Siddhartha — Hermann Hesse

Characters

• Siddhartha: The protagonist of the novel. His name, which means "he who has attained his goals", reflects his journey towards enlightenment. Siddhartha is dissatisfied with the traditional religious rituals and teachings, which leads him to leave his family and home and embark on a spiritual journey towards self-discovery.
• Govinda: Siddhartha's closest friend and follower. Raised with Siddhartha in Brahmin society, Govinda too seeks enlightenment, but chooses to do so by becoming a follower of Gotama (a representation of the historical Buddha). Despite their differing paths, Govinda's story is intertwined with Siddhartha's journey, representing unwavering devotion and faith.
• Vasudeva: An enlightened ferryman who becomes a spiritual guide to Siddhartha. His deep understanding of nature and the river serves as a key metaphor in the novel, providing Siddhartha with the ultimate wisdom of learning to listen and understand the universe around him.
• Kamala: A courtesan who introduces Siddhartha to the world of physical love and sensual pleasure. She falls in love with Siddhartha and bears him a son. Kamala's teachings show Siddhartha the materialistic part of life, a path which he further explores and eventually realizes as hollow and transient.
• Gotama: A character based on the real historical figure of Gautama Buddha, Gotama is a representation of a spiritual leader who had attained Nirvana. Although his teachings influence Govinda deeply, Siddhartha respects but ultimately rejects his approach to finding enlightenment through a system of rules or a prescribed path.
• Kamaswami: A wealthy businessman who introduces Siddhartha to the life of a merchant. His lifestyle exposes Siddhartha to the excesses of a worldly life and its emptiness, eventually motivating Siddhartha to seek a new path towards understanding life.
• Siddhartha's son: Unnamed in the novel, Siddhartha's son embodies the cycle of life and suffering for Siddhartha, as the latter unwittingly inflicts upon his son the very pain and confusion he himself experienced and sought to escape from.

Themes

• The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment: The whole of Siddhartha's journey is marked by his quest for enlightenment and understanding of the self. He undergoes many experiences – from living with ascetics to experiencing worldly pleasures – in his quest to understand spiritual truth. This theme underscores Siddhartha's determination to find personal spirituality, rather than accepting the wisdom of others.
• The Unity of All Things: Toward the end of the novel, Siddhartha realizes that every experience, every person, and every thing are all threads in the same tapestry of life. This understanding that there's an inherent unity to everything represents Siddhartha's enlightenment. It questions the notion of duality and stresses on the interconnectedness of all beings and experiences.
• The Importance of Love: Siddhartha learns the significance of love mainly through his relationship with his son. His incapacity to influence his son and the suffering it inflicts upon him results in a deeper self-observation. This leads Siddhartha to realize that love, with all its joys and sufferings, is central to human existence and enlightenment.
• The Idea of Suffering: Siddhartha comes to realize through his journey that suffering is an essential part of the human condition and awakening. His own experiences with suffering – through love, loss, and struggle – lead him towards his final enlightenment.
• The Rejection of Materialism: Siddhartha’s journey from a prince to an ascetic and then to a simple ferryman shows his rejection of material wealth and societal status. Siddhartha learns that material possessions and indulgences do not bring lasting happiness or enlightenment, but can divert from the spiritual path.
• The Impermanence of Life: This theme is highlighted particularly through the symbol of the river, which is always moving and changing, just like life. Siddhartha's understandings and interpretations of life also change throughout the course of the story, underlining life's impermanent and ever-shifting nature.

Summary

• The book begins with Siddhartha, the son of a respected Brahmin, and his best friend Govinda in ancient India. Siddhartha has led a life of luxury but finds his wealth and privileges meaningless, and feels an inner emptiness, therefore, he leaves his home to embark on a spiritual journey.
• Siddhartha and Govinda set out into the forest where they live a life of deprivation and meditation as Samanas, ascetics who have renounced all material pleasures. Despite his efforts, Siddhartha still feels unfulfilled, realizing that external teachings cannot lead to enlightenment.
• They encounter Gautama Buddha and his followers. Govinda decides to join the Buddhists, but Siddhartha, while impressed by Buddha's wisdom, decides that he must seek his own path towards enlightenment.
• Siddhartha journeys to a nearby city where he meets Kamala, a courtesan, who introduces him to a life of wealth, luxury, and sensual pleasure. He also meets a merchant named Kamaswami and becomes a successful businessman. However, he again feels discontented and realizes that this life of materialism cannot bring him true peace and happiness.
• Dissatisfied with his life, Siddhartha leaves the city and his wealth behind, contemplating death by the river. He falls asleep near the river and when he wakes up, he meets a ferryman named Vasudeva. Following Vasudeva's path, Siddhartha learns to listen to the river, which imparts profound spiritual insights.
• Siddhartha's old life briefly intrudes when Kamala, who is now a follower of Buddha, dies near his river, leaving him to care for their son, also named Siddhartha. However, Young Siddhartha, used to a life of wealth, rejects the humble lifestyle and runs away.
• Siddhartha is devastated, but Vasudeva advises him to let his son find his own way in life. Siddhartha begins to find peace as he embraces the world around him. He learns from the river that all reality is unified and interconnected, leading him to see all of his experiences as necessary steps towards reaching enlightenment.
• When Vasudeva feels that he has learned all that he can from the river, he retires into the woods, leaving Siddhartha to be the ferryman. Govinda wanders by one day, and does not recognize the old man as his boyhood friend, however, he is struck by Siddhartha's serene countenance. When informed that the man is indeed Siddhartha, Govinda asks for his wisdom. Siddhartha responds that wisdom cannot be taught. Govinda kisses his friend's forehead and sees in a vision that all forms of life are interconnected – that is Siddhartha’s wisdom.