She is the magical force that ignites an attraction between the characters, overcoming social and moral bonds. Ottilie is the catalyst of a reaction, which creates the human desire. Affinities are not elective but parts of the natural cycle of natural law, as humans are mere agents in chemical reaction. In the 1800s, the intellectuals were fascinated with the science of chemistry, which was seen as “reflecting dynamic, revolutionary spirit of the age, offering new paradigm for comprehending the natural world” (Smith 2001: 2). The characters of the novel are placed in a situation where natural elements produce a reaction, which shows the human response and gives them a chance to incorporate that experience into a philosophy of life instead of denying its power. The goal of this paper is to examine Ottilie’s character as an affinity in the chemistry of love Goethe introduces in his novel and to understand her role and development in the course of narrative. Goethe’s has had a strong belief in nature and metamorphosis, as man is always dependant on nature. In Elective Affinities, the mysterious natural or supernatural world of chemistry, magnetism and fate defined as “Naturphilosophie,” underlies and determines a human story of spiritual adultery. The figure of Ottilie in 1809 novel Elective Affinities chooses a form of life so self-denying that at the end, she is less a person and more of a symbol in the fatal play of elemental forces. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote that “Indem es vollkommen sich selbst darstellt ” all life is symbolic and where it is fully represented, it reveals its unity.
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