Shedding the Skin

        Siddhartha self-acknowledges crossing the threshold by defining the boundaries that he once

declared upon himself, and further realizing that he no longer needs to be restricted by his self

understanding. Hesse’s Siddhartha chapter titled “Awakening” displays Siddhartha reflecting

on his past set beliefs. At one point Siddhartha “realized that one thing had left him, as a snake is

left by its old skin, that one thing no longer existed in him, which had accompanied him throughout

his youth and existed in him: the wish to have teachers and to listen to teachings,” (Hesse 37-38).

The fitting imagery of a snake shedding its skin and slithering out into the world with a fresh bodily

lining perfectly encapsulates stepping, or more slithering, into a new realm. I consider this point in

the book, in which Siddhartha concedes to a new era of himself, the specific ‘Crossing the

Threshold’ piece of Campbell’s monomyth.

One of Siddhartha’s strongest suits as a character is self reflection. After he ‘sheds his skin’ he is opening himself up to the point of self development in a world that no longer knows his past. Siddhartha reflects and comes to state that “I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself,” (Hesse 38). He was avoiding the step into the new world, content in the initial phase of ‘Separation’. By admitting that he was holding himself back, he allows himself to open up and move past the point that he kept himself at. This makes me question if he is the initial refusal of the call, keeping himself from entering the initiation phase of the monomyth. Realizing he is afraid of himself, he could also be afraid of discovering himself. Stepping into the initiation sector of the monomyth is when a character has to embrace who they are to undergo the changes necessary to eventually become the ‘hero’ in a story. 

A short page later Siddhartha continues his self evaluation of fearing who he is. He must entirely shed his skin and go on to satisfy his desire of wanting to learn from others around him. After mental contemplation he decides to release the self trepidation, “Yes, he thought breathing deeply, I will no longer try to escape from Siddhartha,” (Hesse 39). The self guided therapy and assurance alludes to his future as a Samana and finding peace in himself. This repeated self boundary that continues to build up and find Siddhartha throughout the book is something that I consider to be hurdles in a road of trials. He must continue to jump over them and can almost sense them coming, but to continue on he must meet them head on and work to overcome them. This ‘Crossing the Threshold’ is the primary hurdle that thrusts him into a journey of many more. 

The title of the chapter “Awakening” is fitting for the purpose of beginning a set of new adventures and trials he will be forced to overcome, and for his journey with himself. Siddhartha overcomes the boundaries and restrictions he places upon himself. Once Siddhartha allows himself to move past his fear, he is capable of many more things. His future as a Samana, a father, a ferryman, and a life free from his initial home would not have been possible without stepping out of his known world and into the unknown. He realizes his desire to have teachers and become wise through enlightenment potentially could have gone unrecognized without his self reflection. His ‘Awakening’ in “Awakening” was a fundamental step in becoming the character that he did. He leaves the old known limits of oneself behind and discovers a new world where boundaries can be tested and grown. This places him successfully in the world of initiation, freeing him from his self-decided limits. 

Works Cited

Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Dover Publications, 2000.