In Werther's Thrall: Suicide and the Power of Sentimental Reading in Early National America

The article examines the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther on reading culture and discussions of suicide in the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It argues that the phenomenon of "Werther Fever" extended beyond Europe and profoundly shaped American debates about sentimental reading, readerly sympathy, and the moral effects of literature. The study demonstrates that educators, critics, and religious leaders simultaneously feared that reading Werther might encourage imitation or suicide while also using the novel to debate moral discipline, emotional regulation, and readers' ethical responsibilities. Ultimately, the article shows that reading in the early national period was understood as a powerful social practice capable of shaping both individual conduct and public values.

Loại tài liệu:

Article - Bài báo

Tác giả:

Bell, Richard

Đề mục:

Early American Literature

Nhà xuất bản:

University of North Carolina Press

Ngày xuất bản:

2011

Số trang/ tờ:

Định dạng:

pdf

Nguồn gốc:

Early American Literature, Volume 46, Number 1, 2011, Pages 93-120

Liên kết:

ISSN 0012-8163

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