The 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 thoughts and feelings on events and only find out his biased report on what is going on.
             The reader gets the impression that they are reading a diary, as in the letters Werther describes not only the events but also his personal views and how he is feeling. 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. He also asks rhetorical hypothetical questions in his letters, such as when he wonders what would happen if Albert were to die, am 21. August, "wie, wenn Albert stürbe?" Again, this is the 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. Goethe uses the letters in Werther ...