Gertrude

In this novel the central theme is the narrator’s enduring and hopeless passion for Gertrude, who marries his friend, a famous singer. The narrator/composer, Kuhn, is destined to watch passively while Gertrude and his friend slowly destroy each other — a destruction which culminates in the singer’s tragic suicide. Hesse with his customary insight and penetration traces the effects of unrequited love on the emotional development of a sensitive young composer.

Gertrude was the first novel by Hermann Hesse published in English and not part of an anthology. The novel deals with the destructive nature of love and the restorative powers of music. “Music was important to Hesse,” says Thomas Fasano, who wrote the Introduction to the book. “As a child he loved to listen to the church organ, learned to play the violin, and developed a passion for Chopin. His interest in music and painting and his lifelong association with musicians and painters greatly informed his writing.”

Literatura Estrangeira / Romance