Views of Suicide and Death in the Eighteenth Century

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UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 THE ETHICS OF SUICIDE AND SELF-SACRIFICE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: PROBLEMS IN LESSING, GOETHE, AND KLEIST DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Gregory Herric Wolf, B.A., B.A., M.A. hifklfk The Ohio State University 1996 Dissertation Committee Approved by Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Adviser Mark Roche Adviser Bernd Fischer Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures UMI Number: 9631005 Copyright 1996 by Wolf, Gregory Herrlc All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9631005 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Gregory H. Wolf 1996 Dedicated to my wife ACKNOWLEDGMENTS X wish to express my sincere gratitude to all those who supported and encouraged me throughout my graduate study at The Ohio State University. Sincere thanks go to my adviser, Barbara Becker-Cantarino, whose ceaseless support and enthusiasm made this dissertation possible. I thank Mark Roche and Bernd Fischer for the many hours of stimulating discussion of my topic and their patient reading of my dissertation. I also want to thank the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures for their support in the form of teaching assistantships and fellowships. I express sincere thanks to my wife, Susanne, who encouraged me throughout my studies and especially while writing my dissertation. Without her emotional support, none of this would have been possible. VITA March 13, 1967 .......... Born, New Kensington, Pennsylvania 1989..................... B.A., History; B.A., German, The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee 1991..................... M.A., German, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1989 - present .......... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: German TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .................................................ii Acknowledgments .......................................... iii Vita ....................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................... v Chapters Page I. Introduction ...................................... 1 A. An Introduction to the Problem of Suicide in the Eighteenth Century ................... 1 B. Suicide: Problems of Terminology............ 4 C. Cultural Views of Suicide and Death in the Eighteenth Century ...........................7 D. Theological Views of Suicide ................ 9 E. Political Views of Suicide ................. 17 F. An Enlightened Reaction to Religious and Political Views of Suicide................. 23 G. The Rise of the Philosophical Discourse on Suicide ..................................... 26 H. Pseudo-Scientific Interest in Suicide in the Late Eighteenth Century............ ....34 Excursus: The Twentieth Century: The Rise of the Social Sciences and Changes in the Perception of Suicide ............ 37 I. An Introduction to Lessing's, Goethe's, and Kleist's Conceptualization of Suicide and Self-Sacrifice..........................44 v II. Lessing's Problematization of Self-Sacrifice: A Social and Political Critique................ 46 A. An Introduction to Philotas ................ 46 B. The Framework for Philotas: Lessing's Literary Friendship with Gleim, von Kleist, Mendelssohn, and N i c o l a i ................... 51 C. The Framework for Philotas's Reflection on Suicide ..................................... 59 D. The Eighteenth Century: The Heroic Suicide, Inclination, and Duty .......................68 E. Philotas's Suicide: A Conflict Between Inclination and Duty ........................73 F. The Effect of Suicide on the Private and Public Spheres: The Destruction of the F a m i l y ...................................... 82 Excursus: The Depiction of Women ......... 83 G. Philotas's Actions: Reason vs. Constraint ..90 H. The Private and Public Ramifications of Suicide ..................................... 96 I. Philotas's Suicide: The Un-Heroic Hero ....102 III. Goethe and Werther: Suicide and Self-Construction ............................. 105 A. Goethe and Suicide ......................... 105 B. Werther's Death Instinct and Desire for Form and Control ...........................112 C. Werther, Society, and N a t u r e ...............114 D. Werther and Lotte: The Beginning .......... 121 E. Werther and Albert on Suicide ............. 127 F. A Source of Torment: N a t u r e ............... 134 G. Werther and the Court ..................... 140 vi H. The Return to Lotte ........................ 145 I. Parallel Stories: The School Master's Daughter, the Flower Collector, and the Farmboy .................................... 153 J. The Final Letter ........................... 156 Kleist and Homburg: The Desire to Control Death .................................. 162 A. An Introduction to K l e i s t .................. 162 B. Kleist's Concept of Lebensplan. GlUck, and Schicksal, and its Relationship to Suicide .................................... 165 C. Kleist's Kant-crisis and itsEffect on his Views of D e a t h ............................. 172 D. Metaphysical Differences: Natural or Accidental Death vs. Suicide .............. 179 Excursus: Lessing and Wie die Alten den Tod qebildet ..........................186 E. The Final Letters: Depression and Enthusiasm................................. 188 F. Prinz von Hombura: A Departure from Kleist's Depiction of Violent D e a t h ....... 195 G. Homburg's First Monologue: The Desire for Fame, Social Limitations, and Non-Reflection............................. 198 H. The Todesfurchtszene: Death as "der hSBliche Tod" .............................. 203 I. Homburg's Second Monologue: The Eschatological Change ..................... 209 J. Homburg's Longing for Death: Reconciliation, a Good Deed, and Love ..................... 214 K. Homburg's Third Monologue: The Enthusiastic Anticipation of Death and the Ironic Twist ........................... 220 L. Metaphysical Views: Similarities Between Kleist and Homburg .........................225 Conclusion ................................................228 Endnotes ..................................................234 Bibliography ............................................. 261 viii CHAPTER 1 Introduction A. An Introduction to the Problem of Suicide in the Eighteenth Century "There is only one serious philosophical problem: suicide." Albert Camus from "The Myth of Sisyphus."1 Camus' observation about suicide characterizes the dilemma and the intense personal, religious, and political struggle Western man has had with the act of purposely taking one's life. The moral, ethical, and philosophical questions concerning an individual's right to end his own life have concerned Western philosophers, theologians, and intellectuals since antiquity. In his dialogue Phaedo. Plato writes about Socrates' decision to drink hemlock, instead of allowing himself to be freed forcefully from prison. Socrates uses a mythological argument to suggest that humans are the property of the gods, and life is but a gift; therefore one does not have the right to commit suicide. Christian dogma against suicide, forged by Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas of Aquinas, modified the mythological component to Socrates' argument, substituting the one Christian God in the place of the many pagan gods. The Christian and pagan views of suicide are similar in that both stress the individual's duty to live and subjugation to a higher authority. This argument against the act of suicide raises questions about personal freedom and responsibility. In his seminal work, The Hour of Our Death. Philipe Aries suggests that "changes in man's attitude towards death either take place very slowly or else occur between long periods of immobility" (xvi).2 One can apply AriAs' insights to suicide as well. From the time of the Stoics to the beginning of the eighteenth century, Western European views on suicide remained fairly

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