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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sorrows of Young Werther, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Heart vs. The Mind
Self-Absorption of Youth
Upper Class and Lower Class
Women
Suicide
Summary
Analysis
The foreword to The Sorrows of Young Werther is written by the book’s fictional editor. In it, he or she claims to have collected all of the available information regarding the events of Werther’s unfortunate life. The editor goes on to directly address the reader, noting with certainty that readers will appreciate the work itself and come to love its title character.
The editor’s introduction appeals instantly to the emotional side of the reader. Werther always takes the same emotional approach to life, though the editor foreshadows that Werther suffers a tragic fate because of it.
Themes
