Analysis of the novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” (I.V.

Werther- the hero of Goethe's novel, which became the first work of the new German literature, which immediately gained European resonance. V.'s personality is extremely contradictory, his consciousness is split; he is in constant discord both with those around him and with himself. V., like the young Goethe himself and his friends, represent that generation of rebellious youth of all ranks, whose enormous creative possibilities and life demands determined their irreconcilable conflict with the inert social order. V.'s fate is a kind of hyperbole: all the contradictions in it are sharpened to the last degree, and this leads him to death. V. is presented in the novel as a person of extraordinary talent. He is a good draftsman, poet, endowed with a subtle and diverse sense of nature. The very first pages of the novel are imbued with a feeling of joyful, pantheistic in spirit, merging V. with the elements of nature. But precisely because V. is a fully “natural man” (as the enlighteners thought of him), he makes severe, sometimes exorbitant demands on his environment and society. V., with ever-increasing disgust, sees around him a “struggle of petty ambitions” and experiences “boredom in the company of vile people swarming around.” He is disgusted by class barriers, at every step he sees how aristocracy degenerates into empty arrogance. V. feels best in the company of ordinary people and children. He is endowed with great knowledge, at one time he tries to make a career (serves for a certain envoy), he is patronized by the enlightened Count K. But the envoy turns out to be a petty, picky pedant, Count K. (to please his noble guests, who do not tolerate the presence of commoners) offends V.V. ... breaks up with them, and his circle of friends and acquaintances becomes increasingly thin. Gradually all human life begins to seem to him like some kind of well-known cycle.

Love appears to be the only joy for V. because it does not lend itself to a mechanically established order. Love for V. is the triumph of living life, living nature over dead conventions (it is no coincidence that Lotta, like V., is a “child of nature”; conventions and pretense are alien to her). At the same time, Lotte’s entire behavior is marked by duality and hesitation: feeling V.’s charm and the power of his love, she cannot break with Albert, her fiancé; the same dual game continues after Lotte’s marriage. Minutes of emotional, spontaneous attraction to each other alternate with painful separations. Little by little V. comes to the firm conviction that he is not given the opportunity to realize his life calling that he is rejected by everyone, and this pushes him to a fatal decision.

"The Sorrows of Young Werther", a brief summary of which should be well known to any connoisseur of German literature, is one of the most famous novels German classic Johann Wolfgang Goethe. This work is written in letters. A striking example sentimental prose XIX century.

Roman Goethe

The novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” a summary of which is given in this article, is the second major success of Johann Goethe. The first, by the way, was a drama not so well known in Russia called “Götz von Berlichingen”. Both of these works by the German classic are considered a popular movement at that time called “Storm and Drang”. This is how they characterize the period in German literature when writers abandoned “reasonable” classicism in favor of maximum emotionality. This period became the harbinger of romanticism.

Literary researchers have noted that this novel is largely autobiographical. In it, Goethe, in a free interpretation, described his platonic relationship with Charlotte Buff, whom he met in 1772, when he was practicing in the imperial court.

The tragic ending was inspired by the death of the writer's friend, Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem, who committed suicide, suffering from love for a married woman.

Publication of the novel

Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther was first published in 1774. Summary From the first days after publication, the work attracted the interest of most connoisseurs of German literature. After all, the book immediately became a bestseller. It was widely distributed at the Leipzig book fair. After release of this work among the broad masses, the writer became popular throughout the country.

Many researchers claim that the spread of this novel in Europe led to a series of suicides among boys and girls. This phenomenon received a special name - the Werner effect. The number of deaths was so great that in some countries the novel was even banned.

Novel structure

Goethe himself defines the genre of his work as an epistolary novel. Sentimentalism was a very popular trend at that time, which had many followers, including in Russia. For example, Karamzin with “Poor Liza”.

The action of the novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther", a summary of which is given in this article, takes place in a small German town in the very late XVIII century. The structure of the book consists of two parts, which are supplemented by small messages from the publisher to the reader.

