From Germany to Italy

Why did Goethe leave Germany and why is this important?

Events which occurred before he decided to leave and their relevance to his sudden departure...

• Goethe becomes a famous author thanks to his two works, Gotz Von Berlichingen and The Sorrows of Young Werther.
• The Duke of Weimar notices and is impressed with Goethe’s strength in language and invites him to live in his home in 1775 and a year later is put in office.
• Goethe continued to move up in power, becoming a minister in the office. He takes his job very seriously due to his aspirations to work for a worthy cause.
• Goethe loses faith in the Weimar government on the basis of the young Duke’s rash decisions such as wanting to unite the smaller German states in order to act as an alliance in response to the political tensions between Prussia and Austria.
• Parisian scandal involving the Cardinal of France confirms Goethe’s observations on the corruptible nature of the European ruling families, a cause for disappointment for Goethe.
• This dissatisfaction and disappointment with the feudal system is one speculation as to why Goethe decides to leave Germany.
• The urgency of his first journal entry proves his desire to leave without notice..
  From 3 September 1786: -“I slipped out of Carlsbad at three in the morning; otherwise, I would not have been allowed to leave. Perhaps my friends, who had so kindly celebrated my birthday on 28 August, had thereby acquired the right to detain me, but I could wait no longer” (Goethe, 23).
• Goethe’s dissatisfaction with his political life further supports his desire to discover himself...
From 2 December
- “Nothing, above all, is comparable to the new life that a reflective person experiences when he observes a new country. Though I am still always myself, I believe I have been changed to the very marrow of my bones” (Goethe, 147).

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