Goethe als Sprachhistoriker

The famous verses from Goethe’s ‚Faust I‘ Mein schönes Fräulein, darf ich wagen, / Meinen Arm und Geleit Ihr anzutragen? and Margarethe’s answer Bin weder Fräulein, weder schön, / Kann ungeleitet nach Hause gehn. repeatedly provoke discussion about why Margarethe emphasizes that she is not a Fräulein. It is also clear from other passages in the text, especially in the use of personal names, that Goethe likes to cite historical usage of language. We know that Goethe read early New High German texts, so we can assume that Goethe was concerned with earlier language use. Language history, especially word history, thus becomes an important tool for adequately understanding Goethe’s texts.