Abstract This thesis asks the question "Does the use of the words 'left' and 'right' (links / rechts), and their various lexical forms in Goethe‘s Wahlverwandtschaften constitute a systematic pattern which can be applied to interpret the novel as a whole?" It argues that to simply interpret the text on the basic semantic levels of these words—left indicating wrong and false, right indicating good and correct—would fail to reflect the complicated meanings and functions for each in the thematic content of the work. In addition to these two extremes, the 'middle' zone, the space between the two extremes, has an important function in the work and must be part of any broader interpretation. It combines both extremes, creates a neutral field, and also leads to a second important element, 'Gesetzmäßigkeit', roughly translated, 'systematization' which is crucial to an understanding of the novel as a whole. The thesis begins with an overview and discussion of research in German and English on the novel, narrowing its selection to the titles most pertinent to the present study, a necessary reduction given the vastness of extant research on Goethe and this novel. Using hermeneutic methodology based on Gadamer‘s theory, it then argues for and against the position of moral relativity with respect to the thematics of the novel at hand. The themes of morality, legality, and mirroring structures in society receive particular attention, so too Goethe‘s own position on these topics, as well as religion, which are reflected at least to some extent in the work, though the study goes well beyond that autobiographical level. For his lexical foundation, the author has investigated all occorrences of the words 'left' and 'right' in the novel, and their lexical variants, and has selected the most meaningful as the basis for detailed discussion. Still, all instances are offered to the reader in a separate appendix, if desired. The corpus analysis focusses on the main characters and passages relevant to them. After discussion of the research to date, an overview of the methodology, an outline of Goethe‘s position on morality, Christianity, and religion in general, and a detailed account of the presence of the words left and right and their variants in the novel, the thesis offers chapters on all of the main characters as well as a final one on peripheral figures, in each case analyzing the individuals within the context of the concepts left and right and their connotations. The conclusion (Fazit) summarizes its contribution to Goethe research and the new insights it offers with regard to Die Wahlverwandtschaften, namely, that the concepts of left and right do indeed form the basis of a structural pattern; that this has meaning in the moral, religious, and societal sense; and that it is basic to the notion of structural systematization in the work. It also goes further to suggest productive avenues for future research on this novel, including its connections to the work of Goethe‘s contemporary William Blake, Goethe‘s "Theory of Colours", and modern interpretations of the whole.

Abstract This thesis asks the question "Does the use of the words 'left' and 'right' (links / rechts), and their various lexical forms in Goethe‘s Wahlverwandtschaften constitute a systematic pattern which can be applied to interpret the novel as a whole?" It argues that to simply interpret the text on the basic semantic levels of these words—left indicating wrong and false, right indicating good and correct—would fail to reflect the complicated meanings and functions for each in the thematic content of the work. In addition to these two extremes, the 'middle' zone, the space between the two extremes, has an important function in the work and must be part of any broader interpretation. It combines both extremes, creates a neutral field, and also leads to a second important element, 'Gesetzmäßigkeit', roughly translated, 'systematization' which is crucial to an understanding of the novel as a whole. The thesis begins with an overview and discussion of research in German and English on the novel, narrowing its selection to the titles most pertinent to the present study, a necessary reduction given the vastness of extant research on Goethe and this novel. Using hermeneutic methodology based on Gadamer‘s theory, it then argues for and against the position of moral relativity with respect to the thematics of the novel at hand. The themes of morality, legality, and mirroring structures in society receive particular attention, so too Goethe‘s own position on these topics, as well as religion, which are reflected at least to some extent in the work, though the study goes well beyond that autobiographical level. For his lexical foundation, the author has investigated all occorrences of the words 'left' and 'right' in the novel, and their lexical variants, and has selected the most meaningful as the basis for detailed discussion. Still, all instances are offered to the reader in a separate appendix, if desired. The corpus analysis focusses on the main characters and passages relevant to them. After discussion of the research to date, an overview of the methodology, an outline of Goethe‘s position on morality, Christianity, and religion in general, and a detailed account of the presence of the words left and right and their variants in the novel, the thesis offers chapters on all of the main characters as well as a final one on peripheral figures, in each case analyzing the individuals within the context of the concepts left and right and their connotations. The conclusion (Fazit) summarizes its contribution to Goethe research and the new insights it offers with regard to Die Wahlverwandtschaften, namely, that the concepts of left and right do indeed form the basis of a structural pattern; that this has meaning in the moral, religious, and societal sense; and that it is basic to the notion of structural systematization in the work. It also goes further to suggest productive avenues for future research on this novel, including its connections to the work of Goethe‘s contemporary William Blake, Goethe‘s "Theory of Colours", and modern interpretations of the whole.

