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Elective Affinities (German: Die Wahlverwandtschaften) is an 1809 novel written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the title of which is a term once used for the tendency of chemical elements to combine with certain substances or species in preference to others. The novel is based on the metaphor of human passions being governed or regulated by the laws of chemical affinity, and examines whether or not the science and laws of chemistry undermine or uphold the institution of marriage, as well as other human social relations.

Beauty

Beauty according to Goethe, from his 1809 Elective Affinities, is “everywhere a welcome guest”. Goethe stated that human beauty “acts with far greater force on both inner and outer senses, so that he who beholds it is exempt from evil and feels in harmony with himself and with the world.”

References in culture

• In 1933, René Magritte executed a painting entitled "Elective Affinities".
• In French New Wave director François Truffaut's 1962 movie "Jules et Jim", a lead character is shown reading the book.
• It was filmed in 1996 by director Paolo Taviani as Le affinità elettive.

See also

• Adultery