@article{ART003376966},
author={E-Jeong Hong and KIM EUNG-JUN},
title={Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -},
journal={Journal of Humanities},
issn={1598-8457},
year={2026},
number={102},
pages={207-239}
TY - JOUR
AU - E-Jeong Hong
AU - KIM EUNG-JUN
TI - Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -
JO - Journal of Humanities
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 102
PB - Institute for Humanities
SP - 207
EP - 239
SN - 1598-8457
AB - In eighteenth-century Europe, the emergence of new medical and psychological approaches to the treatment of melancholy led to a profound reassessment of the dehumanizing practices and demonization to which the mentally ill had previously been subjected. In particular, the ‘Moral Treatment,’ which originated in France, not only spread among the German medical community but also inspired the writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Through his psychological drama Lila, a Singspiel (a genre combining spoken dialogue with song and dance), Goethe explored the possibility of literary healing for melancholy.
Departing from conventional and inhumane methods of treatment, this approach employs patient-centered therapy. In this therapeutic play, the protagonist, Lila, overcomes her pathological melancholy through the active support of her family and friends. To explore these new possibilities for the treatment and literary representation of pathological melancholy, this paper first examines the psychiatric treatments that emerged in the eighteenth century. It then analyzes how Goethe, who portrayed the melancholy characterized by despair and downfall in The Sorrows of Young Werther, presents the possibility of recovery in Lila within both medical and literary contexts. In addition this study investigates how Goethe, through his keen interest in the treatment of melancholy, gave literary expression to these emerging psychological therapies within the structure of a psychological Singspiel.
KW - Melancholy;Moral treatment;Singspiel;Lila;Psychodrama
DO -
UR -
ER -
E-Jeong Hong and KIM EUNG-JUN. (2026). Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -. Journal of Humanities, 102, 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong and KIM EUNG-JUN. 2026, "Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -", Journal of Humanities, no.102, pp.207-239.
E-Jeong Hong, KIM EUNG-JUN "Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -" Journal of Humanities 102 pp.207-239 (2026) : 207.
E-Jeong Hong, KIM EUNG-JUN. Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -. 2026; 102 : 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong and KIM EUNG-JUN. "Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -" Journal of Humanities no.102(2026) : 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong; KIM EUNG-JUN. Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -. Journal of Humanities, 102, 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong; KIM EUNG-JUN. Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -. Journal of Humanities. 2026; 102 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong, KIM EUNG-JUN. Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -. 2026; 102 : 207-239.
E-Jeong Hong and KIM EUNG-JUN. "Literary Representation of the Treatment of Melancholy - Goethe’s Singspiel Lila -" Journal of Humanities no.102(2026) : 207-239.
