1. Chapter 9: The Ferryman Feraco Search for Human Potential 18 October 2011

2.  In “The Ferryman,” Siddhartha’s back at the same river, looking for the same man – restarting the cycle that he messed up the first time  River as Exhibit A for the Three Universal Truths: “But today he only saw one of the river’s secrets, one that gripped his soul. He saw that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new. Who could understand [or] conceive of this? He did not understand it; he was only aware of a dim suspicion, a faint memory, divine voices” (83)  Anicca and anatta: non-self, capacity for reinvention, responsiveness to what’s around it, etc. Siddhartha

3. Siddhartha  Clothing plays an important role in indicating Siddhartha’s stages of identity  Siddhartha has decent clothes in the village, trades them in for a loincloth as a Samana, gets some nice clothes in the town, etc.  “Oh, you would soon lose your taste for [ferryman’s work]. It is not for people in fine clothes,” [Vasudeva replied]. Siddhartha laughed. “I have already been judged by my clothes today and regarded with suspicion. Will you accept these clothes from me, which I find a nuisance?” (83-84)  In short, his old identity doesn’t “fit” him anymore

4.  He’s starting from scratch, as his clothing seems to indicate great wealth that his frustration belies  In reality, his old life left him with nothing of value  Reflect back on the Kamaswami conversation to open “Amongst the People” for a comparison  Siddhartha wishes to “learn how to handle the boat” – i.e., learn how to navigate through life  Vasudeva wants to know why he’s “tired of his fine clothes” – i.e., why he’s so eager to abandon his old life and identity  So Siddhartha talks, and talks, and talks… Siddhartha

5.  “It was one of the ferryman’s greatest virtues that, like few people, he knew how to listen…Siddhartha felt how wonderful it was to have such a listener who could be absorbed in another person’s life, his strivings, his sorrows.”  Listening implies a focus on others, whereas talking implies a focus on one’s self  If you spend all of your time focusing on yourself, it’s impossible to see the connections between yourself and the world around you Siddhartha

6.  It’s one of the reasons that desire (and the consequent suffering) prevents people from seeing the deeper meaning in their lives: you’re so caught up in what’s happening to you that you miss out on the perspective that shows you what’s really happening  That perspective requires you to be aware of how you fit within a larger whole; what kind of puzzle piece are you? Siddhartha

7.  By continually viewing himself as superior to and separate from others – when he really isn’t - Siddhartha always misunderstands how he fits  As a result, he can’t find the peace and enlightenment he seeks  Notice how often characters misunderstand others’ words, actions, or desires; they’re trying to figure out how they fit the puzzle as well Siddhartha

8.  One more thing of note: Hesse exaggerates how rarely Vasudeva speaks, or how little he knows; he speaks when there’s something worth saying, as seen in Chapter 10  As we’ve mentioned before, he doesn’t need to speak often – he’s enlightened!  In short, you speak when you’re trying to figure things out; when you know, you listen  How different would education be if we operated the class this way?  Socratic methods… Siddhartha

9.  Vasudeva insists that he learned to listen from the river, and that Siddhartha will learn as well  They spend a lot of time together – the book essentially passes over twelve years in a “montage” here  You’d think this means Siddhartha’s wasting his time, but he’s really just recovering  The chapter resumes with Kamala’s ill-fated voyage to see Gotama before he passes away Siddhartha

10.  She’s beholden to her son, a deeply spoiled child of eleven, and he’s essentially dragged along on the trip  Constantly complaining, he often pulls Kamala off the path  It is, perhaps, a bitter irony that Kamala is trapped by the connections she forms – she who, according to Siddhartha, cannot love  Eventually, his selfishness leads to her death: the black snake, that old symbol of desire and temptation, poisons her while he eats Siddhartha

11.  She lives long enough to see Siddhartha again, and their parting is bittersweet  Siddhartha still doesn’t care for her as much as she does for him, but he reassures her in her last moments; in his own broken way, he does love her  The chapter ends with Kamala’s funeral pyre and burial, and the readers are left hoping she’ll have better luck next time Siddhartha