Stella

Stella, a play written by J. W. Goethe in 1775 and first published in 1776 with the subscription ‘Ein Schauspiel für Liebende’. The hero Fernando, who has loved and grown tired of two women (Cäcilie and Stella), returns to the latter, only to encounter the former as well. A situation, it would seem, for comedy or for tragedy is treated as neither. After an abortive attempt by Fernando to slip off with Cäcilie, a ménage à trois is proposed and accepted. For a performance in Weimar in 1806 (published as Stella. Ein Trauerspiel, 1816) Goethe altered the end: Stella takes poison and Fernando shoots himself.