The novel “Gertrude” (1910) belongs to the early period of the work of Hermann Hesse. The story, which has been repeatedly called the artistic embodiment of the motives of Nietzsche’s “The Birth of Tragedy,” is dedicated to the drama of a young composer forced to choose between the “reasonable” and “spontaneous” beginnings in his work. The real details of Hesse’s life and the traits characteristic of him, “gifted” to various characters, give the book a special, deep meaning. What is art? Self-denial - or spiritual permissiveness? Why is a person of art doomed to eternal loneliness? Each of the heroes of Hesse’s novel answers these questions in his own way...