Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre

Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen 14. 11. 2006
Englisches Seminar
LPS: Education and political identity
Dozent: Alexander Böhm
WS 2006/07
Referentinnen: Katja und Stefanie Krietsch
Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre
Structure and content
Wilhelm Meister’s Lehrjahre consists of eight books
Each book is divided into chapters
1
First book:
The reader is introduced to two characters: the main character of the bildungsroman, Wilhelm,
and Mariane, an actress. They are in love with each other but unfortunately there is another
man in Mariane’s life. His name is Norberg. He is very rich and supports Mariane and her
nurse, Barbara financially. Wilhelm is interested in puppet theatre. He has been fascinated by
the theatre since he has been a child. But Wilhelm’s father does not like his son visiting the
theatre so often. He wants his son to become a business man, so he sends him away on a
business trip. When saying goodbye to Mariane, Wilhelm wanted to give her a letter with a
proposal in it. But then he finds out that there is this other man, Norberg, in his love’s life. He
leaves the town.
Second book:
On one of his business trips he meets a theatrical group. Wilhelm gets to know Philine, who
lives in the room next to his, in the guesthouse he stays. There, he catches sight of a twelve or
thirteen year old girl who is called Mignon. Wilhelm buys her off the rough group of tightrope
acrobats she was with. An old harpist appears.
Third book:
Wilhelm has joined the theatrical group. They are invited to come to the Earl’s castle to
perform a play, so they meet the Earl and his wife. The prince arrives at the castle and
watches the group’s play. Through Jarno, a hard-hearted favourite of the prince, Wilhelm gets
to know Shakespeare. He is fascinated by Shakespeare and reads almost all the time.

2
Fourth book:
The group leaves the castle and moves on. Wilhelm has become their leader. On their way
they are attacked and plundered. Wilhelm is wounded by a shot. A beautiful Amazon (die
„schöne Amazone“) and her companions (an „alter Herr“ and a „Wundarzt“) come by but
Wilhelm faints and when he wakes up again the beautiful woman is not there anymore.
Wilhelm, Mignon, the harpist and Philine have come through the attack and arrive at their
emergency accomodation where they can stay. There, they meet the others again. The group is
angry because they were attacked and they express their annoyance about Wilhelm being their
leader. Only Mignon and the harpist remain with Wilhelm. They move on and Wilhelm
constantly thinks of the beautiful Amazon. Then they meet Serlo, a theatre manager and
Wilhelm’s friend. Serlo introduces them to his sister Aurelie, who is an actress. Philine
spreads gossip about Aurelie having a love affair and being the mother of a three year old
boy, Felix. Philine reveals her love to Wilhelm.
Fifth book:
Wilhelm is successful with his performance of the play ‘Hamlet’. The theatre is burned down.
Wilhelm suspects that the harpist is insane and takes him to a priest because he thinks that the
harpist started the fire since he wanted to sacrifice Felix. Aurelie tells Wilhelm that she is ill.
A doctor visits her and he gives his friends a book, called „Bekenntnisse einer schönen
Seele“. Aurelie gives Wilhelm the task of delivering a letter to Lothar. She dies.
Sixth book:
The content of „Bekenntnisse einer schönen Seele“ is described in the sixth book of Wilhelm
Meisters Lehrjahre. One of Lothar’s aunts describes her religious life. Incidentally, the family
background becomes obvious: Lothario has a sister who is called Natalie.
Seventh book:
Wilhelm is on his way to Lothario with Aurelie’s letter. Wilhelm departs from the theatre
more and more, the actors do not follow his instructions anymore and his passion for the
theatre comes to an end. Wilhelm arrives at Lothario’s castle. Lothario is wounded and his
lover Lydie is always near him which does not help his recovery. Therefore, she is send to a
distant town and Wilhelm is supposed to be her companion. They travel to Therese. When
Wilhelm comes back to Lothario’a castle he is allowed to send for the children Mignon and
Felix. He realizes that the old woman, who looked after the children, is Barabara, Mariane’s
former nurse. She tells him the truth about Mariane and Felix. Wilhelm gets to know that
Felix is his son and that Mariane died after Felix’ birth.

