Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe between 1795 and 1796, is a seminal work that explores themes of self-discovery, maturation, and the tension between artistic ambition and societal expectations. The narrative follows Wilhelm Meister, a young man from a prosperous background, who faces a pivotal choice between a conventional life in business and a free-spirited existence as an artist. Opting for the latter, he becomes involved in theater, driven by his passion for acting and writing. Throughout his journey, Wilhelm grapples with romantic entanglements, personal failures, and the harsh realities of life as an artist, ultimately confronting the limits of his talent.
As the story unfolds, Wilhelm encounters various characters who shape his understanding of art and authority, including the loyal Mignon and the nobleman Lothario. His experiences lead him to profound realizations about love, responsibility, and the nature of truth. The novel culminates in his acceptance of a more traditional life, as he embraces his roles as a father and husband, suggesting a reconciliation between artistic aspirations and practical realities. "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" is often regarded as a key example of the Bildungsroman genre, reflecting Goethe's insights into the complexities of human experience and the journey toward self-awareness.
On this Page
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
First published:Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, 1795-1796 (English translation, 1824)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Bildungsroman
Time of plot: Late eighteenth century
Locale: Germany
Principal characters
Wilhelm , a young poet and actorMarianne , an actor and Wilhelm’s loverOld Barbara , Marianne’s maidWerner , Wilhelm’s best friendPhiline , an actorLaertes , an actor and Philine’s companionMignon , Wilhelm’s adopted daughterLothario , a noblemanNatalie , Wilhelm’s wifeFelix , Wilhelm’s sonJarno , an actor and teacher
The Story:
A naïve young man from a prosperous family, Wilhelm Meister is allowed to choose between a bourgeois, middle-class life in business and a bohemian, independent life as an artist. Rejecting his father’s advice that he settle down and study business, Wilhelm decides to pursue a career in the theater as both an actor and a playwright. Wilhelm is distracted, though, by his love for Marianne, an actor, who, with her maid Old Barbara, conspires to keep Wilhelm in addition to a rich, older lover. One evening, Wilhelm observes his rival leaving Marianne’s room. Heartbroken, Wilhelm finally takes his father’s advice and begins a business trip that his father and Wilhelm’s best friend, Werner, hope will teach him about the world.
Before leaving, Wilhelm breaks down weeping in front of Werner. He declares that he has no artistic talent and, parting with his Muses, he throws the bundles of his poetry into a fire. He then sets off on his journey to collect the debts his father holds on account. In his heart, however, Wilhelm remains “a restless, disorganized youth who wanted to live apart from the humdrum circumstances of middle-class life.” In a small town not far from his father’s estate, Wilhelm finds himself drawn to an amateur theater production. Observing the director beat a young girl for refusing to play her part, Wilhelm rescues her, ousts the director, and begins his association with the troupe. As the company’s new director, Wilhelm takes on the girl, Mignon, as his adopted daughter, and together they travel the countryside staging plays and amusements for the local nobility.
Laertes and Philine, two of the best actors in the troupe, take Wilhelm and Mignon on sunny picnics where they flirt and joke. One afternoon, they are attacked by bandits in the forest. Wilhelm fights valiantly, drawing a pistol and shooting a bandit from his horse. Laertes joins him in the battle, but the other actors flee, and Wilhelm is badly wounded. Near death, he is saved by Mignon, who gathers up her long hair and uses it to stanch the flow of blood from a bullet wound in his chest.
Taken to recuperate at the house of a nobleman, Wilhelm slowly regains his health. During his convalescence he engages in many debates on the nature of art and poetry, especially on the topic of William Shakespeare. In the company of educated people, Wilhelm realizes that the actors took advantage of him, that they spent his money freely and failed to thank him, and that worst of all they abandoned him and left him for dead.
Forced to see that his own talent is mediocre, Wilhelm again feels compelled to choose a life in business. His new friend, the nobleman Lothario, encourages him to develop all of his talents, without focusing on any one in particular. To inform himself further, Wilhelm reads the diary of a saintly woman and concludes that there are two sources of truth, internal and external. He has just come to this realization when Mignon, who long endured poor health, suffers a heart attack and dies in his arms. Wilhelm then encounters Old Barbara, who tells him that his former lover Marianne died, swearing her love for him.
