Hesse was married three times, and Demian is a coming-of-age story, so I thought it might provide a bit of insight. At the time, I’d already fallen in love with Carol (that happened long before the divorce) and I was beginning to think through what was, for me, a difficult question that could be voiced in two registers: How can one love in the right way while being so quietly dissatisfied with life? or How can one love while being so mired in oneself?
