Research on Werther's pursuit of life in The Sorrows of Young Werther
论《少年维特之烦恼》中维特的生活追求
By
A BSTRACT
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the most important playwriter, poet and thinker in Germany and Europe during the mid-18th century to early 19th ,who also had make remarkable achievements in literary theory, philosophy, history, design, etc. Goethe's life span two centuries, when European social was in the era of upheaval and great change. The feudal system was collapse increasingly and the revolutionary forces rose high. It led Goethe accepting the advanced thinking continuously,thus deepened his understanding of society and created the best of contemporary literature and artistic works. The Sorrows of Young Werther is brimming with the young's love and hate in the German period of "Sturm und Drang" and it is also the works that yearn for a better life and denounce for the decadent society. The works The Sorrows of Young Werther describes the feelings of the hero Wether's waves of ups and downs,and uses the lyric and argumentum detailedly demonstrating the emotion changes of Werther. The novel narrates Werther's pain,longing and despair using the deep poetry and spewing passion. It places Werther's individual miserable love into the broader social context and reveal the feudal class prejudice and criticize selfishness and fogyism of ordinary people. It gives enormous publicity to liberation to personality and freedom to feelings.
KEY WORDS : N atural Pure Freedom and Equality Rebellious Spirit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Sorrows of Young Werther
摘 要
约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德（Johann Wolfgang von Goethe )(1749－1832）是18世纪中叶到19世纪初德国和欧洲最重要的剧作家、诗人、思想家。歌德除了诗歌、戏剧、小说之外，在文艺理论、哲学、历史学、造型设计等方面，都取得了卓越的成就。歌德一生跨两个世纪，正当欧洲社会大动荡、大变革的年代。封建制度的日趋崩溃，革命力量的不断高涨，促使歌德不断接受先进思潮的影响，从而加深自己对于社会的认识，创作出当代最优秀的文艺作品。《少年维特的烦恼》充满着一个处在德国“狂飙突进”时代的青年人的爱和恨，对美好生活的向往和对腐朽社会的控诉。作品描写了主人公维特跌宕起伏的感情波澜，在抒情和议论中真切又详尽地展示了维特思想感情的变化。小说以浓郁的诗意和喷涌的激情叙写了维特的痛苦，憧憬和绝望，将他个人恋爱的不幸放置在广泛的社会背景中，对封建的等级偏见、小市民的自私与守旧等观念作了揭露和批评，热情地宣扬了个性解放和感情自由。
关键词：自然 纯真 自由平等 反叛精神 约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德 《少年维特之烦恼》
important work during Goethe's early period. Its publication is a cross event in the German literature history. Before "Faust", the second publication,Goethe always related with The Sorrows of Young Werther in a full fifty years in Europe. Its space is not too long,and its plot is not complicated. There are only two main Characters,Werther and Lotte. The whole book's threads is the unfortunate love experience and frustration of the hero Wether. The novel use the epistolary style which opens the German novel history. The hero Werther,who was a citizen origin living long for freedom and equality , and hoped that engage in meaningful work. However,the society was full of the prejudice of status hierarchy and the bad habits of low level. The conservative corrupt officialdom,vulgar citizen and arrogant nobles which made him collide with the reality. The work reflects vividly the young's feeling,longing and suffering. It also expresses a rebellious spirit of criticizing the bad habits and getting rid of the corrupt customs. This is the reason why the work is the gem which treasures by the whole world.
2. On Werther's pursuit of life in The Sorrows of Young Werther
2.1 Social and cultural backgrounds of the novel
2.1.1 The Goethe's love for Charlotte Buff
The plot of the novel is autobiographical in a great extent: When Goethe practiced in Empire Supreme Court in Wetzlar,he met young Charlotte Buff and fell in love with her. But Charlotte had engaged in a lawyer named Johann Christian Kestner. In Charlotte's father's view, Kestner is absolutely younger and more reliable than Goethe who has the art ambition. He left her hurriedly. Then he met a adviser's daughter called Maximiliana V on La Roger. Goethe integrates the image of the two young ladies and creates Lotte. He wrote this in order to get out of the suicide.
