Journey to the East

to win her love” (9).

After the World War, H.H. says that there was an abundance of mystical peace societies and Bacchanalian groups, which gave some people the idea that the League was nothing but another cult. After one year of probation, H.H. recalls presenting himself “before the High Throne and given insight into the Journey to the East” (10). He was required to tell a man known as the Speaker about his desire to find Fatima. The Speaker confirmed his membership in the League.

After being admitted to the League, H.H. joins a group of 10 people—one group of many—who are making the Journey to the East: “This expedition to the East was not only mine and now; this procession of believers and disciples had always and incessantly been moving towards, the East, the Home of Light” (12). He sees that all of humanity has always been on the pilgrimage to the East, and the goal of every pilgrimage is to return Home.

On their journey, H.H.’s group avoids public transportation. They are frequently mocked by non-believers. One day there is a rumor that a giant named Agramant is being hosted in the tent of H.H.’s leader, but H.H. never sees him. On the way to Swabia the group feels a presence without knowing whether it is hostile or friendly: “It was the power of the guardians of the crown who, since olden times, had preserved the memory and inheritance of the Hohenstaufen in that country” (16). H.H. claims that they received many warnings from the guardians, but does not say what they were or whether they acted upon the warnings. He relays how his account is unreliable: “And yet I am only reporting what was whispered among ourselves; the leaders themselves did not mention a word about it” (17).

H.H. witnesses a young member of the group having doubts about his purpose. One day the man shouts at the Speaker that he is tired of the interminable Journey and of rituals, astrology, and ceremonies. The Speaker tells him that he is released from his vow to the League, and also of his vow of silence, which forbade him from disclosing the League’s secret. But the Speaker says that the young man has forgotten the secret, and so could not have revealed it anyway. The young man protests that he has not forgotten anything and leaves.

The group visits several towns in the coming days. The young man has been to all of them, weeping that has betrayed the League and wishes to rejoin them. The Speaker says only that the young man will not find them. During a conversation with a leader, H.H. asks if they should try to find the young man and redeem him. The leader says, “We cannot aid him. He has made it very difficult for himself to have faith again. I fear that he would not see and recognize us even if we passed closed by; he has become blind” (21).

They meet other groups on the way, and sometimes travel together. One group has as their Bible the novel Don Quixote, and they are traveling across Spain in honor of Quixote’s quests: “Each one of them had his own dream, his wish, his secret heart’s desire, and yet they all flowed together in the same stream and all belonged to each other, shared the same reverence and the same faith, and had made the same vow!” (23). H.H. meets a magician named Jup, a sorcerer named Collofine, Louis the Terrible, Anselm, and a woman named Ninon who is jealous of Fatima’s beauty.

H.H. reveals that he is a violinist and storyteller, and that his primary responsibility to the group is to provide music. But he refuses to provide details to the reader, changing the subject to a group member named Leo. Leo helps carry the group’s luggage and serves as an assistant to the Speaker. Leo is always happy and animals love him. His personal quest is to find Solomon’s key, which will help him understand the language of birds. H.H. digresses, worrying that his memory is failing him. He remembers traveling with the group, but also traveling alone, sometimes for years, and is not sure which is true: “My tale becomes even more difficult because we not only wandered through Space, but also Time” (25). He talks about roaming through the Middle Ages and also the Golden Age and the 10th century. He walks with a former betrothed and spends part of his journey with Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s squire. He also sees many of his childhood friends.

When he returns to the group, he has a realization: “Our goal was not only the East, or rather the East was not only a country and something geographical, but it was the home and youth of the soul, it was everywhere and nowhere, it was the union of all times” (26). H.H. begins to see that when he is happy, it is because he feels that he is experiencing everything imaginable simultaneously. He has no thought for the past, present, or future, because they are all present in him at all times.

In Zurich, H.H. says that they come across Noah’s Ark, which dogs are guarding. They hear a fairy named Armida singing in a castle in Bremgarten. They meet Puss in Boots, the cat from the fairy tale. H.H. reflections on these encounters: “The best of these experiences really worth relating are those which reflect the spirit of it. My description of them seems poor and perhaps foolish, but everyone who participated in and celebrated those days at Bremgarten would confirm every single detail and supplement them with hundreds that are more beautiful” (30). He continues describing the wonders of Bremgarten, and repeats several details. He notices that there is a great number of poets, artists, painters, and musicians at Bremgarten, including Hugo Wolf, Lauscher, Lindhorst, and Brentano: “But however animated their and lovable the personalities of these artists were, yet without exception their imaginary characters were more animated, more beautiful, happier, and certainly finer and more real than the poets and creators themselves” (32).

He asks a servant named Leo why artists appear half-alive, while their art is fully realized and alive. Leo says, “It is the same with mothers. When they have borne their children and given them their milk and beauty and strength, they themselves become invisible, and no one asks about them any more” (33). Leo says that this is the law of service: “He who wishes to live long must serve” (34). Leo claims that those who are meant to rule instead of serve often wind up in sanatoriums, unhappy and crazed.