a young man overcome by romantic suffering and melancholy; a person prone to emotional turmoil and idealism.
From 'The Sorrows of Young Werther,' a 1774 novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe featuring a sensitive, suffering protagonist. The character's name became synonymous with romantic despair.
Goethe's novel was so popular and emotionally devastating that it actually caused a phenomenon called 'Werther fever'—young men across Europe started dressing like Werther and some even copied his tragic suicide. It's one of history's first examples of a literary character directly influencing real-world behavior and fashion.
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