7.6 /10 1 Votes
Original title Gertrud Country Germany Publication date 1910 Originally published 1910 Genre Philosophical fiction Published in english 1955 | 3.8/5 Goodreads Translator Hilda Rosner Language German Published in English 1955 Publisher Albert Langen OCLC 1845263 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Hermann Hesse books, Philosophical fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gertrud is a novel written by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1910.
Contents
Plot summary
Styled as the memoir of a famous composer named Kuhn, Gertrud tells of his childhood and young adult years before it comes to the heart of the story; his relationships to two troubled artists, the eponymous Gertrud Imthor, and the opera singer Heinrich Muoth. Kuhn is drawn to Gertrud upon their first encounter, but she falls in love with and marries Muoth, whom the composer befriended as well some years before. The two are hopelessly ill-matched, and their destructive relationship provides the basis for Kuhn's magnum opus.
Analysis
Like many of Hesse's novels, there is a strong influence derived from Nietzsche, specifically his work The Birth of Tragedy. Muoth represents the passionate Dionysian elements of art, while Gertrud represents the more refined Apollonian elements. The fact that Kuhn's opera is the result of their relationship suggests the combining of the two elements to form a work of high art.