1. The Sufferings of Young Werther is obviously a love story. Does that mean that romantic love is its central subject? If not, then what would you say that Goethe’s novel is actually “about”?
2. Does Werther genuinely admire the simple, uncomplicated, and relatively untroubled life of “ordinary” people, or does he in fact despise it? How do you know? Assemble the evidence for your position.
3. Goethe has Werther mention Homer and the Odyssey several times. Why? What meaning do Homer and the Odyssey appear to have for Werther? If you have read the Odyssey (or even parts of it), compare Werther’s view of it with your own.
4. Werther appears to see Lotte as an extraordinary, supernal being, even in her most mundane domestic occupations. Would it be easier – or more logical – to see her as the object of Werther’s idolatry if we did not see her doing things like slicing bread?
5. What does Lotte feel toward Werther? Is it unselfish, calm friendship? Is it something stronger? Does she really want him to stop loving her? What exactly does she want? Does Lotte understand her own feelings, both about Werther and about herself, do you think? How much are we actually able to know for sure about Lotte, since we see her only through the eyes of others?
6. In his letter of 21 June 1771, Werther speaks of Wahlheim in connection with the contrast between the attainable and the unattainable. Do you find any ironies in this passage? What does the passage tell us, as readers, about Werther himself? What do you make of Werther’s desire to “return home”? What, finally, is attainable?
7. Read carefully the letter of 1 July 1771, in which Werther quotes himself on the subject of ill-humour. What relevance do his ideas on this subject have to his basic character and to the events in which he is involved later in the novel? Do subsequent events, for example, prove that Werther is contemptible and hypocritical because he seems to be unable to take his own advice? Or, on the other hand, does his inability to take his own advice make the feelings and behavior we see in him later more tragic? Does that same inability make his later feelings and behavior more believable?
8. The long letter of 12 August 1771 contains a discussion of suicide and the limits of human endurance of suffering. Who argues the more logical position, Albert or Werther? Who is more persuasive? Which is the more important in this passage, logic or psychology? Be prepared to explain your position.
9. Consider the thematic and psychological importance of the two views of nature Werther expresses in his letter of 18 August 1771, including the parallels he cites. Can such vast visions of rapture and horror really hinge upon the love of one person for another? Is this possible? Is it believable?
10. What is the importance in the novel of the section about Werther’s life in the world of diplomacy and civil officialdom? Does this section represent an admirably heroic attempt by Werther to fight his hopeless love and his dejection? Does his behavior in society merely underscore basic flaws in his personality?
11. How should we feel about Albert’s remark that he cannot understand “how a man can be so foolish as to shoot himself”? Is this remark “in character” for Albert? Why does he regard suicide as foolish? How does Werther feel about the issue at this point – and later?
12. Many times in the novel (e. g., in the letter of 30 October 1772) Werther draws analogies with childhood or says that he is childlike. Note also the sentimental journey he makes to his childhood home (letters of 5 and 9 May 1772). What do you make of all this? Why does Goethe put it in the novel? Does Werther’s view of childhood demonstrate that Werther’s value system is basically sound and innocent? Or does it indicate that he is a regressive personality type? And how do you/we know?
13. In his letter of 15 November 1772 Werther speculates that perhaps “my Father wishes to keep me for Himself.” What does he mean by this remark? In the same letter he both appeals to the New Testament and declares that religious consolation is not for people like him. Whom is it for, then? Why is it not for him? Does Werther feel that Christianity is relevant to his own situation or doesn’t he? How do you know?
14. Should we consider Lotte to be what the law would call “an accessory before the fact” to Werther’s suicide?
15. The last few sentences of the novel are short and abrupt in nature. Why do you suppose Goethe composed these sentences in this particular fashion? What is the effect upon the reader of sentences which are written in this fashion, particularly when they are the last ones in a work? Is there any observable pattern – or progression – through the novel in the nature of Werther’s language, grammar, and syntax, for example in the length of his sentences or in the type of verbs he employs? This is a complex question which requires you to be sensitive not just to what is being said but also to how it is being said. Try this one: you may find it very interesting.