Elective Affinities German: Die Wahlverwandtschaften , also translated under the title Kindred by Choice , is the third novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , published in Situated around the city of Weimar , the book relates the story of Eduard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple enjoying an idyllic but somewhat mundane life on a secluded estate; although it is the second marriage for both, their relationship deteriorates after they invite Eduard's friend Captain Otto and Charlotte's orphaned niece, Ottilie, to live with them in their mansion.
The invitation to Ottilie and the Captain is described as an "experiment", as it indeed 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. The conflict between passion and reason leads to chaos and ultimately to a tragic end. The novel, often described as Goethe's best and at the same time his most enigmatic, [ citation needed ] combines elements of Weimar Classicism , such as the plot layout as a scientific parable, with an opposing tendency towards Romanticism.
Goethe applied this understanding from physical chemistry as a metaphor for human passions supposedly being governed or regulated by such laws of chemical affinity , and examined whether the laws of chemistry somehow undermine or uphold the institution of marriage , as well as other human social relations.
Voluntary renunciation also comes into play, a theme that recurs in his fourth novel, Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, oder Die Entsagenden Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, or the Renunciants. After the deaths of their respective first spouses, Eduard and his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte, were able to marry.
The aristocratic couple lives secluded on Eduard's estate, where Eduard indulges his hobby of landscaping the grounds. The relationship between the two is more of familiarity than of passion. The contemplative togetherness is interrupted when β after Charlotte's initial misgivings β two guests are brought into the household: Eduard's friend, Captain Otto, who is in straitened circumstances, and Charlotte's niece, Ottilie, bereft of both parents and money. The captain's considerable knowledge and drive motivates a range of improvements to the estate, especially the landscape architecture; Charlotte supports him in this.
