SOURCE: “The ‘Garden’ in the Works of Hermann Hesse,” in German Quarterly, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, January, 1951, pp. 42–50.

In the following essay, Jehle discusses Hesse's use of the garden motif in Siddhartha and other works.

A study of Hesse's works reveals the fact that through the garden motif much of his inner world and development can be studied, and the symbolic character of the use of gardens becomes more and more apparent. A number of critics of Hesse's works have suggested that a study of the use of water and clouds should be most interesting. It seems strange that the garden as a motif worthy of study was not mentioned, although Hesse's love for his own gardens is well-known. Hesse has often written about his different gardens, as in the sketch Einzug in ein neues Haus or the poem in hexameters Stunden im Garten. There is hardly a work...