The Sorrows of Young Werther - The Sorrows of Young Werther

Japanese: 若きウェルターの悩み - わかきウェルターのなやみ

Goethe's epistolary novel, first published in 1774. The motivation for writing it came from Goethe's own experience of falling in love with his friend's fiancé in a traditional small town, and then from an incident in which a friend he learned about in the same town fell in love with a married woman and committed suicide. It depicts Werther's hopeless love for Lotte, a girl who is engaged to Werther, and the psychology that leads to his suicide. The work is characterized by a fresh, natural emotion and rebellion against the old order, and it captured the hearts of young people of the time, some of whom even committed suicide by imitating his clothes. It is also widely read in Japan as a masterpiece of romance novels.
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Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

ゲーテの書簡体の小説。1774年初版。因襲的な小都市で友人の婚約者にあこがれたゲーテ自身の体験，その町で知った友が人妻に恋して自殺した事件などが創作の動機になった。婚約者のある娘ロッテへのウェルターの絶望的な恋と自殺に至る心理を描く。みずみずしい自然感情と，古い秩序への反抗がこの作品の特色で，当時の若者たちの心をとらえ，服装を模倣し自殺する者まで出たという。日本でも恋愛小説の傑作として広く読まれる。
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