Most critics have seen Goethe's novel Elective Affinities as something removed from the events of the time in which it was written, the early Napoleonic era. Swartz (German, Boston University) reverses that notion, believing that the book "does represent a historically specific sociopolitical constellation". (p.17) He sees much of the underlying message of the story as being influenced by the 1804 battle of Jena, won by Napoleon's army. This was the beginning, he states, of a breakdown in social order and the German class system. This included legal changes that Swartz notes affect the course of the Goethe's plot. He also feels that the unresolved ending is emblematic of the uncertainty of the times. Goethe scholars will find much in this to ponder. Distributed by Associated University Presses. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less