The «Speaking» proper names phenomenon in the onomasphere of the German speaking culture of the XX-th century (on the example of H. Hesse's novel «The Glass Bead Game»)

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (1946, Literature). "The Glass Bead Game" was Hesse's latest novel. The main part of the novel is written in a genre of so-called "pseudo-biography", representing the detailed and plausible biography of the fictional character - Josef Knecht, "Master" of "The Glass Bead Game" who gave his name to all novel. Hesse used in the title of the novel the word "game" and caused numerous discussions about the character of the society by him described: is the activity of "players in beads" really only "the game" of intellectual elite or it represents the practical embodiment of a deep philosophical idea useful to all society? Thence - the general "Faustian" pathos of the novel. The article conducted an associative and etymological research of the Hesse's "onomasticon" presented by the most important in the works of the author proper names - the surname of the main character of "The Glass Bead Game" Knecht and the name of the country of Castalia where the main events of the novel happen. The Pedagogical Province of Goethe's novel "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" was the "literary prototype" and the classic prototype of Castalia. The mysterious "Ivory Tower» (die Turmgesellschaft) from the same novel became probably the "prototype" of the mysterious Castalia institution ... The main character of the Hesse's novel - Joseph Knecht - "the elite pupil" of Castalia. "Der Knecht" is translated from German as "servant", but also has more derogative meanings - such as "lackey", "footman", "farm laborer", "slave". The author has embodied motive of "service" in Josef Knecht's character. Knecht is a faithful knight and the attendant of the citadel of Castalia (Kastell, castel, chastel, castle). It is significant, therefore, that Hesse determined by the main task of the real writer "to be an attendant, the lawyer and the knight of soul". The author of the article carried out an "etymological excursus" and revealed the "synthetic" character of proper names expressed in the deep polysemantic and ambiguity of possible treatment. The name of the character - Joseph - can be treated so ambiguously too. So, in addition to the popular hypothesis about the connection of the choice of the name of the protagonist with the T. Mann's epic "Joseph and his brothers" we assume and prove that H. Hesse has chosen for the favorite character the name of his close friend and therapist, C.-G. Yung' pupil - Joseph Lang. It was the psychotherapist and close Hesse's friend Josef Lang who became the prototype for Pistorius in "Demian", astrologer Long in "Journey to the East", and - as we strongly believe - the protonym of Joseph Knecht in "The Glass Bead Game".

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