The Sorrows and Suffering of Young Werther: A Stage-play

by Dr D. Bruno Starrs

  MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN: (Wailing with grief) Alas! Dear Sir, my little boy has died. My husband returned from Switzerland without any money; and, if some kind people had not assisted him, he would have begged his way home. And he was taken ill with fever on his journey home.

  WERTHER: (Voice over) August 14. My temperament is constantly changing. Sometimes a happy prospect opens and then, when I am lost in my dreams, I cannot help saying to myself, “What if Albert were to die? Yes, then she would become -- and I would be . . .

  (Pause)

  Until finally these thoughts lead me back to the edge of the precipice at which I shudder.

  (The lights go down)

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  * * *

  Scene 13. At the residence of ALBERT and LOTTE.

  LOTTE: Here is a new friend, he is a present for the children. What a sweetie he is! Look at him! When I feed him, he flutters his wings, and pecks so sweetly. He even kisses me. Watch!

  (LOTTE holds the bird to her mouth and the bird gently pecks her lips)

  LOTTE: He can kiss you too. (She holds the bird towards WERTHER)

  WERTHER: A kiss will not satisfy him: he needs food, and is disappointed by these unsatisfactory endearments.

  LOTTE: But he eats out of my mouth.

  (LOTTE feeds the bird grain from her lips. WERTHER, increasingly agitated, turns his face away and exits to the next scene’s performance area)

  ALBERT: (To LOTTE) There is something I must ask of you for the benefit of us all. I beg you to request he change his deportment toward you, and to visit you less frequently. The world is full of censors, and I know that we three are gossiped about.

  (The lights go down on the area occupied by LOTTE and ALBERT)

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  * * *

  Scene 14. At the mountain village.

  (The lights come up on the mountain scene as WERTHER returns to the area of the stage that indicates the mountain village. The video on the cyclorama shows the appropriate scenery. The walnut trees are now stumps. WERTHER looks for them frantically)

  WERTHER: Where are the trees? How could they possibly allow it?

  VILLAGER: Ah, Sir! When it is the Steward’s orders, what can we poor peasants do?

  (WERTHER runs frantically from this scene to the next. The lights go down in the mountain scene area and come up in the fountain scene area. The video on the cyclorama shows the appropriate scenery)

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  * * *

  Scene 15. At the fountain.

  (The INSANE MAN is agitated and is also searching for something)

  WERTHER: What are you seeking?

  INSANE MAN: I am looking for flowers but can find none.

  WERTHER: Well, of course, it is not the season.

  INSANE MAN: Oh, but there are so many flowers! In my garden there are roses and honeysuckles of two kinds: one kind was given to me by my father! They grow like weeds; I have been looking for them for two days now, but I cannot find them. There are flowers out there, yellow, blue, and red; and that centaury has a very beautiful blossom: but I can find none of them here.

  WERTHER: What do you intend to do with them?

  INSANE MAN: I promised to gather a nosegay for my mistress.

  WERTHER: Hmm, that’s good.

  INSANE MAN: Oh! But she has so many other things as well: she is very rich.

  WERTHER: And yet she likes your nosegays.

  INSANE MAN: Oh, but she has jewels and crowns!

  WERTHER: Who is she?

  INSANE MAN: If the States-general would only pay me, I would be entirely another man. Alas! There was a time when I was so happy; but that is past, and I am now . . .

  WERTHER: You were happy once?

  INSANE MAN: Ah, I wish I were still! I was then as happy and contented as a man can be.

  (An old woman enters)

  OLD WOMAN: Henry, Henry! Where are you? We have been looking for you everywhere: please come to dinner.

  WERTHER: Is he your son?

  OLD WOMAN: Yes, he is my poor, unfortunate son. The Lord has sent me a heavy burden. But Henry has been as calm as he is now for about six months now. I thank Heaven that he has so far recovered: he was for a whole year quite insane and chained down in the asylum. Now he hurts no one, but talks of nothing other than Royalty. He used to be a very good, quiet boy, and helped me; he wrote well but then suddenly he became melancholy and was seized with a violent fever, became . . . distracted, and is now as you see him. Oh, I can tell you, Sir . . .