Werner himself in his letters addresses a close friend named Wilhelm. They describe their own feelings, as well as events from life.

Summary of Goethe's work "The Sorrows of Young Werther"

The main character of the novel is Werther. This is a young man from a very poor family. He is educated and loves to draw and write poetry. He comes to a small town to be completely alone for a while.

Here he draws for pleasure, reads Homer, talks with ordinary people that surround him. One day he goes to a country ball, where he meets a girl named Charlotte. Werther falls in love with her immediately and without memory.

Close friends call their beloved young man Lotta. This eldest daughter princely ataman. Her mother died, so Charlotte had to stand in for her for her many sisters and brothers. Werner is attracted to a girl not only by her appearance, but also by the originality of her judgment. Already on the first day of acquaintance, young people discover a coincidence of views in many respects.

In the chieftain's house

Having fallen in love with Charlotte, Werner begins to spend most of his time at her family's house. The novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” a summary of which is presented in this article, describes in detail how young people care for the sick together and spend a lot of time together.

The tragedy is that Charlotte has a fiancé who is not yet there, as he is arranging a prestigious position for himself on the eve of the wedding.

When the groom Albert returns, he treats Werther very kindly, but the main character tries with all his might to hide the jealousy raging within him. Calculating Albert perceives Werther as extraordinary creative person, and for this forgives him for his waywardness.

History with pistols

When reading “The Sorrows of Young Werther” in a chapter-by-chapter summary, it is necessary to pay special attention to the case when Werther is about to go to the mountains. To do this, he takes pistols from Albert. He agrees, warning that the weapon is not loaded.

At that time main character takes one of the pistols and puts it to his forehead. This joke leads to a serious argument between the young people. Its main themes are reason and human passions. Giving his own arguments, Werther talks about a girl who threw herself into the river after her lover left her. His opponent is sure that this is a rash and stupid act.

Birthday

If you don't have time to read the whole "The Sorrows of Young Werther", a summary on "Brifley" (the largest online library summaries in Russian) will help you get to know this work in general terms. Next important episode happens at the main character's birthday. Werther receives from Albert unusual gift- bow from Charlotte's dress.

The young man suffers greatly, understands that he needs to leave the city, but constantly postpones everything. When he finally decides to break up, he comes to Charlotte to say goodbye.

They are talking in their favorite gazebo, when the girl, unaware of the impending separation, begins to talk about death and the afterlife.

Departure

A summary of Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" describes the departure of the main character. In a new place, Werther begins to work as an official. He meets new girl, who somehow reminds him of Charlotte.

At the same time, the young man is annoyed by the life around him, and because of this, problems arise at work. Eventually, an incident occurs that forces him to leave both the city and his service.

While visiting a friend of the count, Werther stayed up late when the noble society began to arrive. His low origin was treated with disdain, which the main character did not immediately understand. When he realized this, he hastily left the meeting. The next morning, gossip spread throughout the city that the count had kicked him out of the house. Not wanting to follow the development of the conflict, the young man resigns on his own and leaves the city.

He heads to his native place, where he immerses himself in childhood memories. Then he visits a friend of the prince, but when visiting he constantly feels out of place. Unable to bear the separation any longer, he comes to the city where Charlotte lives.

By this time, the girl had already married Albert. The newlyweds are happy. Werther's arrival brings discord to their calm family life. Charlotte sympathizes with his hopeless love, but is unable to bear the torment and suffering of the latter. Werther finds no place for himself. Increasingly, he falls asleep in his dreams and never wakes up again. Or he wants to commit a sin and then spend the rest of his life atoneting for it.

Death of Werther

The meeting with the crazy Heinrich becomes key in the ending of the novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” A summary with quotes describes him as a man "in a shabby green dress, climbing rocks in search of healing herbs." In fact, Heinrich is collecting a bouquet of flowers for his beloved. Later, Werther learns that his new acquaintance worked as a scribe for Charlotte's father, also fell in love with the girl and literally lost his mind.

The main character begins to feel that the image of his beloved is constantly haunting him. He does not dare to put an end to this suffering. The young man’s notes end with a description of these experiences. We learn about his death from the words of the publisher.

