Pages 183 through 234 Summary and Analysis

Gossip

Werther is told by another that the woman, Charlotte, who he will soon meet is beautiful—but not available. The friend gossips about Charlotte, setting up Werther for the fall. Hearing another speak of his loved one, the lover is disturbed to hear the loved one referred to by the he/she pronoun. It is cold and harsh.

Why?

"Why don't you love me?" soon becomes "Why do you love me only a little?" Is it possible to love only a little? One never stops believing he is loved; rather, hallucinates that he is. (Freud) One can come to realize that his suffering came from thinking erroneously he was loved rather than actually not being loved.

Ravishment

Love at first sight stems from the archaic times when the caveman threw his woman over his shoulder to announce...