n reform movement known as Pietism, Goethe gained some insight into religious mysticism. From 1770 to 1771 he was in Strasbourg to continue his study of law; in addition, he took up the study of music, art, anatomy, and chemistry. He lived according to the ideal expressed in Faust: never to be satisfied with what one is, but to strive incessantly to learn, to improve, to accomplish. His writings clearly show his development from youthful rebellion to the search for emotional restraint, objectivity, beauty, and the ideal human personality. The two parts of Faust, moreover, have often been considered representative of the prevailing tendencies of German literature; the first part contains many elements of the literary movement known as Romanticism, and the second represents the classicism most admired by Goethe. When initially began writing The Sorrows of Young Werther Goethe intended for it to be a play, however at the beginning of July 1774 his work came to an end, in a form of a short novel in a series of confessional letters, as Werther in many areas, in fact, reflected Goethe himself, and his relationship with a woman named Charlotte, that like in the novel, was married to his friend Christian.3Werther represents, on one hand the individual whose intelligence and artistic mind isolate him from the rest of the society. His sensitivity to beauty and nature generally separate him from getting himself involved with the townspeople in the story. For example his disrespect of the Prince’s superficial knowledge of art, demonstrates that he cannot tolerate anyone who does not share his artistic insight. Furthermore, Werther does not find in the story an equal or a superior to himself. Even Lotte, the woman he loved, did not have the power to help him with his obsessions and desires. Other than his artistic abilities Werther had some psychological problems, which also seem to affect his ability to interact with others. A class differe...
