In Hermann Hesse’s, “Robert Aghion,” we take a road less traveled with a missionary whose only plan is to spread the word of God to the people of India. However, like most things in life, people change as do the plans that they hold. Aghion had other things in mind when leaving for his voyage to India. There is a great amount of truth in saying that he wanted to teach the Hindu’s about the glories of Christianity, but he also craved the excitement that would derive from such a new place. Aghion was like any other Englishman, he wanted to learn and explore. Exploration is exactly what he did once he arrived.
Aghion lived a multi-cultural life once in India. His voyage can be expressed with three words: missionary, dreamer, lover. Each word has a certain significance in Aghion’s life. There are many conflicts that arise to his attention after living in India, and he has to defeat them to the best of ability. While doing so, he manages to conquer other areas without putting forth any great effort. As a missionary, one’s duties are to fulfill a quest of bringing the word of God to those less fortunate.
Aghion had convinced his parson to allow him to flee to India to pursue successful sermons that would bring the filthy heathens to the lord. However, as everyone had expected, Robert had another passion other than using his mind. He wanted to see a new life filled with new objects and creatures. While he may have had an extreme love for God, he had a hidden secret, a zealous for nature. This can almost be considered his first conflict in the story. Which was more important, God or nature? It is about mid story that Aghion begins to become completely frazzled, and flustered about everything that crosses his path.
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He doesn’t know how to handle this new situation, or conflict if you will, and has wretched dreams about the present he is living in. Aghion’s dream is filled with twisted ideas not like any other that he had ever had. He was dreaming of the harmonious sounds that had erupted out of the animals like that of the loud clapping of thunder. All of the visions that he had were much like a paradise to him. Animals bowed down to him as if here were their master. This puts an interesting irony on the story as a whole because Aghion who once worshiped God, had now put himself on the same plateau as God.
Although all of this was as magnificent as could be, he couldn’t help but feel a certain tang come over him as he stood in the middle of his “heaven.” There he was with everything he could have ever wished for yet an overwhelming sense of guilt had taken over. What was he doing? Just as he was pondering his actions, Mr. Bradley had appeared. Bradley was his overseer and host. Aghion had been staying with him all along and failed to form any solid relationship with him. He left Aghion with insulting words just as he disappeared from his safe haven: Aghion was a lazy scoundrel; his patron in London was paying him to convert the heathen, and instead he loafed and roamed about the country looking for bugs.
After hearing this, Aghion realized that he was neglecting his duties as a missionary. The next scene in his dream is at the feet of the Hindus. This was his time, it was no or never. He had to preach to these people to not only bring the word, but to also prove his ability to change the minds of the heathens. As Robert stood there, he tried to show the people that his God was much better than their gods.
Why not praise one worthy man, than to praise the idols and elephant trunks. He begins telling them that their gods are nothing compared to his. As he turns towards Christ, everything had changed. God now had three heads and six arms. His smile was that of an all knowing grin that was seen mostly on the images of Indian gods. There he stood, alone in his own foolishness.
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Not only had his patron left him, but God was turning on him too. God waved his welcoming arms toward the Hindu temples. Everything was in shambles just as it was before the dream. Aghion had mixed feelings about the Hindu women and was forsaking his God for that of the bugs. Aghion turned to see Naissa, the woman that had confused him from the start and kissed her. Now he had completely slid away from everything he had ever known.
He was hoping for a response from her but before she could answer, he awoke from his dream. Now what? Conflict was not even the word to describe what was happening now. What was this missionary to do? Or should we say, dreamer? With Naissa on mind, Aghion knew that he had to change or go with this new found life. He chose to walk in the opposite direction and find Naissa.
He stumbled over something very strange once arriving in Naissa’s hut. He saw a beautiful woman that was Naissa and greeted her. Her soft eyes compelled him and he proceeded to lust on her. Time passed and she walked back towards her hut. Just as she was about to enter, another beautiful woman emerged. Only this time it was actually Naissa.
He had lusted over the wrong girl that day. It was at that moment that he realized that he had more soul searching to do because he was far from his original path. The lover in Robert Aghion turned out to be just like the missionary and the dreamer, a failure. If he were not to be a lover either, then what was his calling? Time would tell this misguided missionary eventually.
His only duty now was to wait. The main theme in “Robert Aghion” is the conflict that he suffers from beginning to end. From a missionary, to a dreamer, and finally a lover. Unfortunately, he never finds a solution to any of his questions. We can easily relate this short story to our own lives because most people start off on a road that is meant to help others and wind up on a path of destruction due to the all-powering egotistical self.
Aghion wanted to help others but only after he helped himself. He wanted to live the best of both worlds and Hesse portrays that in a short, fictional tale. While Aghion may not have completed any of his tasks as a missionary, he learned a valuable lesson along the way. Life is too short to concentrate on just one thing, however we must take into consideration that moderation is always best when dealing with our hardships. For Aghion, moderation may have been the key. Had he focused more on his original plan and left time for his other passions, his life may have been drastically different.
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It may have even been for the better.
