New Year's Day
The Sorrows of Young WertherNew Year's Day is presented as an approaching family occasion whose promised greetings briefly give Werther a place among the children’s hopes. Their account of the boys’ New-Year’s wishes moves him deeply, and he leaves after giving the children presents and sending his compliments to their parents.
An Approaching Day
The date enters the narrative through the children’s excited anticipation of Christmas gifts from Charlotte and of New-Year’s wishes prepared by their elder brothers. They say the wishes are to be presented early in the morning on New Year's Day. The account makes the day a specific point in the near future; the passage records the children’s expectation, not the arrival or celebration of the day itself.
The Children’s Wishes
The younger boy whispers the news to Werther: the elder brothers have written wishes in large letters, one for their father, one for Albert and Charlotte, and one for Werther. The inclusion of Werther among the family’s addressees overwhelms him. He makes each child a present, leaves his compliments for their parents, and rides away with tears in his eyes. New Year's Day thus matters in this passage less as a depicted holiday than as the date attached to a gesture of affection that Werther can receive but not remain to share.
