Hubris, Hamartia, and Other Hero-Related Things with Shawn

Let’s begin with the concept of the ordinary world, the place where the hero starts his journey and is accustomed to but that will ultimately become a site of dissatisfaction. In Siddhartha, this takes the form of his life at home, where he occupies an inherently hierarchical position as a Brahmin, the Hindu caste that possesses a monopoly on religious knowledge (the text states, “The Brahmins and their holy books knew everything, everything”) with the ostensible responsibility of adhering to a life of study and asceticism to transmit these teachings to the other castes that are too busy engaging in worldly activities to pursue spiritual quests (Hesse 6). However, it seems that not all Brahmins take this spiritual responsibility seriously, as Govinda mentions that Siddhartha would not become “an avaricious dealer in magic sayings” or “a wicked sly” priest.  To understand the position of these corrupt Brahmins, it would be helpful to bring in the Marxist theory of commodity fetishi...