  WERTHER: What was the period he talks of in which he was so happy?

  OLD WOMAN: Poor boy! He refers to the time when he was completely deranged, a time he never fails to regret, when he was in the madhouse, and unconscious of everything around him.

  WERTHER: (To the INSANE MAN) You were happy! Oh, heaven! Is this the destiny of mankind? Is he only happy before he has acquired his reason, or after he has lost it? Unfortunate being! And yet I envy your fate: I envy the delusion to which you are victim. You venture forth joyfully to gather flowers for your Queen - in winter – and grieve when you can find none, and cannot understand why they do not grow. And I venture forth without joy, without hope, without purpose; and I return just the same. You fancy what a man you would be if only the States-general paid you. Happy mortal, who can ascribe your sorrows to an earthly cause! You do not know that in one’s own distracted heart and confused soul lies the source of that unhappiness which all the powers on earth cannot dispel.

  (Lights fade to black)

  WERTHER: (Voice over) December 6. How her image haunts me still! Asleep or awake, she fills my entire being! As soon as I shut my eyes, there, in my mind’s eye, her beautiful eyes are imprinted, shining before me: dark as an abyss they open upon me, and absorb me completely.

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  * * *

  Scene 16. At the residence of LOTTE and ALBERT.

  (The lights come up. The video on the cyclorama shows the appropriate scenery. WERTHER is seated with LOTTE with ALBERT to the side engrossed in paperwork. There is a commotion outside)

  WERTHER: What on earth is happening?

  SERVANT: There has been a terrible misfortune at Walheim - a man has been murdered! There are suspicions; the murdered man had been in the service of a widow, and the suspect, her previous servant, had been dismissed from her employment under a cloud.

  WERTHER: Is it possible! I must see him - I cannot delay.

  (WERTHER leaves LOTTE with the SERVANT and ALBERT and moves to the edge of the performance area denoting ALBERT and LOTTE’s residence. On encountering the prisoner, the farmhand from Act 1, who is restrained by angry villagers, he breaks down)

  What have you done, unfortunate man?

  FARMHAND: No one will marry her now, and she will marry no one.

  WERTHER: You cannot be saved, unfortunate man! I see clearly that we both cannot be saved!

  (Lights fade to black. WERTHER continues as a voice over, accompanied by video of white water and flooding)

  December 12. Yesterday evening I ventured out for a walk. A thaw had set in suddenly: the river had risen, the streams had all overflowed their banks, and it seemed that the whole valley of Walheim was under water! Upon the stroke of twelve I hurried forth and beheld a terrible sight. While the wild torrent at my feet foamed and roared, I was overcome by a strange sensation of fear and delight. With arms outstretched I looked down into the yawning abyss, and screamed, ‘Jump!’ For a moment my senses left me, in the intense delight of ending my sorrows and my sufferings by a plunge into that valley of death! But then I felt that my hour was not yet to come. Oh, how easily I could have abandoned my life to embrace that torrent! Such joyous rapture! Do I have the courage to die? Perhaps I have, - but I am still here, like a wretched beggar. Charlotte! Charlotte! I am so lost! My eyes brim with tears - I am sick; and yet I am well - I have no earthly desires - I wish for nothing. It would be better if I were gone. One simply lifts up the curtain, and passes across to
the other side - that is all! Why doubt it? Because we know not what is behind that curtain - because there is no returning – because our mind speaks of darkness, confusion, uncertainty . . . I must return.

  (Pause)

  I must see her once again.

  (The video fades to black)

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  * * *

  Scene 17. At the residence of ALBERT and LOTTE.

  (Lights come up. There is a video projected on the cyclorama of a Christmas tree and the children playing)

  LOTTE: You shall have a gift too, Werther, if you behave well.

  WERTHER: And what do you call behaving well? What should I do, my dear Lotte?

  LOTTE: Thursday night is Christmas Eve. The children will all be here, and my father too: there is a present for each. I want you to come, but not before that time. I beg you not to. I ask it of you as a favour, for the sake of peace and tranquillity. We cannot go on in this manner any longer.

  WERTHER: We cannot go on in this manner any longer! No, Lotte! No, we cannot! I must never see you anymore!

