Discuss the use of the epistolary convention in Werther
Discuss the use of the epistolary convention in WertherThe epistolary convention plays an important role in Johann Wolfgang Goethe's "Die Leiden des jungen Werther". Epistolary means the book is written in the form of letters. In this essay I will examine the way Goethe uses this convention in Werther to introduce different ideas and to change the reader's understanding and insight of the book.The entire novel is written in the form of letters, with the exception of the editor's interruptions near the end which I will discuss later in my essay. The letters are written by the main character, Werther, to his friend Wilheim. The reader never learns anything about Wilheim nor gets to see any of his replies to the letters. Therefore we can only guess at what Wilheim replies, based on what Werther writes to him. The reader then virtually becomes Wilheim, as we get to read Werther's letters and imagine what Wilheim's responses may have been. The novel quickly becomes like a monologue, we never get any responses or reactions to Werther's letters and can only guess as to what may have been said. Therefore we only learn Werther's own thoughts and feelings on events and only find out his own biased report on what is going on.
He is also able to use rhetorical hypothetical questions, as I have previously mentioned, which he could not have spoken aloud to others. He also discusses topics that one would not normally talk about with others, but would usually only think about or write in a diary, such as when he contemplates suicide. As the reader feels like Werther is writing to them, it causes them to think about what advice to give Werther on what he should do as so involves them more in the novel. In the novel, Werther's voice is all we hear and as we do not see any of Wilheim's replies of thoughts of the other characters, we get the impression he has no friends to confide in. Again this is more typical language of a diary entry than a letter to a friend, as he discusses topics which one would not normally tell a friend and talks about what would happen if Albert were to die, which you could not say to anyone. By writing letters, it makes the novel seem autobiographical. This again supports the idea that the novel is more like diary entries than letters to a friend. Obviously Wilheim does not give the right advice as Werther commits suicide anyway, which is annoying for the reader. This is extremely useful for the reader and allows us to gain valuable insight into the time span of the events in the novel. Whereas in other novels, it is often not specific, how long events and feelings take to happen, we can clearly see the progression of Werther's feelings and we can see how his sorrows and depression lead to his suicide at the end. He is not able to tell his true feelings to any of the people he talks about in his letters, and therefore through his letters the reader learns about his isolation. On the other hand the epistolary convention also has limitations.
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