Idyll – dualism – catastrophe. On the relationship between the protagonist of J. W. Goethe’s The Sufferings of Young Werther and nature

Abstract

This article explores a reading of J. W. Goethe’s novel The Sufferings of Young Werther in terms of the protagonist’s relationship with nature. The chronological analysis of Werther’s nature writings incorporated in his letters to Wilhelm addresses his experiences, attitudes, feelings and reactions in relation to the natural world, their influence on his views, as well as the relationship between Werther’s individualism and social position and his ecological awareness. Werther sees nature either as an aesthetic object and a source of authenticity and freedom, or as a destructive force that threatens man. From this perspective, it appears that the source of the protagonist’s predicament and tragic end is his inability to apprehend the full scope of nature, the overwhelming effect of a dualistic view that makes him perceive nature as either unilaterally benevolent and auspicious or, radically destructive and causing decay.