The Sorrows of the Old Reader
The anticipation
I’ve recently been reading the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther written by Goethe in the XVIII th century. What’s interesting to know is that the story is directly based on the author’s own experience, it was written shortly after the events described in the novel. The novel is a series of letters which the narrator sends to a mysterious friend. The friend’s replies remain unknown throughout the whole story.
The story is about how a young educated German man, who was sent to a remote village for various reasons, becomes infatuated with a local young lady. Her name is Charlotte and she unfortunately happens to be already engaged with another young gentleman. It is said that this novel had many young people driven into despair, some of whom met a tragic end, following the pattern in the book. So when I first found that book on the bookshelf of an old scholar, the words “young” and “suffering” in the title drew my attention. My secret yearning for romantic stories was amplified by the macabre reputation of the book.
A work not to be taken seriously
But to my deepest regret, this is all romantic there is in this book. Starting with the first few sentences of the book, at a moment when the narrator still hasn’t met Charlotte yet, it becomes clear that the feelings expressed by Werther are not to be taken seriously. Werther expresses his hapiness after moving to this village where people live simple and honest lives despite being uneducated and humble. The tone is overly enthusiastic and thus suspicious, you can’t help but think how exaggerated it is. As the story unfolds, the narrator’s constant claims lack genuineness, slipping onto a ridiculous path. The story of the day when Werther meets Charlotte for the first time, all the way through their multiple activities that make him fall in love with Charlotte are nothing but comedy - not to say a parody.
I read elsewhere that people, at the time the book was first published, took seriously the content and the excessive changes of mood of Werther. This tells a lot about the state of the society was in the XVIII th century. There’s this concept of suspension of disbelief that is necessary to all novel in order for the reader to be able to dive into the story. Such suspension of disbelief allows to enjoy a story that features fantastic creatures such as elves, dwarves, etc. In the case of the Young Werther, depending on whether the reader being in a romantic state of mind or not, she will be more or less likely to embrace Young Werther’s fantasies.
Point of view accross centuries
What appears to me in the XXI th century as a parody might have been considered by ancient people as sincere exaltations of a young romantic. Likewise, the fact that I immediately thought the tone was sarcastic might enlighten what today’s society the regards displays of feelings. It seems to me that people have lost the ability to reflect on one’s own feelings and emotions, which might be interpreted as people have become less self-centered. Actually, everyone would agree that is not the case. We are more self-centered than ever, nevertheless we lost our ability to analyze our emotions.
For instance we lose track of the things that drive our feelings. And thus we are not able to understand the reasons behind each of our actions. Despite our society having evolved and progressed towards more justice and equality, most people are unaware of what motivates them and still spend a lifetime struggling to acquire wealth and recognition from their peers, despite knowing all too well that this unreasonable quest is bound to fail. I think that that there is a greater tendency in our modern society to widen the gap between the representation of what is moral and what is not. Maybe taking the time to reflect back on one’s actions might help to realize how pointless and inconsistent our actions are.
How to understand the book?
The easiest interpretation of the book might be that this story is a comedy that Goethe disguised as an authentic romantic so that only the finer reader will be able to uncover. I do think that there is another level of understanding that Goethe might have tried to offer - as a second level that only the finest reader will unveil. The key to this might lie within Wilhelm - the silent friend to whom the letters are written. While there is no doubt that the young Werther represents Goethe from his younger years, it is not clear as to who Wilhelm is supposed to represent. At first, one might think that Wilhelm is only a technique for Goethe to write directly to the reader and include him more easily. That must be true, but you and me only ever passively read these letters. And what Wilhelm does more as he is replying and giving advice to young Werther - even though we do not access their contents. As if Wilhelm was giving advice to a younger brother, or rather his younger self. Young… I found it odd that the author chose this adjective to appear in the title of the book supposedly written by Wilhelm.
In the same way Werther is Goethe from his younger years, Wilhelm is the current Goethe at the time of the writing. Wilhelm is a few years older, more experienced and provides advice while Werther indulges into a shameless downfall. But Werther does not listen to Wilhelm at all - he is set onto a path of tragic self-destruction and no knowledge or advice would make the mind of the young Werther change his mind. This book is a metaphor of how each time someone evolves, a part of him necessarily dies. The book materializes this concept with two characters who are in fact only one unique person. Werther and Wilhelm are the two faces of a same character. Young Werther dies, Wilhelm survives. It’s because young Werther loses his life that Goethe was able to survive. That is the concept of stellar twins applied decades later on an island where a famous clock tower resonates.