Emil Sinclair dibesarkan di sebuah rumah kelas menengah yang digambarkan sebagai Scheinwelt (kehidupan dua dunia); antara dunia ilusi dan dunia nyata. Masa remaja Sinclair penuh dengan perjuangan spiritual sejati di mana perjalanan pencarian jati diri tersebut disertai oleh temannya yang misterius, Max Demian. Sinclair memberontak melepaskan diri dari pertunjukan cita-cita dunia yang dangkal dan akhirnya terlahir kembali menjadi dirinya yang sebenarnya.

The story of young Emil Sinclair and his growth into manhood. He is terrified by a local bully until a new boy, Max Demain, who has a strange and unusual power befriends him.

A brilliant journey of the psyche written by one of Germany's most influential writers and thinkers, Herman Hesse First published in 1919 under the pseudonyn Emil Sinclair, Demian follows the life of a troubled German youth as he navigates the duality of a world filled with illusions and spiritual truth. When Sinclair first meets childhood classmate Max Demian, his eyes are opened to the contradictions of his existing Christian knowledge. As Sinclair continues to question his worldview, the two friends are separated and reunited throughout their lives, with each encounter being a vantage for Sinclair to reconcile a world at discord. He ascends on his path to freedom and a realization of self as the friendship evolves in surprising and explosive ways. Demian is a classic coming-of-age story that continues to inspire generations of readers in its exploration of good and evil, morality, and self-discovery.

"No puedo leer a Hermann Hesse sin sentir que me atrae la presencia de una mente profundamente seria, una mente que busca el sentido de la vida." - Carl Jung Una nueva traducción del manuscrito original alemán de la novela "Demian" de Hermann Hesse, ganadora del Premio Nobel. Esta edición contiene además un epílogo del traductor, un glosario filosófico de conceptos utilizados por Hesse y una cronología de su vida y obra. "Demian" es una historia de madurez que se adentra en el viaje de autodescubrimiento de un joven llamado Emil Sinclair, pero con fuertes temas metapsicológicos nietzscheanos y junguianos. Esta novela es significativa por su exploración de la dualidad de la naturaleza humana, las influencias de la psicología junguiana y las etapas de la individuación. Es una intrincada mezcla de arquetipos junguianos, interpretación de los sueños e introspección, que muestra el profundo compromiso de Hesse con las teorías psicoanalíticas de Carl Jung. Sin embargo, la brújula ética de la novela se inclina hacia las filosofías de Nietzsche. Esta influencia nietzscheana se percibe sobre todo en el leitmotiv recurrente: el símbolo de Caín. La elección de Caín por parte de Hesse, el arquetípico primer asesino y villano, ejemplifica el énfasis de Nietzsche en la transgresión de los valores morales tradicionales. En una carta de 1930, Hesse llega a comparar a Caín con Prometeo, considerándolo un símbolo del intelecto y la libertad que se enfrentó al ostracismo debido a su audacia.

Emil Sinclair is a young boy who was raised in a middle class home, amidst what is described as a Scheinwelt, a play on words meaning "world of light" as well as "world of illusion". Sinclair's entire existence can be summarized as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the Hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth. In the course of the novel, Sinclair is caught between good and evil, represented as the light and dark realms. Accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate and friend 'Max Demian', he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self.

A friend's mother, war, and newly discovered self-respect draw a young man toward his psychological awakening.

'Demian' is the story of young Emil Sinclair's quest for personal growth, and the strange people and theories he meets along the way. His 'spiritual guide' is Max Demian, an enigmatic older boy who befriends the troubled youth and, along with his beautiful mother Frau Eva, gradually brings Emil to a deeper knowledge of his innermost self.