He became unbearable in society. At the same time, the young man’s decision to leave this world on his own becomes stronger, because he is not able to simply leave his beloved. On Christmas Eve main character finds Charlotte sorting through gifts for her family. She asks him not to come to them for a while. For Werther, this means losing the last joy in life - seeing her.

Not listening to Charlotte, Werther comes the very next day. Together they read Ossian's songs. Overwhelmed by feelings, the young man gets too close to her, she asks him to leave.

Once at home, Werther carefully finishes all his work. Leaves Farewell letter Charlotte. Then he sends a servant with a note to Albert asking him to lend him pistols. At the stroke of midnight, a deafening shot is heard in his room.

A servant finds the seriously wounded Werther in the morning. They urgently call a doctor, but it’s too late. The young man dies in the doctor's arms. Charlotte and Albert take his death hard. Werther finds his peace in a grave outside the city. In a place that he himself chose.

Moscow State University them. M.V. Lomonosov

HTTP://JOURNREF.NAROD.RU

Faculty of Journalism.

Genre features of Goethe's novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther”.

Teacher: Vannikova N.I.

Essay by a 2nd year student

Moscow 2004

One of most important works Goethe is an epistolary novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” (1774) - one of outstanding works German and European sentimentalism. According to Engels, Goethe achieved one of the greatest critical feats by writing Werther, which cannot in any way be called just a simple sentimental novel with a love plot. The main thing in it is “emotional pantheism”, the hero’s desire to realize at least in his “heart” a natural state. The impossibility of achieving it logically leads to a denouement - the untimely death of Werther.

The form of the novel in letters became an artistic discovery of the 18th century; it made it possible to show a person not only in the course of events and adventures, but also in the complex process of his feelings and experiences, in his relationship to the environment to the outside world. All letters in the novel belong to one person - Werther; Before us is a novel-diary, a novel-confession, and we perceive all the events that take place through the eyes of this hero. Only the brief introduction, the passage “From the publisher to the reader” and the ending are objectified - they are written on behalf of the author.

The reason for the creation of the novel was Goethe's love for Charlotte Buff. He met her in June 1772 while serving at the Imperial Court in Wetzlar. Goethe had kind friendly relations with Charlotte's fiance, who also served in Wetzlar, Kästner, and when he realized that his feelings for Lotte were disturbing the peace of his friends, he left. “I leave you happy, but I do not leave your hearts,” he wrote to Charlotte. We see approximately the same words in Werther’s farewell letter.

Goethe himself left his beloved, but did not die, but the prototype of the suicidal lover is also taken from real events. Another Wetzlar official, known to Goethe, found himself in similar circumstances in Jerusalem, having fallen in love married woman, but not finding a way out, he committed suicide. It is interesting to note that while sympathizing with Jerusalem, he first of all writes with indignation about the people around him who drove him to suicide: “Unfortunate! But these devils, these vile people, who do not know how to enjoy anything except the waste of vanity, who have erected idols of voluptuousness in their hearts, idolaters, who hinder good undertakings, who know no measure in anything and undermine our strength! They are to blame for this misfortune, for our misfortune. They should get the hell out of their brother!”

Thus, we see that the content of the novel goes beyond the autobiographical; this work cannot be considered only as a reflection of the spiritual “Wetzlar drama”. The meaning of the characters and generalizations developed by Goethe is much deeper and broader. The novel goes back to a certain tradition (from Richardson to Rousseau), while at the same time being a new artistic phenomenon of the era. In him, feeling is organically fused with character.

It is also important to note that the tragedy is not only a story of unfulfilled love; At the center of the novel is a philosophically meaningful theme: man and the world, personality and society. This is what gave Thomas Mann the basis to classify “The Sorrows of Young Werther” as one of those books that predicted and prepared French Revolution. Yes, Goethe himself said that “Werther” was “stuffed with explosives.” Possessing a powerful rebellious charge, he could not help but evoke a response in a country that was preparing for revolution.

