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Lotte (Charlotte S.)
Fiancé then husband to Lotte, and erstwhile friend to Werther. Albert is an amiable young man who likes Werther despite Werther’s obvious affection for Lotte. The two engage in hearty conversations often, but Werther’s increasing obsession with Lotte becomes a strain on their friendship. Things are brought to a head when the Farmer Lad murders the Widow out of lovestruck jealousy, and Werther defends the boy’s actions to Albert in a way bordering on insanity. The episode scares Albert, who sees strong parallels between the Lad’s obsession with the widow and Werther’s feelings for Lotte, and it causes an irreparable rift between him and Werther. Albert subsequently advises Lotte to see far less of Werther. Goethe based Albert on a man who was engaged to Goethe’s own love interest (and the woman who was the basis for Lotte), Charlotte Bluff. Bluff’s fiancé considered Goethe a genius whose passion could do with some restraint, and Albert seems to follow along in this vein as a sensible man ruled more by reason than emotion.
Albert Quotes in The Sorrows of Young Werther
The The Sorrows of Young Werther quotes below are all either spoken by Albert or refer to Albert. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1: Jul 19-Aug 12, 1771
Quotes
I grind my teeth and mock my own misery…I go rambling in the woods, and if my walk takes me to Lotte's and I find Albert sitting in the summerhouse with her in the greenery, and I cannot bear it any more.
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True, it is wrong to steal: but if a man goes thieving to save himself and his family from starvation, are we to pity him or punish him? Who will first cast a stone if a husband sacrifices his unfaithful wife and her worthless seducer in the heat of his righteous wrath? or if a girl abandons herself for one joyful hour to the irresistible pleasures of love?
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Book 1: Oct 20, 1771-Feb 20, 1772
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Oh, it would drive me insane if she could forget—Albert, the very thought is hell.
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Albert Quotes in The Sorrows of Young Werther
The The Sorrows of Young Werther quotes below are all either spoken by Albert or refer to Albert. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1: Jul 19-Aug 12, 1771
Quotes
I grind my teeth and mock my own misery…I go rambling in the woods, and if my walk takes me to Lotte's and I find Albert sitting in the summerhouse with her in the greenery, and I cannot bear it any more.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
True, it is wrong to steal: but if a man goes thieving to save himself and his family from starvation, are we to pity him or punish him? Who will first cast a stone if a husband sacrifices his unfaithful wife and her worthless seducer in the heat of his righteous wrath? or if a girl abandons herself for one joyful hour to the irresistible pleasures of love?
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Book 1: Oct 20, 1771-Feb 20, 1772
Quotes
Oh, it would drive me insane if she could forget—Albert, the very thought is hell.
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