The importance of childhood in the SteppenwolfAfter reading The Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse one cannot help but notice the large number of references to 'childhood. Youth, or the "infantile" state, is mentioned in the Treatise, in relation to Dionysian pleasures, in reference to Hermine, and in multiple other contexts. The ubiquity of this motif can be explained by the profound symbolic importance of childhood for Steppenwolf's protagonist, Harry Haller. Although his life as a young man appears to have been rather joyless, Harry retains in his mind an ideal childhood to which he tries, in various ways, to return. "Childhood", for Haller, embodies some qualities that he currently lacks: escape from the seriousness of the world, treating life with enthusiasm and joyful abandon, and indiscriminate love. Thinking about Harry's desire for a "return to innocence" helps Steppenwolf readers better understand some of the protagonist's motivations and his reactions to the people around him. It helps explain, among other things, his gravitation toward the "All the girls are yours" door in the magical theater, his growing enthusiasm for Dionysian pleasures, and his attraction to Hermine (and, equally, to Maria and Pablo). places, Harry finds the temporary respite he is looking for; therefore, for him, issues of love and pleasure (in many cases, sexual pleasure) are inexorably intertwined with the idea of ​​childhood. The presence of the scene "All the girls are yours" is perhaps the most direct manifestation of Harry Haller's mental connection between love and youth. It's interesting to note how many other scenes could have taken the place of this one. Even if he had limited himself to the "young Harry" scenes, Haller could have... middle of paper... a complete picture of his soul. Therefore, readers can certainly approach Harry's psyche from the "child's" perspective when trying to rationalize his thoughts and actions; they simply need to realize, when considering this side of Harry, that there are other aspects of his personality, and think of this interpretation as just one step towards understanding him as a whole. BIBLIOGRAPHY Flaxman, Seymour L. "Der Steppenwolf: Hesse's Portrait of the Intellectual." Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Sharon Gunton. vol. 17. Detroit:Gale Research Company, 1981. 196-7.Hesse, Hermann. Steppe wolf. Trans. Joseph Mileck. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1929. Ziolkowski, Theodore. from The Novels of Herman Hesse. Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1973. 145-6.