About the love described by Goethe we can say in the words of Stendhal:

«<…>Love in Werther's style<…>this is new life goal, to which everything submits, which changes the appearance of all things. Love-passion majestically transforms all of nature in the eyes of man, which seems to be something unprecedentedly new, created only yesterday.”

So, Goethe, defining the genre of his work, himself calls it a novel. “The novel is a large form epic genre literature. Its the most common features: image of a person in complex forms life process, multi-linearity of the plot, covering the destinies of a number of characters, polyphony, hence the large volume compared to other genres. It is clear, of course, that these features characterize the main trends in the development of the novel and manifest themselves in extremely diverse ways.” Goethe's Werther meets these few requirements. Here is an image of the feelings of a suffering young man, and love triangle, and intrigue, and, as mentioned above, a sharp social theme- human and society. Thus, there is also a multi-layered plot (the theme of love, the theme of a suffering person in society). Both themes are constantly intertwined with each other, but the nature of their development and artistic generalizations is different. In the first case, motivations acquire a predominantly psychological character, in the second - mainly social, everyday ones. The entire novel is brought down by love; love itself is the reason for “the suffering of young Werther.” In revealing the second theme, an episode is indicative in which Count von K. invited the hero to dinner, and just that day noble gentlemen and ladies gathered with him. Werther did not think that “subordinates have no place there.” They tried not to notice his presence, acquaintances answered laconically, “the women were whispering to each other at the other end of the hall,” “then the men began to whisper too.” As a result, at the request of the guests, the count was forced to tell Werther that society was unhappy with his presence, i.e. basically just asked him to leave.

IN modern literary criticism"Werther" is often interpreted as a "sentimental-romantic" novel, as a phenomenon of pre-romanticism. It seems that, despite the fact that “Werther” paves the way for the romantic (in particular, confessional) novel, the integrity of its poetic system is determined by educational aesthetics. This is a contradictory and dynamic work in which ideas about the harmony and disharmony of the world, sentimentalism in unity with the Stürmer ideal, educational poetics and its emerging crisis coexist.

“Werther” is called a “novel in letters,” but these notes belong to the pen of one person - Werther, he tells the story on his own behalf. Werther writes to his good old friend Wilhelm (“You have long known my habit of settling down somewhere, finding shelter in a secluded corner and settling down there, being content with little. I have chosen such a place for myself here too”), to whom he tells everything he feels. It is interesting that it is implied that Wilhelm gives him some advice, answers, expresses his opinions, we see this accordingly in Werther’s notes:

“You are asking whether to send me my books. Dear friend, for God’s sake, save me from them!”

“Goodbye, you will like the letter for its purely narrative character.”

“Why don’t I write to you,” you ask, and you are also considered a scientist. I could have guessed myself that I was quite healthy and even... in a word, I made an acquaintance that vividly touched my heart.”

“I by no means decided to listen to you and go with the envoy to ***. I don’t really like having a boss over me, and here we all still know that he’s a crappy person. You write that mother would like to assign me to business.”

“Since you are very concerned that I should not give up drawing, I preferred to avoid this issue rather than admit to you how little I have done lately.”

“I thank you, Wilhelm, for your heartfelt participation, for your kind advice, and I ask only one thing - don’t worry.”

But let's return to the characteristics of the genre. It would be more correct to call the novel a “lyrical diary” inspired by a “monologue.” And it matters. It was to letters of an intimate nature that Werther could entrust his most frank thoughts and feelings:

“Her lips have never been so captivating; it seemed that, opening slightly, they greedily absorbed the sweet sounds of the instrument, and only the most tender echo flew from those pure lips. Oh, is it possible to express it! I couldn't resist; bowing down, I swore an oath: “I will never dare to kiss you, lips overshadowed by perfume!” And yet... you understand, there is definitely some kind of line in front of me... I need to step over it... taste bliss... and then, after the fall, atone for sin! Is that enough, is it a sin?”

