Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf addresses division within the self and society, and the effects such divisions can have on an individual, such as loneliness, self-mutilation, and possible suicide. The novel is constructed from a manuscript that the principal character, Harry Haller, or Steppenwolf, leaves behind at a boarding house. The nephew of the landlady writes the preface explaining how he came to know Steppenwolf and why he chose to publish the manuscript. The manuscript, or "Harry Haller's Records," consists of three sections: events that occur prior to the treatise; "the Treatise on the Steppenwolf"; and events occurring after the treatise, namely meeting Hermine and visiting the Magic Theater.
The first section of the novel provides background information on Steppenwolf. The nephew describes Steppenwolf as aloof, intellectual, and "ailing." This description is appropriate, since Steppenwolf does not easily associate with others. His reclusion is due to his aversion of bourgeois society and everything it represents. Steppenwolf is an elitist, but he is also conflicted. He cannot tolerate the conformity, the narrow-mindedness, the empty intellectualism, and the petty pleasures of the middle-class; however, he chooses to live among the bourgeoisie because he likes to observe them. For example, even though he feels contempt for an individual like the nephew, whose pride lies in a clean home, a well-paying job, and a sense of duty, he observes and converses with him because he is fascinated by the nephew's ability to find satisfaction with these things.
Steppenwolf's internal division further complicates the novel. He is not only driven by his need to separate himself from members of an inferior social class, but he is alienated from them because of his mental state. Steppenwolf believes he has a dual nature — part human and part wolf — which prevents him from finding contentment. Society considers such internal divisions of the soul unacceptable, so in order to avoid the label "schizomaniac," Steppenwolf is forced to conceal his divided nature from those around him and/or separate himself from others as much as possible. On the one hand, such alienation is not undesirable, because it permits him to distance himself from the bourgeoisie. On the other hand, such isolation is enough to drive a person to madness. After all, "Harry wished, as every sentient being does, to be loved as a whole"; yet, such unconditional acceptance is not possible unless he is dealing with another Steppenwolf.