2.1.2 The suicide of Jerusalem
Part of the novel,especially at the end of it,unlike Goethe's experience,Werther commit suicide,while Goethe still in his own pain. The part of Werther's suicide is similar with a young colleague of him called Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem. Jerusalem took his own life because his tremendous misfortune in his love. Jerusalem is just a
nodding acquaintance with Goethe. Goethe heard Jerusalem's suicide from Keith Turner. Tragic is that Jerusalem used the gun killing himself which borrowed from Turner. This tragedy made Goethe blended Jerusalem's destiny with himself. And many characteristic in Jerusalem were put in the image of Werther.
2.2 Goethe's rebellious spirit and Hurricane Movement
The Hurricane Movement occurred in 1760s and 1770s. It is the German national literary movement,mainly erupted among the new bourgeoisie. When Goethe in the spring of his life,he took part in the movement and then board the literary world. He create many outstanding works leading the German parochial literature into expansive field. In 1774,The Sorrows of Young Werther published,it likes a huge stone throwing into the backwater. The society stirred layers of waves.
3.Werther's pursuit of life— nature,pure and freedom and equality
3.1 Nature
Werther was born in a civic family. His sharp thinking,emotion,extraordinary ability and insight,is the typical representative of the awakening of a generation of young intellectuals. Bourgeois ideology on the "individual liberation","feelings of freedom","equality and philanthropism" infiltrated his behavior,and then concretized the infinite admiration and worship of nature. Werther is especially sensitive to nature. His experience was mingled with nature. When it was spring,he came to Wahlheim. Although his heart is still sad because of the past sorrows,the spring sunshine and the flourishing nature warm his chilling heart.
3.2 Pure
Werther was an attentive,high moral character young people. He cherished good dream and beloved the world,and had a pure innocence. He longed for the world that people could plenarily expressed and satisficed their nature,including emotion,desire,talents,wisdom and so on. Werther liked children and the children liked him,too. The reason why children like him because he has a pure innocence. He believed that "those who like a children without sorrow and anxiety" is the really happiness. When Werther first met Lotte,she and her younger siblings lived in harmony. This scene can be described as the gentle music scene. It impressed Werther. It should be that Werther's innocence made him a beautiful kind of Lotte. The children
made them closer.
3.3 Freedom and Equality
Werther adored genius,he pursuit emotional freedom,equality and individual liberation. He said he didn't like to listen to be sent by people. He believed that if a person just always struggled for fame and wealth,but he himself has no passion and no need.,he must be a fool. He knew Lotte had been engaged,but he still loved her involuntarily. Then he pursuit her reckless,and he became the embarrassed the other man. When he was frustrated after he loved Lotte,he used to want to turn his view into developing his business. But the society bounded genius and his ability can not put to good use. Werther has rebellious spirit and he against the grain with the society. His love to Lotte was intensive and unyielding,finally he went to ruin.
4. Conclusion
Goethe talked about his work when he said this:" I liking the Pelican,fostered the work with my heart. And it comes from my really feeling and thoughts.""the emotion which forces me to write Werther directly relates my own circumstance. I used to live there,love there and even suffered there,it is the sticking point." Goethe mixed his experience when he was young into the novel,and the image of Werther has the operation significance which pursuit natural,pure and equal life,because this thought of Sturm and Drang made the tragedy. This beautiful pure dream arouses extensive resonance among the temporal people.Although in the modern time,the way of solving problems can not be identified, the story of Werther still moved people. So it show the eternal charm of The Sorrows of Young Werther.
