It is this genre, characteristic of 18th century literature, that Goethe chooses for his work, the action takes place in one of the small German towns at the end of the 18th century. The novel consists of two parts - these are the letters of Werther himself and additions to them under the heading "From the publisher to the reader." Werther’s letters are addressed to his friend Wilhelm, in them the author seeks not only to describe the events of life, but to convey his feelings that the world around him evokes.
Werther, a young man from a poor family, educated, prone to painting and poetry, settles in a small town to be alone. He enjoys nature, communicates with ordinary people, reads his beloved Homer, draws. At a youth out-of-town ball, he meets Charlotte S. and falls in love with her without a memory. Lotta, that’s the name of the girl’s close friends, is the eldest daughter of the princely amtman, all in all, there are nine children in their family. Their mother died, and Charlotte, despite her youth, managed to replace her with her brothers and sisters. She is not only outwardly attractive, but also has independent judgments. Already on the first day of meeting Werther with Lotta, a coincidence of tastes is revealed, they easily understand each other.
Since that time, the young man spends most of his time daily in the amtman's house, which is an hour's walk from the city. Together with Lotta, he visits a sick pastor, goes to look after a sick lady in the city. Every minute spent near her gives Werther a pleasure. But the young man’s love is doomed to suffering from the very beginning, because Lotta has a fiancé, Albert, who went to get a solid job.
Albert arrives, and although he treats Werther warmly and delicately hides the manifestations of his feelings for Lotte, the young man in love is jealous of her. Albert is restrained, reasonable, he considers Werther an outstanding person and forgives him his restless disposition. Werther is hard on the presence of a third person on a date with Charlotte, he falls into unrestrained fun, then in gloomy moods.
Once, in order to get a little distracted, Werther is going astride the mountains and asks Albert to lend him pistols on the way. Albert agrees, but warns that they are not charged. Werther takes one gun and puts it on his forehead. This harmless joke turns into a serious debate between young people about a man, his passions and mind. Werther tells the story of a girl abandoned by her lover and rushed into the river, because without him life for her has lost all meaning. Albert considers this act “stupid,” he condemns a person who, carried away by passions, loses the ability to reason. Werther, on the contrary, abhors excessive rationality.
For his birthday, Werther receives a bundle from Albert as a present: he has a bow from Lotta's dress in which he saw her for the first time. The young man suffers, he understands that he needs to get down to business, to leave, but he always puts off the moment of separation. On the eve of departure, he comes to Lotte. They go to their favorite arbor in the garden. Werther says nothing about the impending separation, but the girl, as if anticipating her, starts a conversation about death and about what will follow. She recalls her mother, the last minutes before breaking up with her. Excited by her story, Werther nonetheless finds the strength to leave Lotta.
The young man leaves for another city, he becomes an official at the messenger. The messenger is picky, pedantic and stupid, but Werther made friends with Count von K. and tries to brighten up his loneliness in conversations with him. In this town, as it turns out, estate prejudices are very strong, and the young man is continually pointed to his origin.
Werther meets girl B., who vaguely resembles the incomparable Charlotte. He often talks with her about his past life, including telling her about Lotte. The surrounding society annoys Werther, and his relationship with the messenger is getting worse. The matter ends with the messenger complaining about him to the minister, the same as a delicate person, writes a letter to the young man in which he pronounces him overly sensitive and tries to send his extravagant ideas in the direction where they will find the right application.
Werther is reconciled for a while with his position, but there is a “nuisance" that forces him to leave the service and the city. He was on a visit with Count von K., he sat up, at this time the guests began to gather. In the town, however, it was not customary for a man of low class to appear in a noble society. Werther did not immediately realize what was happening, besides, having seen the familiar girl B., he talked to her, and only when everyone began to squint at him, and his interlocutor could hardly keep up the conversation, the young man hurriedly left. The next day, gossip spread throughout the city that Count von K. had kicked Werther out of his house. Not wanting to wait when he is asked to leave the service, the young man submits a letter of resignation and leaves.
First, Werther travels to his native places and indulges in sweet childhood memories, then he accepts the invitation of the prince and goes to his possessions, but here he feels out of place. Finally, no longer able to bear the separation, he returns to the city where Charlotte lives. During this time, she became the wife of Albert. Young people are happy. The appearance of Werther contributes to their family life. Lotte sympathizes with the young man in love, but she is not able to see his torment. Werther is rushing about, he often dreams of falling asleep and no longer waking up, or he wants to commit a sin and then atone for it.
Once, while walking around the outskirts of the town, Werther meets a crazy Henry, collecting a bouquet of flowers for his beloved. Later, he learns that Henry was a scribe with Lotte's father, fell in love with a girl, and love drove him crazy. Werther feels that the image of Lotta is haunting him and he does not have enough strength to put an end to suffering. On this, the letters of the young man break off, and we will learn about his future fate from the publisher.
Love for Lotte makes Werther intolerable to others. On the other hand, the decision to leave the world is becoming more and more strengthened in the soul of a young man, for he simply cannot leave the beloved. One day he finds Lotta sorting out gifts for his family on Christmas Eve. She turns to him with a request to come to them next time not earlier than Christmas Eve. For Werther, this means that he is being deprived of the last joy in life. Nevertheless, the next day he still leaves for Charlotte, together they read an excerpt from Werther’s translation of Ossian’s songs. In a fit of vague feelings, the young man loses control of himself and approaches Lotte, for which she asks him to leave her.
Upon returning home, Werther arranges his affairs, writes a farewell letter to his lover, sends the servant with a note to Albert for pistols. Exactly at midnight, a shot rang out in Werther’s room. In the morning, the servant finds a young man, still breathing, on the floor, a healer arrives, but it is too late. Albert and Lotta are worried about Werther’s death. They bury him not far from the city, in the place that he chose for himself.
