A computer-assisted analysis of Goethe's Die Wahlverwandtschaften

This is the first full-length computer-aided examination of Goethe's novel. This study focuses on a close critical analysis of the text, underpinning its findings with often incontrovertible evidence based on the outputs of computer-generated indexes and concordances. The examination of the text itself is complemented by an overview of critical attitudes toward the novel, from Goethe's contemporaries down to the present day, and by an outline of the possibilities and limitations of a computer-based text analysis.