Analysis Of The Suffers Of Young Werther

“The period from 1700 to 1840 produced some highly sophisticated psychological theorizing that became central to German intellectual and cultural life, well in advance of similar developments in the English-speaking world” (Bell i). Some of the psychologists that have helped German literature, advanced are Sigmund Freud, Karen Horney, and Carl Rodgers. Originally, Sigmund Freud studied personality and developed a theory of neurosis and later, Karen Horney built upon his theory, changing some ideas, making her own theory of neurosis. Using Horney’s newer concepts of neurosis, and additional psychological notions from other psychologists, one can apply these to the German literary work, “The Sufferings of Young Werther.”

In the German literature, “The Sufferings of Young Werther,” there are two characters that represent two of the main eras that were happening in the late 1700s and early 1800s. These two characters are Albert and Werther. Werther represents the Storm and Urge era, while Albert represents the Enlightenment era. “The roots of German Romanticism can be traced back to an experimental literary movement entitled the “Sturm und Drang‟ or “Storm and Stress‟ which placed value in the subjective emotions of individuals and repudiated the dominant ideals of Enlightenment; a

“Unconscious strategies the mind uses to protect itself from anxiety by denying or distorting reality in some way” (Feist and Rosenberg 489). There are three main types of defense mechanisms: projection, sublimation, and reaction formation. Projection is when people deny particular ideas, feelings, or impulses and project them onto others (489). Next is sublimation which is when one would express a socially unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable way (489). Lastly, reaction formation occurs when unpleasant idea, feeling or impulse is turned into its opposite feeling