Essay One: Werter & J.S.

Mill The values of the Romantic era are embodied in both Werter and J.S. Mill, but the extent to hich they embody them and ho these values im!act their lives, differs mar"edly. The Romanticism ex!ressed by Werter and J.S. Mill ill be com!ared and contrasted on the follo in# "ey features: their different bac"#rounds and their subse$uent life !aths and their individual de!ressions. Werter and J.S. Mill ex!ress variation in the character of %&th century romanticism' the ideals unite these artists and intellectuals, but ho these ideals are inter!reted vary from individual to individual, and ho these ideals manifest themselves in the course of their lifetimes also varies as ell. Different Backgrounds & Life Paths Werter has a middle(class bac"#round, has as an adult ac$uired a !rofession and see"s to move u! in social circles hich are essentially closed to him, es!ecially evident hen the )ount stated to Werter as his dinner !arty that *the com!any is rather dis!leased at your bein# here+ ,-oethe, ./0. Werter is a man of !assion' *you have never itnessed anythin# so unsteady, so uncertain, as my heart+ ,-oethe, .0, he rites in a letter to a friend' he allo s himself to be com!letely driven by it his !assion, even thou#h his u!most desire to be ith the married oman hom he loves can never be fulfilled. 1is attem!t to move on from his beloved )harlotte ho *has ca!tured all his senses+ ,-oethe, %%0 and live a normal life in accordance ith the norms he is ex!ected to follo is short lived, he tires $uic"ly over his !ost findin# his em!loyer to be unbearable man ho *transacts his business in so ridiculous a manner+ ,-oethe, .20, and does later resi#n from court. 1e is frustrated by the social order and the sta#nation of the aristocratic circles, des!ite bein# talented he stru##les to #et their acce!tance and is still lar#ely re3ected' but even hen his talents are reco#ni4ed he does not deem it enou#h, in order to be fully understood he felt that one must embrace his tendency to follo his !assion as illustrated in his relationshi!
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Essay One: Werter & J.S. Mill ith the 5rince ho em!loyed him after he resi#ned from court: *1e 6the 5rince7 values my understandin# and talents more hi#hly than my heart, but 8 am !roud of the latter only+ ,-oethe, 9:0. 1e has a distaste for the *refined ex!ressions of society+ ,-oethe, 920 and resents the fact that *there should be men inca!able of a!!reciatin# the fe thin#s hich !ossess a real value in life+ ,-oethe, 9/0. Werter is the ultimate Romantic: he is constantly sub3ect to his !assions, es!ecially in re#ards to )harlotte ,#reatest ea"ness of his already susce!tible emotions because he feels that throu#h her he finds relief from an other ise un elcomin# hierarchy0, lover of children and their authenticity, sym!athy and a!!reciation for the lo er classes, admirer of nature hich is his !lace of reorientation, and love for a oman that cannot return his love in the ay he desires, !artly due to already bein# committed, but also to the social circumstances that really #ive his beloved ,and him0 no other *res!ectable+ o!tion. J.S. Mill on the other hand as raised by his father, a disci!le of ;entham, to be the ultimate ;enthamite intellectual' as a teena#er he as ritin# articles and bein# !ublished in 3ournals. 1is father !ut him throu#h a ri#orous education aimin# to ma"e his mental faculties as efficient and effective as !ossible' he also !layed the role of moral authority in the be#innin# of his life. 1e as raised to exalt tem!erance, his father believin# *!assionate emotions of all sorts+ to be a *form of madness+ ,Mill, :<0. J.S. Mill lived as a child !rodi#y' he had the advanta#e of bein# desired for various !ositions and stru##le to fit in as Werter did' there as, in essence, a s!ot already set out for him to occu!y. =s he came into a#e he as reco#ni4ed as a leadin# intellectual force. 1e as consumed by his dedication to his or" as a ;enthamite statin# *my o n ha!!iness as entirely identified ith this ob3ect+ ,Mill, 220, even later hen he reali4es the im!ortance of his feelin#s after #oin# throu#h a !eriod of de!ression, he can be said to be a reasonable man, never com!letely consumed by his !assions as Werter as. Mill had the
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Essay One: Werter & J.S. Mill advanta#e of livin# in >ondon, ith the added benefit of havin# a cohesive body of intellectuals ,;er#mann, >ecture0, therefore he did not suffer the sta#nation and isolation Werter felt in the -erman countryside. Mill #re u! ith in a bac"#round of ;enthamite ?tilitarianism hich resulted in an u!brin#in# that as irreli#ious and s"e!tical of !leasure, seein# as his father believed the *#reatest number of miscarria#es@to be attributable to the overvaluin# of !leasures+ ,Mill, :<0. =s he rites his autobio#ra!hy #ivin# testament to his education you can see that education is im!ortant to him throu#hout his life, but he does ma"e room for the cultivation of feelin#s as a chan#e he ould ma"e to his fatherAs teachin#s, 8 thin", because the Romantic era im!acted his life !rofoundly, the !oet Woods orth is !articular, in hel!in# him out of his de!ression hen he no lon#er finds comfort in the *ends+ of ?tilitarianism. Depression Werter ex!eriences de!ression lar#ely due to his frustrations ith society in #eneral and his inability to be ith )harlotte, a married oman hom he loves in *the !urest, most holy, and most brotherly nature+ ,-oethe, 2:0. 