At his host’s castle, Wilhelm is surprised to meet his old friend Werner, who traveled into the countryside on business. Each quickly sees that the other has changed. Werner has become rich, but also sickly, stoop-shouldered, and bald, whereas Wilhelm, who is relatively poor, has grown into a handsome, fine figure of a man.
Parting from Werner, Wilhelm continues his journey and discovers that he has a son by Marianne. The boy, Felix, comes into Wilhelm’s care and changes his father’s outlook on life. Wilhelm realizes that he lacks the talent to succeed in the theater. When he faces the truth about himself he discards his illusions and ends his apprenticeship, realizing that “art is long, life is short.” Having matured, he proposes to Natalie, a young woman his friends select as the perfect mate. She refuses to give him an answer, but Wilhelm is distracted from his hopes and fears when Felix accidentally drinks opium. Fearing for the child’s life, Wilhelm summons a doctor. Natalie swears that if Felix survives, she will accept Wilhelm’s hand in marriage. Felix recovers, and Wilhelm joyfully accepts his new responsibilities as father and husband. Renouncing the artistic life, he takes his friend Jarno’s advice and begins a happy domestic life, while Jarno sets sail for the New World in America.
Bibliography
Armstrong, John. Love, Life, Goethe: Lessons of the Imagination from the Great German Poet. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Goethe’s works are analyzed and his life examined in this comprehensive volume. Armstrong discusses a wide range of Goethe’s writings, including his lesser known works, and gives a close study of his personal life. Knowing German and English, Armstrong provides translations of several key passages, while keeping his writing style plain and clear. This volume offers readers a better understanding of Goethe’s writing, and the circumstances that inspired it.
Brown, Jane K. Goethe’s Cyclical Narratives: “Die Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten” and “Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre.” Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975. Examines Goethe’s use of episodic technique and cyclical narrative. Presents a methodology that allows the reader to appreciate the contradictions and parody in Goethe’s work.
Curran, Jane V. Goethe’s “Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship”: A Reader’s Commentary. Rochester, N.Y.: Camden House, 2002. Curran provides an in-depth, accessible analysis of the novel, including discussion of its narrative techniques, character development, use of symbols and irony, and the parallels between Wilhelm Meister’s experiences and Goethe’s life.
Hutchinson, Peter, ed. Landmarks in the German Novel. Part 1. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. This study traces the development of the German novel from the eighteenth century until 1959 by analyzing thirteen milestone works, including separate essays discussing Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, Elective Affinities, and The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Maugham, W. Somerset. “The Three Novels of a Poet.” In Points of View. London: Heinemann, 1958. Maugham argues that Goethe was a better poet than novelist. Maugham, who brings a creative as well as a critical faculty to bear on Goethe’s work, examines poetic technique, including imagery and meter.
Pascal, Roy. “The Bildungsroman: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.” In The German Novel: Studies. New York: Manchester University Press, 1956. Considers the formal and stylistic features of Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship. Briefly discusses Goethe’s career as a theater director in Weimar and its influence on his novels.
Reiss, Hans. Goethe’s Novels. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1969. Critical discussion of Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Elective Affinities. Examines Goethe’s natural philosophy, the sociological aspects of his writings, and his influence on German theater.
Sharpe, Lesley, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Goethe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Collection of newly commissioned essays analyzing Goethe’s prose fiction, drama, and poetry; Goethe and gender, philosophy, and religion; and Goethe’s critical reception, among other topics. Includes bibliography and index.
Swales, Martin, and Erika Swales. Reading Goethe: A Critical Introduction to the Literary Work. Rochester, N.Y.: Camden House, 2002. A comprehensive critical analysis of Goethe’s literary output, which argues that the writer is an essential figure in German modernity. Chapter 3, “Narrative Fiction,” focuses on Goethe’s novels. Includes bibliography and index.