# Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — Essays character guide

> Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0001-self-reliance

## Who they are

German writer and statesman, presented as a model of the universal man.

## In the story

### [History](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/history)

His 'Helena' is analyzed as an example of poetic figures being eternal entities that exert a specific influence on the mind.

### [Prudence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/prudence)

Cited as the author of 'Tasso,' which is presented as a 'true tragedy' depicting the conflict between worldly maxims and divine sentiment, illustrating the grief of imprudent genius.

### [Nominalist and Realist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/chapters/nominalist-and-realist)

Criticized as 'courtier, artificial, unbelieving, worldly' but then redeemed as a 'piece of pure nature' in his work 'Helena,' demonstrating how individuals reveal different facets of the universal in succession.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/characters/goethe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/emerson_essays_se/characters