Glass Bead Game : Intellect to Equipoise: Philosophical Analysis of Hermann Hessse's Novel

Glass Bead Game (1943) describes a journey of a boy, who rises to the highest post ‘Magister Ludi’, in a pedagogic province called Castalia to the real world to serve the larger culture. He understands the essence of history which helps him to be free from the bondage of that rule – driven system. The philosophical analysis of characters’ chapter-wise development in this novel and the importance of events for describing human development pattern delineates how Hermann Hesse, ‘a writer of man’s interior’ presents his hero undertake self exploration within himself and into the world he lives. This book proclaims that Hesse’s thinking alludes to the interior of an individual journey than the exterior of it. His views provide a deep revelation about all the aspect of human life.

Alka Macwan is an assistant professor at M B Patel College of Education, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India. Her specialization for the doctoral research was Educational Philosophy. Her areas of academic interests are advanced pedagogy, ICT Integration in Education, Guidance and counseling and Educational Research.