I’m glad I didn’t read Demian, say, four years ago (or so). Some of the thoughts offered in the book would probably have had a huge impact on me back then; I was arrogant and proud enough, thinking I was so much above everybody else. I still do sometimes think I’m above the masses, but it’s not the kind of fierce and cold arrogance that I used to feel, nowadays I see it more as a soft and tender understanding, I believe everybody can achieve higher knowledge about themselves, rise above the masses so to speak – but not all choose to do so. I do not pity or despise them for that, I just think they’re missing out on something wonderful.

We all walk in a dream; this world, all the lives in it, everything is a haze, a beautiful one, a comfortable one, but still just a misty dream. And to acknowledge that and aspire to rise above it, see on the other side of the dream, and travel your own path – to me that is the most important thing, and so few people truly do that. People are too comfortable with their lives and, more importantly, being in a dream doesn’t bother them, some don’t even notice and those who do, ignore it. I don’t think they’re any less human than those who do try to wake up from the dream, it’s just the path they’ve chosen and it holds very little interest to me.

I enjoyed reading Demian very much, in a way it is a typical bildungsroman, but following Emil Sinclair’s youth and his maturation was so gratifying that I must give Demian credit for being more than just average or typical. Emil Sinclair’s life (what we’re told of it, at least) is fascinating and full of twists and turns. As his understanding of himself develops, the reader becomes more and more attached to him. A very good read, but I’m glad it took me this long to read the book, as I believe I’m now able to appreciate it the way it deserves to be appreciated.