Werther quotes his thoughts and ideas, not only describes life events, he also compares his emotions with the emotions of book characters:

“Sometimes I say to myself: “Your fate is unparalleled!” - and I call others lucky. No one has ever suffered such torment! Then I start reading an ancient poet, and it feels like I’m looking into my own heart. How I suffer! Oh, were people really this unhappy before me?”

So, “The Sorrows of Young Werther” is a sentimental diary-confession of a man in love. It is interesting to note that if in a sentimental novel emotionality is a special mental makeup, subtlety of feelings, vulnerability, a set of moral norms that are determined by the natural essence of a person, then in a confessional novel emotionality becomes a lyrical prism of perception of the world, a way of understanding reality. It seems to me that in Werther’s notes we see features of both the first and the second, observing the very development of feelings, the mental torment of the hero through his own eyes, formulating them in his own words. Such a combination, a change...it is precisely with the help of this that new content and originality of thinking are realized (“...form is nothing more than the transition of content into form”).

In this context, it is important to consider the structure of Werther. The novel has a linear composition, the author is separated from the hero, other characters are important to describe the hero's life. In Werther, notes and comments from the publisher constantly intrude into the text: at the beginning, middle and end. Moreover, at the beginning the image of the author-adviser appears before us - he makes it clear that he found this story because it will be interesting to the reader and useful especially for “the poor fellow who has fallen into the same temptation.” In the chapter “From the Publisher to the Reader,” the publisher notes that “concerning the characters of the characters, opinions differ and assessments vary.” If Albert and friends condemn Werther, then in the tone of the publisher condemnation and compassion are inseparable, and in the confession itself Werther is completely aestheticized. Thus, it is important to note that there are no already open moralizing tendencies, no overt judgment. This allows us to talk about the first steps towards a new relationship between author and hero, which will be embodied in romantic poetics.

It is this genre, characteristic of literature XVIII century, chooses Goethe for his work, the action takes place in one of the small German towns at the end of the 18th century. The novel consists of two parts - these are letters from Werther himself and additions to them under the heading “From the publisher to the reader.” Werther's letters are addressed to his friend Wilhelm, in them the author strives not so much to describe the events of his life, but to convey his feelings that the world around him evokes in him.

Werther, a young man from a poor family, educated, inclined towards painting and poetry, settles in a small town to be alone. He enjoys nature, communicates with ordinary people, reads his beloved Homer, and draws. At a country youth ball, he meets Charlotte S. and falls madly in love with her. Lotta, as the girl’s close friends call her, is the eldest daughter of the princely ruler; there are nine children in their family. Their mother died, and Charlotte, despite her youth, managed to replace her with her brothers and sisters. She is not only visually attractive, but also has independent judgment. Already on the first day of meeting Werther and Lotte, a similarity of tastes is revealed, they easily understand each other.

From now on, the young man spends most of his time every day in the amtman's house, which is an hour's walk from the city. Together with Lotte, he visits a sick pastor and goes to look after a sick lady in the city. Every minute spent near her gives Werther pleasure. But the young man’s love is doomed to suffering from the very beginning, because Lotte has a fiancé, Albert, who has gone to get a respectable position.

Albert arrives, and although he treats Werther kindly and delicately hides the manifestations of his feelings for Lotte, the young man in love is jealous of her for him. Albert is reserved, reasonable, he considers Werther an extraordinary person and forgives him for his restless disposition. For Werther, the presence of a third person during meetings with Charlotte is difficult; he falls either into unbridled joy or into gloomy moods.

One day, in order to get a little distraction, Werther is going on horseback to the mountains and asks Albert to lend him pistols for the road. Albert agrees, but warns that they are not loaded. Werther takes one pistol and puts it to his forehead. This harmless joke turns into a serious argument between young people about a person, his passions and reason. Werther tells a story about a girl who was abandoned by her lover and threw herself into the river, because without him life for her had lost all meaning. Albert considers this act “stupid”; he condemns a person who, carried away by passions, loses the ability to reason. Werther, on the contrary, is disgusted by excessive rationality.

