Miss Fanny Wilkes-- a character study

Miß Fanny Wilkes was the first completed novel of Johann Timotheus Hermes (1738-1821), who is remembered primarily nowadays for his second work, Sophiens Reise von Memel nach Sachsen. Hermes was a clergyman and spent most of his life in the Silesian city of Breslau (Wroclaw). He experimented with the then-new genre of the novel in hopes of using it as a vehicle for moral edification and the spreading of the gospel.

This thesis is primarily a character study of several of the main figures of the novel, the purpose of which is to shed light on Hermes thoughts on virtue, sin, redemption, fate, and the relationship between thought and emotion. The thesis also contains a biographical sketch of Hermes, a list of important characters in the novel (as an aid in clarifying relationships), and a list of other works written by Hermes.