There is something about the German language that makes it stand out amongst the other languages. It has some words that express our feelings and ideas so perfectly; so much so, it seems that there is a lexical gap in the other languages. Some German words just cannot be quite translated by just another word. One such word is Weltschmerz.
Weltschmerz comes from German Welt “world” and Schmerz “pain”. It means a universal pain, world-weariness, or melancholia about the state of the world. It is the sadness that is not because of some issue, but a feeling of depression because of existence itself. It is the feeling in which one realizes that the reality of world cannot fulfill the desire of one's heart. This term was coined by a romantic German author Jean Paul aka Johann Paul Friedrich Richter.
The contemporary meaning of Weltschmerz is the psychological distress of realizing that our frailties are the product of social, physical and circumstantial states of the world. The feeling of Weltschmerz may cause depression and may lead to social or mental withdrawal. Weltschmerz is the despair experienced when the world as it is does not line up with the world as we think it should be.
The word Weltschmerz, in my mind, always takes me back to Charles Darwin. I recently read his book, on the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life. That is the full name of the original book; I find it amusingly long and precise. The book is more popularly called Origin of Species. The book was brilliant and the ideas in it were strongly supported by evidence and reasoning. Many of the common questions of creationists in the debate panels with Richard Dawkins, were first handledly answered by Darwin in his book. Moreover, I found Darwin's knowledge of geology was far ahead his times, he more or less explained plate tectonics.
I, as a person living in 2017 with a world view on evolution as a given, cannot fathom the feeling of Weltschmerz that Darwin must have experience. Darwin traveled the globe in his youth. He was a naturalist on the HMS Beagle, a naval exploratory voyage around the world. He studied the geology and nature. He studied plants and animal life and collected fossils during his five-year-long voyage. After his voyage, he studied his finding on the theory of evolution. He didn't share his ideas with the world for twenty-one years. It was that time during which the world-weariness of preconceived idea of creation faced up to Darwin. Darwin was reportedly battling an undiagnosed sickness throughout his life. Nowadays, it is believed that Darwin's sickness was psychosomatic. He was raised a devoted Christian, during this time he was facing up the flaws in the creation idea and being accused of "killing the beloved God". This might have been the source of Darwin’s depression and Weltschmerz.
I think the life and experience of Darwin, even though he was brilliant and ingenious for the knowledge that he imparted us, was filled with the Weltschmerz. You may read more about Darwin and his Theory of Evolution here. The reality of life and the emotional leaning towards the desire of how we wished it should have been ... is heart-breaking.
If you wish to learn some more, awesome German words check here. Do you have a scenario that explains and represents the word Weltschmerz? Let me know in the comments section.
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Wow! That's pretty interesting. Never heard of that word but I liked how you explained. Isn't changing climate causing all of us around the world a lot of pain? Could that be an example? W for Wounded Ego
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found it interesting, Parul. Indeed it is. Sigh!
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
There is a lot going on today that is causing world pain - climate change is only one of things. The possible extinction of honey bees would have far-reaching permutations to people. Politicians notvfit to make decisions for a 5 year old are making decisions for the planet ... sigh
ReplyDeleteYes! Honey bees's extinction is a huge threat! It just occurred to me, that our world is balanced on a brink.
DeleteThanks for Stopping by, Ger!
11 lettered, profound word! And quite a tongue twister to pronounce... I think most of us must have faced "weltschmerz" moments or situations in our lives! The void within sometimes brings it head up and starts questioning the very basic presumptions that we had held since time unknown!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Darwin's story with the word. So very apt!
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Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
Collage Of Life
I understand, those out-of-the-blues existential crisis!
DeleteI am glad you liked it, Anagha. :)
Thanks for stopping by.
This is so beautifully penned! I am not going to forget the word "Weltschmerz". Thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteAlex! :)
Delete*curtsy*
German does give us a lot of words that fill up a lexical gap - Wanderlust being another, which is so accepted into English now that its original German roots have been forgotten.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice for W and a brilliant illustration.
Nilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
It is indeed! German has such a rich vocab
DeleteThanks! I am glad you liked it, Nilanjana. :)
I didn't know about Darwin's personal story. This was an informative post
ReplyDeleteWonderful
Thanks! Glad to spread the word.
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I sympathize with Darwin. Religious beliefs are very dear to many people and they can feel the need to fight back if those beliefs are challenged or discussed in ways they don't like.
ReplyDeleteI felt a bit of Weltschmerz yesterday. I'm covering the A to Z of conspiracy theories this month and yesterday I wrote about a film that explores a possible link between autism and vaccines. I meant the tone of my conspiracy blog to be tongue-in-cheek since the film has been widely discredited by experts and critics alike, but must have failed. Some comments were defensive about autistic people or a bit scolding on the importance of vaccines. Oh well.
Aww! I am sorry to hear that. It can indeed be difficult when the issue in hand is divisive. I too sympathize with Darwin, he was a brilliant and keen man.
DeleteGlad to see you stop by, Tamara. :)
Thanks for visiting.
German theologians dominated the discipline in the 19th and 20th centuries, which means at one time I had a large vocabulary of technical German theological words. I was always amazed at how the German word felt like what it was describing. The same with Weltschmerz. I have clinical depression, so Weltschmerz is a familiar friend. My last bout was last year when I fell into a major depression that wound up leading to some very hard soul-searching and life changes.
ReplyDeleteI also think Darwin's Weltschmerz also came from losing his daughter at such a young age.
I so wish I could speak German too!
DeleteI am sorry to hear that you had to go through that. Depression is quite a difficult thing to deal with. Sigh!
Yes! Darwin had a difficult time for losing his daughter too. I should have included that aspect too.
Thanks for stopping by. :)
As I was reading your definition of the word, I was thinking that perfectly described the state of man, cut off from a relationship with his Creator and God. That state won't fully be resolved this side of Heaven. Then the paradox of you choosing Darwin as an example. On Darwin, evolution is a certainty. Undisputed. But, there so no scientific evidence to prove evolution has ever "created" a new species from an existing one. Therefore, there is no true debate between evolution and creation. God created a beautiful world full of various species that were endowed with the ability to adapt, regenerate and even evolve.
ReplyDeletePerspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyhead
I often think about Darwin's life and times. During his days, it must have been a daring think to do. Perhaps that is why he took 21 years to do intensive research and corresponded with a number of other experts.
DeleteOn the note of evolution, Darwin provided a number of evidences in his book along with explanation on the then missing links. Now, we can now sequence our DNAs that gives empirical evidence to his theory. On the contrary there is no evidence, what so ever, of Creation. If one wish to studies the science of evolution the prove out there, but wanting to do that is up to an individual.
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