Why does Goethe make this journey?
How does traveling foster Goethe’s self discovery?
With a mind open to the experience, and with the opportunity to see himself and his views in a new context, Goethe grows as an artist and leaves Italy with a greater understanding of himself, his art, and his role in life.
“It was only when I realized that everyone at home was chained, body and soul, to the north, and all desire to visit these parts had vanished, that, drawn by an irresistible need, I made up my mind to undertake this long solitary journey to the hub of the world” (Italian Journey, 128)
“All history is encamped about us and all history sets forth again from us” (154)
- a process by which one sees things that were previously known or understood in a new way; leads to insight and deeper understanding of oneself and one’s environment.
Defamiliarization in Goethe’s own words:
“Wherever I walk, I come upon familiar objects in an unfamiliar world; everything is just as I imagined it, yet everything is new. It is the same with my observations and ideas. I have not had a single idea which was entirely new or surprising, but my old ideas have become so much more firm, vital, coherent that they could be called new.” (Italian Journey, 129)
“When I indulge in self-reflection, as I like to do occasionally, I discover in myself a feeling which gives me great joy. Let me put it like this. In this place, whoever looks seriously about him and has eyes to see is bound to become a stronger character… At least, I can say that I have never been so sensitive to the things of this world as I am here. The blessed consequences will, I believe, affect my whole future life” (137).
“Nothing, above all, is comparable to the new life that a reflective person experiences when he observes a new country. Though I am still always myself, I believe I have been changed to the very marrow of my bones” (147).
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