The interpretation of Ottilie in Goethe's Wahlverwandtschaften stems from an understanding of romantic motifs, which find their most systematic expression in her childlike character. Ottilie embodies the romantic idealization of childhood as a means of withdrawal from the enlightened world, echoing the Romantics' rejection of the disenchanted Age of Enlightenment. Through her portrayal of innocent childlikeness, her adolescent conflict with the rational world, and her final rejection of enlightenment, Ottilie maintains her childlike purity, expressing the romantic ideal of childhood. Ottilie's childlike emotional disposition puts her in conflict with the enlightened world of adults and academia. In an attempt to maintain her childlike innocence, she separates herself from the present world and establishes ties to the medieval past through monastic duties and catholic sympathies. However, Ottilie's attempt to remain separate is futile due to her enlightened surroundings. Her journey toward self-awareness begins as a result of her love for Eduard, whose sexual thoughts of Ottilie launch her into a state of adolescence, against which she unconsciously struggles. Continual contact with the enlightened world weakens Ottilie's efforts to maintain ties to her childlike state. In her weakened condition she is unable to resist Eduard's continual amorous pursuits and openly displays her affection for him with a kiss. Her inner turmoil, resulting from her deliberate indiscretion causes the accidental drowning of Charlotte's and Eduard's baby Otto, which illuminates the iniquitous nature of her love for Eduard. She makes the decision to reject full enlightenment and transcends her human frailty by becoming saint-like. Through renunciation, which results in her sacrificial death, she spurns enlightenment and returns to a state of everlasting purity. As the portrayal of the romantic ideal of a maintained childhood innocence, Ottilie seems to be a vehicle to express either Goethe's commendation of condemnation of Romanticism. For the romantic, Ottilie's life and death are a triumph, for she succeeds in passing from this world, having proceeded from innocent child to saint into everlasting life. For the non-romantic, Ottilie's death is a tragedy, for she never reaches true enlightenment and never develops to her full potential.

This thesis examines the development of an anorexic discourse in Goethe's Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Chapter 1 investigates anorexia as a cultural signifier and its relationship to non-clinical and non-medical disciplines. I then submit that female self-starvation serves a structural and a thematic function in WV. In Chapter 2, I argue that Ottilie's arrested female development illustrates the central, concept (elective affinities) of the novel. Chapter 3 examines food as a non-verbal system of communication in the narrative. Here, I demonstrate that Ottilie's eating disorder denies her subjectivity while it signifies and affirms the dominant social institutions depicted in the novel. Chapter 4 examines Ottilie's oscillation between corporeality and bodilessness. Her physicality is always associated with instability. The disappearance of her flesh allows for the passive reflection of masculine identity. In Chapter 5, I analyze the representation of Otttilie's death and demonstrate that her corpse allegorizes the construction of subjectivity in the narrative. In closing, I argue that Ottilie is an empty signifier in the novel, onto which the plot is imposed. Her anorexia functions as a sign for the process of narration and is a condition of the novel itself.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:47:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ieda Maria Caricari Cipriani.pdf: 8166649 bytes, checksum: 0a4ef4c859262d5b317217000487ed9d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-08 / Elective Affinities (Die Wahlverwandtschaften, 1809) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is an imbricated novel, elaborated by symbols repeated throughout the narrative, which build a complex and organized structure. The essential element for the organization of this novel is inserted narratives: Ottilie's diary, the tableaus and the novel Die Wunderlichen Nachbarskinder , which constitute the main narrative. The objective of this doctoral thesis is to analyze how these inserted narratives are grafted in the novel, what is the relationship between the main narrative and inserted narratives and how they work in the novel. The study is done as a Close Reading, that finds significant interrelationships of the main narrative in the inserted narratives and vice versa. The theories of Barthes and Bachelard provide a fresh look at the Goethean work and were used as theoretical foundation of this thesis. / As afinidades eletivas (Die Wahlverwandtschaften, 1809) de Johann Wolfgang von Goethe é um romance todo imbricado, elaborado por símbolos reiterados ao longo da narrativa, que constroem uma estrutura complexa e organizada. O elemento essencial para a organização deste romance são as narrativas enquadradas: o diário de Ottilie, os quadros vivos e a novela Die Wunderlichen Nachbarskinder, que constituem a narrativa maior. O objetivo desta tese de doutorado é analisar como essas narrativas enquadradas são enxertadas no romance, qual a relação da narrativa maior com as narrativas menores e como elas funcionam no romance. O estudo é feito como uma Close Reading, uma leitura atenta que encontra inter-relações significativas da narrativa maior nas narrativas enquadradas e vice versa. As teorias de Barthes e de Bachelard proporcionam um novo olhar para a obra Goethiana e foram utilizadas como alicerce teórico desta tese.