This is a book that writes about the extreme enthusiasm and loneliness of young people - "The Troubles of Young Werther".
Deeply speaking, "The Troubles of Young Werther" shows not only the feelings and pains of a person's isolation, but the feelings, longings and pains of the entire era.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, author of The Troubles of Young Werther, was born in 1749 and died in 1832.
He is a great German poet, writer, scholar and thinker, not only the most outstanding representative of modern Western spiritual civilization, but also the most outstanding representative of German national literature, his creation has raised German literature to the world's advanced level, and has made great contributions to the development of world literature.
"The Troubles of Young Werther" is Goethe's masterpiece, a reflection of the author's life in his youth.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, his father was a local senator and his mother was the daughter of the mayor, he was good at storytelling and developed Goethe's literary interest.
Goethe studied law at the University of Leipzig in his early years, worked as a lawyer, and served as privy counsellor, minister and prime minister in the Principality of Weimar.
His life spanned two centuries, at a time of great social turmoil and great changes in Europe, the feudal system was collapsing day by day, and the revolutionary force was constantly rising, so that Goethe was influenced by advanced ideas, created a large number of excellent literary works, and achieved high achievements in poetry, drama, and prose.
The Troubles of Young Werther is an epistolary novel that tells a poignant love story.
Based on Goethe's personal experience, this work, which was created in just four weeks, deeply shook the hearts of young people who were Goethe's contemporaries.
They not only imitate the speech and manners of the protagonist of the work, "Witt", but also easily end their youthful lives due to the loss of love.
To this end, Goethe had to write a poem on the title page of the book's republishment:
Young men who are not good lovers
Miao ling woman who is not good at pregnant with spring
This is the purest and purest of human nature
Why did it fly in miserably from then on
Lovely reader yo, you cry him, you love him
Please save his reputation from before the critique
Look, his spirit out of the cave whispering to you,
Be a man, don't follow in my footsteps.
It is said that Emperor Napoleon, who swept across the European continent, did not forget to take it with him even in a fierce conquest so that he could read it at any time. This shows the high status of this book.
The Troubles of Young Werther was published in 1774, when all of Europe was in the midst of a transition from feudalism to capitalism.
In the 1770s, Germany erupted in a massive "Wild Forward Movement", a development of the bourgeois Enlightenment, a feverish individualist revolt that reflected the bourgeoisie's strong desire to break free from feudal fetters and to emancipate individuality.
The literary manifestation is that a number of works have emerged that advocate feelings, celebrate nature, oppose authoritarian tyranny, and expose the dark society.
"The Troubles of Young Werther" is one of these works, which shows the spirit of "leaping forward" everywhere.
The protagonist, Witt, was born into a wealthier middle-class family and was well educated.
He can write poetry and paint, love nature, and be affectionate. One day in early spring, he happily bid farewell to his family and friends and came to a remote mountain village with pleasant scenery.
The purpose is to escape a love debt that can never be repaid due to his amorousness.
The teenager, who lived freely on the basis of his father's legacy, was intrigued by the mood and natural scenery of the mountain village.
In his eyes, everything in the mountain village is as beautiful as heaven, the green mountains and valleys, the morning light and the twilight, the village children and girls...
All this made him feel like he was living in a paradise, forgetting all his troubles.
Not long after, at a dance, Witt met the daughter of a local judge, Luti, and became fascinated by her.
However, Luti was already engaged, and in order to get rid of the pain and troubles caused to him by Luti's fiancé, Wert followed the advice of his friends and decided to leave his beloved Luti and leave the small mountain village that brought him joy and happiness.
Witt found a job far from the mountain village—as a secretary at the legation.
He adapted himself to the job as much as possible, but his bureaucratic bosses nitpicked his work, harassed him at every turn, and found no like-minded among his colleagues, all of which caused him a lot of trouble.
Just when he was deeply bored, by chance, he met a respectable Count C. Count C's kindness and trust brought a touch of comfort to Witt.
What made him even happier was that during a walk he met a lovely girl who still lost her natural nature in a pedantic environment. Miss B.
They talked speculatively, and Werther fell in love with her, even though she had an unlikable aunt.
After a stormy affair at the legation, Witt felt that the legation was not his place to stay for a long time, so he decided to leave the dark, corrupt, and hypocritical officialdom.
After that, he went to Hunting Village at the invitation of a marquis general, during which he wanted to join the army, but at the advice of the marquis, he quickly dispelled this idea.
The Marquis treated him well, but he always felt uncomfortable there.
Witt has always missed Luti, so he returns to his original mountain village.
Although the scenery of the mountain village is still the same, the personnel is completely different. The beloved Luti has long since become Albert's wife.
And the kind villagers suffered misfortune one by one. After Witt himself hit a wall everywhere in work, society, and love, he also felt that he was at the end of his rope, and he was extremely miserable and troubled, allowing his feelings to drive himself step by step towards a sad ending.
The day before Christmas, he came to his sweetheart LuTie's side to make a final farewell.
At this moment, the flame of love that was about to be extinguished instantly shone again, and he recited Osion's sad song to Luddy while hugging her tightly.
Two days later, he left an unbearable suicide note, and at midnight, he silently recited "Green Ti, Green Ti!" Goodbye, goodbye", while picking up her husband's pistol and ending her life, but also ending her own pain and troubles.
In 1774, the publication of The Troubles of Young Werther transformed Goethe from a German poet into a poet of the "world". The novel is popular in various countries, setting off a "teenage Werther fever".
The reason why the work has such charm is that through the contradiction between Witt, a rebel and the surrounding environment, it exposes the dirty vulgarity of high society, the mutual inversion between people, and the insurmountable hierarchy, profoundly criticizes the ugly reality of Germany at that time, and reflects the spiritual bitterness of the progressive young people in Germany who have awakened but are still weak.
The novel has two main features.
First, it is written in the first person (with the exception of "Editor to Reader" interspersed in Witt's letters).
This narrative method is very suitable for this novel to focus on expressing the protagonist's thoughts and feelings.
Witt is a young man who has been influenced by new ideas and has literary and artistic talents, and his pursuit of love, hopes for careers and ideals have all suffered setbacks and failures due to the decadent and degenerate social reality.
In the depths of his heart, there will inevitably be layers of waves, and this change of thought and feeling, narrated by the protagonist in the first person form of the epistolary body, can be freely expressed without any external constraints, and can be freely expressed and vented freely.
Second, when the novel expresses the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist and creates the image of Werther, an amorous young man, it also relies on the description of natural scenes.
There is no shortage of brilliant landscape descriptions in Witte's letters, which is not only a distinctive feature of his ideological character - the youth of the wild and rapid movement, influenced by Rousseau's idea of "returning to nature", believing that human nature and nature are connected, and that approaching nature will purify people's hearts, and it is also the need for him to express his thoughts and feelings.
At the ball, Werther hears Lu di say that she is engaged to Albert, followed by lightning and thunder to flatter his "distraughtness".
This kind of empathy into the scene, the lyrical writing of the scene, is also an important aspect of the artistic appeal of this novel.
For more than two hundred years, this novel has deeply shaken the hearts of generations of readers with its poignant and touching love story and sad and sentimental tone.