THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER
If you want to summarize this famous novel in one sentence, it would be as follows: A young man loses his beloved, becomes obsessed with the thought that no one loves him, and ends his own life.
A slightly longer summary to understand the plot is as follows: The young man Werther moves to the countryside, meets Charlotte at a ball, and the two fall in love. Werther believes he has found the woman of his life. But Charlotte was promised to another man, Albert, whom Werther later met and recognized the good qualities of, so he gave up on love.
Werther asks to work for an ambassador to try to forget Charlotte. However, the intense love made him resign to go to Walheim, where Charlotte was living with her husband. Then he realized that his love for Charlotte was impossible, and he took his own life.
According to Napoleon Bonaparte, The Sorrows of Young Werther is one of the great works of European literature. In his youth, the future emperor of France wrote a work inspired by this novel by Goethe. Werther also sparked a phenomenon known as the “Werther Fever”: young Europeans dressed in the style of Werther and Charlotte’s clothing. Items such as paintings, porcelain, and… perfumes based on the images of Werther and Charlotte were also produced.
Werther is considered the first work to use the term “romanticism” to describe a writing style that emphasizes personal emotions in relation to the outside world. And Goethe became a symbol of the Romantic movement in Germany…
More intense and better known is Faust, Goethe’s poetic work also in the romantic style, published in 1808.To me, the work seems to aim at highlighting the human condition with the desire for happiness to the extent of being willing to sell one’s soul to the devil.
Goethe’s Faust is one of the most famous works of German literature. Many writers are captivated by the Faust legend. Published in 1808, this epic work has been translated into more than 30 languages to date.
It can be summarized as follows: In the journey of seeking knowledge, Dr. Faust has burned the best years of his life. In his old age, Faust became a bitter old man, realizing that he had gained nothing or created anything that could compensate for that loss. And the devil – Mephistopheles – appeared, offering him a trade: his soul for youth, along with all earthly pleasures, including wealth and beautiful young women.
So, Méphistophélès took Faust on a long, grand journey, during which Faust seemed to lose his soul when he encountered love with Marguerite (Gretchen in German); this young woman also responded to that love with great passion.But in the end, Mephistopheles won this game.