BILIOGRAPHY
Drabble Margett,1998. The Oxford Companion to English Literature . Oxford University Press and Foreign Language and Research Press
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774 .The Sorrows of Young Werther. World Book Press
叶隽，2007，接受的困惑与问题的呈现——读《歌德长篇小说〈少年维特之烦恼〉1945年以来的德国接受史》，《中国图书评论》，第4期。
赵小薇，2002，《英国文学作品选读》。上海交通大学出版社。
Research on Werther's pursuit of life in The Sorrows of Young Werther
论《少年维特之烦恼》中维特的生活追求
By
A BSTRACT
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the most important playwriter, poet and thinker in Germany and Europe during the mid-18th century to early 19th ,who also had make remarkable achievements in literary theory, philosophy, history, design, etc. Goethe's life span two centuries, when European social was in the era of upheaval and great change. The feudal system was collapse increasingly and the revolutionary forces rose high. It led Goethe accepting the advanced thinking continuously,thus deepened his understanding of society and created the best of contemporary literature and artistic works. The Sorrows of Young Werther is brimming with the young's love and hate in the German period of "Sturm und Drang" and it is also the works that yearn for a better life and denounce for the decadent society. The works The Sorrows of Young Werther describes the feelings of the hero Wether's waves of ups and downs,and uses the lyric and argumentum detailedly demonstrating the emotion changes of Werther. The novel narrates Werther's pain,longing and despair using the deep poetry and spewing passion. It places Werther's individual miserable love into the broader social context and reveal the feudal class prejudice and criticize selfishness and fogyism of ordinary people. It gives enormous publicity to liberation to personality and freedom to feelings.
KEY WORDS : N atural Pure Freedom and Equality Rebellious Spirit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Sorrows of Young Werther
摘 要
约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德（Johann Wolfgang von Goethe )(1749－1832）是18世纪中叶到19世纪初德国和欧洲最重要的剧作家、诗人、思想家。歌德除了诗歌、戏剧、小说之外，在文艺理论、哲学、历史学、造型设计等方面，都取得了卓越的成就。歌德一生跨两个世纪，正当欧洲社会大动荡、大变革的年代。封建制度的日趋崩溃，革命力量的不断高涨，促使歌德不断接受先进思潮的影响，从而加深自己对于社会的认识，创作出当代最优秀的文艺作品。《少年维特的烦恼》充满着一个处在德国“狂飙突进”时代的青年人的爱和恨，对美好生活的向往和对腐朽社会的控诉。作品描写了主人公维特跌宕起伏的感情波澜，在抒情和议论中真切又详尽地展示了维特思想感情的变化。小说以浓郁的诗意和喷涌的激情叙写了维特的痛苦，憧憬和绝望，将他个人恋爱的不幸放置在广泛的社会背景中，对封建的等级偏见、小市民的自私与守旧等观念作了揭露和批评，热情地宣扬了个性解放和感情自由。
关键词：自然 纯真 自由平等 反叛精神 约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德 《少年维特之烦恼》
important work during Goethe's early period. Its publication is a cross event in the German literature history. Before "Faust", the second publication,Goethe always related with The Sorrows of Young Werther in a full fifty years in Europe. Its space is not too long,and its plot is not complicated. There are only two main Characters,Werther and Lotte. The whole book's threads is the unfortunate love experience and frustration of the hero Wether. The novel use the epistolary style which opens the German novel history. The hero Werther,who was a citizen origin living long for freedom and equality , and hoped that engage in meaningful work. However,the society was full of the prejudice of status hierarchy and the bad habits of low level. The conservative corrupt officialdom,vulgar citizen and arrogant nobles which made him collide with the reality. The work reflects vividly the young's feeling,longing and suffering. It also expresses a rebellious spirit of criticizing the bad habits and getting rid of the corrupt customs. This is the reason why the work is the gem which treasures by the whole world.
2. On Werther's pursuit of life in The Sorrows of Young Werther
2.1 Social and cultural backgrounds of the novel
2.1.1 The Goethe's love for Charlotte Buff
The plot of the novel is autobiographical in a great extent: When Goethe practiced in Empire Supreme Court in Wetzlar,he met young Charlotte Buff and fell in love with her. But Charlotte had engaged in a lawyer named Johann Christian Kestner. In Charlotte's father's view, Kestner is absolutely younger and more reliable than Goethe who has the art ambition. He left her hurriedly. Then he met a adviser's daughter called Maximiliana V on La Roger. Goethe integrates the image of the two young ladies and creates Lotte. He wrote this in order to get out of the suicide.
