Following the Treatise on the Steppenwolf, the next section of text includes an encounter with one of Steppenwolf’s former acquaintances. After reading the treatise, Steppenwolf despairs over the two portraits of himself—a self-portrait portrayed in verse, and the self-portrait provided by the treatise. He decides to commit suicide.
After wandering around town, Steppenwolf stumbles upon a funeral procession. He encounters a man whom he believes was the one who gave him the pamphlet, but he’s not certain of the man’s identity. Steppenwolf continues to walk and meets a young professor with whom he used to discuss Oriental mythology. The professor invites Steppenwolf to dinner, and he feels obligated to accept.
Upon arriving, Steppenwolf has a premonition that the evening will not be a pleasant one, and he’s right. He sees a picture of Goethe and is immediately offended and repulsed by the artist’s rendition. The professor points out a newspaper article in which a man named Harry Haller is accused of being a traitor. The professor finds it amusing that the man in the article has the same name as Steppenwolf.
Steppenwolf openly criticizes the portrait of Goethe, which happens to be a prized possession of the professor’s wife. She is offended and leaves the room. Steppenwolf apologizes to the professor for his bluntness. He also admits that he has lied, that he has become an ill-tempered and sick man, and that he is often drunk and inappropriate. As a final blow, Steppenwolf informs the professor that the newspaper article was, in fact, about himself. Then he leaves.
