Sorrows of Young Werther

Author: (German) Goethe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Can read beautiful Chinese, learn with Chinese-English comparison, enjoy first-class English, specially designed for readers of different ages and levels as a timeless collectible! I am striving to find Lotte's eyes; Oh, her eyes look at this, then at that! Yet they never look at me. Look at me! Look at me! All my thoughts are lost in her gaze, yet it never falls upon me! I have bid her goodbye a thousand times in my heart, yet she doesn’t even spare me a glance! The carriage has left, and I am filled with tears. My gaze follows her, seeing her headgear peek out from the door. She turns her head, is she looking at me? Dear! I am not sure, and my heart grows restless. Maybe she has turned back to look at me! That alone brings me comfort. Perhaps! Good night! Oh, how childish I am! Sometimes I truly don’t understand how another person could love her, dare to love her, unaware that only I love her sincerely, completely, that apart from her, I know nothing, have nothing! The Sorrows of Young Werther was written in 1774. Its publication made Goethe a household name overnight and established his lifelong honor. This novel, written in the form of letters, pioneered German literary history. It depicts Werther’s tumultuous emotional waves, presenting his changes in thought and feeling with sincerity and detail through lyrical and discursive passages. It places Werther’s personal romantic misfortunes against a broad social backdrop, exposing and critiquing feudal class prejudice, petty bourgeois selfishness and conservatism. It fervently advocates individual liberation and emotional freedom, particularly through the protagonist’s rebellion against society’s oppression and suffocation of young people, showcasing a spirit of challenging outdated customs and rejecting vices, thus carrying greater progressive significance for the times. This is also why the novel has become a treasure in the world of literature, beloved by people across nations and enduring through the ages.