For his birthday, Werther receives a package as a gift from Albert: it contains a bow from Lotte’s dress, in which he saw her for the first time. The young man suffers, he understands that he needs to get down to business and leave, but he keeps putting off the moment of separation. On the eve of his departure, he comes to Lotte. They go to their favorite gazebo in the garden. Werther says nothing about the upcoming separation, but the girl, as if anticipating it, starts talking about death and what will follow. She remembers her mother last minutes before parting with her. Worried by her story, Werther nevertheless finds the strength to leave Lotte.

The young man leaves for another city, he becomes an official under the envoy. The envoy is picky, pedantic and stupid, but Werther made friends with Count von K. and tries to brighten up his loneliness in conversations with him. In this town, as it turns out, class prejudices are very strong, and the young man is constantly pointed out about his origin.

Werther meets the girl B., who vaguely reminds him of the incomparable Charlotte. He often talks with her about his former life, including telling her about Lotte. The surrounding society annoys Werther, and his relationship with the envoy is getting worse. The matter ends with the envoy complaining about him to the minister, who, being a delicate person, writes a letter to the young man in which he reprimands him for being excessively touchy and tries to direct his extravagant ideas in the direction where they will find the right application.

Werther temporarily comes to terms with his position, but then a “trouble” occurs that forces him to leave the service and the city. He was visiting Count von K., stayed too long, and at that time guests began to arrive. In this town, it was not customary for a low-class person to appear in noble society. Werther did not immediately realize what was happening, besides, when he saw a girl he knew, B., he started talking to her, and only when everyone began to look sideways at him, and his interlocutor could hardly carry on a conversation, the young man hastily left. The next day, gossip spread throughout the city that Count von K. had kicked Werther out of his house. Not wanting to wait until he is asked to leave the service, the young man submits his resignation and leaves.

First, Werther goes to his native place and indulges in sweet childhood memories, then he accepts the prince’s invitation and goes to his domain, but here he feels out of place. Finally, unable to bear the separation any longer, he returns to the city where Charlotte lives. During this time she became Albert's wife. Young people are happy. Werther's appearance brings discord into their family life. Lotte sympathizes with the young man in love, but she is also unable to see his torment. Werther rushes about, he often dreams of falling asleep and never waking up, or he wants to commit a sin and then atone for it.

One day, while walking around the outskirts of the town, Werther meets the crazy Heinrich, who is collecting a bouquet of flowers for his beloved. Later he learns that Heinrich was a scribe for Lotte’s father, fell in love with a girl, and love drove him crazy. Werther feels that the image of Lotte is haunting him and he does not have the strength to put an end to his suffering. At this point the young man's letters end, and about him future fate We'll find out from the publisher.

Love for Lotte makes Werther unbearable for those around him. On the other hand, the decision to leave the world gradually becomes stronger in the young man’s soul, because he is unable to simply leave his beloved. One day he finds Lotte sorting through gifts for her family on the eve of Christmas. She turns to him with a request to come to them next time no earlier than Christmas Eve. For Werther, this means that he is deprived of the last joy in life. Nevertheless, the next day he still goes to Charlotte, and together they read an excerpt from Werther’s translation of Ossian’s songs. In a fit of unclear feelings, the young man loses control of himself and approaches Lotte, for which she asks him to leave her.

Returning home, Werther puts his affairs in order, writes a farewell letter to his beloved, and sends a servant with a note to Albert for pistols. At exactly midnight, a shot is heard in Werther's room. In the morning, the servant finds a young man, still breathing, on the floor, the doctor comes, but it is too late. Albert and Lotte are having a hard time with Werther's death. They bury him not far from the city, in the place that he chose for himself.

Brief recap:

“The Sorrows of Young Werther” is an epistolary novel, the action of which takes place in one of the small German towns at the end of the 18th century. The novel consists of two parts - these are letters from Werther himself and additions to them under the heading “From the publisher to the reader.” Werther's letters are addressed to his friend Wilhelm, in them the author strives not so much to describe the events of his life, but to convey his feelings that the world around him evokes in him.

