Goethe - Life as a Work of Art (Rudiger Safranski, 2013)

I spent a lot of time on this biography.  Not quite sure what I think of Goethe, or what I learn from this.

I read a Goethe biography in 2006 that did a very good job of outlining his life; this biography is discussed here.  

The author of the current biography had greater access to diaries and letters of Goethe and folks with whom he was in contact.  That was interesting.

Part of the interest is Goethe as a leading figure starting in the 1770s - royalty doing quite well, even the minor royalty in the German principalities. Along comes the French Revolution (with agitation for democracy and nationalism in France), the Napoleonic era (with this agitation spreading along with the French armies and encompassing the substates in Germany), Napoleon's defeat and the conservative if not reactionary governments throughout Europe, with Metternich as a key figure.  Then the revolution in France again in 1830.  Goethe lived through all of this and was personally acquainted with all these leaders.

He started out with an early "Romantic era" book (The Sorrows of Young Werther) that took the literary world by storm - somehow striking just the right chord at just the right moment. (It's what Napoleon wanted to talk about in their meeting decades later.) This success - of course supplemented by later actions - facilitated "famousness" throughout his long life.  His life took a major turn when the grand duke in charge of Weimar persuaded him to settle there - a smallish state, it was a coup to land Goethe; the grand duke put Goethe in charge of all sorts of things even though Goethe had little expertise. It made him a much more practical person, if not a conservative as the decades rolled along.  Very impressed by Napoleon and wore the French Legion of Honor (awarded to him by Napoleon) all too often for the tastes of many Germans.

Went through a genuine scare when French troops occupied Weimar, including his residence.  Contributed to his dislike of disorder, nationalism, public passions, etc.

Seems like he was an incredibly gifted person in terms of social skills, and could apply this to both men and women. Descriptions of his romantic relationships; seems like he took advantage of his skills in some situations where he should have refrained. 

The 2006 biography talks about the famous people he interacted with.

Uncanny ability to compose poetry and write all sorts of kinds of literature. Difficulty finishing longer works.

Migrating away from Sturm und Drang - he took a great interest in minerology, sparked by his position as official in charge of Weimar mines.  Another favorite topic - how humans perceive color.  As the years by he kept writing but felt that pursuits in the natural sciences were more worthy.

By the time he passed away in the early 1830s - time had passed him by.  Not popular with young Germans.  Seems like his reputation has recovered, though I don't know how much his works are read.

Not sure what to make of him. 

The New Sorrows of Young W. (Ulrich Plenzdorf, 1972)

(139 pages)

Author does a take-off on Goethe's famous work.  Set (and written) in GDR days, and the story line includes Communist Party-era frustrations and jokes.  Somewhat uses the epistolary method (a la Goethe's Werther), though with cassette tapes.

Protagonist at first seems an annoying rebel-without-a-cause type, but turns out to be delightfully self-aware and an attractive character.  The hopeless love interest is handled just fine - she plus husband did track the original story quite a bit - Charlotte is a nice character here (kindergarten teacher), the husband more wooden than in Goethe's version.

The plot didn't track the original story as much as I had expected, which was a plus.

[Minor item:  protagonist liked joking/punning/offering up aphorisms with his buddy Willi - including "a loaf always has two ends" - reminded of Pete Kirsch humor in 1970s Iowa (among his sayings - he would solemnly intone "everything has an end" if a serious subject was being discussed; then the punch line:  "but the sausage has two ends.")]

Recommended by Martine Lanners; I'd recommend it as well.

The Sorrows of Young Werther (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774)

(110 pp)

Book club selection (via me; session held 23 July 2017).

Last read in 2009; my summary from back then still works well enough.

Biography of Goethe summarized here.

Discussion at session useful/interesting - partly as we wrestle with understanding blockbuster status when initially published.

Held the session at CPG house due to air conditioner failure(s) at ours.  PJ with some good cooking, including Grandma's peach pie.

Faust, Part I (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, preliminary 1806, revised 1828)

Goethe's version (Penguin paperback here) of a well-known tale with centuries-old roots.  It's interesting that Goethe (bio here) was struggling with the story for much of his adult life - Part II wasn't even published until after his death.  Part I came out in preliminary form in 1806 and was issued in revised form in 1828.  So "different" Goethes were working on different parts of the work.

I ordinarily don't read plays, and have trouble getting through them.  Should work on that.  But this one was short.  Faust is frustrated with his inability to possess knowledge; cuts the famous bargain with the devil (signed with a drop of blood, per picture); starts hanging out with Mephistopheles and having various adventures (including the scene where wine is tapped from the barroom table); corrupts Gretchen; kills Gretchen's brother; attends the witch-gathering; seeks to spring Gretchen; etc.

The devil seems to be the most "human" character in these types of stories, which I find interesting.

Numerous stage versions, numerous adaptations.  I think the critics generally considered this a great work though flawed in construction, I read that Part II doesn't flow well.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1831)

The author was from a then well known literary family; had a quite unstable and unusual married life. She hung around with folks like Lord Byron. These two plus some other literary types were stuck in a rainy spell while on extended holiday near Lake Geneva, and challenged each other to write ghost stories as a diversion. "Frankenstein" grew out of this effort.

Gothic, strange, quick read, enjoyable. Not sure of the take-away, but at a minimum (as an old commercial put it), clearly it's never a good idea to fool with mother nature.

Three long narratives are included from slightly different perspectives - the tale of the narrator; who then hears Frankenstein's tale directly from Frankenstein; and the narrator then hears the monster's tale from Frankenstein (with a finishing flourish direct from the monster).