1e initially #ains an o!!ortunity throu#h his em!loyment ith an ambassador that falls throu#h as he is unha!!y, and then is ta"en u! by a !rince. 1e leaves his em!loyment ith the !rince because, as he stated in a letter *the fact is, 8 ish to be near )harlotte a#ain, that is all. 8 smile at the su##estions of my heart, and obey its dictates+ ,-oethe, 9:0. )harlotte does care for him, but laments that he carries on * ith that excessive, that un#overnable !assion for everythin# that is dear+ ,-oethe, 2:0 to him. )harlotte tells Werter to that he has to see her less, that he should be more discreet, but it u!sets him as he is frustrated by lac" of acce!tance of his full !ersonality by the !erson he holds the most dear' havin# to com!romise the terms of their friendshi! , hich is all he could !ossibly have ith her and hel!s to "ee! him some hat #rounded0 leaves him in inconsolable, *=lasB the void the fearful void,
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Essay One: Werter & J.S. Mill hich 8 feel in my bosomB+ ,-oethe, 290. 1e decides that he can no lon#er #o on, finally ma"in# his first and last advance onto )harlotte as he "isses her the ni#ht before he !lans to shoot himself ith the !istol he borro ed from )harlotteAs husband. Werter !resents his suicide as a sacrifice for )harlotte, *8 have reached my a!!ointed term, and must sacrifice myself for thee+ ,-oethe, 2C0, statin# that one of the three involved in this !articular love trian#le ,=lbert, )harlotte, Werter0 must die in order for there to finally be !eace. 1is emotions lead him throu#h to the very end: ith a heart blinded by his love, he admits to fantasi4in# about murderin# )harlotteAs husband, but decides to end it to brin# not only )harlotte and =lbert, but himself es!ecially, !eace from the convictions of his !assionate heart. 1ere he is the ultimate romantic hero, dyin# in the name of love, !rotestin# the !etty bour#eois, unable to com!romise his emotions in order to see" acce!tance and #ain societal standin#. This de!iction of the Romantic hero has t o sides: althou#h it is a!!arent that the societal structure as at fault for many of WerterAs frustrations, WerterAs !assion ,a #enerally !ositive trait amon# the Romantics0 as not only his #reatest stren#th but also his fatal ea"ness, due to its excess. Mill ex!eriences his de!ression in his early D<s because he felt that his or" as an intellectual force for ;enthamAs !hiloso!hy to no lon#er be re ardin#, statin# that the * hole foundation on hich my life as constructed fell do n+ ,Mill, 220. 1e tried to find solace in his favorite boo"s and could not, he has no one to #o to for advice as his father ould not be !articularly understandin# of his !li#ht nor ould he "no the !ro!er advice for him. Mill did not deem his de!ression to be *res!ectable distress+ ,as one mi#ht deem WerterAs0 ,Mill, 2/0 ;ein# that he as a man ho had ex!erienced no childhood in the conventional sense, he had no !oint of reference, he could not resurrect or miss childli"e $ualities he never had the o!!ortunity to ex!erience. 8nstead he felt sim!ly as if somethin# as missin#, reali4in# soon enou#h that the
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Essay One: Werter & J.S. Mill *habit of analysis has a tendency to ear a ay the feelin#s: as indeed it has hen no other mental habit is cultivated, and the analy4in# s!irit remains ithout its natural com!lements and correctives+ ,Mill, 2/0. With MillAs *analy4in# s!irit+ not allo in# the cultivation of his emotions, Mill states that he as left * ithout any real desire for the ends hich 8 had been so carefully fitted out to or" for+ 6em!hasis added7 ,Mill, /D0. 1e finds solace in the Romantic !oet Woods orth, feelin# initially connected to him throu#h their mutual love of rural scenery. Woods orth made Mill *feel that there as real, !ermanent ha!!iness in tran$uil contem!lation+ ,Mill, /90. With this ins!iration, Mill effectively sou#ht to balance his ca!acity for analy4in# , hich he very much a!!reciated, des!ite its emotional shortcomin#s0 and his ne ly found belief in the im!ortance in cultivatin# his *!assive susce!tibilities+ in order *to be nourished and enriched as ell as #uided+ ,Mill, /D0. 1ere Romantic notions aid in hel!in# Mill out of de!ression, in star" contrast to WerterAs case: his firm alle#iance to this *!assive susce!tibilities+ lead to his emotional unrest and demise. Conclusion The character of %&th century Romanticism is one that has variation' althou#h it is said that durin# this era *the man of reason and intellect as re!laced ith the ma of feelin#+ ,;er#mann, >ecture0 both the Romantic hero and the man of reason have a role to !lay. The Romantic notion re#ardin# the ex!ression of emotions and !assions is a double(ed#e s ord: de!endin# on ho one internali4es and ex!resses this sentiment it can either enrich their lives or lead to the end of it. The *doomed Romantic+ and the *reasonable Romantic+ are both le#itimate strands, each ith its o n virtues. This era embodied both the miserable cry of those ho felt out of !lace in a orld hich could not truly acce!t them, and those ho found ho!e in the values of sentimentality intuition, feelin#, family and the nation, em!hasi4in# that a s!ectrum bet een
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Essay One: Werter & J.S. Mill these t o ends does exist, effectively re3ectin# the restrictive inter!retations of the individual and society ex!ounded by the era of Enli#htment that came before that of the Romantic.