The 'Werther Effect' of Goethe's Werther: Anecdotal evidence in historical news reports

Anecdotal evidence suggests a spike in suicides occurred after the publication of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther in 1774. Imitation suicides elicited by media portrayals of suicide have since been termed the “Werther effect.” However, evidence for a suicide “epidemic” after the publication of Goethe’s Werther is limited to unsystematically documented cases. This study provides an overview of all previously noted copycat suicides, as well as a systematic search for anecdotal evidence of suicides imitating Goethe’s Werther in the press. Newspaper databases of the DACH countries were searched for reports of suicides that the press had connected to Goethe’s Werther since 1774. In addition to confirming most suicides that have previously been reported in the literature, eight additional suicides attributed to Goethe’s Werther not yet addressed in previous literature were identified in the newspapers. Goethe’s Werther was presumably connected to several copycat suicides. However, newspapers reported on the Werther-epidemic itself and the moral implications of glamorizing suicide much more than on specific imitative suicides. Whether the reports identified by this study substantiate a “Werther epidemic” remains up to interpretation. The lack of research on possible further Werther effects elicited by fiction books is discussed.