Laurie and Werther Romanticizing Path To Self-Destruction

One of Louisa May Alcott´s favourite writers was the German poet Goethe and Laurie´s character arc in Little Women is surprisingly similar to Goethe´s young hero, Werther. Join me in a discussion where we are decoding these two characters.

Same way as Laurie, Werther was incredibly popular and romanticised character, in the 18th century German speaking world. He was romanticised so much, that the teen agers of the time, dressed up like him and wanted to be like him. Like Laurie, has desperate crush on Jo and becomes rejected by her, Werther had the same faith, with his love interest Lottie.