The Sorrows of Young Werther -- Take 2

I was pretty close in my pre-reading assessment of The Sorrows of Young Werther as an "over-dramatic coming-of-age story."

I did not particularly care for the young hero's antics or adoration of the unattainable Lotte.  I found him far more whiny than romantic.  Which was unfortunate; I like epistolary novels and hoped that might be enough to rescue this story for me but, alas, it was not.  The mere fact that we learn of Werther's love for a woman who is betrothed to another man through letters was far from sufficient to make care about Werther's struggle.

I could see how, when the novel was first published in 1774, it might appeal to an audience who had not seen anything like this before.  It was early in the Romantic movement, and this was a raw confessional.

But it was not my style.  Perhaps I just came to it too late in life, when that kind of angsty, self-flagellating obsession no longer speaks to me.  It was so far from my language that I didn't even bother reading the short story, Novella, which followed.  Instead, I left both works on a bookshelf in Germany for someone else to discover.

When I travel, I like to read books about or set in the place to which I'm traveling, so it was handy to have this book coincide with both our trip to Germany and my 2022 Reading Challenge.

A Mask Question

Even during the height of the pandemic, people who opposed masking regulations often refused to wear their masks correctly.  There was the nose out, the chin strap, the enormous earring, and any number of other iterations.

What I don't understand, though, is why people are still doing this.  In most places, mask restrictions have been rescinded.  So why do I still see a bunch of people -- in places where masks are not required -- wearing them incorrectly?  Can someone please explain this psychology to me?

Happy Birthday, K!