  LOTTE: And why not? We can see each other again; only with discretion. Oh! Why were you born with such an excessive, ungovernable passion for everything you love? I beg you to be calmer: your talents and your genius will provide you with a thousand opportunities. Conquer this unhappy attachment towards me. Do you not see that you are deceiving yourself, that you are seeking your own destruction? Why must you love me, me alone, when I belong to another man? I fear that it is only the impossibility of possessing me which makes your desire for me grow even stronger.

  WERTHER: Oh, good! Very good! Did Albert furnish you with this reflection? It is a deep and very profound speech.

  LOTTE: A reflection that any one might easily make. Is there not a woman in the whole world who is free and available, and has the power to make you happy? Conquer yourself, Werther, look for that woman, and believe me when I say that you will find her. I have long felt for you, and for us all: you have limited yourself to too narrow a circle. Seek out and find a woman worthy of your love; then return and let us enjoy together all the happiness of our most perfect friendship.

  WERTHER: This speech should be printed, for the benefit of all teachers. My dear Charlotte, allow me but a short time longer, and all will be well.

  LOTTE; But, Werther, please do not visit again before Christmas.

  (ALBERT enters. WERTHER salutes him coldly and exits. The lights go down)

  WERTHER: (Voice over, accompanied by a video shot over WERTHER’s shoulder of him writing and the sound of a quill scratching on parchment which gradually fades away to black by the end of the speech)

  December 21. This is my last letter. It is all over, Charlotte: I have resolved to die! I make this declaration deliberately and coolly on this morning of the day when I am to see you for the last time. When you read these lines the cold grave will hold the inanimate remains of that restless and unhappy being who, in the last moments of his existence, knew no pleasure so great as that of talking with you! When I left you yesterday, my senses were confused; my heart was broken, all hope and pleasure had left me for ever, and freezing cold had seized my entire wretched being. I could barely reach my room. I fell to my knees; and Heaven, for the last time, granted me the consolation of shedding tears. A thousand plans arose within my mind; till at length one last, fixed, final scheme took possession of my heart. It was to die. It is not despair: it is the firm conviction that I have had my fill of suffering, that I have reached my appointed term, and now I must sacrifice myself for you. One of us three must die: it shall be I. Oh, my beloved Charlotte! This passionate heart has often conceived the horrible idea of murdering your husband - or you - or myself! But the dice have now been cast. And in the bright, quiet evenings of summer, when you wander about the countryside, let your thoughts then turn to me: recall how you have often watched me coming to meet you up from the valley; then look upon the cemetery where I am buried, and, by the light of the setting sun, note how the evening breeze sweeps through the tall grass which grows over my tomb.

  (Pause)

  I was calm when I began this letter, but now the mere thought of this scene makes me weep like a motherless child.

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  * * *

  Scene 18. At the residence of ALBERT and LOTTE.

  (The video on the cyclorama shows the appropriate scenery. The lights come up. LOTTE is playing with the children in the video. ALBERT is not present. WERTHER enters)

  LOTTE: What are you doing here, Werther? You have not kept your word!

  WERTHER: I promised you nothing.

  LOTTE: But you should have complied, at least for my sake. I begged you . . .

  (LOTTE sighs, turns away and sits)

  There in my drawer, you will find some of your translations of the songs of Ossian. I have not yet read them, as I had hoped to hear you recite them. This shall be the purpose of your visit.

