The Sorrows of Young Werther
A 1774 novel that sparked a European cultural phenomenon.
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The Sorrows of Young Werther is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, one of the main works of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature. It tells the story of a young artist's unrequited love and suicide, and it instantly made Goethe an international literary celebrity.
Lore & Background
The novel was inspired by Goethe's personal life, involving triangular relationships with Charlotte Buff and Christian Kestner. Goethe wrote the book in five and a half weeks from January to March 1774, at age 24.
The plot fictionalizes the suicide of Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem, a lawyer who shot himself with a pistol borrowed from Kestner after an impossible love. The story is told through letters from Werther to his friend Wilhelm, detailing his love for Charlotte, who is engaged to Albert. Werther's despair leads him to borrow pistols from Albert and shoot himself.
Reader's Guide
The Sorrows of Young Werther became an immediate international bestseller, perhaps the first in literary history, and spawned 'Werther Fever.' Young men across Europe adopted Werther's clothing style, and merchandise such as prints, porcelain, and perfume appeared. The book was banned in Leipzig (1775), Denmark, and Italy due to concerns over copycat suicides, known as the 'Werther effect,' though modern biographer Rüdiger Safranski dismisses this as a persistent rumor.
Napoleon Bonaparte considered it a great work and carried it on his Egyptian campaign. Goethe later distanced himself from the novel, denouncing Romanticism as 'everything that is sick,' but acknowledged its emotional power. The work was adapted as an opera by Jules Massenet in 1892.
Did You Know?
- The novel was published under Goethe's name, though the first edition did not include his name on the title page; it was widely known to be his work.
- The book was banned in Leipzig (1775) and Denmark (1776) due to its perceived influence on suicides.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Sorrows of Young Werther?
It is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, told entirely through a series of personal letters. The story follows a young, deeply feeling artist who falls hopelessly in love with a woman already pledged to another man.
How does The Sorrows of Young Werther end?
After Charlotte marries Albert, Werther shoots himself with a borrowed pistol in a final act of despair. His suicide serves as the novel's devastating climax and is the event that triggered a wave of imitation deaths across the continent.
What is 'Werther Fever'?
It is the name given to the wave of copycat suicides and obsessive imitation that swept through Europe after the novel's 1774 release, with young men dressing in Werther's signature blue coat and white breeches. The phenomenon was so widespread that several governments actually banned the book.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Sorrows of Young Werther (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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