Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal
ideas explored in a literary work.
The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment
In Siddhartha, an unrelenting search
for truth is essential for achieving a harmonious relationship with the world.
The truth for which Siddhartha and Govinda search is a universal understanding
of life, or Nirvana. Siddhartha and Govinda both have a fundamental desire to
understand their lives through spirituality, seek to do this by reaching
Nirvana, and start with the conviction that finding Nirvana is possible.
Although Nirvana leads to a perfect relationship with the world and is thus an
end goal that each man aspires to reach, Siddhartha and Govinda differ in what
they’re willing to do in search for this truth. In Siddhartha’s case, when he
becomes suspicious that one path may lead to a dead end, he quickly alters his
course. He is willing to abandon the path of the Brahmins for the path of the
Samanas, to leave the Samanas for Gotama, and then to make a radical departure
from spiritual teachers and search in the material world with Kamala and
Kamaswami. He does not relent in his search and instead continues to follow
whatever path becomes available if he has clearly not yet reached Nirvana.
Govinda is much less flexible in his quest
for spiritual enlightenment. In his quest, he restricts himself to the
spiritual and religious world and persists in his need for teachers. Although
Siddhartha is willing to break with religion itself and to abandon all his
training, Govinda is willing to seek truth only as long as it appears within
the narrow confines of Hinduism or Buddhism and is transmitted by a respected
teacher. As a result, Govinda is unable to see the truth around him, since he
is limited by his belief that truth will appear in the way he has been taught
by his teachers. This distinction between Siddhartha’s unrelenting search and
Govinda’s limited search is the reason why Govinda can attain enlightenment
only through an act of grace on Siddhartha’s part, whereas Siddhartha is able
to find truth through his own powers.
Inner vs. Exterior Guidance
In Siddhartha, Siddhartha learns that
enlightenment cannot be reached through teachers because it cannot be
taught—enlightenment comes from within. Siddhartha begins looking for
enlightenment initially by looking for external guidance from organized
religion in the form of Brahmins, Samanas, and Buddhists. When these external
spiritual sources fail to bring him the knowledge and guidance he needs, he
discards them for Kamala and Kamaswami in the material world, again using an
external source in his quest. These sources also fail to teach him wisdom, and
he knows he must now find wisdom on his own. This realization itself comes from
within. Siddhartha leaves the Brahmins, the Samanas, Gotama, and the material
world because he feels dissatisfied, not because an external source tells him
to go. His eventual attainment of Nirvana does not come from someone imparting
the wisdom to him but instead through an internal connection to the river,
which he finds contains the entire universe.
Vasudeva is a teacher of sorts for
Siddhartha, and thus an external guide, but Vasudeva never attempts to tell
Siddhartha what the meaning of life is. Instead, Vasudeva directs Siddhartha to
listen to the river and search within himself for an understanding of what the
river says. Vasudeva does not tell Siddhartha what the river will say, but when
Siddhartha reveals what the river has told him, Vasudeva simply acknowledges
that he too has received the same wisdom. The river itself never actually tells
Siddhartha what its revelations mean. Instead, the river reveals the complexity
of existence through sound and image, and Siddhartha meditates on these
revelations in order to gain an understanding of them. Govinda, on the other
hand, persists in looking to teachers for his wisdom, and in the end, asks
Siddhartha to teach him the path to enlightenment. Because of this reliance on
an external explanation, Govinda continuously fails to find Nirvana. His final
success, however, does not come as explicit directions from Siddhartha on how
to achieve enlightenment. Instead, Siddhartha acts as a conduit for Govinda, as
the river did for him. He asks Govinda to kiss his forehead, an act that
enables Govinda to see the nature of existence in an instant. Govinda’s final
revelation thus comes through his own interpretation of what Siddhartha shows
him in the kiss. Though interior and exterior paths to enlightenment are both
explored in Siddhartha, the exterior path is roundly rejected. Nirvana
comes from within.
The Wisdom of Indirection
Throughout the novel, Siddhartha pursues
Nirvana differently, and though at first his tactics are aggressive and
deliberate, he eventually finds that a more indirect approach yields greater
rewards. Both Siddhartha and Govinda initially seek Nirvana aggressively and
directly. Govinda remains dedicated to the relentless practice of Buddhist
devotions that are specifically intended to bring about enlightenment, but
Siddhartha eventually rejects these methods and instead relies on intuition for
guidance. Siddhartha points out that by focusing only on the goal of Nirvana,
Govinda failed to notice the tiny clues along the way that would have pointed
him in the right direction. In effect, Govinda tries too hard. Siddhartha
ultimately understands that because the essence of enlightenment already exists
within us and is present in the world at every moment, prescriptive paths
simply lead us further from ourselves and from the wisdom we seek. An indirect
approach is more likely to take into account all elements of the world and is
therefore better able to provide the necessary distance from which to see the
unity of the world.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts,
or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major
themes.
Love
The role of love in Siddhartha’s life
changes throughout his search for enlightenment. The many ways love appears and
the difficulties love poses are vital to the eventual success of Siddhartha’s
quest. Love first appears between Siddhartha and his father, a love Siddhartha
rejects when he leaves his father to follow the Samanas. Love, at this stage,
restricts Siddhartha’s ability to realize spiritual wisdom, and he must abandon
it. In the Buddha, Siddhartha sees love in action, primarily in the form of
compassion, but Siddhartha rejects this love because it is part of teachings
that do not lead him to enlightenment. Kamala teaches Siddhartha the physical
aspects of love, as well as the importance of love itself. However, Siddhartha
is incapable of giving and receiving genuine love at this stage. He has removed
himself from the world so thoroughly that he is not motivated by what the world
has to offer him.
