Hermine serves two roles. She is both a kindred spirit to Steppenwolf and source of change for him. When Hermine first appears, it is difficult to determine if she is in fact a real character or one of the possible characters the nephew alludes to when describing the "partly diseased, partly beautiful, and thoughtful fantasies" that comprise the manuscript Steppenwolf left behind. Whether or not she exists in the nephew's world, she is certainly real within Steppenwolf's manuscript, and her effect on him cannot be over emphasized.
Hermine recognizes Steppenwolf for what he is the moment she sees him. She is a courtesan, so she has ample experience "reading" men, as well as noting their needs, both physical and mental. After Steppenwolf leaves the professor's house, he goes to the Black Eagle as a way of delaying his impending suicide. Hermine perceives Steppenwolf's desperation, his desire to kill himself, and his fear of death, which prevents his course of action. Steppenwolf is distraught and irrational about his condition, and Hermine knows this. Rather than engage in a fruitless debate over the frailty of the human spirit, and Steppenwolf's in particular, she assumes an immediate maternal role and orders him to eat and sleep. She states, "You're a baby and you need someone to look after you." This role-playing is exactly what Steppenwolf needs. He will not allow himself to deviate from his plan to commit suicide, so such a postponement can only result from submission to a higher authority — in this case, a mother. Steppenwolf is grateful that he cannot refuse her commands.
