DUAL TEXT

*Werther* is considered the first modern novel; it captures our hearts as if the events were unfolding—or being written—today. Indeed, therein lies its secret: it allows people of our own time—who possess neither Lotte’s nor Werther’s specific traits—to feel as though they are at the very heart of the story. Much like the enduring power of ancient tales, the essence of humanity is reclaimed and brought back to life here, crowned by love. "The heart"—that is the word that recurs frequently in Werther’s letters and dominates the entire novel as its central theme. It speaks not of heroism or adventure, as did the novels that came before it, nor of the problems, hardships, dangers, and vicissitudes of life found in the novels of our own era; rather, his letters speak only of love—or, more precisely, of a single, singular love.