The first fifty or so pages describe in some detail how the pair first meet, as young novitiates at the ancient monastery of Mariabronn somewhere in North Germany. The two central figures are ‘types’ – of the dry intellectual, the analyser and categoriser (Narziss) and the passionate lover of life, wine and women (Goldmund). If your father’s thankful apprentice can do you a service – name it – it would be my recompense.’ (p.224)īut, as mentioned, it is this low-key but persistent ‘medieval’ style which gives the book its distinctive flavour and tone. I wanted to give you greeting – you, and the Master. ‘Mistress Lisbeth,’ he said, in a friendly voice. Narziss and Goldmund is set in the Middle Ages and both narrative and dialogue are couched in an unobtrusive but persistent cod-medieval style which might irritate some modern readers. By contrast, Narziss and Goldmund maintains a calm, lyrical and mellifluous sonority throughout, leading some critics to call it Hesse’s ‘most lyrical’ novel.

Narziss and Goldmund is longer than its predecessor novel, Steppenwolf (300 pages in the Penguin edition compared to Steppenwolf’s 250 pages). And it’s far more integrated and coherent than Steppenwolf, which is built up from a number of different texts, echoing the fragmented nature of the protagonist’s divided mind. Narcissus and Gold Mouth might begin to sound too much like a fairy tale. Goldmund translates literally as ‘gold mouth’, though you can see why this wouldn’t work so well as a title. ‘Narziss’ is a direct transliteration of the name in original German title, Narziß und Goldmund, but the word also translates as Narcissus, which is why some modern editions are titled Narcissus and Goldmund.

He drew himself, as a wanderer, a lover, a fugitive, with reaping death hard at his heels…

Hermann hesse narziss en goldmund