Goethe's 1809 novel applies a chemical term, elective affinity, to human relationships. Eduard and Charlotte, a married couple living quietly on their country estate, invite his friend, the Captain, and her niece Ottilie to stay. Between the four, new attractions form and old bonds fall apart, as if people were chemical elements recombining. The consequences are tragic, especially for Ottilie. Goethe pits passion against marriage, duty and social convention in a cool, precise style.
Readers of nineteenth-century European fiction and anyone curious about how German literature handled adultery and moral law will find a short novel that keeps its ideas and its story tightly balanced.
Deep, inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1986
- Publisher
- Reclam Verlag
- ISBN
- 9783150078358
- Language
- DE
