CW: Suicide and Mental Illness Professor Kozlowski concludes his discussion of Goethe's The Sufferings of Young Werther by examining the causes (and the effects) of Werther's death. Goethe's treatment of Werther's case is careful and multifaceted - we'll look at some of the different perspectives Goethe offers us for understanding why Werther kills himself, and how we should interpret this act.