Werther As a Force of Nature Janet Rosenbaum

From the beginning of The Sorrows of Young Werther, Werther emphasizes his connection to Nature in order to embellish the tragically creative persona he presents to Wilhelm. As his infatuation with Charlotte grows and he laments the injustice and misfortune of his situation, his views distort; we see his self-perceived affinity with Nature becoming more twisted and less peaceful. A turning point in this tranformation can be seen in his entry of 18 August; Nature is no longer sublime and beautiful to him, but merely sublime and filled with the potential for destruction: Werther finds himself paralyzed by the thoughts of his own destructive powers.

Werther is describing the anguish of his unrequited love for Charlotte, which has transformed his previous love for Nature into torment. The extent of his torment is described in the form of a vision: âIt is as if a curtain had been drawn from before my eyes,â? hinting at an epiphany-changed Werther, expecting to feel attachment and oneness with Nature, but âinstead of prospects of eternal life, the abyss of an ever-open grave yawned before me.â? The image of a curtain being drawn aside to reveal a Truth which concerns âthe prospects of eternal lifeâ? has strongly religious...