Reading the Classics #61: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*CLAP* Book *CLAP* Review
Gosh, so many posts and I still don’t know how to start these. Anyway, today we’re gonna be looking at the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe was an interesting figure, to say the least. Born August 28, 1749 in Frankfurt (Which back then was part of the Holy Roman Empire, but now is part of Germany). Goethe had an amazing education growing up (He learned Greek, Latin, French before he turned 18), and from a young age enjoyed writing plays and stories. He studied as a law student for several years, before turning to his true passion of writing. He started out by writing poems, and when those became successful, he published his first book, The Sorrows of Young Werther (Which I will talk about in more detail). He wrote many other things, including the legendary play Faust. Several times he fell in love, and after being disappointed in it, he became disillusioned with the idea. This philosophy of his showed up in his works, most notably in The Sorrows of Young Werther. By the time of his death in 1832 in Weimar, he was known all over Europe as a philosopher and author. With that introduction, I will be reviewing three of Goethe’s writings, his most famous ones. Let’s get into it.
1. The Sorrows of Young Werther
2. Faust, Part One
3. Faust, Part Two
I read The Sorrows of Young Werther fairly recently, and I was quite impressed by it. First published in 1774, the story is about Werther and his love for a woman. Now, Werther has a big problem: this woman, whose name is Charlotte, is married to a man named Albert. Werther and Charlotte become good friends, but every moment is agony to Werther, as he realizes that he can never have her love. Eventually Charlotte, who sees his pain, tries to help him by saying they can’t meet as often anymore. This has the opposite effect, however, and Werther realizes that one of the three (Either Charlotte, Albert, or himself), must die for the situation to resolve. Now, if you want to know what choice he makes, you’ll have to read it for yourself. I was fascinated by this story, and by Werther’s philosophy as he wrestles with his feelings. I felt his pain as he got to know Charlotte and love her, knowing that his love could never be returned. Let’s just hope that I don’t come to the same conclusion as him. I would absolutely recommend this story, it was very well done and really makes you think. Ok, onto the next book.
Faust is a play by Goethe, a play so long that it had to be divided into two part, Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two. Based off on an old German legend, the first part begins with the Devil (Who in the story is called Mephistopheles), making a bet with God. Mephistopheles says that he can tempt God’s favorite human (Heinrich Faust) and turn him into a sinner. On Earth, Faust is spending night and day learning as much knowledge as he can. Eventually, to gain more information, he starts studying magic to increase his knowledge. His attempts fail, though, and he plans to kill himself. Mephistopheles, however, appears to him, and offers him a deal. Mephistopheles will give him everything he wants on Earth, in return for Faust serving him in Hell. Faust agrees, and the deal is made. As you can imagine, things don’t go quite smoothly. Faust meets a girl named Gretchen, and falls madly in love with her. When Mephistopheles makes her fall for him, it creates a huge, very bad mess. That’s basically all of Part One.
Faust, Part Two continues the story from when the problems in Part One begin. This part is on a very different level. Faust is now like in a magical land, and he learns all kinds of stuff. Basically this entire part is Goethe showing off his knowledge of philosophy, science, love, and all that stuff. It’s because of that reason, that I don’t have a lot to say about this. It bored me, for the most part. My overall reaction to Faust is a mixture of interest in boredom. By far the beginning was the best part, though.
So, that is my take on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his stories. He was somewhat a hopeless romantic, and that definitely made its way into his writings. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any questions or suggestions, make sure to tell me in the comments. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
1774- The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1808- Faust, Part One by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1832- Faust, Part Two by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1919- Demian by Hermann Hesse
1922- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
1927- Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
