This is one of those items of popular culture that impacts the society to such an extent that the mere fact of its existence is almost more important than what's inside it. So it's ironic, but not totally unexpected, that Goethe spent the rest of his long, incredibly productive life trying to live it down.
He published "Werther" when he was 25 and it made him a tremendous international literary star. (I sure wish we could still produce those - today the equivalent stature probably goes to J.K. Rowling) The fame of the piece was so extraordinary that there emerged an early version of merchandising - a thriving business in Werther clothing (blue coat, yellow vest), illustrations, chinaware and even perfume (God only knows what that smelled like). Walt Disney would be proud.
Then again, there was also a brief fad of suicides in imitation of "Werther" - some governments went so far as to ban the novel to discourage the practice.
Meanwhile, Goethe turned quickly from the “sturm und drang” style he pioneered in this piece (that translates to "storm and drive" or "storm and stress", so you can guess what sort of prose we're dealing with here) to a more calm, classical model. He spent his time in statesmanship, conducting scientific research into things like color, and occasionally writing some fine poetry and three more novels. One can easily comprehend that a man of those accomplishments might grow a little weary of people constantly asking him about his early success, particularly in view of the fact that he seems to have written it in about a week.
As you see, I for one find this whole business fascinating, whatever the novel itself contains. Now then, what about the story? It's pretty simple, really - you've probably heard it before. Largely by means of letters from Werther himself, we learn about this young man with artistic ambitions and a difficult relationship with his family, who despite warnings to guard his feelings, falls helplessly, hopelessly, and painfully in love with a young woman who has a fiancé already. She goes so far as to marry that man, and Werther, stung by pains and regrets, kills himself, first writing of his pain with! about! a! zillion! exclamation! points!
As it happens, in my younger years I went through something similar - a tremendously romantic unrequited love that, although the lady in question had no fiance, drove me to distraction just by her existence. I was a young fool, though not fortunately a suicidal one, so I rather identified with young Werther, his storm and stress.
On the other hand, as I've said in this space many times before, I have a low tolerance for sap, and by today's standards "The Sorrows Of Young Werther" is nothing if not sappy. It's touching not because of the constant! exclamation! points! and melodrama, but because of Goethe's skill in using the language to get inside Werther's head - and also because poor Werther knows what a dunce he's being, but can't seem to help himself.
With today's distaste for this kind of melodrama, and today's habituation to circumstances way more extreme than Werther's on every 24-hour news channel, "The Sorrows Of Young Werther" has nowhere near the impact it once did, which is probably just as well. Having said that, it's still worth reading, to practice one's empathy for an oversensitive but rather endearing character if nothing else.
Benshlomo says, Dummies need love too.
Comentarios