Wilhelm Meister

Wilhelm Meister is the main character in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novels Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and its sequel Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years.

Description and history

Wilhelm Meister's story concerns how he comes from a family of businessmen and desires to transcend bourgeois life. In Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, published in 1795–1796, he tries to achieve this by joining a theatre troupe and a secret society. In Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, published in 1821 and revised substantially in 1829, he travels widely without a permanent residence.^[1]^[2]

Goethe chose the name Wilhelm as a nod to William Shakespeare, whose works feature prominently in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. The last name Meister, meaning Master, reflects the character's capability and active role.^[3] A recurring motif throughout both novels is Meister's fascination with the painting The King's Sick Son by Antonio Bellucci.^[4]

In other media

Meister is portrayed in various adaptations of Goethe's novels, notably as a tenor in the 1866 opera Mignon composed by Ambroise Thomas.^[5] Rüdiger Vogler played a variation of Meister in Wim Wenders' 1975 film The Wrong Move, which is loosely based on Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship but takes place in post-war West Germany.^[6]

References

^ Amrine, Frederick (2024). "Wilhelm Meister". In Lee, Charlotte (ed.). Goethe in Context. Literature in Context. Cambridge University Press. pp. 113–120. doi:10.1017/9781009036436.016.
^ Schlaffer, Hannelore (1989). Wilhelm Meister. Das Ende der Kunst und die Wiederkehr des Mythos (in German). Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung. ISBN 978-3-476-00655-4.
^ Halpert, Inge D. (1961). "Wilhelm Meister and Josef Knecht". The German Quarterly. 34 (1): 11–20. doi:10.2307/402111.
^ Schweitzer, Christoph E. (1957). "Wilhelm Meister Und Das Bild Vom Kranken Königssohn". Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 72 (3): 419–432. doi:10.2307/460465.
^ The Complete Opera Book. 2020. p. 493. ISBN 978-3-75233-315-2.
^ Brady, Richard (18 April 2016). "Wrong Move". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 February 2025.

[1] Amrine, Frederick (2024). "Wilhelm Meister". In Lee, Charlotte (ed.). Goethe in Context. Literature in Context. Cambridge University Press. pp. 113–120. doi:10.1017/9781009036436.016.

[2] Schlaffer, Hannelore (1989). Wilhelm Meister. Das Ende der Kunst und die Wiederkehr des Mythos (in German). Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung. ISBN 978-3-476-00655-4.

[3] Halpert, Inge D. (1961). "Wilhelm Meister and Josef Knecht". The German Quarterly. 34 (1): 11–20. doi:10.2307/402111.

[4] Schweitzer, Christoph E. (1957). "Wilhelm Meister Und Das Bild Vom Kranken Königssohn". Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 72 (3): 419–432. doi:10.2307/460465.

[5] The Complete Opera Book. 2020. p. 493. ISBN 978-3-75233-315-2.

[6] Brady, Richard (18 April 2016). "Wrong Move". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 February 2025.

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v t e Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Characters	Wilhelm Meister
Poetry	"Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt"
Adaptations	Mignon (Schubert songs) Mignon Desires her Fatherland (1836 painting) "None but the Lonely Heart" (Tchaikovsky song) Mignon (1866 opera) Mignon (1915 film) Mignon (1922 film) The Wrong Move (1975 film)
Other	Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years (sequel)