For his birthday, Werther receives a package as a gift from Albert: it contains a bow from Lotte’s dress, in which he saw her for the first time. The young man suffers, he understands that he needs to get down to business and leave, but he keeps putting off the moment of separation. On the eve of his departure, he comes to Lotte. They go to their favorite gazebo in the garden. Werther says nothing about the upcoming separation, but the girl, as if anticipating it, starts talking about death and what will follow. She remembers her mother, the last minutes before parting with her. Worried by her story, Werther nevertheless finds the strength to leave Lotte.

One day, while walking around the outskirts of the town, Werther meets the crazy Heinrich, who is collecting a bouquet of flowers for his beloved. Later he learns that Heinrich was a scribe for Lotte’s father, fell in love with a girl, and love drove him crazy. Werther feels that the image of Lotte is haunting him and he does not have the strength to put an end to his suffering. At this point, the young man’s letters end, and we learn about his future fate from the publisher.

The work was written in the epistolary genre, popular for the 18th century, in which Rousseau and Richardson had already distinguished themselves. Rousseau also chose this genre in order to trace internal changes, the struggle of passions, thoughts, feelings in a person, because constant letters seem to be a kind of diary, moreover, addressed not to oneself, but to another person, and then more detailed and clear. Goethe tried to reflect the experiences, the “suffering” of a young man, under the flow of feelings, intense jealousy, love, making the decision to die, but this is not perceived by the main character as an escape, but as a protest, liberation from the chains of passions and torment (in a conversation with a reasonable and sober-minded Albert, who calls suicide weakness - after all, it is easier to die than to endure torment with firmness, Werther says: “If the people, groaning under the intolerable yoke of a tyrant, finally rebel and break their chains, will you really call them weak?”). In his letters, Werther is reflected in his own definitions of himself, however, the publisher's more calm and "concise" tone describing last days Werther, no less clearly allow us to reflect the character and vivid experiences of the hero, because with the motivation for his actions and inner world The reader already has time to get acquainted with the hero from Werther’s letters. And thanks to this, it becomes easier to perceive Werther’s behavior even after he stops writing his “diary letters.” At the end of the novel, the hero’s letters are addressed to himself - this reflects a growing feeling of loneliness, a feeling of a vicious circle, which ends in a tragic denouement - suicide.

The novel was written in 1774 under the impression of the earlier suicide of a man Goethe knew - a young official, unable to bear his humiliated position and unhappy love, committed suicide, and an open book “Emilia Galotti” was found on his table (the same detail is also mentioned when describing the circumstances of Werther's death).

Throughout the novel, the hero's vision of the world changes - from an idyllic perception, full of optimism and joy, from reading the heroic and bright Homer, the hero, gradually losing his beloved, whose friendly feelings are not enough for him, then realizing his low position when his presence at a social meeting turns out to be to the unpleasant guests of Count von K., - plunges into the dark abyss of passions and suffering, he begins to read and translate “foggy Ossian” (he reads his own translation of a passage of Ossian (made by Goethe) together with his beloved, but unable to reciprocate his feelings, Lotte). At the same moment of spiritual tension and excitement, Lotte and Werther simultaneously remember Klopstock’s ode. By means of his art, Goethe made the story of Werther’s love and torment merge with the life of all nature. Although the dates of the letters show that two years pass from the meeting with Lotte to the death of the hero, Goethe compressed the time of action: the meeting with Lotte takes place in the spring, the very happy time Werther's love is summer, the most painful for him begins in the fall, he wrote his last suicide letter to Lotte on December 21. Thus, Werther’s fate reflects the flourishing and dying that occurs in nature, just as it was the case with mythical heroes.

Werther's character is contrasted with the character of the groom, and later Lotte's husband - the pragmatist Albert, whose cold, calm, sober look does not coincide with Werther's opinions and causes disputes between them. However, both characters respect each other, and Werther's suicide affects Albert, since even on the night when Werther asks Charlotte for pistols, Albert assures his wife that this cannot happen.

One interpretation of Werther’s action is “a protest of an extraordinary, restless nature against the squalor of German reality.”