2.1.2 The suicide of Jerusalem
Part of the novel,especially at the end of it,unlike Goethe's experience,Werther commit suicide,while Goethe still in his own pain. The part of Werther's suicide is similar with a young colleague of him called Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem. Jerusalem took his own life because his tremendous misfortune in his love. Jerusalem is just a
nodding acquaintance with Goethe. Goethe heard Jerusalem's suicide from Keith Turner. Tragic is that Jerusalem used the gun killing himself which borrowed from Turner. This tragedy made Goethe blended Jerusalem's destiny with himself. And many characteristic in Jerusalem were put in the image of Werther.
2.2 Goethe's rebellious spirit and Hurricane Movement
The Hurricane Movement occurred in 1760s and 1770s. It is the German national literary movement,mainly erupted among the new bourgeoisie. When Goethe in the spring of his life,he took part in the movement and then board the literary world. He create many outstanding works leading the German parochial literature into expansive field. In 1774,The Sorrows of Young Werther published,it likes a huge stone throwing into the backwater. The society stirred layers of waves.
3.Werther's pursuit of life— nature,pure and freedom and equality
3.1 Nature
Werther was born in a civic family. His sharp thinking,emotion,extraordinary ability and insight,is the typical representative of the awakening of a generation of young intellectuals. Bourgeois ideology on the "individual liberation","feelings of freedom","equality and philanthropism" infiltrated his behavior,and then concretized the infinite admiration and worship of nature. Werther is especially sensitive to nature. His experience was mingled with nature. When it was spring,he came to Wahlheim. Although his heart is still sad because of the past sorrows,the spring sunshine and the flourishing nature warm his chilling heart.
3.2 Pure
Werther was an attentive,high moral character young people. He cherished good dream and beloved the world,and had a pure innocence. He longed for the world that people could plenarily expressed and satisficed their nature,including emotion,desire,talents,wisdom and so on. Werther liked children and the children liked him,too. The reason why children like him because he has a pure innocence. He believed that "those who like a children without sorrow and anxiety" is the really happiness. When Werther first met Lotte,she and her younger siblings lived in harmony. This scene can be described as the gentle music scene. It impressed Werther. It should be that Werther's innocence made him a beautiful kind of Lotte. The children
made them closer.
3.3 Freedom and Equality
Werther adored genius,he pursuit emotional freedom,equality and individual liberation. He said he didn't like to listen to be sent by people. He believed that if a person just always struggled for fame and wealth,but he himself has no passion and no need.,he must be a fool. He knew Lotte had been engaged,but he still loved her involuntarily. Then he pursuit her reckless,and he became the embarrassed the other man. When he was frustrated after he loved Lotte,he used to want to turn his view into developing his business. But the society bounded genius and his ability can not put to good use. Werther has rebellious spirit and he against the grain with the society. His love to Lotte was intensive and unyielding,finally he went to ruin.
4. Conclusion
Goethe talked about his work when he said this:" I liking the Pelican,fostered the work with my heart. And it comes from my really feeling and thoughts.""the emotion which forces me to write Werther directly relates my own circumstance. I used to live there,love there and even suffered there,it is the sticking point." Goethe mixed his experience when he was young into the novel,and the image of Werther has the operation significance which pursuit natural,pure and equal life,because this thought of Sturm and Drang made the tragedy. This beautiful pure dream arouses extensive resonance among the temporal people.Although in the modern time,the way of solving problems can not be identified, the story of Werther still moved people. So it show the eternal charm of The Sorrows of Young Werther.
BILIOGRAPHY
Drabble Margett,1998. The Oxford Companion to English Literature . Oxford University Press and Foreign Language and Research Press
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774 .The Sorrows of Young Werther. World Book Press
叶隽，2007，接受的困惑与问题的呈现——读《歌德长篇小说〈少年维特之烦恼〉1945年以来的德国接受史》，《中国图书评论》，第4期。
赵小薇，2002，《英国文学作品选读》。上海交通大学出版社。