Customer Reviews

Elective Affinities.

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First published in 1809, Goethe's novel "Elective Affinities" is a disturbingly dark work about rational people driven to distraction by passion and love. The novel seems to be as much influenced by 'The Tale of Foolish Curiosity' found in "Don Quixote" (chapters 33-35) as by Goethe's own marital difficulties. In the novel, Goethe explores the nature of love, and questions whether we have any choice over who we love - or over anything at all.

"Elective Affinities" is the story of two married aristocrats, Eduard and Charlotte, who spend their time and money in general indolence, tinkering with the land on their estate. A friend of Eduard's, the Captain, has fallen into economic instability, and Eduard suggests that they invite the Captain into their home until he can reestablish himself. Charlotte initially objects, but sees it as an opportunity to withdraw Ottilie, her niece, from an unproductive school experience. Under the auspices of doing good turns for their friends, Eduard and Charlotte unwittingly throw the listless harmony of their lives into chaos.

When the passionate Eduard meets the youthful, energetic Ottilie, and the stoical Charlotte meets the likewise prudent Captain - the scientific principle of Elective Affinities that gives the novel its name begins to take effect. The results of introducing two new elements into a closed system makes up the action of the remainder of the novel. Among other things, the novel examines and subtly criticizes the state of class relations in Germany in the early nineteenth century, the limitations of children's education, and matters of faith.

Goethe's "Elective Affinities" is a quick read - Hollingdale's translation is user-friendly, becoming ornate only when faith to the original seems to demand it. Though not as famous as Goethe's "Sorrows of Young Werther," "Elective Affinities" is certainly worth a read.

Elective Affinities is a must read book for all lovers of the romantic period!!! This book is filled with wonderful insights into the human psyche, love, conflict, and their common connections with the external world, and those we share it with; it is overflowing with philosophical thoughts. I could never give this book, or Goethe, enough praise.--It is a shame the person also reviewing this book began it as a task rather than an adventure. Most of this book is, as other books written by Goethe: composed from his personal experiences, and which were once only jottings in his diary; hence, it is real, and not to be compared with a contemopary soap opera (such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice). YES, a must read. I also recommend Goethe's The Sorrow of Young Werther.

Well, I put five stars to this item because it is one of the most fabulous and complex novels ever written, at least for me (I read and re-read it in the original German). BUT : Everyone intending to read it in English should choose the Oxford Classics edition rather than this one. This old translation in Penguin clearly betrays the author's intentions, it becomes clear in the very first sentence, and there's nothing left in it of Goethe's subtlety.

This is a curious and interesting mix between novel and essay, written when Goethe was sixty (he lived much longer). Edward and Charlotte, aristocrat widowers, get married. They live in a beautiful castle surrounded by huge properties. Life there is easy and fun, since their main occupation is to remodel their estate and throw parties and entertainments. Then the Captain, a friend of Edward's who is down on his luck but also a smart guy, is invited by Edward to come and live with them while he is back on track. Charlotte thinks it is a good opportunity to have come with them her niece, Otilia, a pretty, shy and nice girl. Both guests turn out to be useful and likable, and the four of them get along well. That is, until the elective affinities are set to work. Charlotte and the Captain, as well as Otilia and Edward, have affinities of personality, tastes and approach to life, and that draws them together: they fall in love. As the situation becomes untenable, the Captain finds a job and leaves. Edward retires to antoher house he owns. Then Charlotte gives birth to a child she conceived with Edward and, when he knows it, leaves for war. It turns out that the child resembles the Captain and Otilia, because Edward was thinking of Otilia and Charlotte was thinking of the Captain at the moment of conception (ha!). After some time, the Captain and Edward talk, and decide to speak to Charlotte, proposing divorce. I won't spoil the ending.

With this novel, Goethe tries to demonstrate that love is not a matter of conscious decision-making; that we can not control at all who we fall in love with, and that it is absurd to try to fight against it (note: it is not a defense of promiscuity, but an argumentation about an undeniable truth). This, then, is a novel with a strong point to make, and successfully so. Goethe is a good writer, a great one indeed, and this novel is important, especially when you put it in the context of the Romantic movement of the time. The story is interesting, the more so because it is carefully designed to prove Goethe's point of view.

