Goethe’s Path to Creativity

<p><em>Goethe’s Path to Creativity</em> provides a comprehensive psycho-biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a giant of modern German and European literary, political, and scientific history. The book brings this influential work by Rainer Matthias Holm-Hadulla to the English language for the first time in a newly elaborated edition.</p><p>Goethe’s path to creativity was difficult and beset by a multitude of crises, beginning with his birth, which was so difficult that he was initially not thought to have survived it, and ending with an infatuation that left him, at the age of 74, toying with the same kind of suicidal thoughts he had entertained as a 20-year-old. Throughout his long life, he suffered bitter disappointments and was subject to severe mood swings. Despite being a gifted child, a widely recognized poet, and an influential scientist and politician, he spent his entire life loving and suffering; nonetheless, he had the exceptional ability to endure emotional pain and to transform his sufferings creatively. The way in which he mined his passions for creative impulses continues to inspire modern readers. Readers can apply the lessons they have learned from his life and use Goethe’s strategies for their own creative art of living.</p><p>Goethe’s Path to Creativity: A Psycho-Biography of the Eminent Politician, Scientist and Poet will be of great interest to all engaged in the fields of creativity, literature, psychoanalysis, psychology, psychotherapy, and personal growth.</p> <p>Introduction: Goethe’s path to creativity <strong>Part I Goethe’s life and work</strong> 1 Childhood and youth: Frankfurt, 1749–1765 2 Crises during his student days: Leipzig, 1765–1768 3 Return to the family home: Frankfurt, 1768–1770 4 Flight from love: Strasbourg, 1770–1771 5 Refuge at home again: Frankfurt, 1771–1772 6 Passion and renunciation: Wetzlar, 1772 7 Period of genius: Frankfurt, 1772–1775 8 Early dramas: Reflection of Goethe’s emotional conflicts 9 Period of maturity: Weimar, 1775–1786 10 Rebirth in Italy, 1786–1788 11 His great love and public influence: Weimar, 1788–1805 12 Political changes and new passions: 1806–1823 13 Love in old age and late creativity: 1821–1832 <strong>Part II Creativity, art of living, and illness</strong> 14 Life as creative self-realization: The <em>Wilhelm Meister</em> project 15 Goethe’s creativity from the perspective of modern creativity research 16 Goethe’s creative art of living and self-treatment strategies 17 Goethe’s creative bipolarity and "healthy illness" <strong>Part III Goethe’s legacy </strong> 18 Goethe’s late poem <em>Legacy</em> 19 Goethe’s final letter 20 Goethe’s "inner fairytale": The psychological messages of <em>Faust II</em></p>