Citation

Bähr A. Internationales Archiv fuer Sozialgeschichte der Deutschen Literatur 2006; 31(1): 85-100.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006)

DOI

10.1515/IASL.2006.1.85

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The essay shows that Goethe's Werther bases his suicide on moral self-condemnation. This motive constitutes a paradox, insofar as it describes Werther's final step as both morally necessary and illegitimate. Ahead of this background, the protagonist's suicide is not a liberation from traditional moral values, but rather an indication of the historicalcultural boundaries of the morals conceived of in Werther's criticism of tradition.

Language: de