Truth and Fiction Relating to My Life

Truth and Fiction Relating to My Life is an autobiography by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that comprises the time from the poet's childhood to the days in 1775, when he was about to leave for Weimar. The material in the first three parts is distributed in such a way that Goethe's childhood is narrated from book one to the middle of book six, the account of his student days begins with the latter half of the sixth book and continues through the 11th book, books 12-15 are given to the consideration of his early manhood, when his first great successes as an author were realized. In spite of important experiences, part four does not open a new phase in Goethe's development, but it does bring the outer course of his life to its most decisive turning point his departure from Weimar. Goethe depicts his happy childhood in Frankfurt, his relationship with his sister Cornelia, and his infatuation with Gretchen. Gretchen is described as "unbelievably beautiful", but Goethe also mentions that she had appeared superficial to him, when he heard she had referred to him as to a child, in the course of criminal investigations. Goethe moreover depicts his love-affairs with Anna Katharina Schonkopf during his time as a student in Leipzig, with Friederike Brion during his time in Strasburg, and with the Frankfurt banker's daughter Lili Schonemann. Dichtung und Wahrheit also mirrors Goethe's development as a poet and partly expounds the changes in the author's thinking that were brought about by the Seven Years' War and the French occupation, while other experiences throughout are presented and colored.