I thought before taking on Goethe's masterpiece "Faust" I would tackle this novella as a sort of appetizer before the main course. It definitely wasn't bad, but you really have to be a hopeless romantic to love this one. I am almost a hopeless romantic, ergo; I just liked the book, nothing more, nothing less. The story is about a privileged, aristocratic couple - Eduard & Charlotte - whose seemingly perfect marriage is suddenly put to the test when two visitors suddenly appear into their lives. The two new guests at the castle are Eduard's best friend the Captain, an attractive, noble young man and the budding beauty Ottilie, Charlotte's younger, esoteric niece who possesses a passionate soul and tender heart. As you can guess, sparks begin to fly in all directions!

In many ways this book mirrors Goethe's own marital troubles, as he also found himself constantly struggling throughout his life with taboo amours and marriage fidelity (he possessed an inclination for younger women). Goethe's underlying alibi for the unscrupulous crime of repeatedly going gaga over younger gals is his theory of "Elective Affinities" - the concept that certain chemicals inside an individual makes them naturally attracted to another person. This novella, in many ways, is a metaphor which tries to justify the belief that we are all controlled by our passions which are ruled by the laws of chemical attraction. The story explores whether or not science and the laws of chemistry can actually sabotage or help support a marriage, as well as other human relationships.

If you are a fan of romantic tales, then I highly recommend this one. The main characters in this story are all passionate people, deeply in touch with their feelings and emotionally very intelligent. The story lacks any real action, and at times, particularly in the first half of the book, you find yourself thinking "these people need to get real jobs and stop being so self-absorbed", yet everything needs to be taken in context. This was the way of life in Germany for the idle rich back then, and love and romance was everything to these folks. Just about every character in this novella you care about, and you hope for the best. The character of Ottilie in particular is fascinating, and it's nice to read stories about people with so much fervor for life.

For those of you thinking about picking this one up, please remember you really do have to be a true romantic in order to enjoy this sentimental short story (I can't stress this enough!). It also depends upon how much credence you wish to give Faust for his rather abstruse theory as well. If you are this type of person, then by all means, this is the perfect little book for you - ENJOY!

The greatest writer of his time enters into a late-life marriage that tests his recent and unfamiliar commitment to monogamy.

That's a novel waiting to happen.

Goethe is the writer, and Elective Affinities is that novel.

Original? Challenging? Readable? All of the above --- and compared to the love stories pumped out by contemporary writers, blazingly erotic. Not in a Tab A/Slot B way, but in the head, where real eroticism burns hottest.

Consider: Eduard and Charlotte were thwarted from marriage and had to marry others, but as soon as they were free again, they declared undying love. He's a baron, and wealthy --- he and Charlotte spent blissful months planting gardens, entertaining friends, and just generally throwing off sparks of wedded bliss.

"There is nothing of more significance in any situation than the intervention of a third party," Goethe writes, and so he brings one on ---the Captain, a dashing young friend of Eduard's who is between homes. Charlotte would prefer that he not join their household. Eduard, as Goethe notes, "was not used to denying himself anything." So bring on the Captain.... Then we learn that Charlotte's niece Ottilie is not doing well at boarding school; Charlotte and Eduard add her to their household.

An older husband and a young wife. A handsome man and a ravishing girl. In chemistry, as the Captain explains, elements recombine. And so, too, in human affairs --- elective affinities. Soon it's Eduard and Ottilie, the Captain and Charlotte.

This is not a novel about swapping. Set at the beginning of the 19th century, it's a tale of secret notes, walks in the garden, witty remarks at dinner. Actual sex? It's so meaningful that it's some sort of grail --- and that anticipation inspires each character to new heights of desire.

Eduard will risk all to be with Ottilie. Charlotte is made of stronger stuff, as is the Captain --- they know that the passion they feel must be extinguished, and not just for appearances. As a friend lectures them, "Marriage is the beginning and pinnacle of civilization." The impulse to stray? "Let the moment pass, and you will count yourself happy that what has so long stood firm still stands."

But do they? (Do we?) It would be a short novel if they did. Goethe's point is not that we are prisoners of fate, but slaves of desire --- we want what we want, however high the price. And in this novel, the price is very, very high.

Goethe's prose is stunningly modern; his people are driven by notions you'll have no trouble understanding. Of course there are also discussions of gardens and pathways and views that are certain to bore most readers; feel free not to read every word. And you can skim the last hundred pages without missing much. But the first half of this book --- the tale that shows how a spark catches, the way passion is ignited --- is universal and eternal and full of ideas you'll think about every time your eye wanders.

Not a bad achievement for a novel published in 1809.

