Elective Affinities: A Novel (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Author), David Constantine (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: December 15, 2008

Elective Affinities was written when Goethe was sixty and long established as Germany's literary giant. This is a new edition of his penetrating study of marriage and passion, bringing together four people in an inexorable manner. The novel asks whether we have free will or not and confronts its characters with the monstrous consequences of repressing what little "real life" they have in themselves, a life so far removed from their natural states that it appears to them as something terrible and destructive.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'as a study of marital relations and adultery it is strangely topical, with a pitiless psychological insight which is close to Laclos and the French school' Brian Fallon, Irish Times

'David Constantine has struck a readable tone that sets the novel in its time without pastiche. Thanks to the fluidity of Constantine's prose, Goethe's story succeeds .... in fascinating and moving us. Constantine has caught the crispness of Goethe's descriptive language. ' Albert Manguel, Observer

'... superbly translated' Nicholas Boyle Journal of European Studies, XXIV (1994)

About the Author

David Constantine is a Fellow in German at The Queen's College, Oxford. He is a poet (published by Bloodaxe) and translator as well as being an Oxford academic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199555362
• ISBN-13: 978-0199555369
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent meta-novel as novel...?, March 26, 2011

By 

PuroShaggy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elective Affinities: A Novel (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Goethe flexes his literary muscles from the get-go and flat out tells the reader, in the first chapter, exactly what is going to happen in this book- robbing the reader of any element of surprise- and then expertly delivers exactly what he promised.
Charlotte and Eduard are a happily married couple who entertain the notion of inviting some needy friends- a respected male and a young female- to come stay with them in their time of need. Charlotte and Eduard are hesitant to do so, however, because, as all literature shows, anytime such a situation occurs, problems arise in the marriage and things end badly. So guess what happens? Eduard and Charlotte invite Eduard's long time friend the Captain and Charlotte's young innocent niece Ottilie to stay with them, and before you know it, the wife is spending all her time with her husband's best friend and the niece is flirting with her aunt's husband, exactly as Goethe promised.
Fully aware of what is going on the entire time, the characters nonetheless continue to make questionable choices as Goethe questions the notion of marriage and love and questions whether or not we can control our baser impulses; and even though deeper notions of free will and morality drive the action, the action itself evolves in a steady, slowly intensifying fashion that keeps the reader interested to the very (sad) end.
In "Elective Affinities", Goethe has taken a standard literature plot and elevated it to new heights.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars attraction and relatedness!, June 4, 2011

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whj - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elective Affinities: A Novel (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

"Elective affinities", what a great and creative way to write about the phenomena of love, passion, and other extraneous variables that when combined, can lead to a new organic process! Certainly, it is the brilliance of the versatile and erudite author and the advantage of "the Age of Wonder" (by Richarld Holmes).

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elective Affinities, September 20, 2011

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Anna - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Elective Affinities: A Novel (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

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