Fate, a doom or fortune that depends on one's destiny gives man the idea of a future that is certain and firm. Fate has been the blame of man's circumstances hence giving man the discouragement of taking full responsibility for his actions. In Faust and The Sorrows of Werther, Goethe creates two humane characters whose tragedies depend on the divergent paths that their fates lead them. Fate plays an ambiguous uncertainty in the case of Faust, in which he is an aspiring intelligent man, searching for simplicity; instead he finds himself making a deal with the devil and becomes confused in the direction that he should lead. The idea of fate strikingly shows two different stances between Werther and Faust; Faust, aware of his freedom of will is responsible for the ludicrous actions that lead to not only his doom but to the tragic fate of others.
[...] Werther, is the victim of his own blind impulses that guide him into the fixed fate of his death. His heart, tends to all his heart's desire” confounds him, giving into sensation and the inclination of passion that only he imagines in his head. Werther never has control of his own impulses, leaving Werther vulnerable and in a servile condition. He struggles for improvement, yet he cannot escape the chains of enticement and Lotte. Werther describes to his dear friend Willhelm in a letter, of the unhealthy heart strong love he feels for Lotte and the ways she would flirt with him. [...]
[...] Lotte, the object of Werther's affection, could have changed the doomed fate of Werther. She could have saved Werther from the path he had chosen. Instead, Lotte ( and society) helps Werther take a leap in the direction of death; handing the gun to Albert which Werther uses to kill himself. Werther barely has any one to share his feelings except for Lotte and those written letters to Willhelm, who seems more of a diary which Werther can state his entire emotional outburst to, rather than a person that can converse and give advice. [...]
[...] Gretchen is the polar opposite of Faust; she is simple and innocent and content with life. When Faust sees her for the first time in the Witch's mirror, she disappears as he strives to get closer. She is so angelic and pure that man cannot even touch this virtuous soul. The one light in the scene becomes fixated on this heavenly woman, and Faust begins to plot into one of his schemes as he strives for the affection of this girl. [...]
[...] That was the one time when Faust reflected upon the fate of someone else besides his own. Faust had been too self- involved, searching for his answers to life and knowledge, while carousing with Mephistopheles, that he forgets the tragedy of Gretchen. Faust's conscious reasoning and voluntary actions make him guilty of the fate he has chosen for himself. Man kind is governed by the voluntary and involuntary actions that man makes. In The Sorrows of Werther, Werther is driven by impulse alone. [...]
[...] Werther will never be a part of society because of who he is. Werther has been rejected incessantly; no one sympathizes with his poor soul. His crime in suicide can be compared to more of as his first epiphany of sensibility in benefiting society. He finally can be the creator of his own destiny, by abandoning his body and himself, just like how society has discarded him. Werther's misfortunes enslave Werther whereas Faust is the victim of his own enslavement. [...]
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