their
child will later permit him to experience the joys and
pains of a different kind of love.
Siddhartha spends much of his life on a pursuit
for wisdom and peace. Though he is loved as a child,
he must learn to recognize, value, and reciprocate
these feelings. Through his family, his friends, and
his lover, many of whom he repeatedly encounters
as he grows, Siddhartha comes to acknowledge the
importance of each in his life, and their contribution
to his wholeness.
Christine RinneSpirituality in Siddhartha
The novel follows the main character, Siddhartha,
on his quest to achieve peace and oneness. During
this process he discovers that he must experience