elective affinities

Elective Affinities is my most recent work inspired by the original text Elective Affinities, written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1809. The term Elective Affinities is based on the older notion of chemical affinities, and the novel is the first to model human relationships as chemical reactions. In early nineteenth century chemistry, the phrase was used to describe compounds that only interacted with each other under select circumstances. Goethe used this as a metaphor for marriage, and for the conflict between responsibility and passion. The novel, as well as my own work, examines whether the law of chemistry somehow undermine or upholds human social relations.