3
Eighth book:
Mignon’s secret is revealed: She is the harpist’s daughter. The harpist, who is called
Augustin, loved a girl named Sperata when he was young. When Sperata was pregnant, they
discovered that they were brother and sister. The couple was seperated and their child,
Mignon, was taken away from them. Wilhelm asks for Therese’s hand in marriage who is also
Lothario’s beloved. But then Wilhelm meets the Amazon again. It is Natalie, Lothario’s sister.
Mignon dies. At the end Lothario and Therese marry and Wilhelm marries Natalie.
Characters
Wilhelm: main character; loves Mariane, but leaves her; father of Felix
Mariane: loves Wilhelm; Felix’ mother
Felix: Mariane’s and Wilhelm’s son
Mignon: daughter of Sperata and the harpist Augustin; Wilhelm buys her off a
rough group of tightrope acrobats; dies in the end
Natalie: beautiful Amazon; Lothario’s sister; marries Wilhelm in the end
Lothario: marries Therese; Natalie’s brother
The harpist (Augustin): Marchese Cipriani’s brother; Mignon’s father
Aurelie: Serlo’s sister
Barbara: Mariane’s nurse
Lydie: Lothario’s lover; Lothario does not want her anymore
Marchese Cipriani: Mignon’s uncle
Norberg: Mariane’s lover
Philine: actress; loves Wilhelm
Serlo: theatre manager; Wilhelm’s friend
Sperata: the harpist’s sister; Mignon’s mother
Therese: marries Lothario in the end
The character of Mignon
,,Seine Augen und sein Herz wurden unwiderstehlich von dem geheimnisvollen Zustand dieses
Wesens angezogen. Er schätzte sie zwölf bis dreizehn Jahre alt, ihr Körper war gut gebaut,
nur dass ihre Glieder einen stärkern Wuchs versprachen oder einen zurückgehaltenen
ankündigten. Ihre Bildung war nicht regelmäßig, aber auffallend; ihre Stirne geheimnisvoll,
ihre Nase außerordentlich schön, und der Mund [...] noch immer treuherzig und reizend
genug“ (Seite 99, Zeile 4-14).

4
- this is what Wilhelm Meister thinks when he sees Mignon for the very first time
- is not mentioned too often, but nevertheless she is omnipresent
� Goethe said once that he only wrote Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre because of Mignon
- because of her mysterious figure, Wilhelm first cannot decide if Mignon is a boy or a girl
- but this is also what attracts him: her androgynous appearance
- she is physically underdeveloped because of the circumstances of her childhood
- when she is asked for her name she says: ,,Sie heißen mich Mignon”(Seite 98, Zeile 32).
- never says ‘I am’ (Ich bin)
- not only her appearance is mysterious but also her name: in this time male lovers of
princes in France were called Mignon
� this name also shows her sexual neutrality
- when the story-teller talks about Mignon he often uses the words
,,Wesen, Gestalt and Kreatur”
- Mignon has great problems with the German language and so she often prefers to sing and
not to talk
- after Wilhelm has bought Mignon off the tightrope acrobates she devotes herself to serve
Wilhelm
- Mignon wants to be dressed like Wilhelm, she identifies with him and this goes along
with the development of her passion for him
Mignon’s and Wilhelm’s relationship
- there are three events which have a forming effect on Mignon’s life while she is with
Wilhelm
- the first event takes place when Mignon waits for Wilhelm to come home one night and
presents the so-called “Eiertanz”
- with the help of music and dance Mignon expresses her feelings which she cannot do with
words, therefore the moment of the Eiertanz is one of extreme vulnerability
- she submits to Wilhelm and looks at him as her master
- as a countermove to this, he strokes her and she feels sheltered by him
- what she does not know is that she is also the object of his desire for love
- Wilhelm gives Mignon warmth and security, which she longs for so much
� for her Wilhelm embodies father, protector and lover (but at the end of the novel the
reader gets to know that Wilhelm fails concerning all three roles)

