Time does not exist; love is eternal; death brings peace. Siddhartha illustrates each of these themes in the novel Siddhartha. Throughout his life, Siddhartha is very independent. For example, Siddhartha demonstrates self-determination when he leaves his overbearing father “to begin the life of the Samanas” (Hesse 10). There, he escapes from the physical world only to quickly realize that enlightenment cannot come by ignoring the world around him. He decides to follow the Buddha and learn his teachings; however, he fails. As Siddhartha travels his unaccompanied journey to Enlightenment, he realizes that he must let go of those he loves and “that every man must find the way for himself” (Malthaner 3). Foolishly, he falls in love with a young prostitute named Kamala; once they grow old, love dies and Siddhartha leaves. Siddhartha understands the fact that to grasp Enlightenment, one must love everything rather than possess individualistic love. After leaving Kamala, Siddhartha falls into depression. At that moment, he feels empty and saddened by what he considers wasted time. Upon reaching a river, he bends down to commit suicide. Suddenly, the holy “om” brings him back to his senses and he remembers that Enlightenment is more important than death. Additionally, it recognizes that time does not exist and must be completely empty to begin a new life – this concept fits into the theme of “mortality”. Kamala later returns to Siddhartha's life by coincidence; she is bitten by a deadly snake and dies. Surprisingly, Siddhartha's heart does not feel sorrow. Instead, Siddhartha feels at peace knowing that she has achieved Enlightenment and will return to a new life. In the novel, Siddhartha by ...... middle of paper ...... and mortality in order to describe Siddhartha's journey to Enlightenment. Time, love, and mortality all share a unique characteristic: they are all eternal. Throughout Siddhartha's journey, he loses love; however he does not feel sadness because he knows that love is eternal. Losing love, he meets death and feels no distress again. Siddhartha learns that we will soon return to another life: mortality. Not only are death and love infinite, but time also shares this representative. As Siddhartha grows, he seems to struggle with the aspect of time until he realizes that time does not exist. Time is immortal. “Death is not an event of life: we do not live to experience death. If we consider eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). Time, love and mortality are infinite.