The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther, a popular literature written by Goethe from German, exerts a significant influence on me. After reading the book, some experience on love and social institution crowds into my mind like a tide, which impels me to rethink attitudes towards the institution and the human nature.
Werther, born in a middle-class family, was a well-educated juvenile. One day, in an attempt to relax himself, he left his family and friends and moved to a remote village with picturesque scenery. At first, not merely did Werther show interest in natural scenery, but also he took an interest in the unsophisticated life. However, he made the acquaintance of Charlotte, the daughter of a local judge at a party. Werther fell in love with Charlotte immediately but Charlotte has been engaged. Because it is inappropriate to show his love in that era, Werther made the decision to come back to the city and tried to forget Charlotte. However, he loved Charlotte so deeply that he missed her day and night. When he knew that a young peasant who loved a hostess killed the servant who worked for the hostess because of love and envy, Werther did his best to plead the case although the action was wrong. Obviously, he could not help the peasant and sank in sorrow. Finally, with deep sadness, Werther bid farewell to Charlotte the day before Christmas and committed suicide.
Werther, the protagonist of this book, makes a profound impression on me.Undoubtedly, Werther was a perceptual young person. By his instincts, Werther believed that it is nothing wrong to love Charlotte since the engagement on Charlotte and Albert cannot impede his love. Werther was so naive that he could not bear the social system in realistic society. The news of the murder case of the young peasant urged him to head toward disaster. Werther gradually realized that his value was different from the social values in that period. From the talk between Werther and Albert, we can obviously see that Werther had uninhibited character and the desire to get rid of common views. Eventually, Werther broke completely with outdated conventional ideas and committed suicide.
Superficially, the book describes a sad love story. It is true that love or one-sided love is the theme of the book. Nevertheless, the book is not just the expression of romantic love but the reflection of survival states of humanity. On May 26 in the book, it says “she alone is inexhaustible, and capable of forming the greatest masters.” Nature is on behalf of sensibility and institution is on behalf of reason. Just as Werther stands for sensibility and Albert stands for reason. We cannot easily make the conclusion that which is more important between sensibility and reason. According to most people, we can solve most of the problems by reason. By means of science and reason, we have created a fare political system. However, it is highly recommended that we should rethink whether we should the plausible institution. In reality, we establish system at the expense of natural character. In essence, reason does not serve for us but enslaves us. In order to change the current situation, we are excepted to give up utilitarianism and live in a free way.
In the book, the author uses letters to express Werther’s psychological activities. It is universally acknowledged that we can easily understand Werther directly by the lively description. On May 10 in the book, it says “The wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart.” From the words, we can comprehend that Werther is a cheerful person that is long for freedom and has a sense of innocence. Throughout the book, there is no doubt that my emotion always fluctuate when Werther meets Charlotte cheerfully and misses Charlotte painfully.
From my personal perspective, The Sorrows of Young Werther is a meaningful book no matter how the era changes. Not only does the book show an impressive love story to us but also it reveals the unreasonable social system. Only after we return to authenticity and nature, can we establish a harmonious society.
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