5
,,Wenn sie kam oder ging, guten Morgen oder gute Nacht sagte, schloß sie ihn so fest in ihre
Arme und küsste ihn mit solcher Inbrunst, dass ihm die Heftigkeit dieser aufkeimenden Natur
oft Angst und bange machte“ (Seite 272, Zeile 8-12).
- the second drastic event for Mignon is after the presentation of Hamlet when Wilhelm
spends the night with a beauty
,, ,Erinnern Sie sich’, sagte der Arzt, ,eines geheimen, nächtlichen, weiblichen Besuchs nach
der Aufführung des Hamlets?’
,Ja, ich erinnere mich dessen wohl!’ rief Wilhelm beschämt, ,aber ich glaubte nicht, in
diesem Augenblick daran erinnert zu werden.’
,Wissen Sie, wer es war?’
,Nein! Sie erschrecken mich um Himmels Willen, doch nicht Mignon? wer war’s? Sagen Sie
mir’s!’
,Ich weiß es selbst nicht.’
,Also nicht Mignon?’
,Nein, gewiss nicht! aber Mignon war im Begriff, sich zu Ihnen zu schleichen, und musste aus
einem Winkel mit Entsetzen sehen, dass eine Nebenbuhlerin ihr zuvorkam.’ (Seite 548,
Zeile18-31)“
- Mignon is no child anymore, she has become a woman, and what she discovers in that
night means a breach of confidence for her
- she considers this as a betrayal of her extensive love she feels for him
- Mignon is always at Wilhelm’s side and when the group is attacked and Wilhelm is
injured she wants to help him
- but nevertheless it seems as if Wilhelm is just interested in other women which really
hurts Mignon deeply
- she feels replaced by Philine and Natalie, and even the role as a child is not hers anymore
� Felix is the child now � there is a fight between Mignon and Felix
- therefore she becomes estranged from Wilhelm (he never sees her as a woman)
- the third and last event is another breach of confidence Mignon experiences and that
probably leads to her death
- this event is Wilhelm’s proposal of marriage to Therese which finally breaks his devotion
he vowed when he adopted Mignon

6
The solution of the secret
- shortly before her death Mignon plays an angel which has the character of final answers to
all secrets throughout the story (and she finally wears women’s clothes which she has
never done before) � everything becomes clear at the end
- but her secret only becomes clear after her death: Mignon is the daughter of the harpist
(who has become a friend of hers) and his sister � because of this forbidden relationship
the parents had to give Mignon away
Mignon’s function in the novel
- she is at Wilhelm’s side in every decisive and emotional moment, always helps him in
difficult situations (� Mignon as refugee for Wilhem and not the other way round)
- because she influences Wilhelm’s development she is structurally very important
Mignon as a part of the bildungsroman
- besides Wilhelm, Mignon is a prime example of a character in a bildungsroman
- at the beginning of the novel everything concerning Mignon remains mysterious: her
appearance, her character and her past
- throughout the book the reader gets to know more and more about her and at the end her
secret becomes clear to everyone
- as a round character Mignon develops within the story
- furthermore her development can be described as: from abstruseness to clarity, because of
the mysterious beginning and the solution at the end when she dies
bibliography
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. 1982. Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam jun.
GmbH & Co.
Hass, Hans-Egon. 1963. “Goethe – Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.” In: Benno von Wiese, ed.
Der deutsche Roman. Düsseldorf: August Bagel Verlag.
Mahlendorf, Ursula. 1994. “The Mystery of Mignon: Object Relations, Abandonment, Child
Abuse and Narrative Structure.” In: Thomas P. Saine, Ellis Dye, eds. Goethe Year book.
Columbia: Camden House.
Jirku Brigitte E. 2000. “Mignon: Rätsel oder Geheimnis.” Monatshefte für deutschsprachige
Literatur und Kultur. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 283-301.