Frequently adapted into film and repeatedly varied in literature, "Elective Affinities" is considered one of the most influential and admired novels in German literature. How desire reconciles with marriage and whether one can escape the boredom of being a couple—two hundred years later, the answers to Goethe's radical questions are still pending. Includes a contribution from Kindler's Literary Encyclopedia, with information on life and work, exclusively written by the editorial team of the literary journal TEXT + KRITIK.