Friendship In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

Having friends around is a great thing especially when days goes bad or when individuals just need some moral support to do something. Although friendships might seem like a good thing, sometimes separating from friends can help individuals find meaning in life. In Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, Siddhartha leaves his best friend to find a new path of life and find himself. He changes religion, becomes a ferryman, finds a wife, pictures his friend as a female and does weird things to her, and finds new friends. With the separation of friends, Siddhartha digs deeper to stay friends and not forget them. Hesse has Siddhartha leave his wife and his best friend Govinda; however, Siddhartha makes sure he makes the right decision even with them not right there but there in spirit. …show more content…
Siddhartha says, “Often I have thought: will Govinda ever take a step without me.” When Siddhartha leaves Govinda, he does not think Govinda will go anywhere in life without his best friend. Govinda and Siddhartha has done everything together and if they split, what will happen to both man. Siddhartha moves on after leaving Govinda to make a new path and experience different life experiences. Additionally, leaving Govinda frees Siddhartha from the burden of having Govinda follow him. Siddhartha tells himself, “He was my shadow and is now Gotama’s shadow.” Govinda was like holding Siddhartha from moving on with his life until Siddhartha left him. Siddhartha was happy that Govinda was not with him anymore and he was following someone else. With Govinda not shadowing Siddhartha anymore, Siddhartha is allowed to move on with his life and try to fix it. Now Gotama has to deal with Govinda and the burden and shadowing of