Possessed by the shadow saint: A Jungian interpretation of the death of Hermine in Hermann Hesse's 'Steppenwolf'

Hermann Hesse's introduction to Jungian analysis initiated the second period of his oeuvre, as seen in Steppenwolf (1926), and allowed him to further his conception of the Geist-Natur polarity within himself. Although Jungian psychology and the novel's Treatise call for the acceptance of Natur and other denigrated poles (complexes) of the psyche, protagonist Harry Haller singularly pursues the culturally sanctioned pole of Geist. Thus throughout the novel, Haller remains in the grip of a Geist-complex, the Frustrated Saint, whom he projects upon the Anima Hermine. Possessed by this complex, she commands Harry to kill her, which he later does while possessed by the complex himself. This thesis explains the Jungian psychodynamics of the command and murder of Hermine and also explains how Haller could have used The Treatise's prescribed method of humor to differentiate himself from the Frustrated Saint complex, confronting it rather than being overtaken by it.