Elective Affinities was Goethe's third novel. It depicts human relationships in a Romantic crucible, and is the sourcebook and inspiration for many literary and filmic adaptations and variations.
By : Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
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The book is situated around the city of Weimar. Goethe's main characters are Eduard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple both in their second marriage, enjoying an idyllic but semi-dull life on the grounds of their rural estate. They invite the Captain, Eduard's childhood friend, and Ottilie, the beautiful, orphaned, coming-of-age niece of Charlotte, to live with them. The decision to invite Ottilie and the Captain is described as an "experiment" and this is exactly what it is. The house and its surrounding gardens are described as "a chemical retort in which the human elements are brought together for the reader to observe the resulting reaction."
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