Goethe was a real charmer. During his life, he often fell in love and incorporated his partnerships into his texts. His first great love was Anna Katherina, whom he met in a bar during his student days. In the "Anettenlieder" Goethe describes his attempts at love. But there were too many obstacles: Anna was not only older, but also belonged to a lower class. When his beloved then married another man, Goethe became very ill.
The second wife was Frederike Brion, a pastor's daughter whom he met while studying law. The fierce love between the two was incorporated into his lyrical "Sesenheimer Lieder". But this relationship did not last long either. Goethe simply dumped her. In 1772, the poet fell in love with Charlotte Buff, who was actually already promised to another partner. Goethe tried everything, but could not win more than a kiss. Charlotte was the namesake of Lotte in Goethe's work "The Sorrows of Young Werther", which was a great success at the time.
A few years later, Goethe became engaged to Lili Schönemann, but he quickly left her again, as he did not feel comfortable in the presence of her family. Another important figure for Goethe was Charlotte von Stein, who inspired the writer to write "Iphigenie" and "Eleonore". But she was already married and seemed rather cool to the young Goethe, so the relationship remained platonic in nature.
In 1788, Goethe finally met Christiane Vulpius. This relationship was also accompanied by problems, as Christiane came from a poor background and society did not accept the partnership. Together, however, the two had a son and even married - albeit only after 18 years.
