Abstract

Goethe’s studies of natural form have occupied generations of scholars and the discussion on the relationship between Goethe’s thought and evolutionary theory has never ceased since Haeckel’s claims in the late nineteenth century. In scholarship which has aimed to address the question of change in Goethe’s concept of nature, the focus has been primarily on his scientific writings. Aiming for a comprehensive understanding of Goethe’s thought on reproduction, this article sets out to contribute to the ongoing debate by focusing on his literary text The New Melusine, a story centred on a dwarf figure. Examining texts by naturalists such as Buffon, Humboldt, and Darwin, the article demonstrates how Goethe, in the speculative framework of a literary text, explores patterns of transformation by means of sexual reproduction which did not make it into his better known scientific writings on plant morphology and comparative anatomy. I argue that the Melusine story becomes for Goethe a space to consider a new understanding of reproduction, its transformative power, and biopolitical possibilities, while at the same time providing an opportunity to reflect critically on its consequences for the individual.