credence to the fact that Lotte was bound to another. When Werther asked who Albert was, Lotte told him that he was the man to whom she was engaged. "Now this was no news to me... yet none the less, it was utterly new to me as I had not yet connected the thought with her, who had come in so short a time to mean so much to me." (Goethe, pg.41) Lotte represented everything thing that was pure and benevolent to Werther, much like the role that nature once took in Werther's life. Instead of expressing his love of nature in his paintings and writing, he began to paint portraits of Lotte, and wrote consistently to Wilhelm about Lotte. Werther's imaginative powers were primarily "weakened" by Lotte's presence in his heart, and ultimately totally "deserted" him. "I can no longer pray except to her; my imagination beholds no figure but hers; and I see the things of the world about me only in relation to her." (Goethe, 68) Werther recognized his obsession and felt like his "growing passion" would "overthrow his contemplative composure and destroy him." (Goethe, 62) Wert
             ...