There is … one aspect of Glasperlenspiel which merits more than the rather cursory treatment it has received and which may contribute to a fuller appreciation of the fate of the central figure, Josef Knecht. I shall concern myself with the three Lebensläufe [biographical sketchs] appended to the main narrative….

The students of the province of Kastalien in Glasperlenspiel are granted an indefinite period of time for independent study after they have completed their years of formal education…. The only restriction placed on their activity is the requirement of composing each year a fictitious autobiography in which they portray themselves as imaginary persons, as they would have lived in some particular age in the past…. Josef Knecht wrote at least three of these fictitious autobiographies during his years of independent study. It is known too that he had made extensive preliminary studies for a fourth which was never completed. (pp. 160-61)

[The] themes characteristic of each of the three imaginary autobiographies can also be found in the biography of Josef Knecht up to the time when he is called away from his studies to the service of the Order. Perhaps the outstanding motif is that of the process of the transmission of knowledge, or rather that of education in the literal sense of the word. Knecht's youthful experience with the old music master together with his later association with him has left an indelible impression. The Magister Musicae taught more by example than by any special educational methods. Education therefore is an individual pedagogical process for Josef Knecht; the older man seeks to reach into the spirit of his pupil and to awaken in him the powers which are latent. The reflection of this is found in all three of the Lebensläufe, but with the emphasis understandably shifted from the master to the apprentice…. In all of these instances the younger man seeks out the older, wiser man and proves in varying ways that he is suitable as a pupil, and it is always the individual relationship that is most important in Knecht's educational ideals. There is no thought expressed that the teacher should attempt to influence the great mass of the people or that he should become a great leader among men. On the contrary, it is enough that he transmit his gifts to a single individual.

The idea of an intellectual elite forms the background of the entire novel. Yet for Josef Knecht there is more to the development of an elite caste than the mere selection of those who are outstanding scholars. The elite has responsibilities to itself and to the other levels of society as well. One of the prime purposes of the province of Kastalien is that of providing teachers for the rest of the country, along with the task of keeping the flames of the fire on the altar of intellectualism burning brightly and above all purely. (pp. 165-66)

The Lebensläufe … reflect Knecht's ideas of intellectual responsibility, which are almost always permeated with the idea of service. In Knecht's own biography and in the fictitious autobiographies responsibility is twofold: to the intellect or spirit itself and to the outer world through service, symbolized by the very names "Knecht," "Famulus," "Dasa."…

The theme of service, keynoted by the name "Knecht" and its various permutations leads by way of contrast to a final common theme. Josef Knecht gradually becomes aware of a certain power that he has over other people. We might call it the quality of natural leadership. It is one of the characteristics which eventually lead him to the highest position in the province. (p. 167)

Nowhere in the autobiographies is there any indication that the spiritual-intellectual life is not the ultimate goal, nor do the Knecht figures come to the realization that such a life is not sufficient by itself. In the biography, however, the important point to be made is that Knecht travels through the entire course of the spiritual-intellectual life of Kastalien and then strives for something beyond.

Although the autobiographies do not give a patent solution to the sudden death of Knecht, they are important to a fuller understanding of that central figure, for they are essentially thematic variations on the personality of Josef Knecht. As such they reflect not only certain aspects of Knecht's ideals and character, but also the problems of Knecht's life as they appear to him as a young man. In a sense they present the young Knecht's solution to these problems which are after all the basic problems of the work. In the autobiographies the conflict between the realm of the spirit and the realm of the world is resolved in each instance in favor of the spirit. Devoted service to the spiritual-intellectual world is the key to the solution in each variation. (p. 168)

It is extremely important to reemphasize the fact that Knecht wrote the autobiographies as a young man. His faith in Kastalien as the ultimate way of life for him has indeed been questioned, particularly in his debates with Plinio Designiori, but remains unshaken at that time. He has not yet had the opportunity of seeing the world as he does later through his study of history with Pater Jacobus. Knecht's association with Pater Jacobus sharpens and deepens the problems of the existence of Kastalien which have plagued Knecht all his life, by placing them in historical perspective. In fact, if there is a turning point in the novel at all, it would be found here. The glowing picture of the ideal intellectual life in Kastalien painted in the first half of the novel is seen in the second part to have been tinged with irony…. We should not be surprised therefore to find that the Lebensläufe are at variance with the thoughts of Kastalien entertained by Knecht in the latter half of the main biography. In the Lebensläufe Knecht advocates the spiritual-intellectual life exclusively. In his own life he comes to the realization that there is also another life, the worldly life, which is just as important as the spiritual-intellectual existence.

We must be careful in looking at the Glasperlenspiel as a whole to differentiate between the individual, personal life of Josef Knecht and the symbolic rôle that he portrays. It is perhaps more significant on the symbolic plane that Knecht leaves Kastalien than that he dies suddenly in the icy waters of a mountain lake. His death, however, comes as a distinct surprise tinged with disappointment to the reader. Hesse has gained the admiration and sympathy of the reader for Josef Knecht. It is difficult to believe that he would lead Knecht through the hierarchy of Kastalien and out into the world, only to have him die before he has really experienced anything in the world. We are left, as in so many of Hesse's works, with a paradox and at the same time with a note of encouragement for an eventual solution to the paradox. Knecht is not destined to unite the two poles of life himself, but he does transmit the spark which may enable his pupil to do so. Tito Designiori, the young instinctive child of nature, is deeply moved by the death of his tutor. It is strongly suggested that Tito may attain the synthesis of the two poles of life represented antithetically by Plinio Designiori and Josef Knecht. Even if he should not attain such a synthesis, he has come to an awareness that there is another side of life, different from the one he has known up to that point. He will undoubtedly follow in the footsteps of his tutor in another variation on the master-pupil theme so prominent in all three Lebensläufe. (pp. 169-70)