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Book Synopsis
Baron Eduard and his second wife Charlotte enjoy a quiet, humdrum existence in their opulent castle, but when he invites his friend the Captain and she invites her niece Ottilie to stay with them, their lives are turned inside out as both hosts begin to feel attracted to their guests. Using one of the chemistry theories of the time as a metaphor throughout the novel, Goethe juxtaposes social interactions with scientific principles, while illustrating the typically Romantic concern of the individual coming to terms with society. Controversial when first published and still much critically debated today, Goethe’s Elective Affinities is an early model for the modern novel.

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The boldest and deepest novel of adultery produced by the moral culture of the West. -- Thomas Mann

Elective Affinities: Newly Translated and

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A Paperback / softback by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, H.M. Waidson

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    View other formats and editions of Elective Affinities: Newly Translated and by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    Publisher: Alma Books Ltd
    Publication Date: 15/02/2015
    ISBN13: 9781847494528, 978-1847494528
    ISBN10: 1847494528
    Also in:
    Books by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    Baron Eduard and his second wife Charlotte enjoy a quiet, humdrum existence in their opulent castle, but when he invites his friend the Captain and she invites her niece Ottilie to stay with them, their lives are turned inside out as both hosts begin to feel attracted to their guests. Using one of the chemistry theories of the time as a metaphor throughout the novel, Goethe juxtaposes social interactions with scientific principles, while illustrating the typically Romantic concern of the individual coming to terms with society. Controversial when first published and still much critically debated today, Goethe’s Elective Affinities is an early model for the modern novel.

    Trade Review
    The boldest and deepest novel of adultery produced by the moral culture of the West. -- Thomas Mann

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