Awful things happen throughout. It's not hard to see how this became widely read, and transmuted into various pop culture formats.

By the way, I hadn't realized how the monster had learned language etc. (not having had a chance at a formal education). Among his learning opportunities, the monster had access to three books - one of which of course was Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther," the massively influential book described here. The monster apparently sympathized with Werther's version of being "romantic."

The Sorrows of Young Werther (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774)

I've wanted to catch up with this short book ever since going through a biography of Goethe. He wrote this when just 24; it perhaps represented an earlier stage of Sturm und Drang, though Goethe may not have even agreed; it seemed to be published just when the world was waiting for it.

Thomas Mann writes: "The world at once took possession of The Sorrows of Young Werther and it took possession of the world . . . It seemed as though the public in all countries, secretly and without their own knowledge, had been awaiting this very book by an unknown young man from a German imperial city; that this book with revolutionary, liberating power emancipated the fettered yearnings of the civilized world. Napoleon, the iron man of destiny, had the French translation in his knapsack through Egyptian campaign. He claimed to have read it seven times."

It was published in all the main languages worldwide; sparked perhaps the first mass marketing push (Werther cologne, clothes, endless similar); and made Goethe famous.

Yet today I think we would all find the protagonist simply ridiculous. Which makes it all the more interesting to think why the book was an unquestioned blockbuster - in commercial and artistic impact, plus in its effect on folks' thinking. Perhaps things were quite ripe for a reaction to rationalism, but go figure . . .

Love, Life, Goethe (John Armstrong, 2006)

I liked this book on several levels. The author lays out a biography of (Johann Wolfgang von) Goethe; he also purports to discuss Goethe's viewpoints on various (though I wasn't sure sometimes if it was the author's viewpoints or Goethe's). And he even spent a couple pages trying to explain how to pronounce Goethe's name. Claims there is no "r" sound.

I picked this book for several reasons. First, I'm going through some biographies of artists and authors for a different take on history (per recent posts on biographies of Goya, Tolstoy, etc.) . Second, I continually run into English, French, and Russian historical materials . . . not nearly so much German (and I should be interested in that part of the world). Third, I continually run into Goethe references (or his buddy Schiller) in connection with classical music, including things we perform in Choral Union that were set to music by Beethoven or Schubert. Fourth, I occasionally see brief references to Goethe - not flattering - in connection with the Nazis (though not sure the relevance given he was dead 100 years before the party emerged).

Goethe was a contemporary of Goya. Spent time with Beethoven. Was around (though young) at the time of the American Revolution; closely followed events surrounding the French Revolution. He was around for most of the reaction to the French Revolution and Napoleon that in turn led to the revolutions of 1848 (16 years after he died).

This kind of book does help with thinking about German history. Unlike the national governments that had been in place for centuries in France and England (or the good old fashioned autocracy in Russia), this part of the world featured things like the "free city" of Frankfurt (where Goethe grew up), the tiny duchy of Weimar (where he was able to participate in civil administration in addition to providing celebrity and intellectual weight), the militarism and increasing importance of Prussia (where for example the duke of Weimar went to get involved in the military). Many small states during this period of run-up to Bismarck.

Goethe doesn't fit the stereotype of the impractical, unhappy, struggling artist. He comes across as secure, happy, practical, prosperous. He loved the classics and spent lots of time in Italy. He hit the jackpot as a commercial success in his early 20s with "The Sorrows of Young Werther." His most famous work is "The Damnation of Faust," though I understand it is pretty difficult reading. Anyway, "Werther" made him famous throughout Europe and assured his financial and celebrity status for the rest of his life - though it seems he did far, far more than rest on his laurels.

Goethe is thought of as one of the last generalists - he sought to make a contribution in multiple fields, including a treatise on color and optics where he (thoughtfully but unsuccessfully) challenged Newton As this author describes it, the various branches of science were deepening so rapidly that no one even tried to contribute in multiple areas (as had been common earlier, think Descartes).

Goethe met all kinds of interesting folks - partly because he was a heavyweight that had gained celebrity early in life, and then ended up living into his early 80s. Had an interesting encounter with Napoleon. Spent time with Beethoven, including a famous scene, though probably allegorical, where he bowed to royalty but Beethoven didn't remove his cap. Best buddies with Schiller. Etc. (This kind of book helps set different historical events and figures in context, knit them together; useful.)

I keep seeing references to the "Sturm and Drang" movement. Goethe and Schiller were associated with this, though both moved away. Goethe's hit novel (Werther) is considered an early spark for the movement (though this author thinks Goethe's message was that Werther was on the wrong track). Sturm and Drang is described here. I think of it as a stormy, passionate, notion of an individual soul or consciousness that runs deeper than intellect . . . you start to see the action/reaction movements in history, as these folks were reacting to the rationalism - and overbroad claims of what it could achieve - led by folks like Voltaire in the 18th century.

Goethe and Schiller moved away from this, but the trend was building with elements appearing in Romanticism, Neitzsche, Wagner . . . into the nationalism that became so important in 20th century (and was foolishly fed by folks like Woodrow Wilson); and yes, even to Hitler. (None of this of course traveled in a straight line.) Goethe would have run away from anything resembling Nazism; he emphasized looking for practical happiness, never slavish devotion to causes or ideologies.

In fact the basic outlook as described is very close to how I think on any number of topics . . . you could read this and get a pretty good window on my thought process in many areas.

Read at the gym.