Self-Absorption of Youth Theme Analysis

The Sorrows of Young Werther contains characters of nearly all ages, but its primary concerns rest with Werther, Lotte, and Albert, three youths at the threshold of adulthood. As Goethe depicts it, young adulthood is a dangerous time: the authorities of youth (parents, teachers, elders) become less powerful, while the young adult’s own perceptions begin to seem like the only reliable, true guide in the world. Werther is a classic example of a youth in the grip of such self-absorption, and while the novel acknowledges that this is both normal and understandable for his age, it also portrays both the absurdity and destructiveness of self-absorption that goes unchecked.

The very form that Goethe chose for The Sorrows of Young Werther suggests self-absorption. The book is an epistolary novel, a novel written as though it were a series of letters, and the only letters presented are Werther’s. Therefore, Werther’s voice—and his endless rhapsody about his emotions—is the only voice readers hear. In addition, Werther’s letters do not show evidence that he ever listens to Wilhelm, his primary correspondent, or even that he cares much about their friendship. The letters rarely allude to anything Wilhelm has written, and when they do, it’s typically in the form of rejecting advice or justifying some mistake Werther has made in spite of Wilhelm’s pleas. Thus, Werther comes to seem self-absorbed to the point of isolating himself; nobody can temper Werther’s actions, perceptions, or emotions because he won’t listen to anyone else. In fact, the only relief from Werther’s narration comes when he has descended so far into his madness that the editor must take over and explain that Werther succumbed to his passions. In other words, Werther is so self-absorbed that the entrance of another voice does not indicate Werther’s willingness to listen and share the stage—the presence of a new narrator shows that Werther has died.

Werther’s relationship with Lotte also highlights his self-absorption in two ways. First, Lotte is not a self-absorbed character, so her presence highlights Werther’s own flaws. Though Lotte is Werther’s age, she is not still a youth; after her mother died, she took on the adult responsibility of raising her siblings, and she has taken on the adult commitment of marriage. Since Lotte’s life is so closely connected to others—namely Albert and her siblings—Lotte understands empathy, compromise, and respect. She lives so much for others that she cannot be self-absorbed, unlike isolated Werther who cannot fathom that another person’s perspective could be equal to his own. Second, Lotte seems to inspire new heights of self-absorption in Werther. Though Werther claims to love Lotte above all else, his actions towards her lack empathy and respect, which casts doubt on the maturity of his definition of love. For example, when Lotte asks Werther to stop courting her and allow Albert to be her husband with Werther as simply their friend, Werther cannot honor her request or even understand the difficult position he has put her in. Locked within his crippling self-absorption, Werther utterly disregards Lotte’s needs in favor of his own desires, which ruins their ability even to be friends.

Werther’s self-absorption is tied inextricably to his insistence on prioritizing emotion over reason. While reason is a powerful moderator of impulse and emotion, Werther insists that reason (book learning, the advice of others, self-reflection) is unimportant. While this can be interpreted as a valid value judgment, Werther’s choice of emotion over reason also seems, in a different light, to act as a justification for selfish behavior. Since dividing the mind from the body and labeling the mind as less important conveniently excuses the mind from its duty to temper and second-guess emotions, Werther’s idea that his behavior is outside of his control allows his selfishness to rule him with impunity. In this way, Werther’s self-absorption allows him to justify whatever behavior his emotions lead him toward. And this behavior, in turn, is destructive: it’s deeply troubling to Wilhelm, it seemingly terrifies his mother, and it pushes away his dearest friend, Lotte, while making an enemy of her husband. Within the insular system of Werther’s own mind, all of this—even his suicide—is justified, because his emotions are justified by the simple fact that he has them.

While Goethe takes Werther’s pain and passions seriously (he doesn’t mock or judge Werther outright), Werther’s actions speak for themselves. Werther is a character who has, to an extreme extent, allowed his self-absorption to rule him, and it leads him to mistreat others and, ultimately, to behave in ways so self-destructive that it costs him his life. The novel, then, gives the sense of a normal developmental stage run amok. Most young people contend with self-absorption to some extent, but Werther’s story shows that, if unchecked, self-absorption can be deadly.