The Sorrows of Young Werther
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The Sorrows of Young Werther (German, Die Leiden des jungen Werther, originally published as Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774. A climactic scene prominently features Goethe's own German translation of a portion of James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of poems, which had originally been presented as translations of ancient works, and was later found to have been written by Macpherson.
It was Goethe's first major success, turning him from an unknown into a celebrated author practically overnight. Young men throughout Europe began to dress in the clothing described for Werther in the novel. It also led to some of the first known examples of copycat suicide. Supposedly over 2,000 readers committed suicide after reading this book at the time.
There are a number of different autobiographical sources that are said to have played a part in the creation of the novel. Having concluded his law studies in May 1772, Goethe found himself working for the Superior Court of the Holy Roman empire in Wetzlar. He befriended the secretary Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem and, on June 9th 1772, they attended a ball where Goethe was introduced to the 19-year old Charlotte Buff and her older fiancé, Johann Christian Kestner. Goethe is said to have instantly fallen in love with Charlotte. Goethe pursued Charlotte and the relationship varied between friendship and rejection. Charlotte was honest with Goethe and told him there was no hope of an affair. On September 11th Goethe left without saying goodbye.The parallels described here are evident in the novel. Charlotte Buff was just like her counterpart in the novel, a daughter of a widowed official and has a lot of siblings. Both Goethe and Werther celebrated their birthdays on August the 28th and both left Charlotte on September 11th. However, the novel also depicts a number of events that have close parralels with the life of Goethe's friend Jerusalem who, like Werther, committed suicide. Goethe was told that the motive for the deed was unrequited love for another man's wife. Jerusalem had also gone on long moonlight walks that reflected his sad mood and had also borrowed pistols to carry out his suicide.
The majority of the novel is presented as a collection of letters written by Werther, a young artist of a highly sensitive and passionate temperament, and sent to his friend Wilhelm. In these letters, Werther gives a very intimate account of his stay in the fictional village of Wahlheim (based on the town of Garbenheim, near Wetzlar), where he meets and falls in love with Lotte, a beautiful young girl who is taking care of her siblings following the death of their mother. Lotte is, however, already engaged to a man named Albert, who is in fact 11 years her senior. Despite the pain this causes Werther, he spends the next few months cultivating a close friendship with both of them. Every day serves as a torturing reminder that Lotte will never be able to requite his love, and after several failed attempts to break off his ties with her, Werther sees no other choice but to take his own life. After writing a farewell letter he borrows two pistols from Albert, under a pretence, and shoots himself.
Cultural Impact
The Sorrows of Young Werther reportedly caused a wave of enthusiasm (the "Werther Fever") among the younger generations of Goethe's time, which included dressing and behaving like Werther. There were also (unconfirmed) reports of suicides inspired by the passionate nature of the novel.
This phenomenon was watched with concern by the authorities and fellow authors. One of the latter, Friedrich Nicolai, decided to create an alternative - and more happy - ending called Die Freuden des jungen Werther ("The Joys of Young Werther"), in which Albert, realizing what Werther was up to, had loaded chicken blood into the pistol, thereby foiling Werther's suicide, and happily concedes Lotte to him.
However, Goethe was not pleased with this version and started a literary war (which lasted all his life) with Nicolai by writing a poem titled "Nicolai auf Werthers Grabe" in which Nicolai defecates on Werther's grave. This was continued in his collection of short and critical poems, the Xenies.
Alternate Versions and other Appearances
- The Sorrows of Young Werther is mentioned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Frankenstein's monster finds the book in a leather portmanteau, along with two others--Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, and Milton's Paradise Lost. He sees Werther's case as similar to his own. He, like Werther, was rejected by those he loved.
- It was the basis for the 1892 opera Werther by Jules Massenet.
- William Makepeace Thackeray wrote a somewhat comical poetic version of Goethe's story titled Sorrows of Werther that captures the desperation, sadness, and also the humor behind this bildungsroman tale.
- Thomas Mann's 1939 novel Lotte in Weimar recounts a fictional reunion between Goethe and the object of his youthful passion Charlotte Kestner, an unrequited love that inspired the tale of Young Werther.
- An episode of History Bites features this book, with Bob Bainborough portraying Goethe.
Translations
- The Sorrows of Young Werther - ISBN 0-8129-6990-1
- Translated by Burton Pike. 2004 Modern Library (Random House, Inc.)
External links
- [Die Leiden des jungen Werther]
- [Free eBook: The Sorrows of Young Werther] at Project Gutenberg
- [GradeSaver study guide: The Sorrows of Young Werther]
- [Free Audiobook (in German)] from [LibriVox]
- [The Sorrows Of Young Werther]
- ["Werther: Gefühle bleiben aktuell"] (german article, [sbznet.de])
- [The-Sorrows-of-Young-Werther.com] (personalised e-mail edition sending Werther's letters to your mailbox)
- William Makepeace Thackeray's Sorrows of Werther [link]
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