Steppenwolf

Hermine is a young woman Haller meets in a bar, and she bears a striking resemblance to Haller’s childhood friend, Herman. Hermine is boisterous and social, and she claims to “live off” men, implying that she sustains herself through gifts and favors from men she woos. Though Hermine’s life apart from Haller is never shown, she implies that, like Maria, her life is subject to the conditions of her profession, implied to be a form of sex work. Hermine, Maria, and Pablo all have multiple, polyamorous relationships, including with each other. This sexual and romantic freedom shocks and entices Haller, helping him to break free of the social conditioning that has caused him to repress his impulses. Hermine praises Haller’s intellect and Pablo’s creativity, though she possesses both traits herself. Hermine’s primary characterization is as a mirror to Haller, reflecting another side of his own personality.

Hermine functions as a love interest in the novel, becoming Haller’s mother, then his friend, and finally his romantic partner, if only for short periods of time. When they first meet, Hermine gives Haller orders, placing herself in the role of a parent as she calls Haller a “silly baby” and tells him to eat and drink. Once they begin dancing, Hermine becomes a friend to Haller, confiding in him and listening to his theories about himself and the world. Critically, as his friend, Hermine contradicts Haller on occasion, such as when she insists that people have always lived as they do in the modern era, with only material conditions changing over time. In the final section of the novel, Hermine transforms into Herman, then reappears as herself and becomes Haller’s lover. This transformation, too, exposes how Hermine becomes what Haller thinks he needs most, such as a return to the past through Herman and a path forward with a lover.

The end of the novel reveals that Hermine is not a real person. Rather, she is Haller’s doppelganger and a facet of his personality.

Pablo is a jazz musician whom Haller meets through Hermine. While he does not talk to Haller at first, they become friends once Haller progresses further on his journey toward understanding himself and finding humor. Pablo is a specifically talented musician, with both Hermine and Maria praising him as the best musician in the different bands in which Pablo plays. Some critics have suggested that Pablo is based on the real jazz musician Sidney Bechet, with whom Hesse became friends. Pablo has a talent for identifying people’s needs, such as identifying Haller’s melancholy and prescribing illicit drugs to Haller and others. In the end, Pablo guides Haller into the Magic Theater with Hermine, providing the magic cigarettes needed to enter the theater, and he also provides the conclusion to Haller’s experience once the magic cigarettes wear off.

Pablo is an archetypal sage or mentor in the novel, but he also integrates elements of the trickster or joker archetype. He is often unclear or mysterious in his guidance, and he attempts to push the boundaries of what Haller finds acceptable. For example, when Pablo suggests an orgy with Haller and Maria, he is prodding at Haller’s sexual repression, which opens the door for Haller to think more about what he wants sexually. Later, in the Magic Theater, Haller gets to explore these possibilities, having sex with as many as four people at once. Likewise, Pablo provides Haller, Maria, and Hermine with cocaine and opium, both illicit drugs that gained some popularity in the 1920s. Knowing the dangers of these drugs, as well as their potential use in exploring the self, Pablo is effectively mixing his roles as a mentor and trickster to Haller.

Like that of Hermine, Pablo’s true role in Haller’s journey is revealed in the end of the novel, when Mozart transforms into Pablo and Haller realizes the Magic Theater was not real. Though Pablo changes Hermine into a chess piece, this action calls into question whether Pablo is a real person or another reflection of Haller. Since Haller shows the potential to become an “immortal,” and Pablo displays many traits of the immortals, the novel suggests that Pablo represents the fragment of Haller’s personality that has already reached satisfaction.

Maria is a friend of Hermine and Pablo, and she lives a similar life to that of Hermine. Like Hermine, Maria implies that she is involved in sex work, and she remarks on the tumultuous life she and Hermine lead. When she is engaged with a wealthy man, Maria enjoys the comforts of bourgeois life, but in the absence of such an engagement, she is forced to live precariously. However, Maria shows her intelligence and passion with Haller, who objectifies her as a “gift” from Hermine. Ultimately, Maria knows that Haller will choose Hermine as his lover, and she laments that Haller will inevitably leave her. This paradigm establishes Maria as a milestone in Haller’s journey, meaning Haller needs to learn how to love in a polyamorous situation with Maria before he can enter the Magic Theater.

Maria’s role as a milestone in Haller’s journey toward fulfillment is inherently objectifying, lending credibility to Haller’s view of her as a “gift.” However, this view is complicated by the reveal in the end of the novel that Hermine is not a real person. Since Maria is Hermine’s friend, and Haller meets Maria through Hermine, the novel implies that Maria is also a fragment of Haller’s personality. In this respect, Maria is another side to Haller, in which he can dedicate himself fully to passion and love. Much as Hermine and Pablo do for Haller, Maria helps Haller see the ways in which he limits himself, allowing him to explore sides of himself that he previously assumed were inaccessible. Specifically, Haller is confused that Maria finds both Haller and Pablo attractive, since Haller does not possess Pablo’s humor or charisma. However, Maria’s interest in Haller confirms that his negativity and aloofness are limits he places on himself, not insurmountable barriers between him and love.