The Sorrows of Young Werther by JW Goethe is filled with a sense of unease, as it describes a young man's descent into mental instability that ends in his suicide. The cause of this sense of unease lies with the narrator himself, as his mental state leaks out in his letters to Wilhelm, creating a largely melancholic tone. The novel itself contains little in the way of real tragedy, until Werther's suicide which occurs only at the end. This suggests that the malaise at the heart of the novel originates in Werther himself rather than in anything that may occur in the book. Although the malaise channeled in Werther's letters is heightened by unrequited love and public humiliation at the hands of the aristocratic class, it is his deep inner malaise that prevents him from facing these events, deciding instead to kill himself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On the surface, the phenomenon of unrequited love seems to be at the heart of the novel's sense of unease. Werther's love for Lotte creates a deep sense of unease for both parties as he pursues her despite her already being with Albert. Werther's feelings for Lotte also trigger his descent into depression and serve as the direct situational cause of his suicide. In fact, Vartan Gregorian defines it as "an impossible love with an engaged woman without a possible positive outcome, without a happy ending"[1]. Werther loses himself so completely in his infatuation with Lotte that he even states that “his imagination sees nothing but her: all surrounding objects matter only in relation to her”[2]. This highlights how completely she becomes his life, and not being able to have her means not being able to be happy and ultimately not being able to continue living. Even when he is absent from her company after moving to the city, the destructive impact of her grief on him remains. This leads Frank Schalow to argue that “the mysterious depth of love is also a fact, to the extent that it maintains a devotion to the other, even after the other's physical presence has disappeared”[3]. In addition to its devastating effect on Werther, his unrequited love for Lotte creates a sense of unease for the other characters as well. Lotte comes to feel conflicted, as she cares for Werther, but feels uncomfortable with his constant and increasingly intense adoration of her. Furthermore, she is forced to suffer emotional pain when Werther chooses to leave if he cannot have her romantically, and then again when he takes his own life. This is evident when she tells Werther that "[she] can never walk in the moonlight without the thought of [her] departed loved ones coming to her mind" (65), suggesting that the loss of her friend would leave her with an eternal sense of unease. The most prevalent support for the idea that the malaise in the novel is the result of unrequited love is found in Werther's final letter to Wilhelm, when he speaks of “How his image haunts him! In waking or sleeping, it fills his entire soul!” (107). This shows that Lotte is the last thing on Werther's mind and perhaps therefore the cause of his depression and discomfort. Furthermore, Lotte can further be seen as a trigger for Werther's malaise and eventual suicide, as she agrees to send him her weapons which he sees as a sign of her approval. The fact that Werther asks this woman for permission to die demonstrates the inner turmoil she causes him. A turmoil that overshadows the entire novel. As a further result of Werther's unrequited love for Lotte, toothe friendship between Werther and Albert is strained and uncomfortable as Werther becomes increasingly obsessed with Albert's betrothed. Werther respects and appreciates Albert when he meets him, telling in his letters to Wilhelm that he "[could] not help but esteem Albert" (47) and how Albert had "many feelings and [was] fully aware of the treasure he possesses in Charlotte" (48).However, he also feels an irrevocable sense of jealousy and bitterness as he longs for Albert's relationship with Lotte. He admits how much it pains him to see another man "in possession of such a perfect being" (47), and suggests that his approval for Albert is yet another source of discomfort in the novel as he resents both himself and Albert. This is evident when Werther asks Wilhelm “what is the use of continually repeating that he is a good and estimable man? He is to me an internal torment" (113). The result of this respect mixed with jealousy is that a difficult friendship is born between Albert and Werther, overshadowed by a sense of unease. Since they are both close to Lotte, as well as each other, the dynamic becomes that of a respectful but extremely uncomfortable love triangle, with Werther playing the part of the outsider. Margaret Church even claims that Werther ends his life as a means of breaking the triangle, stating that "he commits suicide in the firm belief that one of the three of them must die"[4]. The tense dynamic between the three main characters seems to serve as a major cause of the novel's sense of unease, as all exchanges between the three become a bit sour when viewed in light of Werther's hidden desire to destroy Lotte and Albert's relationship . to argue that the sense of unease in The Sorrows of Young Werther also originates largely from social issues surrounding Werther's middle-class status. To some extent, it could be argued that the sense of unease is created in part by Werther's negative feelings towards the inequality faced by the lower classes. Indeed, Werther makes an unpleasant observation about the upper classes when he states that "People who can claim a certain rank keep themselves coldly distant from the common people, as if they feared they would lose their importance through contact" (11). By breaking this behaviour, it could be argued that Werther comes to see the humanity and struggles of the peasants and Martin Swales argues that 'Werther registers and takes offense at the inequalities in the society around him... he is aware that the intensity of his inner life demands a price: that of renouncing the society of his peers”[5]. In other words, it can be argued that he remains disillusioned with his bourgeois roots while witnessing firsthand the most unfortunate end of the class system system that gives Werther a sort of status, makes common people socially obsolete. This may go some way to explaining why Werther later struggles to settle into his court work ruled by the aristocracy however he also gives a contrary view to this idea, as he states that “Werther is only imperfectly aware of the social causes of so much malaise”[6]. This suggests that the sense of malaise is unlikely to be due to Werther's sense of social injustice reflected in his letters, since his bourgeois roots made him too ignorant to fully understand the plight of the lower classes. The sense of unease in the novel is that Werther becomes unaccustomed to feeling inferior, causing culture shock when he leaves his small country house. Werther begins the novel by observing the simple life of rural farmers. In doing so, he becomes accustomed to a position of superiority. Compared to the surrounding lower classes, his middle-class status seems exaggerated to him.Although