Extremely refined writing by Hesse that explores the conflicting relationship between Eros and Logos, here embodied respectively in the figures of Boccadoro and Narciso, all set against a medieval backdrop that is both alluring in its lights and shadows. The entire work maintains more than excellent tracks, but the final pages in which Eros, after dense discussions, seems to emerge victorious, with the serene departure of Boccadoro, now mature and aware, leaving Narciso in his deepest crisis, are breathtaking.
“But how do you want to die someday, Narciso, if you have no mother? Without a mother, one cannot love. Without a mother, one cannot die.”
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