The story of young Werther is one of sorrow. Werther is distraught at the reality that he can’t have his true love, Lotte, because she is married to another man. The manic- depression he has fallen in soon takes over the rest of his life, and it sends him spiraling out of control. His love is not completely ill received by Lotte, however she appreciated the flattering, to some extent, and truly had his well being at heart. I believe that the editor brought up the story of the young peasant being accused of murdering his mistress new service man, to give us an insight of Werther’s mind.
Tthroughout the whole story you see his obsession growing like a parasite, feeding on the enjoyment he once had for life, and taking over every aspect of his life, there is no relief. When Werther first met the young peasant and heard his story he thought it was beautiful story of passion. In the book he described the peasant boys love as, “l should need gifts of the greatest poets if I were to describe his expressive gestures, the harmony on his voice, and secret fire in his eyes, to any effect. No there are no words for his tenderness that was in his entire being…
Werther found it overly beautiful that the peasant was so devote and infatuated with his mistress. Werther was so caught up in what he interpreted as a romantic Jester that he fails to see, or maybe does not comprehend, the dangerous obsession that the peasant has for his mistress; even the peasant understands that his feelings and actions are to be frowned upon, hence the reason he has told no one else but Werther, a complete stranger. When the murder is brought up later, Werther is brought out of his melancholic state.
At first glance he views the scene as Molence and murder” but fter hearing the peasant say, “No one will have her, and she will have no one. ” It is then that he can see the murder as a testament of the peasant’s true desire and devotion. He was willing to give up everything for this woman, and if she was not to have him then no one was; this act of passion was an awaking for Werther and what he felt was the only way to prove to Lotte his love and to make sure that her heart could never forget him.
When Werther says, miou cannot be saved, unfortunate man! I will see that we cannot be saved. ” Brings our attention back to the reason the editor brings the murder up. Neither of these poor souls can be saved from their obsession, and will give their own lives up to prove it. Werther relates and understands the passion of the crime, and this understanding brings clarity on what he feels is the only way left to keep a place in Lotte’s heart, by taking his own life in the name of love for her.
Being told of Werther’s reaction to hearing the news of the crime, the editor becomes perplexed by his actions. The editor becomes confused because the only thing that the editor knows about the mysterious Werther is what Lotte, Albert, the few letters he left behind, and a few of their acquaintances. His sense of Werther is incomplete and biased; he does not have a full understanding of Werther’s emotionally unstable mindset.
The readers however, have been reading his personal letters to Wilhelm for over a year. Werther overly pours his soul into these letters; tthroughout the book these letters begin resemble a diary more so than letters. They allow us to watch the unfolding of his fragile mind. We begin to slightly understand his madness, something that the editor cannot understand from mere post-mortem Intervlews. I nls gap 0T Knowledge Detween tne ealtor ana tn eader, allow the reader to have a fuller understanding of Werther.
The letters that Werther wrote gave us a look into his diseased mind, but you cannot get the full set of events without hearing the other side of the story. That is where the editor comes into the story. The editor gives us a different perspective of the events. He gives a guess of what Werther was doing and thinking from Lotte and Albert’s description of him. By giving us the two, it allows us to further comprehend the thoughts and actions of Werther, giving us a better slightly better understanding of the story.