With his son, Siddhartha finally feels love,
but since love is an attachment to the world, it threatens to divert Siddhartha
from his course. Until now, Siddhartha has gained wisdom in the absence of
love, and the love he feels for his son becomes a test of this wisdom.
Enlightenment cannot exist without love, and Siddhartha must accept love,
painful as it might be, if he is to achieve Nirvana. Through Kamala and his son
he has learned to love the world and accept it, not resist it, in its
entirety.. Siddhartha is a part of the world, yet at the same time he can
transcend it.
Om
The concept of Om, which signifies
the oneness and unity of all things, marks key moments of awakening for
Siddhartha. Siddhartha’s ability to finally comprehend Om is his
entrance into enlightenment, but along the way he encounters the idea a number
of times, each time sparking a change within him. He first encounters Om
in his training as a Brahmin. He realizes that though he has been taught what
Om should mean, none of those around him have fully achieved an
understanding of it in their own lives. People who chant the word and
understand the concept intellectually surround him, but their lives do not
reflect the enlightenment that comes from fully embracing the energy of Om.
He hears Om again when he stands near the river contemplating suicide.
Realizing that life itself is indestructible, he must learn to just “be,” not
try to force his life along specific paths. Essentially, he is trying to merge
with Om, which he recognizes as being all around him, rather than
continuously search for a philosophy that accesses it on an intellectual basis.
At the end of the novel, the more he listens to the river, the more aware he
becomes of the complexity of Om and how it involves not only the
physical and spiritual world but also time itself. When he finally comprehends
the word in its entirety and understands that all things exist at the same
moment, all possibilities are real and valid, and time itself is meaningless,
he finally achieves enlightenment.
Polarities
In Siddhartha, Siddhartha finds that
enlightenment does not come from mastering either the material or spiritual
world but from finding the common ground between these polarities of existence.
In the first third of the book, Siddhartha rejects the material world. The
Brahmins, Samanas, and Buddhists all maintain that the material world is illusion,
or Maya, that distracts a seeker from the spiritual truth. Adopting this
belief, Siddhartha completely denies his body and, instead, focuses his efforts
on refining his mind and memorizing the knowledge his teachers pass along to
him. In the second third of the book, Siddhartha rejects the spiritual world
and enters the material world, but relentlessly pursuing carnal desire does not
lead him to wisdom either. Siddhartha battles with other polar opposites as
well, such as time/timelessness and attachment/detachment, but in these, too,
he finds that embracing one and rejecting the other does not lead to
enlightenment. The river suggests this battle visually: the opposing banks
represent the polarities, and the river itself represents the ideal union of
them. Siddhartha finds enlightenment only when he understands Om, the
unity of polarities. He achieves transcendence when he can accept that all is
false and true at the same time, that all is living and dead at the same
moment, and that all possibilities are united in the spirit of the universe.
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or
colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The River
The river in Siddhartha represents
life itself, time, and the path to enlightenment. As a representation of life,
it provides knowledge without words, and Siddhartha’s reward for studying it is
an intuitive understanding of its divine essence. The river’s many sounds
suggest the sounds of all living things, and the flow of the river, as well as
the fact that its water perpetually returns, suggests the nature of time. The
ferryman points Siddhartha in the right direction, but the river itself is
Siddhartha’s final instructor.
The Ferryman
In Siddhartha, the ferryman is a
guide for both the river and the path to enlightenment. The ferryman is
positioned between ordinary world and enlightenment, and those who seek
enlightenment and are open to guidance will find what they need within the
ferryman. Many teachers of wisdom appear during Siddhartha’s search, but each
fails to lead Siddhartha to enlightenment. The ferryman, however, shows
Siddhartha how to find enlightenment within himself. The first time Vasudeva
meets Siddhartha, Siddhartha wants only to cross the river, and that is all
Vasudeva helps him do. Vasudeva is not a teacher who will simply tell
Siddhartha what he should know, but a guide who will lead him where he wishes
to go. Years later, Siddhartha searches for knowledge from the river itself,
and Vasudeva guides him in his attempts to hear what the river has to say.
Siddhartha himself becomes a ferryman after he reaches enlightenment. He guides
people back and forth across the river and eventually helps Govinda find
enlightenment. In Siddhartha, only the ferrymen are able to help
others find enlightenment.
The Smile
The only characters in Siddhartha who
smile are those who have achieved enlightenment, and the smile evokes their
spiritual perfection and harmony. Smiles are scarce among the Hindus and
Samanas and in the material world, since enlightenment cannot be faked or
forced. Only after going through the requisite stages leading to enlightenment
can one express the beatific smile. Siddhartha first sees the smile in Gotama.
The smile evokes Gotama’s saintliness and peace, and it impresses Siddhartha.
Even when Siddhartha argues with him, Gotama responds with a smile, indicating
the balance of an enlightened soul. Similarly, the smile marks Vasudeva as an
enlightened soul, and he too impresses Siddhartha with his peaceful state.
Vasudeva often smiles rather than talks, suggesting that enlightenment is
communicated without words. Siddhartha himself does not exhibit a smile until
he has achieved his own enlightenment, and this smile, in part, enables Govinda
to realize that Siddhartha is like Gotama.