he is friendly towards the peasants, he is also condescending, as evident when he tells Wilhelm how he was “particularly amused in observing their characters and the simplicity of their behavior” (19). The adjective “amused” (19) shows how Werther views the peasants simply as objects for his amusement. Even if he feels affection towards them, the affection is more similar to that felt for a pet than to that felt for a peer. His friendships with the peasants are built largely around how they make him feel superior, as evident when he tells Wilhelm how "The common people of the place already know and love him" (11). He takes advantage of their admiration for him, imagining himself to be some kind of idol and leading him to have an inflated sense of self. The consequences of this exaggerated sense of self only become apparent when Werther moves to the city of Weimar. Instead of being an upper class individual among the losers, Werther becomes a loser himself, as his new world is ruled by the aristocratic class while Werther himself is merely middle class. The class divide becomes clear to Werther when he becomes friends with Count C, telling Wilhelm how he "made the acquaintance of Count C and [he] esteem[ed] him more and more every day" (70). Being aristocrats, Count C along with Werther's other aristocratic friend, Fraulein Von B, cannot have public relations with bourgeois individuals like Werther. This is made clear when Fraulein Von B joins the other aristocrats in snubbing Werther at Count C's party, with her later explaining how "[she] knew that the Ss and Ts would leave the room, rather than remain in the company [Werther's]" (81). Having spent the last few years living among the common people, Werther is unprepared for such a loss of importance and struggles to adapt. Thomas J. Scheff highlights the importance of this event in contributing to Werther's discomfort as he states that “Werther's suffering originates in humiliation”[7]. Indeed, he takes the snub extremely personally, even stating that “everything conspires against [him]” (81). This personal and social rejection leads Werther to feel a sense of unease even after separating from Lotte. David Constantine supports this as he argues that “In his employment with the envoy… [Werther] feels oppressed and reduced… he soon falls into conflict with the social order itself, is humiliated and pushed further into solitude.” obsession that will kill him”[8]. Indeed, Werther is so completely and utterly humiliated at being snubbed by the aristocratic class that he returns to Wahlheim, and subsequently to his self-destructive and obsessive infatuation with Lotte. Werther's humiliation at the hands of the aristocratic class not only plunges him into depression, which is reflected in the tone of his writings, but also reflects the social malaise of the eighteenth century. Indeed, with the Enlightenment underway, people began to accept new ideals. The rigid social hierarchy presented in The Sorrows of Young Werther was being questioned, as seen in the fact that Werther leaves angrily after being snubbed. However, although unrequited love and issues of social class may seem to cause the sense of unease at the heart of the novel, I am inclined to argue that its true origin is personal rather than social or emotional. The inevitable malaise is a product of Werther's hypersensitive and depression-prone personality. Indeed, Morton Schoolman confirms my opinion by arguing that "While Lotte's unrequited love for Werther may have precipitated her suicide, as a prelude to this catastrophic romantic episode it would appear that sensitivityWerther's painfully acute situation has virtually crippled his claim to life"[ 9]. In other words, Werther does not become emotionally unstable because he cannot deal with his unrequited love for Lotte. Rather, he is unable to deal with his unrequited love for Lotte because she is emotionally unstable. Thomas J. Scheff supports this idea, as he argues that “the concept of alienation provides a bridge between [Werther and Lotte's] love story”[10]. reason why Werther falls in love with Lotte is that he sees in her part of the social malaise that is also in him. This also suggests that Lotte herself acts as a catalyst for Werther's growing malaise and that his unrequited love could have been replaced by. any other trial, or even no trial, and Werther would still have seen everything through the eyes of pain. Scheff also denounces unrequited love as the origin of malaise, describing it as "infatuation rather than love"[11]. Martin Swales supports both my thesis and Scheff's as he states that "The thought of suicide is present in Werther's mind from the beginning... it is there even before Werther meets Lotte... this certainly makes it clear that suicide of Werther is not simply the result of an unhappy love"[12]. In fact, even in Werther's first letter to Wilhelm, the fragile emotional state reached in the novel is prefigured, as he states that "[he] will no longer continue, as it has always been [his] habit, to brood over every petty vexation that fortune can dispense” (7) This highlights that Werther is simply prone to bouts of depression and anxiety in response to the triggers, with his love for Lotte and his social disdain which serve as triggers throughout the novel, rather than the root cause His fascination with suicide throughout the novel suggests that he was destined to end his life, regardless of the events. Therefore, the sense of unease created by Werther is simply a natural part of him, rather than the culmination of misfortunes. This is evidenced by the fact that Werther condones suicide by saying that "it is as absurd to call a man who destroys himself a coward, as it is to call a man who dies of malignant fever a coward." This also suggests that Werther almost romanticizes the idea of ​​self-destruction, suggesting that the presence of malaise in his letters is intentional. The sense of unease in the novel is also due to personal causes, since Werther's excessive sensitivity makes him incapable of dealing with rejection. This, in fact, makes him suffer both Lotte's rejection and her snubbing of Count C's party much more than could be considered rational. In turn, Werther's increased suffering and pain emerges through his depressive narrative. Although the malaise in the novel originates in Werther's personal character traits, it is accentuated through natural events corresponding to his growing turmoil. The weather often reflects his moods, and the uneasiness surrounding events, as it tends to become stormy in moments of Werther's intense stress. A further pathetic mistake is used when Werther returns to Wahlheim. Werther notes that the walnut trees that “often filled [his] heart with joy… had been cut down. Yes, cut to the ground!” (100). The destruction of the walnut trees reflects Werther's growing grief and heightens the sense of unease in the novel. The death of Werther's farmer friend Hans, although secondary to the main events, creates a sense of death and destruction that heightens the malaise-focused tone. In conclusion, the sense of unease at the heart of The Sorrows of Young Werther is caused mainly by the vision, 1987), 30