The Sufferings of Young Werther

Rating:
Summary: Nice but sad
Review: As far as I understood the inspiration for this book comes from two of Goethe's friends - Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem who shot and killed himself after he borrowed the gun from J.C.Krestner. This tragedy made a profound impression on Goethe.
As soon as this book was published, it enjoyed huge popularity and it was translated into numerous languages. It was the first German book of this kind and even Napoleon Bonaparte read this book up to seven times.
The Sufferings of young Werther is a psychologic and a very tragic tale of a young man who falls in love hopelessly with a married woman. Werther proves to be very intellegent and smart but chosing what he chose to do made him indeed very stupid after all.
Of course in order to find out what Werther did, and how the story unfolds - you'll have to read the book yourself but if you listen to my advice don't read it if you're in love with someone and you're single as Werther was because it wouldn't be a wise thing to do. At least that's my opinion (concern). Cheers.

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to like this book...
Review: But I didn't. Widely considered a literary classic, I honestly didn't get what the fuss was about.

Granted, Goethe is a man of towering genius; his understanding of human nature is very much in evidence here. However, reading the book, I feel it is very much a product of its time. The narrative format (letters written by the protagonist) as well as the excessive sentimentality, were products of the "Age of Sentimentality" that swept through much of Europe during the latter half of the 18th-century. One's take on the book, therefore, correlates highly with how one reacts to the features of this period. The constant snivelling and braying that occurs throughout the book is unendurable, and the unlikeliness of the events is compounded by the artifice of the narration itself (the epistolary novel). However, because, it's Goethe writing, there is the occasional timeless observation ("When we feel inadequate to ourselves, everything seems inadequate to us") that only Goethe can put into words. Its moments such as those that salvage an otherwise uninteresting read.

As is common with Norton editions, the text is packed with useful annotations, biographical notes, and critical studies. The translation is also good, maintaining the tenor of Goethe's words but updating them for modern ears.

Since this text was a crucial contributor to the "sturm und drang" (storm and stress) movement, one perhaps would be best served by appreciating the historical value of the text, and discounting its "factual content" (to steal from Benjamin). Otherwise, I fear one might run into the same problems I did.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping, short story of the human condition
Review: This novelette, originally published in 1774, established Goethe as a German literary superstar.

The story features Werther, a middle-class artist, who falls in love with Lotte, who is engaged to Albert. Although Lotte loves him in return, she remains faithful to her fiancee. Since he cannot have Lotte, Werther decides to commit suicide.

This book was radically different from the earlier books of the German Enlightenment. The Sturm und Drang group wished to publish more middle-class works and 'Werther' is an example of that. Werther is a very emotional man; he wears his heart on his sleeve. Some readers may say that Werther is a whiner, but that is not the point. All of Werther's emotions are extreme; he takes complete delight in admiring the countryside and falls into deep depression when his love remains unsatisfied. As his depression increases, his grasp of language becomes more and more eratic.

Goethe also constructed Werther as a semi-autobiographical character. Goethe had also fallen in love with a married woman who could not return his love. One month after she left him, Goethe heard of an acquaintance that had committed suicide due to a similar situation.

Goethe comes just before the Romantic movement in Germany. One Romantic ideal was that the artist, or man in general, due to his position as a human, can never be perfect and must always fail. Romantics were obsessed with death, and especially sick people (like Beethoven), because death, supposedly, finally united Man with the Infinite, or Devine Perfection. I think Werther loved Lotte so much, because he saw something within her; one can call it the Infinite, the Devine or the Ideal. Since Werther could not experience the Infinite through Lotte, he decided to reach the Infinite through death.

Goethe, perhaps, wrote this work to put his life into perspective. He could have very easily taken Werther's path, but he, obviously, decided that his life was still worth living.

Goethe would continue this idea of Man seeking the Infinite, or Perfection, in his great opus, Faust, which I recommend to all readers. The difference between Faust and Werther is that Faust did not commit suicide but was redeemed in death. Werther's death and funeral does not have as much pageantry. The last line in Werther is: 'No clergymen escorted him.'

I have included all the information above because I feel that an understanding of Sturm und Drang and Goethe's situation leads to a greater appreciation of 'Werther.' Otherwise, one might interpret Werther as a hopeless, pathetic whiner. But he is quite possibly like all human beings; he suffers because he experiences very human emotions.