The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther (German: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a tragic love story from 1774, in which Werther - a young sensitive man - has an unrequited & obsessive love for the foid Lotte, who's engaged to another man, eventually leading to his suicide.
Synposis[edit | edit source]
Werther leaves the city and moves to the village of Wahlheim, where he enjoys nature and drawing. On the way to a ball he meets Lotte, the daughter of a local official who takes care of her many younger siblings, and he immediately falls deeply in love with her. At the ball they grow close, but Lotte tells him she is already engaged to Albert. When Albert returns, he and Werther initially become friends, but Werther’s love for Lotte grows stronger and creates a painful love triangle, so he leaves to work at a court; however, he feels out of place there and eventually returns to Wahlheim. By then Lotte and Albert are married, yet Werther continues visiting Lotte until she asks him not to come back for a few days because his feelings trouble her and her husband. Werther visits her once more while Albert is away, reads emotional poetry (Ossian) to her, and when he tries to embrace and kiss her she pulls away and locks herself in another room. Realizing that his love can never be fulfilled and that he is endangering Lotte’s marriage and honor, Werther borrows Albert’s pistols and shoots himself before Christmas Eve (Even before that incident, Werther had hinted at the idea that one member of the love triangle - Charlotte, Albert or Werther himself - had to die to resolve the situation. Unable to hurt anyone else or seriously consider murder, Werther sees no other choice but to take his own life); he is found mortally wounded the next morning and dies around noon (his death took 12 hours), and because he committed suicide he is denied a Christian burial: His funeral is not attended by any clergy, or by Albert or Charlotte. The book ends with an intimation that Charlotte may die of a broken heart: "I shall say nothing of . . . Charlotte's grief. . . . Charlotte's life was despaired of."
Abridgement of his farewell letter[edit | edit source]
In German[edit | edit source]
“Es ist beschlossen, Lotte, ich will sterben, und das schreibe ich dir ohne romantische überspannung, gelassen, an dem Morgen des Tages, an dem ich dich zum letzten Male sehen werde. Wenn du dieses liesest, meine Beste, deckt schon das kühle Grab die erstarrten Reste des Unruhigen, Unglücklichen, der für die letzten Augenblicke seines Lebens keine größere Süßigkeit weiß, als sich mit dir zu unterhalten. Ich habe eine schreckliche Nacht gehabt und, ach, eine wohltätige Nacht. Sie ist es, die meinen Entschluß befestiget, bestimmt hat: ich will sterben! Wie ich mich gestern von dir riß, in der fürchterlichen Empörung meiner Sinne, wie sich alles das nach meinem Herzen drängte und mein hoffnungsloses, freudeloses Dasein neben dir in gräßlicher Kälte mich anpackte—ich erreichte kaum mein Zimmer, ich warf mich außer mir auf meine Knie, und o Gott! Du gewährtest mir das letzte Labsal der bittersten Tränen! Tausend Anschläge, tausend Aussichten wüteten durch meine Seele, und zuletzt stand er da, fest, ganz, der letzte, einzige Gedanke: ich will sterben!—ich legte mich nieder, und morgens, in der Ruhe des Erwachens, steht er noch fest, noch ganz stark in meinem Herzen: ich will sterben!—es ist nicht Verzweiflung, es ist Gewißheit, daß ich ausgetragen habe, und daß ich mich opfere für dich. Ja, Lotte! Warum sollte ich es verschweigen? Eins von uns dreien muß hinweg, und das will ich sein! O meine Beste! In diesem zerrissenen Herzen ist es wütend herumgeschlichen, oft—deinen Mann zu ermorden!—dich!—mich! —so sei es denn!—wenn du hinaufsteigst auf den Berg, an einem schönen Sommerabende, dann erinnere dich meiner, wie ich so oft das Tal heraufkam, und dann blicke nach dem Kirchhofe hinüber nach meinem Grabe, wie der Wind das hohe Gras im Scheine der sinkenden Sonne hin und her wiegt.—ich war ruhig, da ich anfing, nun, nun weine ich wie ein Kind, da alles das so lebhaft um mich wird.-”
Translated[edit | edit source]
“It is decided, Lotte, I want to die, and I write this to you without romantic exaggeration, calmly, on the morning of the day I will see you for the last time. When you read this, my dearest, the cool grave will already be covering the lifeless remains of the restless, unhappy man who knows of no greater joy for the final moments of his life than to converse with you. I have had a terrible night and, alas, a blessed night. It is she who has strengthened and determined my resolve: I want to die! How I tore myself away from you yesterday, in the terrible turmoil of my senses, how all that pressed upon my heart and my hopeless, joyless existence beside you seized me in dreadful cold—I barely reached my room, I threw myself beside myself onto my knees, and oh God! You granted me the final solace of the bitterest tears! A thousand thoughts, a thousand prospects raged through my soul, and finally there it stood, firm, complete, the last, only thought: I want to die!—I lay down, and in the morning, in the calm of waking, it still stands firm, still very strong in my heart: I want to die!—it is not despair, it is the certainty that I have carried this through, and that I am sacrificing myself for you. Yes, Lotte! Why should I keep it from you? One of us three must die, and I want it to be me! O my dearest! In this torn heart, the thought has raged and lurked, often—to murder your husband!—you!—me! —so be it, then!—when you climb the mountain on a beautiful summer evening, remember me, how I so often came up the valley, and then look across to the churchyard at my grave, as the wind sways the tall grass back and forth in the glow of the setting sun.—I was calm when I began, but now, now I weep like a child, as all this becomes so vivid around me.”
Influence on Society[edit | edit source]
"Werther-Fieber"[edit | edit source]
The novel triggered the "Werther fever", especially among young people, turning Werther into a cult figure: Fans imitated his clothing style (blue coat, yellow vest), and merchandise like “Werther cups,” decorations, and even perfume appeared, showing how deeply the story influenced popular culture. Many readers identified personally with Werther’s emotional struggles, especially those in similar situations, while others used the story to reflect on their own feelings and find comfort.
"Werther-Effect"[edit | edit source]
The "Werther-Effect" was a suicide epidemic starting in German-speaking countries & then continued in other parts of Europe, in which particularly young Incels and Beta Males killed themselves as an imitation of Werther. Leipzig, Saxony and Kopenhagen banned the book cuz of that shortly after the release.
Werk auf Germanisch mit Frakturschrift
