Goethe had only one wife in his life, but he was inextricably linked with countless women. These women are the source of inspiration for his 128 great works. It can be said that women made Goethe.
There are countless scholars who study Goethe all over the world, but there is no more than one comment on the woman behind him: "Goethe has been in love with new women all his life, but he runs away every time his passion is high", "Every woman's arrival and departure will bring inspiration to Goethe and bear the fruit of literature".
Goethe "always puts on a drama in love without saying goodbye". And lovelorn, is also the main reason for the birth of young Werther and Italian travel notes.
1772, Goethe went to the imperial court of Weizla for an internship. He met 19-year-old Charlotte at a dance. Charlotte is a stunning beauty who cares about the whole city. Goethe knew that she was someone else's fiancee, but he still loved her hopelessly. Charlotte was only impressed by Goethe's talent. The young Goethe was deeply hit. Every night, he holds a dagger in his chest with lively gesticulations and feels that the blade is thrown into his chest, which makes him feel completely happy.
Of course, Goethe didn't stab the sword in. He just chose to escape and left without saying goodbye. He wrote a letter to Charlotte: "I love Charlotte." I am very happy. You know my love will never change. "Later, Goethe wrote Young Werther based on his five-month contact with Charlotte, which became an instant hit and became the first German work to truly gain world reputation.
However, Goethe, who became famous as a teenager, did not fulfill his oath of "not changing his original intention". Not long after, he wrote in the poem "New Love and New Life": "Love, love, let me go!" The object of this love is not Charlotte, but another beautiful girl, Shirley.
Shirley is the daughter of a banker in Frankfurt and a woman engaged to Goethe in the world. Goethe is very attached to this beautiful woman, but it is this attachment that scares him. He was afraid that he would indulge in Shelley's love. So, he expressed his heart through the script Stella, which was created at that time: "This kind of environment will suffocate all my strength and take away all my courage. I must leave. " So, after half a year of engagement, Goethe proposed to break off the engagement with Xue Lili.
He was afraid to show up when it was announced. But fled Frankfurt and left without saying goodbye. After that, he wrote Lily's Song and Lily's Park.
Among Goethe's many escapes, the most important one was his two-year trip to Italy in anonymity. Goethe's research history calls it "Goethe fled to Italy". Many articles about Goethe in China will refer to the result of "absconding"-writing the classic prose "Travels in Italy", but they are vague about the reasons for "absconding".
Goethe who fled to Italy was tired of "vulgar Germany" and "cowardly bourgeoisie", and he wanted to escape from a woman-Xia. Xia is seven years older than Goethe and is a typical maid-in-waiting. She is proficient in French and likes piano, painting and poetry. However, her husband, a minister in charge of horses in the court all day, doesn't care about her talent.
At this time, Xia encountered Goethe's fanatical pursuit. Although we meet every day, we still write enthusiastically. During their contact, Goethe wrote 1800 letters to Xia, many of which were in color. Goethe researchers believe that Goethe's literary style began to develop peacefully and clearly after understanding Xia. Representative works include hans sachs's Mission, Journey to the East of Mount Haltz, Fisherman, Devil and so on.
Goethe publicly stated more than once in his later years that the influence of Xia Di on him was comparable to "Shakespeare's poems", but in the sixth year after meeting him, he secretly fled to Italy. The reason is that this lover like his mother began to make him breathless. Later, Goethe compiled his letter to Xia in Italy into Travel Notes of Italy.
Although Goethe was cruel to most women, his attitude towards his wife Wu was completely different. Wu was born in a humble family, while Goethe lived in Weimar society. Their love was criticized by the aristocratic circles. Wu has always been patient in the face of Goethe's discrimination and emotional infidelity from time to time. She let Goethe know that the lovers around him are changing at any time, but the only thing that can really make him miss is his wife. Wu finally married Goethe after living with * * * for eighteen years.
The combination of the two is also a legend in German literature: during the German-French War, the French army entered Weimar, and soldiers broke into Goethe's home and almost knocked his master to the ground. At this moment, Wu stood up and shouted, "You can't hit him! He is the greatest poet in Germany! " It is said that it was this moment that touched Goethe and made him determined to marry Wu. Their 17-year-old son was still at the wedding.