Description: Hermann Hesse's third novel, Gertrude, explores the irreconcilable elements in art -- what Nietzsche called the Dionysian and Apollonian. Originally published in 1910, this fictional memoir of the composer Kuhn recounts his friendship with the moody, self-destructive opera singer Heinrich Muoth, and Kuhn's unrequited love for the gentle, self-assured Gertrude. While composing an opera, Kuhn introduces Heinrich and Gertrude so they can try out for the leads, and the two fall in love. Though the marriage of this ill-fated couple ends in disaster, with Heinrich's death and Gertrude's breakdown, it also results in Kuhn's opera, which could never have been completed without their friendship.

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