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  • Published: 1 November 1978
  • ISBN: 9780141909585
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320

Elective Affinities





R. J. Hollingdale's translation conveys the simple elegance of the original.

Eduard and Charlotte are an aristocratic couple who live a harmonious but idle life in their estate. But the peace of their existence is thrown into chaos when two visitors - Eduard's friend the Captain and Charlotte's passionate young ward Ottilie - provoke unexpected attraction and forbidden love. Taking its title from the principle of elective affinities - the theory that certain chemicals are naturally drawn to one another - this is a penetrating study of marriage and adultery. Inspired by Goethe's own conflicting loyalties as he battled to maintain his relationship with his wife and control his feelings for a younger woman, Elective Affinities is one of the greatest works of the romance era: a rich exploration of love, conflict, and the inescapable force of fate.

  • Published: 1 November 1978
  • ISBN: 9780141909585
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320

Other books in the series

Emma
Persuasion
The Black Tulip
The Lady of the Camellias
On Sparta
Love
Annals
Military Dispatches

Also by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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