A wonderful and enigmatic novel, in which Goethe weaves early
19th-century changes in global ecological and imperial systems "like a
red thread" together with his extended and complex comparison between
chemical and intimate human interactions. The two themes come together
through characters' local world-making. In the characters' varyingly
cooperative and clashing development of a private modern landscape,
newly discovered affinities disrupt old habits and habitats and
irrevocably transform them.

This is a fine novel, and Goethe is perhaps the giant in German literature. The title refers to the central metaphor of the novel, the way in which chemical compounds separate and unite themselves with each other in seemingly arbitrary but entirely predictable ways, just as the characters in this novel are. The novel subtley broaches questions about free will, and human nature. Well worth the read.

I hesitate to comment on this work. It's very difficult. I have great respect for it. Maybe after a few more readings I will feel qualified to praise it. I am deeply impressed with Elective Affinities, and I know that the other reviewers were just as sincerely unimpressed, yet I don't credit these other reviewers with sufficient insight to detract from this work.

We must read all the great works that came after Goethe and work our way back to Elective Affinities.

One danger: Science means something different to us than it did for Goethe. One of our gut reactions to science is our feeling that it reduces reality into formulas. Goethe was not such a reductionist. For Goethe science leads toward an understanding of nature, and acknowledges that nature is beyond the purview of our ethical stance. Studying elective affinities between people, would be, for Goethe, a study of a force of nature, the sex drive. He is interested in understanding human behavior at every level, as creatures of nature whose behavior is not wholly accountable to reason, as well as creatures of a civilization that has evolved to protect itself from nature including our own personal natures. The book talks of gardens, as well marriage, both products of culture that direct nature [plants and sexuality] into channels agreed to be beneficial. Nature, earthquakes and our own natures, can destroy us. Culture, civilization are our hedge against nature.

He's not suggesting that love can be understood scientifically. That would be a great misunderstanding. Rather, his work shows that love is going to do what it's going to do. While we can study it, there's little hope of taming it. I am confident about this because I have seen similar themes being played out in the work of Holderlin, Novalis, Stifter, Storm, Nietzsche, Keller, Mann, Hesse, Wordsworth, Ruskin, Emerson, Whitman, and others. The later German literature is very much a commentary on Goethe or attempts to flesh out Goethe's work.

It started with the intermaxillary bone, perhaps. During Goethe's lifetime it was discovered that humans, as well as animals, have an intermaxillary bone; but in humans it is fused and somewhat disguised. The seeming lack of an intermaxillary bone was one bit of evidence that helped humans maintain that they were apart from the animals and favored by god, and with values and ethical positions that are god-sanctioned, above nature. Goethe, talking of the discovery intermaxillary bone declard, "We (humans) are a tone, a shade in the cosmic harmony." (Not separate and above nature.) He was also interested in similar metamorphoses of parts of plants and how analogous parts serve various roles from one species to another. The discovery of the intermaxillary bone was taken as evidence that humans are of nature, provoking a re-thinking of human ethics. Human motivation is partly of nature in that the reproductive drive is natural, and outside the influence of our rationl, ethical sphere. Goethe said that we're pantheists as natural scientists, monotheists in our ethics.

Elective Affinities deals with this new problem. But the problem was not really new. It reflects new, more concrete evidence, through new close observations of nature, that humans are part of nature, but there were intuitions of this going back a long long way. Goethe's work marks a new orientation. He inaugurates an emphasis on man being of nature. Wordsworth, Ruskin, and even Darwin continue the dialogue in England; Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman in the U.S.

I'm grateful for these bad reviews because they offer me an opportunity to try to organize my thoughts about Elective Affinities. I should now re-read it because I have so much more Emerson & Adalbert Stifter behind me.

I will now look to see if there are reviews of Shakespeare with less than five stars.

This is a story of forbidden love and passion. The 'elective affinities' are the connections made between the two pairs of lovers, whose real affinity cancels and overcomes their formal marital connection. The hidden power, the temptation and passion of love are presented here. And this when one central question is whether in the face of love, there can be free will or whether passion overpowers all.

This situation is presented and managed with great skill and insight. However as I feel it anyway the characters do not somehow forge their way in our hearts and minds the way let us say the great characters of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky do. Surprisingly they and their passion seem to me to be on the surface.

And characters one cannot sympathize with , I find anyway, are lesser characters.

Goethe is one of the great all- round geniuses but his novels are in my judgment , not of the very first rank.