Ottilie's Echo: Vocality in Goethe's Wahlverwandtschaften

Abstract

Although much prior scholarship has been focused on visuality in Goethe's novel from 1809, Die Wahlverwandtschaften, I argue that, in his novel, Goethe engages in an equally important exploration of the acoustic dimension and the voice in particular. Through representations of vocal performances such as recitation, declamation, and singing, Goethe not only reflects on the popularity of acoustic media in Geselligkeitskultur around 1800, he also explores how individual identities are negotiated and relationships formed through vocal exchanges and performances. Through a specific focus on acoustic performances by women, Goethe also investigates the relationship of gender to vocality. The comic and tragic outcomes of acoustic performances by male and female characters in the novel reveal the risky and intimate nature of vocal communication. The connection of the voice to individuality and the social is revealed most poignantly through references to the myth of Echo and Narcissus, which Goethe interweaves into the narrative of the tragic love affair between two of the main characters, Ottilie and Eduard.