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    habit of Contemplating the moral and physicat worlds , reflecting each other as in a mirror , is very characteristic of German philosophy , and we , therefore , abridge a portion of the ominous

    dialogue that precedes the occurrence of any actual evil . * That word , verwandtschaft , [ relationship , affinity , ] brought to my mind some troublesome kinsfolk , ' said Charlotte ; And yet , ' said Edward , it is but a figurative expression ; the book treats of earths and minerals , but man is a very Narcissus—he sees himself in every thing / < Ay P exclaimed the Captain ,

    • man imputes his wisdom and his folly , his idle whims and his earnest desires , alike to plants and minerals , the elements ^ and superhuman powers . ' To the inquiries of Charlotte an explanation is given of the elective affinities which , in by-gone chemical theories , were often adverted to . Pursuing the analogy , Edward adds : Some substances , like friends and old acquaintance , unite the instant they meet , without losing their individual nature ; wine and water for instance . Others are obstinate , and will not yield but to mechanical violence . Shake oil and water as you like , when the shaking is over they separate '—had the speaker been a prophet he might have said , as Holland and Belgium will do . '

    * The complex cases are most curious / said Edward , ' when feebler and remoter affinities come into play , and when they produce separations . ' ' Does that sad word occur in natural history which we hear so frequently in life / asked Charlotte ? 'By all means , ' answered Edward ; ' formerly chemistry was €

    known by no other name /* We have done wisely in leaving that off , ' remarked Charlotte , ' for uniting is a greater art than separating / ' Don ' t think me a pedant , ' said the Captain , * if I use the language of signs to explain this . Imagine A and B to be united , so that they can hardly be separated . But C and D are added ; and now A combines with C , and B with D , and there

    is no saying which is the first to leave its companion / * Let me use this as a simile , Charlotte , ' added her husband . ' You are A , and I follow you as B does its A . Now the Captain has , in a , certain degree , drawn me from you . And you need a D to supply the loss . This can be no other than your niece , Ottilia , whose coming you can no longer oppose /

    Ottilia did come , but the elective affinities operate otherwise than had been anticipated in the playful dialogue . In the tragical consequences of this fatal meeting of four excellent persons , lies the whole novel , though one only of the four , Edward , the selfwilled , is subdued by irresistible desires . The Captain withdraws the moment he is conscious of the involuntary passion ; and Charlotte swerves not for an instant from her conjugal duties . Even Edward flies and takes military service , and leaves Ottilia

    * The nearly obsolete term for chemistry is scheidckvntt , from ichciden , to sepa * rate , and k * n * tt art .

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    Gbethes PTorks . llfr

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1833, page 117, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2608/page/49/