  WERTHER: (Reading) Let the light of Ossian’s soul arise! Colma is left on the hill alone with her voice in full song! Salgar promised to come but the night now descends. Hear the voice of Colma, while she sits alone on the hill; It is night: I am alone, forsaken on this hill of storms. The torrent is howling along the rocks. No shelter protects me from the rain: forlorn on this hill of winds! Rise moon, from behind your clouds. Stars of the night, arise! Lead me, moonlight, to the place where my love lies resting from the chase below! His bow is near him unstrung, his dogs are panting beside him! But here I must sit alone by the rock of this wet mossy stream. The stream and the wind roar loudly and I cannot hear the voice of my love! Why is my Salgar delayed? He promised me to be here tonight. Oh! Where has my Salgar gone? With you, Salgar, I would fly from my father, with you from my too proud brother. Our people have long been foes: but we, we are not foes. Oh, Salgar! Ease a little while, Oh, you cold wind! Be silent awhile. Oh, you cold stream! Let my voice be heard above your noise! Let my wandering Salgar hear me! It is I, Colma, who calls you. Here is the tree and the rock where we were to meet. Salgar, my love, I am here! Why delay your coming? Here I must sit alone! Who comes now on the heath beside me? Are they my love and my brother? Speak to me, Oh, my friends! But to Colma they give no reply. Speak to me: I am alone! My soul is tormented with fear. Aaah, they are dead! Their swords are bloodied from the fight. Oh, my brother! My brother! Why have you slain my Salgar! Why, Oh, Salgar, have you slain my brother! Dear were you both to me! Oh, from this rock on the hill, from the top of this windy summit, speak, you ghosts of the dead! Speak, I will not be afraid! Where have you gone to rest? In what cave of the hill shall I find the departed? There is no answer - it is half drowned in the storm! No feeble voice on the gale: I sit alone in my grief: I wait for morning with my tears! Prop open the tomb, you friends of the dead. Close it not till Colma has come. My life flies away like a dream. Why should I stay behind? When night comes down upon the hill, when the loud winds rise my ghost shall also stand in the cold, cold blast, and mourn the death of my friends. When the storms thunder, when the waves crash on high, I will sit by the deafening shore, and look upon the fatal rock. By the setting moon I will see the ghosts of my children; as they walk in tearful conference together.

  (LOTTE bursts into tears. WERTHER throws down the book and takes her hand)

  LOTTE: Please, Werther, I implore you, please leave!

  WERTHER: (Continuing his reading) Why do you waken me, Oh, spring? Your voice woos me, exclaiming; I refresh you with heavenly dews; but the time of my decay is nigh, the icy storm is approaching that shall wither my leaves.

  (WERTHER throws himself at LOTTE’s feet, takes her hand and presses it to his forehead. LOTTE leans toward him and their cheeks touch. He kisses her passionately.)

  LOTTE: Werther! Werther!

  (LOTTE pushes him away)

  It is the last time, Werther! You must never see me again!

  (LOTTE rushes into her bedroom, closing the door behind her)

  WERTHER: (At LOTTE’S door)
Charlotte, Charlotte! Just one word more, one last goodbye!

  (Lights fade to black. Voice over)

  Goodbye, Charlotte, goodbye for ever! For the very last time I open my eyes. Alas! They will behold the sun no more. It is covered by a thick, impenetrable cloud. Yes, nature! Put on mourning black: your lover draws near his end! Charlotte, no words can adequately express this thought. The very last! To-day I stand upright in all my strength but to-morrow, I shall lie cold upon the ground. To die? What is death? I have seen many people die; but none have a clear understanding of the beginning or the end of their existence. At this moment I am my own - or rather I am yours, my beloved! And the next moment we are parted - perhaps for ever! No, Charlotte, no! How can I, how can you, be annihilated?

  (Pause)

  What is annihilation?

  (Pause)

  Laid in the cold earth, in the dark and narrow grave - the creaking of the cords as they are drawn up - the first shovelful of earth is thrown in, and the coffin gives out a hollow sound, growing fainter and fainter till I am all covered over. Yesterday, I recall, for the first time in my life, joyous rapture glowing within my innermost soul. She loves me! Everything passes away; but nothing can extinguish the eternal flame which was yesterday kindled by your lips, and which burns now forever within me. She loves me! My arms have encircled her waist, my lips have trembled upon hers. Yes, Charlotte, you are mine for ever! Albert may be your husband for this world; and in this world it is a sin for me to love you, to even wish to tear you from his lawful embrace. Yes, it is a crime; and I suffer the punishment, but I have enjoyed the fullest joy of my sin. I go to my Father and to your Father. I will pour out my sorrows and sufferings before him, and he will sustain me until you arrive. Then will I fly to meet you. Then will I possess you, and remain locked in your eternal embrace, in the presence of the Almighty. I am not dreaming, I am not raving. Drawing nearer to the grave my thoughts become clearer. We will see each other again; we will behold your mother; I shall behold her, and expose to her my innermost heart. Your mother - your own image!