Goethe, in association with his younger Romantic compatriots the Schlegels, Novalis, Fichte, and Schelling, struggled with the subject-object dichotomy, and tried to bridge the gap between self and other, consciousness and nature.

Women and Literature in the Goethe Era 1770-1820 - Determined Dilettantes

The Goethe era of German literature was dominated by men. Women were discouraged from reading and scorned as writers; Schiller saw female writers as typical 'dilettantes'. But the attempt to exclude did not always succeed, and the growing literary market rewarded some women's determination. This study combines archival research, literary analysis, and statistical evidence to give a sociological-historical overview of the conditions of women's literary production. Highlighting many authors who have fallen into obscurity, this study tells the story of women who managed to write and publish at a time when their efforts were not welcomed.

Goethe's Concept of the Daemonic: After the Ancients (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)

For Plato, the daemonic is a sensibility that brings individuals into contact with divine knowledge; Socrates was also inspired by a "divine voice" known as his "daimonion." Goethe was introduced to this ancient concept by Hamann and Herder, who associated it with the aesthetic category of genius. This book shows how the young Goethe depicted the idea of daemonic genius in works of the Storm and Stress period, before exploring the daemonic in a series of later poetic and autobiographical works.

German Romanticism and Science: The Procreative Poetics of Goethe, Novalis, and Ritter

Situated at the intersection of literature and science, Holland's study draws upon a diverse corpus of literary and scientific texts that testify to a cultural fascination with procreation around 1800. Through readings from Goethe, Novalis, and Ritter, Holland proposes that each author contributes to a scientifically-informed poetics of procreation.

Tragic masterpiece explores mind of an artist in alternately joyful and despairing letters recounting an unhappy romance. Goethe addresses issues of love, death, and redemption in an influential portrayal of a character who struggles to reconcile his artistic sensibilities with the demands of the objective world.